“The Artist” continued its love affair with American cinema after winning best-produced film on Saturday at the Producers Guild Awards (PGA), boosting its chances for an Oscar nod ahead of the Academy Award nominations next week. The silent black-and-white French comedy, starring Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo, is a homage to the pre-talkie era of Hollywood in the 1920s and 1930s and tells the story of a fading silent movie star as sound began entering the world of cinema. “When Michel Hazanavicius and I dreamed of making “The Artist,” we knew we were dreaming of writing a love letter to American cinema. We never knew in return we would get a taste of the American dream,” Thomas Langmann, the film's producer, said in his acceptance speech in Beverly Hills. The film has been sweeping awards ceremonies in the run up to the Oscars, winning best picture at the Critics Choice and Golden Globes earlier this month.
