Producers Honor ‘Moulin Rouge’

In a decision that boosts the film’s Oscars chances, the producers of the lavish musical drama “Moulin Rouge” waltzed off with top honors Sunday night in Los Angeles at the 13th annual Producers Guild of America Awards.

The guild gave its Darryl F. Zanuck producer of the year award in theatrical motion pictures to Australian director and producer Baz Luhrmann, and producers Martin Brown and Fred Baron.

The film, which sought to reinvent the Hollywood movie musical, has received eight Academy Award nominations, including best picture and best actress for Nicole Kidman, although Luhrmann failed to receive a best director nomination.

Nine of the last 12 winners of the producers guild awards, including last year’s “Gladiator,” have gone on to win best picture at the Oscars.

In television, the guild gave its producer of the year award for episodic television drama to “The West Wing,” while the producers of “Sex and the City” won in the episodic television comedy category.

Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, and Tony To received the producer of the year award in long-form television for HBO’s “Band of Brothers.”

The 1,600-member guild, which held its award show Sunday at the Century Plaza Hotel, includes 950 full-fledged producers, as well as associate producers, post-production supervisors, production managers and post-production coordinators.