Tuesday morning the Producers Guild of America announced its Darryl F. Zanuck Picture Producer of the Year Award nominees, the equivalent of its Best Picture award. Here they are:

“Avatar”
“District 9”
“An Education”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Invictus”
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
“Star Trek”
“Up”
“Up in the Air”

The PGA often matches the Academy in its noms — and this year both groups expanded to ten from five — but the PGA just as often steps away from Oscar with its winner.

Like the Academy, the PGA picked “Slumdog Millionaire” and “No Country for Old Men” in 2008 and 2007. But in 2006 it chose “Little Miss Sunshine” over “The Departed,” in 2005 it chose “Brokeback Mountain” over “Crash,” and in 2004 it chose “The Aviator” over “Million Dollar Baby.”

If we compare the PGA ten to those of the Broadcast Film Critics Association, which announced its picks for the Critics Choice Awards December 14, we notice that the producers swapped in “District 9″ and “Star Trek” for the critics’ “Nine” and “A Serious Man”:

“Avatar”
“An Education”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Invictus”
“Nine”
“Precious: From the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
“A Serious Man”
“Up”
“Up in the Air”

Does that mean anything? Mm, maybe. “Nine” has been kind of doomed (though only a fool would ever count a Harvey film out of best picture contention), and “A Serious Man” has seemed a little too fringe.

But three science fiction films up for a best picture Oscar? I’m all for breaking with tradition, but somehow I don’t see that holding up when the final Oscar ballots are sent around.

Regardless, give or take a film, that PGA list is what the Big Night is going to look like.

Filmmakers like to joke about the monster that ate Manhattan; this week, it was all about the film that took over the city – The Weinstein Co.’s “Nine” was simply everywhere, at least if you had the right invites.

First there was the A-list luncheon at Per Se on Monday, where everyone from castmembers Daniel Day-Lewis and Marion Cotillard to guests including Larry King, Martha Stewart and Joel Grey supped and schmoozed the afternoon away. Cotillard did admit to having had a cheeseburger and fries prior to coming to the lunch, which explained her avoiding the chi-chi fare from Thomas Keller’s kitchen … but even she gave in during dessert.

It was a lunch that lasted over three hours, prompting Stewart to depart early, but not before muttering, “I had no idea this was going to be an all-day affair.” Meanwhile, Harvey Weinstein was pressing the flesh and acting … dare it be said: charming.

Musicals clearly haven’t come easy to Weinstein, who admitted the next night in his Zeigfeld Theater premiere introduction that when his mother took him to “The Sound of Music” as a child, he darted once the nuns appeared on camera and ducked into the refuge of “Goldfinger.” But the audience – which this time included all major cast members aside from Sophia Loren – had a different reaction, and applauded after nearly every major song and dance number in the film.

Later at the M2 after-party, director Rob Marshall said the reaction was ”overwhelming. There’s nothing like a New York audience – and this was the first of our premieres that I’ve actually sat through, just to enjoy it with my hometown crowd.”

The crowd at M2 seemed subdued at first; the lighting was dark, the cocktails weak and too sweet – but arrivals by cast members and other names like Goldie Hawn (mom to star Kate Hudson) and Madonna (with daughter Lourdes) ratcheted up the buzz factor.

Around midnight, Fergie was enlisted to introduce the soon-to-be-released video of Hudson’s “Cinema Italiano” (recently nominated for a Golden Globe for best original song), and noted, “She has so much talent – she has this soulful, blues voice, and a kickin’ talent nobody knew about.” Now, that’s acting.

It was Ryan vs. Ryan at dueling awards-season parties last night.

On one side of Sunset Blvd, Relativity Media’s Ryan Kavanaugh and Leo DiCaprio hosted a no-expense-spared reception for the Relativity-produced “Brothers” in the tented (and heated, thankfully) garden of the Chateau Marmont. Lead actor contender Tobey Maguire and wife Jennifer Meyer Maguire held court as trays of fresh sushi, truffles and little beef wellington puffs circled among A-list stars.

Tobey and Ryan at a recent event

I spotted Sean Penn, Jon Favreau, Jonah Hill and Shirley MacLaine (!), as well as CAA’s Kevin Huvane and Hylda Queally and brass from Lionsgate, which is releasing the film. Bartenders were pouring 30-year-old scotch and handing out fine cigars; at the prosciutto bar our foodie companion noticed jamon iberico, which ain’t cheap.

Meanwhile, across the street at the Sunset Tower, the reception for Oscar hopeful “Nine,” which Relativity also co-financed, wasn’t quite as over-the-top. I didn’t see Nicole Kidman or Penelope Cruz, both of whom were at the L.A. premiere earlier, but Harvey Weinstein and director Rob Marshall were greeting well-wishers (the film got a great response from everyone I talked to). Co-star Fergie and Josh Duhamel were there too, as was David Spade (!!).

If all goes well, Kavanaugh could have several horses in this year’s Oscar race, including a face-off between Maguire and Daniel Day-Lewis in the lead actor race. But last night the uber-producer wasn’t the only glue connecting the “Brothers” and “Nine” events. I spotted noted party thoroughbred Jeremy Piven at both, of course.