Doubts diminished Monday that The Dark Knight is a viable contender for a best-picture Oscar as the Producers Guild of America nominated it for the coveted Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award, its best-picture prize.

The critically acclaimed superhero blockbuster wasn't deemed worthy enough for a Golden Globe best-picture nomination by the, *cough*, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, leading to speculation that Industry types weren't hip enough to think of a comic-book movie as Oscar material.

But there is no more Industry-insider group than the PGA, whose nominees for the best picture guild award also include the fantasy film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and some other movies that we don't really care about because they don't have robots, time travel, Hobbits or caped crusaders. The winner of the PGA award often presages the winner of the best-picture Oscar. (Oscar nomination balloting closes Jan. 12, and the Oscar nominations will be announced Jan. 22.)

The Producers Guild of America also singled out other science fiction, fantasy and supernatural movies for nominations, including Bolt, Kung Fu Panda and WALL-E for best animated film.

On the TV side, the PGA nominated Lost for a best drama award.