Saturn Awards ’09 Winners
Out of This World Saturn Awards Honor Best Genre

At the 35th annual Saturn Awards ceremony, a well deserved Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Leonard Nimoy for his five decades in film and TV. The Star Trek icon delighted the crowd of industry giants and fans by ending his heartfelt acceptance speech by saying “Live long and prosper,” and giving his signatory split-finger hand gesture.

Director J.J. Abrams, director of this year’s blockbuster reincarnation of the Star Trek film franchise made the presentation, and backstage he talked about hoping to work with Nimoy on future projects, including Abrams’ Fox series Fringe.

We loved the quote from Nimoy regarding his feelings about “putting on the ears again” to play Spock. Nimoy said that character “is definitely one of my best friends. When I put on those ears, it’s not like just another day. When I become Spock, that day becomes something special.”

In the television category, Battlestar Galactica was the most decorated series with three Saturn Awards. It won for best syndicated cable series; best actress on TV, Mary McDonnell; and best actor, Edward James Olmos. The best network series honors went to Lost.

The genre-loving awards show, hosted by the acid-tongue comic Jeffrey Ross, was presented by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, with Robert Holguin executive producer, and Mark Altman, co-president of the Saturn Awards. 

Other highlights at the ceremony were the Life Career Award to actor Lance Henriksen for his work in film and television.

The inaugural Visionary Award was bestowed on Jeffrey Katzenberg, of DreamWorks Studios, for his efforts in advancing 3D productions, such as his Mosters vs. Aliens. He is also credited with reviving film animation for a new generation, according to prolific film and TV producer Jerry Bruckheimer who presented the award to Katzenberg. Bruckheimer’s upcoming G-Force is in 3D, thanks to Katzenberg’s influence.

The Dark Knight, a Warner Bros. release, won for best action/thriller film; best writing; best supporting actor, Heath Ledger; best music and best special effects.

Best horror film was Hellboy II: The Golden Army, while best fantasy film was The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, with Iron Man getting best science fiction feature. Wall-E got best animated film.

The Librarian: The Curse of the Judas Chalice won for best presentation on TV, director Dean Devlin was there to praise the project and his star Noah Wyle. Adrian Pasdar was on hand to pick up his trophy for his work on Heroes. And Dexter won a couple awards for actor Jimmy Smits and Jennifer Carpenter.

Individual honors went to Jaden Christopher Smith for best performance by a younger actor in The Day the Earth Stood Still; Angelina Jolie for Changeling, Tilda Swinton for Benjamin Button; and director Jon Favreau for Iron Man, plus the Iron Man himself Robert Downey Jr., who taped a delightfully snarky acceptance speech from the set of the sequel currently being filmed.

In all, there were 34 categories for film, television and DVD.

Winners in the all-important DVD category included Psycho; Stephen King’s The Mist; Monster Slayer; Moolight; The Invaders and The Godfather: Coppolla Restoration.

Looking towards the future, Academy president Robert Holguin revealed that the organization is reviving the Golden Scroll Award, honoring excellence in entertainment. This was the first award, created years ago, and will honor stage productions, film preservation, film/TV educators, independent films, quality film releases, and foreign films. All part of putting fan-favorites in the spotlight.