Producers nominated for the Darryl F. Zanuck Award gathered at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills on February 28, 2026, to discuss the hardships of their craft ahead of the PGA Awards. Miri Yoon of Weapons highlighted the relentless difficulties of production, from strikes to logistical hurdles. Other nominees recounted unique obstacles in bringing their films to life.
On Saturday, February 28, 2026, nominees for the Producers Guild of America's Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures convened at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills for a pre-awards panel moderated by Jess Cagle. The event featured producers from films including Weapons, Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, Sentimental Value, Sinners, and Train Dreams.
Miri Yoon, producer of Weapons, captured the essence of producing during the discussion: “Everything’s hard. Producing is hard. It is ghetto. It is difficult. There are problems to fix every damn day. It never ends.” She detailed challenges for her film, such as rebuilding the cast after a strike, shooting in Atlanta's summer heat to depict fall in the Pacific Northwest, and managing 17 child actors and their parents. Yoon emphasized the service-oriented nature of the role: “We’re in service of a crew that’s busting their asses for us. We’re in service of actors who are putting their craft front and center. We’re in service to whomever is financing the movie. And we’re in service of the filmmaker and the vision they’re bringing to the table.”
Fellow nominees shared their experiences. Lars Knudsen of Bugonia noted it took eight years to remake the 2003 South Korean film Save the Green Planet!. Jerry Bruckheimer of F1 discussed refining the screenplay amid involvement from numerous drivers, races, and promoters. Eli Bush of Marty Supreme mentioned training a sea lion for ping pong scenes. Sara Murphy of One Battle After Another addressed the death of producer Adam Somner and Benicio Del Toro's temporary absence for The Phoenician Scheme. Pippa Harris of Hamnet spoke of rebuilding the Old Globe Theatre. Sev Ohanian of Sinners recounted dealing with alligators on location and crafting a surreal montage, adding, “I hope we got an A.”
The panel also touched on career origins. Guillermo del Toro recalled his childhood Super 8 film about a killer potato. Sev Ohanian credited a 2007 viral YouTube video of an Armenian dad scolding his son. Andrea Berentsen Ottmar described shifting from engineering studies at the University of Washington to assisting Philip Seymour Hoffman. Teddy Schwarzman outlined his 20-year plan from law school to Hollywood problem-solving, which del Toro praised as that of a “good storyteller.”
Separately, the PGA announced career honors for Jason Blum with the Milestone Award, Amy Pascal with the David O. Zelznick Achievement Award, and Mara Brock Akil with the Norman Lear Achievement Award.
