Cast members George Clooney (R) and Shailene Woodley (C) pose with director of the movie Alexander Payne at the premiere of "The Descendants" at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California November 15, 2011.

"The Descendants," starring George Clooney as a family man, and the silent black and white movie "The Artist," were among 10 movies earning Producers Guild Award nominations on Tuesday.

"Midnight in Paris," Woody Allen's cinematic bow to the French capital, and the surprise summer box office hit "The Help," which tells of black maids in Mississippi dealing with racism, also built upon their nods from other major film awards as the Hollywood awards season gathers momentum.

High-profile names including Martin Scorsese for 3D-adventure movie "Hugo," Brad Pitt for the baseball film "Moneyball," George Clooney for political drama "The Ides of March" and Steven Spielberg for the family film "War Horse" were also nominated for those films, along with their fellow producers.

Completing the list in the main fiction film category were producers for "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," adapted from Stieg Larsson's trilogy of hit novels, and the raunchy summer female comedy "Bridesmaids."

The Producers Guild Awards, a key indication of Hollywood sentiment ahead of the Oscars in February, will be handed out at a ceremony in Los Angeles on Jan 21.

In other categories, Spielberg as well as Peter Jackson were nominated for donning their producer hats in the animation category "The Adventures of Tintin."

In a year of numerous Hollywood sequels, "Cars 2," and "Kung Fu Panda 2" also received nods in the animation category along with "Puss In Boots" and western comedy "Rango" in which Johnny Depp lends his voice as a pet chameleon.

The PGA also announced its television movie and mini-series nominees, including HBO's "Too Big To Fail," "Mildred Pierce," and "Cinema Verite," as well as "Downton Abbey" (PBS) and "The Kennedys" (ReelzChannel.)

And theatrical documentaries "Senna," which thrilled audiences with its portrait of the late Brazilian Formula One champion Ayrton Senna, and "Bill Cunningham New York" about the aging, modest New York Times fashion photographer will compete against "Project Nim" and Cameron Crowe's "The Union" about Elton John's collaboration with Leon Russell.

"Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest," about the influential American hip hop group rounded out the theatrical documentary list.

The Producers Guild producer awards, will be handed out two days after the Writers Guild honors. Hollywood's guilds represent professionals in their respective industries.