The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films have announced the nominees for their 34th Annual Saturn Awards, ie the awards show for us. 300 leads the pack with a major ten nods. Weirdly enough There Will Be Blood is nominated for three awards, including Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film. Did the Saturns see the same movie I did?

The Saturn Awards will be handed out on June 24th within walking distance of my new apartment. I'm excited to have this be the first year I cover the awards. It'll certainly be cool to see Guillermo del Toro receive the George Pal Memorial Award. He's going to be fucking psyched.

Best Science Fiction Film

Cloverfield (Paramount)

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (20^th Century Fox)

I Am Legend (Warner Bros.)

The Last Mimzy (New Line Cinema)

Sunshine (Fox Searchlight)

Transformers (DreamWorks SKG / Paramount)

Best Fantasy Film

Enchanted (Buena Vista)

The Golden Compass (New Line Cinema)

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Warner Bros.)

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (Buena Vista)

Spider-Man 3 (Sony)

Stardust (Paramount)

Best Horror Film

30 Days of Night (Sony)

1408 (The Weinstein Co.)

Ghost Rider (Sony)

Grindhouse (The Weinstein Co.)

The Mist (The Weinstein Co.)

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (DreamWorks SKG / Paramount)

Best Action / Adventure / Thriller Film

3:10 to Yuma (Lionsgate)

300 (Warner Bros.)

The Bourne Ultimatum (Universal)

Live Free or Die Hard (20^th Century Fox)

No Country for Old Men (Miramax)

There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage)

Zodiac (Paramount)

(Additional nominations continued)

Best Actor

Gerard Butler (“300”) (Warner Bros.)

John Cusack (“1408”) (The Weinstein Co.)

Daniel Day-Lewis (“There Will Be Blood”) (Paramount Vantage)

Johnny Depp (“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”) (DreamWorks SKG / Paramount)

Viggo Mortensen (“Eastern Promises”) (Focus Features)

Will Smith (“I Am Legend”) (Warner Bros.)

Best Actress

Amy Adams (“Enchanted”) (Buena Vista)

Ashley Judd (“Bug”) (Lionsgate)

Helena Bonham Carter (“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”) (DreamWorks SKG / Paramount)

Naomi Watts (“Eastern Promises”) (Focus Features)

Belen Rueda (“The Orphanage”) (Picturehouse)

Carice van Houten (“Black Book”) (Sony Pictures Classics)

Best Supporting Actor

Javier Bardem (“No Country for Old Men”) (Miramax)

Ben Foster (“3:10 to Yuma”) (Lionsgate)

James Franco (“Spider-Man 3”) (Sony)

Justin Long (“Live Free or Die Hard”) (20^th Century Fox)

Alan Rickman (“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”) (DreamWorks SKG / Paramount)

David Wenham (“300”) (Warner Bros.)

Best Supporting Actress

Lizzy Caplan (“Cloverfield”) (Paramount)

Marcia Gay Harden (“The Mist”) (The Weinstein Co.)

Lena Headey (“300”) (Warner Bros.)

Rose McGowan (“Grindhouse” – “Planet Terror”) (The Weinstein Co.)

Michelle Pfeiffer (“Stardust”) (Paramount)

Imelda Staunton (“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”) (Warner Bros.)

Best Performance by a Younger Actor

Alex Etel (“The Water Horse”) (Sony)

Freddie Highmore (“August Rush”) (Warner Bros.)

Josh Hutcherson (“Bridge to Terabithia”) (Buena Vista)

Daniel Radcliffe (“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”) (Warner Bros.)

Dakota Blue Richards (“The Golden Compass”) (New Line Cinema)

Rhiannon Leigh Wryn (“The Last Mimzy”) (New Line Cinema)

Best Direction

Tim Burton (“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”) (DreamWorks SKG / Paramount)

Frank Darabont (“The Mist”) (The Weinstein Co.)

Paul Greengrass (“The Bourne Ultimatum”) (Universal)

Sam Raimi (“Spider-Man 3”) (Sony)

Zack Snyder (“300”) (Warner Bros.)

David Yates (“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”) (Warner Bros.)

Best Writing

Roger Avary, Neil Gaiman (“Beowulf”) (Paramount)

Brad Bird (“Ratatouille”) (Buena Vista)

Joel Coen, Ethan Coen (“No Country for Old Men”) (Miramax)

Michael Goldenberg (“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”) (Warner Bros.)

Michael Gordon, Zack Snyder, Kurt Johnstad (“300”) (Warner Bros.)

John Logan (“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”) (DreamWorks SKG / Paramount)

Best International Film

Black Book (Sony Pictures Classics)

Day Watch (Fox Searchlight)

Eastern Promises (Focus Features)

Goya’s Ghosts (Samuel Goldwyn Films)

The Orphanage (Picturehouse)

Sleuth (Sony Pictures Classics)

Best Animated Film

Beowulf (Paramount)

Meet the Robinsons (Buena Vista)

Ratatouille (Buena Vista)

Shrek the Third (DreamWorks SKG / Paramount)

The Simpsons Movie (20^th Century Fox)

Surf’s Up (Sony)

TELEVISION NOMINATIONS

Best Network Television Series

Heroes (NBC)

Journeyman (NBC)

Lost (ABC)

Pushing Daisies (ABC)

Supernatural (CW)

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Fox)

Best Syndicated / Cable Television Series

Battlestar Galactica (Sci Fi Channel)

The Closer (TNT)

Dexter (Showtime)

Kyle XY (ABC Family)

Saving Grace (TNT)

Stargate SG-1 (Sci Fi Channel / MGM)

Best Presentation on Television

Battlestar Galactica: Razor (Sci Fi Channel)

The Company (TNT)

Fallen (ABC Family)

The Family Guy: “Blue Harvest” (Fox)

Masters of Science Fiction (ABC)

Shrek the Halls (ABC)

Tin Man (Sci Fi Channel)

Best International Series

Doctor Who (Sci Fi Channel)

Jekyll (BBC America)

Life On Mars (BBC America)

Meadowlands (aka Cape Wrath) (Showtime)

Robin Hood (BBC America)

Torchwood (BBC America)

Best Actor on Television

Matt Dallas (Kyle XY) (ABC Family)

Matthew Fox (Lost) (ABC)

Michael C. Hall (Dexter) (Showtime)

Kevin McKidd (Journeyman) (NBC)

Edward James Olmos (Battlestar Galactica) (Sci Fi Channel)

Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies) (ABC)

Best Actress on Television

Anna Friel (Pushing Daisies) (ABC)

Lena Headey (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) (Fox)

Jennifer Love Hewitt (Ghost Whisperer) (CBS)

Holly Hunter (Saving Grace) (TNT)

Evangeline Lily (Lost) (ABC)

Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer) (TNT)

Best Supporting Actor on Television

Michael Emerson (Lost) (ABC)

Greg Grunberg (Heroes) (NBC)

Josh Holloway (Lost) (ABC)

Erik King (Dexter) (Showtime)

Terry O’Quinn (Lost) (ABC)

Masi Oka (Heroes) (NBC)

Best Supporting Actress on Television

Jaime Alexander (Kyle XY) (ABC Family)

Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter) (Showtime)

Summer Glau (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) (Fox)

Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost) (ABC)

Jaime Murray (Dexter) (Showtime)

Hayden Panettiere (Heroes) (NBC)

ABOUT THE SPECIAL AWARD RECIPIENTS

Guillermo del Toro

(THE GEORGE PAL MEMORIAL AWARD)

Guillermo del Toro is one of the most talented and creative filmmakers working in contemporary film. His films have been widely recognized as genre classics. His recent film, PAN’S LABYRINTH, won several Academy awards in 2007. His upcoming film is HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY opening in July through Universal Pictures.

President of the Academy, Robert Holguin, says of del Toro: “Nobody embodies the full range artistry of classic filmmaker George Pal more than Guillermo del Toro”.

George Pal was the genius filmmaker who produced and/or directed such genre classics as “War of the Worlds” (1960), “When Worlds Collide” (1951), and “The Time Machine” (1960). He was also the creator of the three-dimensional cartoons, Puppetoons, in the 30’s. George Pal was a close friend of Academy founder Dr. Donald A. Reed, and long time supporter of the Saturn Awards until his passing in 1980.

Tim Lucas

(THE SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD)

One of the great achievements of 2007 was the publication of the book, Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark written by author Tim Lucas. This book interweaves biography, history and criticism of the life and work of Filmmaker Mario Bava. This massive project, which took many years of exhaustive research, is 1128 pages (nearly 800,000 words) and fully illustrated with well over 1000 stills and annotated poster art from all over the world. The book itself weighs 12 pounds. The book is a tribute to a filmmaker who was original and influential to many contemporary filmmakers including: Tim Burton, Joe Dante, Guillermo del Toro, and Martin Scorsese (who wrote the introduction). Bava’s films include: “Black Sunday” (1960), “Black Sabbath” (1963), “Planet of the Vampires” (1965), and “Danger: Diabolik” (1968).

Tim Lucas is publisher and editor of Video Watchdog. He has written other works which include Throat Sprockets and The Book of Renfield: A Gospel of Dracula.