Producers Guild of America
A United States trade association representing film, television, and emerging-media producers.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is a United States trade association representing people involved in producing motion pictures, television programs, and emerging forms of entertainment. Organized as a 501(c)(6) professional association, it provides a collective forum for producers and other production professionals, rather than functioning as a studio, distributor, labor union, or consumer-facing entertainment brand. Its membership includes thousands of established and developing producers, with members working in the United States and internationally. The organization developed from two predecessor bodies. The Screen Producers Guild was formed in 1950 to represent film producers, while television producers created the Television Producers Guild in 1957. The two organizations combined in 1962 under the leadership of Walter Mirisch, creating a unified guild for producers working across the principal screen industries. Over subsequent decades, the PGA broadened its constituency beyond traditionally credited producers. The 2001 merger with the American Association of Producers brought associate producers, production managers, production supervisors, coordinators, visual-effects producers, post-production personnel, and related production workers into the guild's representational structure. The PGA's activities include professional education, mentoring, networking, advocacy, industry guidance, and recognition of producing achievement. Its membership programs have included seminars, mentoring opportunities, special screenings during awards season, and access to professional events. The guild is organized around councils that reflect different areas of production, including the Producers Council, the AP Council, and the New Media Council. Regional activity includes the PGA East chapter, which serves members based in New York and elsewhere on the East Coast. An international committee connects producers working across national production markets. The guild's best-known public institution is the Producers Guild of America Awards. First presented in 1990 as the Golden Laurel Awards, the awards recognize producing work in theatrical film, television, and related categories. The guild's top theatrical prize, the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures, has become an influential awards-season indicator because PGA recognition has frequently overlapped with the Academy Award for Best Picture. The awards also provide the organization with a prominent platform for honoring producers and discussing the wider state of the entertainment business. The PGA has also addressed changes in the production economy. Its New Media Council, established in 2002 following earlier discussions about digital production, represents producers working in areas such as online and mobile entertainment, games, animation, digital visual effects, interactive television, DVDs and Blu-ray, virtual reality, augmented reality, and transmedia. In 2010, the council's New Media Code of Credits recognized producer responsibilities across several of these formats. The guild's Produced By Conference, launched in 2009, offers panels, mentoring roundtables, technology demonstrations, networking, and information about production resources. A related Produced By: New York event has served the East Coast producer community since 2014. In 2012, the PGA introduced the Producers Mark, written as p.g.a., a voluntary, film-specific certification placed after an approved producer's Produced By credit. The mark does not simply indicate guild membership. Instead, it signifies that the credited producer performed a substantial portion of the producing work on the particular motion picture. Applications are submitted by a film's copyright owner or distributor, and the guild evaluates the credit through producer input and outside information from other members of the creative and production team. The mark was introduced on films including The Magic of Belle Isle and Lawless and has subsequently been used on many motion pictures. The guild has also faced scrutiny over the conduct of members. In 2017, following extensive reporting and public allegations of sexual harassment and assault against Harvey Weinstein, the PGA began proceedings to remove him. Weinstein resigned before the disciplinary process concluded, and the guild's national board stated that it had imposed a permanent ban. The episode became part of the broader reckoning over abuse, institutional accountability, and workplace safety in the entertainment industry. The PGA remains an active professional organization focused on producer representation, education, standards, recognition, and adaptation to changing media formats.
History
The PGA traces its institutional origins to the Screen Producers Guild, founded on May 16, 1950, with William Perlberg as its first president. Television producers formed a parallel organization in 1957, the Television Producers Guild, led initially by Ben Brady. The two bodies merged in 1962 under Walter Mirisch, establishing the Producers Guild of America as a cross-medium association for screen producers. The guild expanded its scope through successive leadership teams and organizational initiatives. In 1990 it launched the Golden Laurel Awards, later renamed the Producers Guild of America Awards. The program created a major annual platform for recognizing producing achievement and became an important awards-season signal, particularly in the theatrical-film category. The guild's top film award has frequently aligned with the Academy Award for Best Picture, contributing to the PGA's influence within Hollywood's awards infrastructure. A major structural change came in 2001, when the PGA merged with the American Association of Producers. The merger broadened representation to include associate producers, production managers, supervisors, coordinators, visual-effects producers, and post-production personnel. The guild also developed regional and specialist structures. PGA East was established in New York in 2001, while the New Media Council was formed in 2002 after discussions about how digital production should be represented within traditional producer organizations. The New Media Council addressed production in broadband, mobile entertainment, games, digital animation, visual effects, interactive television, DVDs and Blu-ray, virtual reality, augmented reality, and transmedia. In 2010, the PGA board approved a New Media Code of Credits that defined numerous production roles across these formats. This work reflected the guild's broader effort to treat producing as a set of responsibilities that could exist across different technologies and distribution systems. The PGA launched the Produced By Conference in 2009. The annual event combines industry panels with mentoring, networking, demonstrations, location and production-resource information, and conversations between established and emerging producers. Produced By: New York followed in 2014 as a single-day regional event. The guild has also published Produced By, an industry newsletter focused on producing achievements and professional issues. In 2012, the guild introduced the Producers Mark, or p.g.a., for qualifying feature-film producer credits. The mark is a certification attached to an individual film credit, not a general membership designation. A film owner or distributor applies, and the guild reviews the producing contribution using information from credited producers and other production participants. During 2012 and 2013, guild leaders negotiated arrangements with major Hollywood studios for internally developed films to be submitted for certification. The first releases carrying the mark included The Magic of Belle Isle and Lawless. The guild's history also includes a significant accountability controversy. Harvey Weinstein, once a PGA member and a recipient with his brother Bob of the guild's 2013 Milestone Award, became the subject of extensive sexual-misconduct reporting in 2017. The PGA initiated expulsion proceedings on October 16 of that year. Weinstein resigned before the bylaw process was completed, after which the national board announced a permanent ban. The action placed the guild among entertainment institutions responding to the wider workplace-abuse crisis and the rise of the #MeToo movement. The PGA continues to operate as a professional association for producers and production personnel. Its activities center on education, representation, professional standards, awards, networking, emerging-media guidance, regional programming, and the certification of substantial producing contributions.
- 2017
Harvey Weinstein is permanently banned
[1]Following sexual-misconduct allegations, the PGA begins expulsion proceedings and announces a lifetime membership ban after Weinstein resigns.
- 2012
Producers Mark introduced
[1]The p.g.a. certification mark begins identifying substantial producing contributions on individual feature films.
- 2010
New Media Code of Credits approved
[1]The guild formally recognizes producer credits across a range of digital formats.
- 2009
Produced By Conference begins
[1]The guild launches an annual producer education and networking conference.
- 2002
New Media Council is formed
[1]The PGA creates a specialist body for digital and emerging-media producers.
- 2001
Merger with the American Association of Producers
[1]The merger widens the guild's membership structure to cover many production-team roles.
- 1990
First Golden Laurel Awards
[1]The PGA presents the first edition of its producer awards.
- 1962
The two producer guilds merge
[1]The Screen Producers Guild and Television Producers Guild combine to form the PGA under Walter Mirisch.
- 1957
Television Producers Guild is founded
[1]Television producers establish a separate guild under Ben Brady's leadership.
- 1950
Screen Producers Guild is founded
[1]The Screen Producers Guild is formed to represent film producers.
Products and positioning
A professional trade association and standards-setting organization for producers across film, television, and emerging media.
Awards program · 1990
Producers Guild of America Awards
The PGA's annual awards program recognizes producing achievement in theatrical film, television, and other screen categories. Originally called the Golden Laurel Awards, it became a prominent awards-season institution. Its leading theatrical award is the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures, which is widely followed because PGA selections have often overlapped with eventual Academy Award Best Picture winners.
Credit certification · 2012
Producers Mark
The Producers Mark is the lowercase p.g.a. notation that may follow an approved Produced By credit. It certifies a producer's substantial participation in the producing work on a particular feature film. The mark is licensed on a film-by-film basis and does not itself mean that the producer is a PGA member. Applications are reviewed using producer submissions and information from other creative and production personnel.
Professional conference · 2009
Produced By Conference
An annual conference for established and emerging producers featuring industry discussions, mentoring roundtables, networking, production-resource information, technology demonstrations, and presentations about changes in the entertainment marketplace. It began in 2009 and has been held in association with studio and industry partners at different times.
Regional conference · 2014
Produced By: New York
A single-day New York event that extends the Produced By programming model to the East Coast. It brings together producers and other creative-industry professionals for panels, discussion, education, and networking.
Industry council · 2002
New Media Council
A PGA council representing producers working in digital and emerging formats, including games, mobile and broadband entertainment, animation, digital visual effects, interactive television, virtual reality, augmented reality, and transmedia. It also develops guidance on producer roles and credits in newer production environments.
Controversies
2017
Harvey Weinstein membership and permanent ban
Harvey Weinstein, who had been a PGA member and had received the guild's 2013 Milestone Award with his brother Bob, faced extensive public allegations of sexual harassment and assault in 2017. The PGA began proceedings to expel him on October 16. Weinstein resigned before the disciplinary process was completed, and the guild's national board announced a permanent ban from membership. The episode raised questions about accountability and institutional responses to misconduct in the entertainment industry.
Marketing campaigns
- 2012Producers Mark
United States theatrical film market
The guild introduced a voluntary certification mark for feature-film producers who performed a substantial portion of the producing work.
Outcome. The mark became a recurring form of verified producer credit on motion pictures.
- 2010New Media Code of Credits
United States · International digital-production community
The New Media Council developed a credit framework for producer roles in broadband, games, mobile, animation, digital visual effects, interactive television, and related formats.
Outcome. The PGA formally recognized a broader set of emerging-media production responsibilities.
- 2009Produced By Conference
United States
The PGA launched an annual conference designed to provide producer education, mentoring, networking, technology information, and industry discussion.
Outcome. The conference became a recurring professional-development platform for producers.
Brand decisions
2017
Permanently ban Harvey WeinsteinOtherBackground
Public investigations and allegations described years of sexual harassment and assault by Weinstein, a PGA member at the time.
Action taken
The PGA initiated expulsion proceedings; after Weinstein resigned, its national board announced a permanent ban from membership.
Aftermath
The decision became part of the entertainment industry's broader response to the abuse allegations and the #MeToo movement.
2012
Introduce the Producers MarkOtherBackground
Producer credits did not always distinguish between nominal credit and substantial responsibility for the production.
Action taken
The PGA introduced a voluntary, film-specific certification mark allowing qualifying producers to add p.g.a. after their Produced By credit.
Aftermath
The mark became a mechanism for reviewing and signaling significant producing contributions on individual feature films.
2002
Create the New Media CouncilStrategyBackground
Digital, interactive, mobile, game, and other emerging formats were creating production roles not fully covered by traditional film and television structures.
Action taken
The PGA established a specialist council to recognize, represent, and develop guidance for emerging-media producers.
Aftermath
The council later contributed to the guild's New Media Code of Credits and broadened the PGA's scope beyond conventional screen production.
2001
Merge with the American Association of ProducersM&ABackground
The PGA sought to represent a wider range of people involved in producing, not only producers holding the most senior screen credits.
Action taken
The guild merged with the American Association of Producers and incorporated additional production roles into its council structure.
Aftermath
Membership representation expanded to include associate producers, production managers, supervisors, coordinators, visual-effects producers, and post-production personnel.
Recent events
- 2012
Producers Mark certification is introduced[1]
Product launch
The guild introduced the p.g.a. credit certification to identify producers who performed a substantial share of producing duties on a specific feature film.
- 2010
PGA approves New Media Code of Credits[1]
Other
The code formally recognized producer roles across digital visual effects, games, mobile entertainment, animation, interactive television, and related media.
- 2002
New Media Council is established[1]
Other
The guild created a council for producers working in digital, interactive, game, mobile, and other emerging formats.
- 2001
Producers Guild merges with American Association of Producers[1]
M&A
The combination expanded the guild's representation to a broader range of production personnel.
- 2001
PGA East regional chapter is established[1]
Other
A New York-based regional chapter was formed to serve members on the East Coast.
- 1990
Producers Guild launches its awards program as the Golden Laurel Awards[1]
Other
The guild established an annual awards ceremony recognizing producers of film and television work.
Sources2 sources
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