Last year we brought you the word when the Saturn Award nominations were announced, so it only makes sense that I'd do it again this year. I'm consistent that way. For those who are unfamiliar, The 34th Annual Saturn Awards are handed out by the "Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, a non-profit organization devoted to honoring, recognizing and promoting genre entertainment." Sounds good to me! Not that I agree with all of their "best of" picks, but I do love it when an organization takes genre flicks seriously. So let's see what the Genre Academy liked the best...

Best Science Fiction Film

Cloverfield
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
I Am Legend
The Last Mimzy
Sunshine
Transformers

(OK, so they nominated Transformers for best science fiction film of the year; count how many additional nominations it received.)

Best Fantasy Film

Enchanted
The Golden Compass
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Spider-Man 3
Stardust

(Pretty loose interpretation of the word "fantasy," if you ask me.)
Best Horror Film

30 Days of Night
1408
Ghost Rider
Grindhouse
The Mist
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

(Dude. Ghost Rider? A bunch of genre experts are calling Ghost Rider ... a horror movie. Ahem.)

Best Action / Adventure / Thriller Film

3:10 to Yuma
300
The Bourne Ultimatum
Live Free or Die Hard
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood
Zodiac

(So basically: Anything not a comedy.)



Best Actor

Gerard Butler -- 300
John Cusack -- 1408
Daniel Day-Lewis -- There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp -- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Viggo Mortensen -- Eastern Promises
Will Smith -- I Am Legend

(One of these nominations will make our newest writer verrrrry happy.)

Best Actress

Amy Adams -- Enchanted
Helena Bonham Carter -- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Carice van Houten -- Black Book
Ashley Judd -- Bug
Belen Rueda -- The Orphanage
Naomi Watts -- Eastern Promises

(Belen Rueda should have been nominated for an Oscar.)

Best Supporting Actor

Javier Bardem -- No Country for Old Men
Ben Foster -- 3:10 to Yuma
James Franco -- Spider-Man 3
Justin Long -- Live Free or Die Hard
Alan Rickman -- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
David Wenham -- 300

(Wenham? That's a strange pick. Not as strange as Franco though.)

Best Supporting Actress

Lizzy Caplan -- Cloverfield
Marcia Gay Harden -- The Mist
Lena Headey -- 300
Rose McGowan -- Grindhouse: Planet Terror
Michelle Pfeiffer -- Stardust
Imelda Staunton -- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

(Give it to gun-leg!)

Best Performance by a Younger Actor

Alex Etel -- The Water Horse
Freddie Highmore -- August Rush
Josh Hutcherson -- Bridge to Terabithia
Daniel Radcliffe -- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Dakota Blue Richards -- The Golden Compass
Rhiannon Leigh Wryn -- The Last Mimzy

(Solid picks. I vote for Ms. Richards.)

Best Direction

Tim Burton -- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Frank Darabont -- The Mist
Paul Greengrass -- The Bourne Ultimatum
Sam Raimi -- Spider-Man 3
Zack Snyder -- 300
David Yates -- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

(More good picks. Tough choice, but why not throw Darabont some love?)

Best Writing

Roger Avary & Neil Gaiman -- Beowulf
Brad Bird -- Ratatouille
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen -- No Country for Old Men
Michael Goldenberg -- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Michael Gordon, Zack Snyder & Kurt Johnstad -- 300
John Logan -- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

(Now, I dig 300 as much as any rabid action fan ... but best writing? Nah.)

Best Music

Tyler Bates -- 300
Jonny Greenwood -- There Will Be Blood
Nicholas Hooper -- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Mark Mancina -- August Rush
Alan Menken -- Enchanted
John Powell -- The Bourne Ultimatum

(Now there are a bunch of movies that I never expected to see nominated in the same category. Anywhere.)

Best Costumes

Colleen Atwood -- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Ruth Myers -- The Golden Compass
Penny Rose -- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Sammy Sheldon -- Stardust
Jany Temime -- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Michael Wilkinson -- 300

(Meh. They're all good.)

Best Make-Up

Howard Berger, Greg Nicotero & Jake Garber -- Grindhouse: Planet Terror
Nick Dudman & Amanda Knight -- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Davina Lamont -- 30 Days of Night
Ve Neill & Martin Samuel -- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Peter Owen & Ivana Primorac -- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Shaun Smith & Mark Rappaport -- 300

(Those frozen vampires sure were sloppy.)

Best Special Effects

Tim Burke, John Richardson, Paul Franklin & Greg Butler -- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl & John Frazier -- Transformers
Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris & Trevor Wood -- The Golden Compass
John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson & John Frazier -- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Scott Stokdyk, Peter Nofz, Spencer Cook & John R. Frazier -- Spider-Man 3
Chris Watts, Grant Freckelton, Derek Wentworth & Daniel Leduc -- 300

(Here it is: Transformers' second nomination ... after Best Science Fiction Film of the Year.)

Best International Film

Black Book
Day Watch
Eastern Promises
Goya's Ghosts
The Orphanage
Sleuth

(Sleuth? Really? You couldn't track down one small horror import?)

Best Animated Film

Beowulf
Meet the Robinsons
Ratatouille
Shrek the Third
The Simpsons Movie
Surf's Up

(None of the voters could be bothered to check out Persepolis?)

Click right here for the television nominations. I'm picking back up with the DVD noms:

Best DVD Release

Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (remix)
Driftwood
The Man From Earth
The Nines
White Noise 2

(OK, here's where I call foul: Behind the Mask and The Nines, both very fine films, were theatrical releases. And White Noise 2 (ha) was released theatrically all over the place besides America. If the category here is "best straight-to-video release," the Saturnites need to do a little extra homework.)

Best Special Edition DVD Release

Big (Extended Edition)
Blade Runner (5-Disc Ultimate Collector's Edition)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (30th Anniversary --Blu Ray)
Death Proof (Grindhouse Presentation: Extended & Unrated)
Pan's Labyrinth (Platinum Series)
Troy: Director's Cut (Ultimate Collector's Edition)

(More nitpicks: Death Proof over Planet Terror? Really? And that CE3K re-issue is essentially the same as the last one, which hardly makes it one of the best DVD releases of the year. If anyone cared to read 'em, I could come up with a dozen better nominees for the last two categories. But they don't, so let's move on.)

(But none of that really matters: That Blade Runner set is the winner, hands-down.)

Best Classic Film DVD Release

Alligator
The Dark Crystal
Face/Off
Flash Gordon
The Monster Squad
Witchfinder General

(Very nice! Someone remembered the Alligator DVD! Seriously, that makes me happy. But while the other nominations make perfect sense, I must argue the inclusion of Flash Gordon. You won't find a bigger fan of the flick than yours truly, and Universal's recent release was anything but "special.")

Best Collection on DVD

The Godzilla Collection
The Mario Bava Collection (Vol. 1 & 2)
The Sergio Leone Anthology
The Sonny Chiba Collection
Stanley Kubrick (Warner Home Video Directors Series)
Vincent Price (MGM Scream Legends Collection)

(Kubrick!)

The George Pal Memorial Award -- Guillermo del Toro
Special Achivement Award -- Tim Lucas

The prizes will be handed out on June 24. For more on the Saturn Awards, check out their website right here.