Saturday evening, the Producers Guild of America kick off the Guild Awards season with the first awards presentation. While they have a checkered past, there’s no denying they have a strong history of decent predictive capabilities. Here are our fearless predictions on who we think will take home the awards. (NOTE: Normally, I post my Oscar Morning primer on the Friday before the Oscar nominations, but time constraints have prevented me from finishing it in time, so stay tuned Monday morning for the annual traditional post)

PRODUCERS GUILD OF AMERICA

Best Picture

The Artist (RU:Wesley / Peter)
Bridesmaids
The Descendants
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Help (Wesley / RU:Tripp)
Hugo (Tripp)
The Ides of March
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
War Horse

Wesley Lovell: A lot can happen with the PGA who often tends to favor commercially successful films over critically successful ones. The King’s Speech had no problem winning here, but The Hurt Locker, a commercially unsuccessful film, also did. So, who really knows. My inkling is that The Help which was a sleeper hit this past Summer will ultimately triumph. The Artist hasn’t been commercially viable, but the PGA, struggling for predictive capabilities, may go that direction anyway. I think Bridesmaids has a decent shot here as well.

Best Animated Feature

The Adventures of Tintin (Wesley / RU:Tripp)
Cars 2
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango (RU:Wesley / Peter / Tripp)

Wesley Lovell: While Rango was a bigger box office hit in the U.S., The Adventures of Tintin is a global phenomenon. Recognizing Spielberg for bringing a quality production to the U.S. while collecting tons of money overseas seems like something this group would eat up with a spoon. However, the race is so tight, either film could easily win it.

Best Documentary

Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest
Bill Cunningham New York (RU:Wesley)
Project Nim (Wesley / Peter / Tripp)
Senna
The Union (RU:Tripp)

Wesley Lovell: None of these films are tremendously viable commercial, but Project Nim has the crowd-pleasing nature that will appeal to voters from the PGA who want to appeal to the masses more than they do the critics. Of course, anything can happen here, but the Oscar front-runner is probably the safer bet.