Awards season is heating up in Hollywood. Today the Producers Guild of America announced its top picks for the Motion Picture Producer of the Year Award. Some of these films have won or been nominated for other awards — which means they’re getting some serious Oscar buzz right now.

Here are the 10 nominees for the Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures.

1. “Avatar”

2. “District 9″

3. “An Education”

4. “The Hurt Locker”

5. “Inglourious Basterds”

6. “Invictus”

7. “Precious: Based on the novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”

8. “Star Trek”

9. “Up”

10. “Up In The Air”

Some of the producer credits on the nominated films have not been determined. Let’s hope the producer credit dilemma gets solved pronto because the awards ceremony is coming up fast. The red carpet for the 21st Annual PGA Awards will be rolled out at the Hollywood Palladium on Sunday, January 24, 2010.

For more on these nominees and those in the animated films, documentary, and long-form television categories, click over to the Producers Guild of America website. Also, over on The Wrap a report on some of the notables that got passed over for these awards as well as more on the films that did make the cut.

 ”Transformers ll” tops the Box Office in 2009

Well, you can’t win them all. The blockbuster, “Avatar,” is dominating the Box Office right now, but when it came to to the top grossing domestic films of 2009, another action flick grabbed the top spot. The title of the number one big grosser belongs to “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” with $402,111 million. 

2.   “Avatar” $352,114 million.

3.   “Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince”   $301,959 million.

4.    Up”  $293,004 million.

5.    “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” $287,954 million.

The rest of the top ten includes “The Hangover,” “Star Trek,” and “The Blind Side.”  Box Office Mojo has the top 100 grossing domestic films of 2009 here.

A new talent and literary agency sparks buzz in Hollywood

Nothing like a new agency with some serious players behind it to rattle the status quo in Tinseltown.  Announcements went out today about the newly minted Verve Talent and Literary Agency. It was formed by WME motion picture literary agents Bill Weinstein, Adam Levine, and Bryan Besser. They’re former Endeavor agents who apparently didn’t like the fit of the new venture of William Morris Endeavor.

The Verve partners reportedly plan to provide the kind of representation that puts client interest ahead of agency. Hey, that should have a whole lot of talented folks making a run to Culver City, where the agency will be based.  The Hollywood Reporter has more and so does Nikki Finke’s Deadline Hollywood site.

Last year was huge for Hollywood movies. The studios and the movie-going audiences are hungry for more. It’s a good time for a new agency with clout, fresh ideas, and cutting edge talent to jump into the mix.

Innovative filmmaker James Cameron is king of the Box Office right now. Cameron’s 3D epic, “Avatar”  claimed the number one spot at the domestic Box Office for the third straight week. “Avatar” scooped up an estimated $68.3 million over the New Year’s weekend.

“Avatar” has made so much money, it’s mind-boggling. The domestic take for the sci-fi/ action adventure is around $352 million, globally it has blown past the $1 billion mark with an estimate of somewhere in the area of $1.018-$1.022 billion. “Avatar” is now number four on the list of films to reach that milestone.  At the top, Cameron’s “Titanic” with a worldwide  total of $1.84 billion. Gee, could “Avatar” unseat “Titanic?”  It’s possible.

Hanging in at number two again the detective crime drama, “Sherlock Holmes” with $38.3 million.  The animated family flick, ”Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” holds onto to third with $36.6 million. In fourth, the romantic comedy, “It’s Complicated” with $18.7 million and rounding out the top five,  the football drama “The Blind Side” with $12.6 million. The Hollywood Reporter has more on the Box Office and the big money winners.  

Photo: Gary Friedman/Los Angeles Times/01-01-10 — Captain Chesley  “Sully” Sullenberger and his wife, Lorrie, wave to the crowds during the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena.

Hero pilot, Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger was the perfect choice to be the grand marshal of today’s Tournament of Roses Parade. You might remember, the miracle on the Hudson. The US Airways pilot  landed a disabled passenger jetliner safely on New York’s Hudson River, a year ago this month. A bird strike had knocked out all of the plane’s engines, but Captain Sullenberger’s skill and quick thinking saved the day.  Since then, Sullenberger has become a book author and a reluctant celebrity.

The theme of this year’s Rose Parade, “A cut above the rest” in honor of every day heroes.

Photo: Gary Friedman/Los Angeles Times/01-01-10 — Three cheers for Burbank!  The “Barnyard Aces” float built by the Burbank Tournament of Roses Association won a trophy for best animation and motion.  On the float, there’s a Stearman PT-17 airplane that climbs, dives, and performs 360 degree rolls.

Photo: Mark Boster/Los Angeles Times/01-01-10 — “Tuskegee Airmen: A Cut Above,” sponsored by the West Covina Rose Float Foundation, pays tribute to that heroic famous group of African American servicemen of World War II. The float won the Mayor’s Award for most outstanding city entry — national or international.

Photo: Mark Boster/Los Angeles Times/ 01-01-10 — The “Jewels of the Pacific,” showcasing sea creatures in the underwater world off the California coast, was sponsored by the Downey Rose Float Association. It won the Founders’ Trophy for most spectacularly built and decorated float by volunteers from a community or organization.