Green Book has won the Producers Guild’s Darryl F. Zanuck Award as the top feature film of 2018. The 1960s drama-comedy topped BlacKkKlansman, Black Panther, Bohemian Rhapsody, Crazy Rich Asians, The Favourite, A Quiet Place, Roma, A Star Is Born and Vice.
“When you make ‘Dumb and Dumber’ you never expect to get an award,” said a deeply moved “Green Book” director Peter Farrelly. “I don’t need awards. This is like Warren Buffett winning the lottery. I’m damn thankful.”
The winning producers are Jim Burke, Charles B. Wessler, Brian Currie, Farrelly and Nick Vallelonga. Green Book, starring Mahershala Ali as pianist Don Shirley and Viggo Mortensen as his bodyguard, also won the Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the 76th Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 6.
Green Book has overcome a trio of controversies — Mortensen’s use of the N-word, for which he apologized; Vallelonga apologized for posting a tweet espousing a debunked conservative narrative that American Muslims could be seen cheering after 9/11; and Shirley’s family spoke out against the film, disputing its depiction of the events of the tour and stating they had not been contacted during production or conception.
Vallelonga’s script is based on the experiences of his father, Tony Lip (Mortensen), driving concert pianist Dr. Don Shirley (Ali) through the Deep South for a tour in the early 1960s.
