“Slumdog Millionaire”, a movie about a boy who gets up from being a slum dweller to winning a game show, won the top film prize from the Hollywood producers on Saturday. It placed it a step forward towards the Oscars next month.

“Slumdog”, a film directed by Danny Boyle, grabbed 10 Oscar nominations this Thursday. This includes the nomination for best picture. No other movie except “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” has earned more nominations.

Christian Colson got the top award from the Producers Guild of America, or PGA as the producer of the movie. He had made earlier three comparatively murky thrillers.
This film of his is about a boy from the heaving slums of an Indian metro Mumbai. The boy risks everything for his love and gets to be millionaire by participating in the Indian version of the game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.”

“Slumdog” has raised its production house from entertaining arthouse to please mainstream audiences.

After earning Oscar nominations the film is expected to get a commercial momentum in the U.S. by playing in more than 1,000 theatres.

Fox Searchlight distributes this film. The film has collected more than $48 million in North America and more than $65 million worldwide.

The Producers Guild award is a milestone in the success of “Slumdog” The members of the guild are an important part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This constituency votes on the Oscars.

This film is based on a novel by Vikas Swaroop, an Indian diplomat. “Slumdog” is going to face stiff competition from Brad Pitt starrer “Benjamin Button”. Apart from this it will also be competing against “Milk”, the movie for gay-rights, “The Reader”, and “Frost/Nixon”.

Except for “The Reader” all these films were in the run for PGA’s award for the Best Film.