The Producers’ Guild is limiting the number of producers eligible for Oscar credit. “Making the grade is important because it’s the only way the phrase ‘Oscar-winning producer’ will end up in your obituary should your film win. For the guild, it means playing bad cop, which seems appropriate given that’s what producers are often forced to do when making a film. But the organization has a bigger agenda in trying to rein in the proliferation of unearned producer credits on movies, which studios give away like freebies just to stroke egos.”