Subscribe'The Dark Knight' tops Saturn Awards with five wins
"The Dark Knight" dominated the competition at the 35th annual Saturn Awards on Wednesday, winning five of its 11 nominations – best action/adventure/thriller, supporting actor for the late Heath Ledger, screenplay, score and special effects.
Helmer Christopher Nolan lost to "Iron Man" director Jon Favreau but shared in the screenplay win with his brother Jonathan Nolan. Three years ago, "Batman Begins" won three of its nine Saturn Awards races — fantasy film, lead actor (Christian Bale) and screenplay.
These kudos, which honor four movie genres, named "Iron Man" as sci-fi champ, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" as top fantasy flick and "Hellboy II" as best horror movie.
The acting races span all four genres. "Iron Man" star Robert Downey Jr. won his second best actor Saturn Award (his first was in 1993 for "Heart and Souls"). Angelina Jolie won best actress for her Oscar-nominated performance in "Changeling." And Tilda Swinton took supporting actress for "Benjamin Button."
The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror was founded in 1972 to honor often overlooked films. The organization has expanded its reach in recent years, adding TV awards in 1989 as well as that expanded category of action/adventure/thriller films in 1994 and DVD releases in 2003. An abbreviated list of film winners is below; visit the official website for the complete list of winners across all categories.
Best Science Fiction Film
"The Day the Earth Stood Still"
"Eagle Eye"
"The Incredible Hulk"
"Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"
X - "Iron Man"
"Jumper"
Best Fantasy Film
"The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian"
X - "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"Hancock"
"The Spiderwick Chronicles"
"Twilight"
"Wanted"
Best Horror Film
"The Happening"
X- "Hellboy II: The Golden Army"
"The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor"
"Quarantine"
"Splinter"
"The Strangers "
Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film
"Changeling"
X - "The Dark Knight"
"Gran Torino"
"Quantum of Solace"
"Traitor"
"Valkyrie"
Best Actor
Christian Bale, "The Dark Knight"
Tom Cruise, "Valkyrie"
X - Robert Downey Jr., "Iron Man"
Harrison Ford, "Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"
Brad Pitt, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Will Smith, "Hancock"
Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Maggie Gyllenhaal, "The Dark Knight"
X - Angelina Jolie, "Changeling"
Julianne Moore, "Blindness"
Emily Mortimer, "Transsiberian"
Gwyneth Paltrow, "Iron Man"
Best Supporting Actor
Jeff Bridges, "Iron Man"
Aaron Eckhart, "The Dark Knight"
Woody Harrelson, "Transsiberian"
Shia LaBeouf, "Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"
X - Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight"
Bill Nighy, "Valkyrie"
Best Supporting Actress
Joan Allen, "Death Race"
Judi Dench, "Quantum of Solace"
Olga Kurylenko, "Quantum of Solace"
X - Tilda Swinton, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Charlize Theron, "Hancock"
Carice van Houten, "Valkyrie"
Best Director
Clint Eastwood, "Changeling"
X - Jon Favreau, "Iron Man"
David Fincher , "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Christopher Nolan, "The Dark Knight"
Bryan Singer, "Valkyrie"
Steven Spielberg, "Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"
Andrew Stanton, "Wall-E"
'Transformers' gets panned but may still find Oscar gold
Oscars expand the best-picture race to 10 films
Heath Ledger's Oscar goes to Michelle Williams, not the Ledger clan
Photo: Warner Bros.
Get Gold Derby on Twitter. Join the Gold Derby Group at Facebook. Become friends with Tom O'Neil on Facebook. Get Gold Derby RSS feed via Facebook. RSS Feedburner. RSS Atom.
