The musical La La Land is now firm favorite to win big at the Oscars next month after it was named best film of the year by the Producers Guild Of America on Saturday night.
The movie starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone already won the golden Globe for best musical or comedy and is nominated for a record-tying 14 Academy Awards.
But musician John Legends, who also stars in the movie and who serves as one of its executive producers, used the occasion to slam President Donald Trump for his executive order on immigration that's widely regarded as a ban on Muslims.
John Legend, star and executive producer of La La Land that won best film at the Producers Guild Of America Awards Saturday night, used the occasion to slam Trump for his 'Muslim ban'
During the evening awards show, Legend introduced a clip from the Damien Chazelle-directed feature a jazz musician who falls in love with an aspiring actress in Los Angeles.
'Los Angeles is the home of so many immigrants, so many creative people, so many dreamers, and those of us who work in this business have the privilege of shaping how the rest of the world perceives this country we love,' Legend told the star-studded audience.
'We are the voice, we are the face of America. Our America is big, it is free, and it is open to dreamers of all races, all countries, all religions.'
Platform: Legend, who was accompanied by wife Chrissy Teigen, said urged others at the event to use their power and influence for good and to 'stand together for what is right'
He went on: 'Our vision of America is directly antithetical to that of President Trump. I want to specifically tonight reject his vision and affirm that America has to be better than that.'
Legend, who is married to model and TV personality Chrissy Teigen, then urged others at the ceremony held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel to use their influence to fight back against the ban on refugees and on immigrants from seven predomitly Muslim countries entering the United States.
'There’s a lot of money and power in this room and I hope you all will use it for something good. Let’s all continue to stand up together for what is right,' Legend stated.
Oscar fave: With wins at the PGAs and Golden Globes, La La Land starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone is now the hot favorite to win best picture at the Academy Awards next month
Earlier in the day, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences had issued a statement in response to reports that Iranian director Asghar Farhadi may not be able to attend the Academy Awards where he is nominated in the best foreign film category for The Salesman.
Iran is one of the seven countries singled out by Trump in his executive order.
'The Academy celebrates achievement in the art of filmmaking, which seeks to transcend borders and speak to audiences around the world, regardless of national, ethnic, or religious differences,' a spokesperson for the organization stated.
'As supporters of filmmakersand the human rights of all peoplearound the globe, we find it extremely troubling that Asghar Farhadi......could be barred from entering the country because of ...religion or country of origin.'
On Saturday night, as protesters gathered at major airports across the U.S. and lawyers worked to obtain the release of 'dozens' of detained people, the American Civil Liberties Union won a stay on the ban after obtaining a hearing with a federal judge in Brooklyn, New York.
On a roll: The musical feature about a jazz musician who falls for an aspiring actress has a record-tying 14 Oscar nominations
PRODUCERS GUILD AWARDS WINNERS
The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures
La La Land (WINNER)
Producers: Fred Berger, Jordan Horowitz, Marc Platt
Arrival
Producers: Dan Levine, Shawn Levy, Aaron Ryder, David Linde
Deadpool
Producers: Simon Kinberg, Ryan Reynolds, Lauren Shuler Donner
Fences
Producers: Scott Rudin, Denzel Washington, Todd Black
Hacksaw Ridge
Producers: Bill Mechanic, David Permut
Hell or High Water
Producers: Carla Hacken, Julie Yorn
Hidden Figures
Producers: Donna Gigliotti, Peter Chernin and Jenno Topping, Pharrell Williams, Theodore Melfi
Lion
Producers: Emile Sherman and Iain Canning, Angie Fielder
Manchester by the Sea
Producers: Matt Damon, Kimberly Steward, Chris Moore, Lauren Beck, Kevin Walsh
Moonlight
Producers: Adele Romanski, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner
The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama
Stranger Things (Season 1) (WINNER)
Producers: Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer, Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen, Iain Paterson
Better Call Saul (Season 2)
Producers: Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Melissa Bernstein, Mark Johnson, Thomas Schnauz, Gennifer Hutchison, Nina Jack, Robin Sweet, Diane Mercer, Bob Odenkirk
Game of Thrones (Season 6)
Producers: David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Bernadette Caulfield, Frank Doelger, Carolyn Strauss, Bryan Cogman, Lisa McAtackney, Chris Newman, Greg Spence
House of Cards (Season 4)
Producers: Beau Willimon, Dana Brunetti, Michael Dobbs, Josh Donen, David Fincher, Eric Roth, Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, John Mankiewicz, Robert Zotnowski, Jay Carson, Frank Pugliese, Boris Malden
Westworld (Season 1)
Producers: J.J. Abrams, Jonathan Nolan, Lisa Joy, Bryan Burk, Athena Wickham, Kathy Lingg, Richard J. Lewis, Roberto Patino, Katherine Lingenfelter, Cherylanne Martin
Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures
O.J.: Made in America (WINNER)
Producers: Ezra Edelman, Caroline Waterlow
Dancer
Producer: Gabrielle Tana
The Eagle Huntress
Producers: Stacey Reiss, Otto Bell
Life, Animated
Producers: Julie Goldman, Roger Ross Williams
Tower
Producers: Keith Maitland, Susan Thomson, Megan Gilbride
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures
Zootopia (WINNER)
Producer: Clark Spencer
Finding Dory
Producer: Lindsey Collins
Kubo and the Two Strings
Producers: Arianne Sutner, Travis Knight
Moana
Producer: Osnat Shurer
The Secret Life of Pets
Producers: Chris Meledandri, Janet Healy
The Award for Outstanding Digital Series
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (Season 7, Season 8) (WINNER)
30 for 30 Shorts (Season 5)
Epic Rap Battles of History (Season 5)
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: ACADEMY (Season 1)
National Endowment for the Arts: United States of Arts
The Award for Outstanding Sports Program
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (Season 22) (WINNER) *TIED
VICE World of Sports (Season 1) (WINNER) *TIED
E:60 (2016)
The Fight Game with Jim Lampley: A Tribute to Muhammad Ali
Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Los Angeles Rams (Season 11)
The Award for Outstanding Children’s Program
Sesame Street (Season 46) (WINNER)
Girl Meets World (Season 2, Season 3)
Octonauts (Season 4)
School of Rock (Season 1)
SpongeBob SquarePants (Season 9)
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (Season 3) (WINNER)
Producers: Tim Carvell, John Oliver, Liz Stanton
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (Season 1)
This show is in the process of being vetted for individual producer eligibility
The Late Late Show with James Corden (Season 2)
Producers: Ben Winston, Rob Crabbe, Mike Gibbons, Amy Ozols, Sheila Rogers, Michael Kaplan, Jeff Kopp, James Longman, Josie Cliff, James Corden
Real Time with Bill Maher (Season 14)
Producers: Bill Maher, Scott Carter, Sheila Griffiths, Marc Gurvitz, Billy Martin, Dean E. Johnsen, Chris Kelly, Matt Wood
Saturday Night Live (Season 42)
Producers: Lorne Michaels, Steve Higgins, Erik Kenward, Lindsay Shookus, Erin Doyle, Ken Aymong
The Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy
Atlanta (Season 1) (WINNER)
Producers: Donald Glover, Dianne McGunigle, Paul Simms, Hiro Murai, Alex Orr
black-ish (Season 2)
Producers: Kenya Barris, Jonathan Groff, Anthony Anderson, Laurence Fishburne, Helen Sugland, E. Brian Dobbins, Vijal Patel, Gail Lerner, Corey Nickerson, Courtney Lilly, Lindsey Shockley, Peter Saji, Jenifer Rice-Genzuk Henry, Hale Rothstein, Michael Petok, Yvette Lee Bowser
Modern Family (Season 7)
Producers: Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Paul Corrigan, Abraham Higginbotham, Elaine Ko, Jeff Morton, Jeffrey Richman, Brad Walsh, Danny Zuker, Vali Chandrasekaran, Andy Gordon, Jon Pollack, Chuck Tatham, Chris Smirnoff, Sally Young
Silicon Valley (Season 3)
This show is in the process of being vetted for individual producer eligibility
Veep (Season 5)
Producers: David Mandel, Frank Rich, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lew Morton, Morgan Sackett, Sean Gray, Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory, Jim Margolis, Georgia Pritchett, Will Smith, Chris Addison, Rachel Axler, David Hyman, Erik Kenward, Billy Kimball, Steve Koren
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Competition Television
The Voice (Season 9-11) (WINNER)
Producers: Audrey Morrissey, Jay Bienstock, Mark Burnett, John de Mol, Chad Hines, Lee Metzger, Kyra Thompson, Mike Yurchuk, Amanda Zucker, Carson Daly
The Amazing Race (Season 27, Season 28)
Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer, Bertram van Munster, Jonathan Littman, Elise Doganieri, Mark Vertullo
American Ninja Warrior (Season 7, Season 8)
This show is in the process of being vetted for individual producer eligibility
Lip Sync Battle (Season 1, Season 2)
This show is in the process of being vetted for individual producer eligibility
Top Chef (Season 13)
Producers: Daniel Cutforth, Tom Colicchio, Casey Kriley, Padma Lakshmi, Jane Lipsitz, Doneen Arquines, Erica Ross, Patrick Schmedeman, Ellie Carbajal
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television
Making a Murderer (Season 1) (WINNER)
This show is in the process of being vetted for individual producer eligibility
30 for 30 (Season 7)
Producers: Connor Schell, John Dahl, Libby Geist, Bill Simmons, Erin Leyden, Gentry Kirby, Andrew Billman, Marquis Daisy, Deirdre Fenton
60 Minutes (Season 48, Season 49)
This show is in the process of being vetted for individual producer eligibility
Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown (Season 5-8)
Producers: Anthony Bourdain, Christopher Collins, Lydia Tenaglia, Sandra Zweig
Hamilton's America
This show is in the process of being vetted for individual producer eligibility
The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television
The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story (Season 1) (WINNER)
Producers: Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski, Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, D.V. DeVincentis, Anthony Hemingway, Alexis Martin Woodall, John Travolta, Chip Vucelich
Black Mirror (Season 3)
This show is in the process of being vetted for individual producer eligibility
The Night Manager (Season 1)
Producers: Simon Cornwell, Stephen Garrett, Stephen Cornwell, Hugh Laurie, Tom Hiddleston, Susanne Bier, David Farr, John le Carré, William D. Johnson, Alexei Boltho, Rob Bullock
The Night Of
This show is in the process of being vetted for individual producer eligibility
Sherlock: The Abominable Bride
This show is in the process of being vetted for individual producer eligibility
Daily Mail