Franchise fever continues to dominate the Saturn Awards
Saturday, December 7, 2024 at 7:00PM
NATHANIEL R in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Deadpool, Dune: Part Two, Godzilla Minus One, Horror, Nicolas Cage, Poor Things, Saturn Awards, sci-fi fantasy horror

By Nathaniel R

BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE © Warner Bros

The 52nd annual Saturn Awards are taking place this year on February 2nd and voting is happening right now (until the 15th). Dune Part Two (14 nominations) and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (13 noms) are in the lead this time around while Deadpool & Wolverine is lagging a bit behind in third with 10 noms. Those aren't the only franchises in play and we'll discuss how long some of these franchises that are up for prizes have been running (once since the 1950s!)...

Like the Spirit Awards, which also announced their nominations this week, you can vote for the winners if you're willing to fork out the membership fees! The Saturn Awards have historically been a mix of two separate years since they tended to not use the full calendar year. Given that their nominations are now in early December, you'd think they could wait just two more month and go full calendar year to make it less confusing! The Saturn ceremony will be streamed for the first time on the Roku channel in 2025. 

Okay lots to discuss about genre films and franchises and actors in the same after the jump.

It is not strictly the case that the Saturn Awards nominate everything that's eligible but given that they have 5 separate categories for Best Film and STILL feel the need to have 6 to 7 nominees in each division (Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror, Thriller, Action/Adventure) -- for a total of 31 Best Film nominees -- it often feels that way.  They're more restrictive about the acting categories, because the acting categories are not divvied up by genre the way the "Best Films" are, so anyone in any of those five genres, is eligible in the same category. Because I like to waste time (argh) I tried briefly perusing the internet,  to see if I could find examples of things they did NOT nominate for a little context...

 DUNE PART TWO © Warner Bros

BEST SCIENCE FICTION FILM:  

 In the TV awards they have a separate category for superhero things but in the film categories, for some reason, they put them wherever so they might be in sci-fi or action/adventure or fantasy. It's a surprise each time. So Venom is placed here and Deadpool elsewhere. 

Films they skipped: Rebel Moon Part Two, Borderlands, The Fix, Atlas

 

POOR THINGS © Searchlight 

BEST FANTASY FILM:

Poor Things and Wonka are late 2023 releases of course and Poor Things towers over the competition qualitatively speaking. Not that quality means that much in awards shows. It has a role but it is often not anywhere close to the top factor. 

Films they skipped: Damsel, Harold and the Purple Crayon, and we'll assume Wicked - Part 1 wasn't eligible given its November release but maybe for the 53rd the Saturns should finally embrace the calendar year (with a few stragglers from 2024) and get  Wicked - Part 2  in there as well? 

 

BEST HORROR FILM:

 Best Horror Film is the most crowded "Best Film" category with seven instead of six nominees. But the horror genre remains so profitable given its generally lower budgets and a faithful audience to pay for them that there are far more than six released each year so they have a lot to choose from. 

While we can easily complain about the Saturn taste level in terms of nominations year after year (with so many nominees they're bound to include stinkers in each category) they are on a strong streak with this category. While they sadly pass over the 'elevated horror' title that critics often justifiably go crazy for (As crazy as it sounds Hereditary, It Follows, The Babadook, Train to Busan, and The VVitch all lost in their years)  in favor of a big (or blockbuster) hit, the general quality of the winners is at least high. The winners since since 2015 are Crimson Peak, Don't Breathe, Get Out, A Quiet Place, The Invisible Man, The Black Phone, and Talk To Me. 

Films they skipped: Azrael, Blackwater Lane, Camp Pleasant Lake, and many many slashers and cheapies. They nominated most of '24's most high profile or most acclaimed titles though they skipped a famous one from late 2023 Five Nights at Freddys.  

 

BEST ACTION/ADVENTURE FILM:

 I wasn't aware that anyone liked Argylle! It's amusing to see Fly Me to the Moon (which I am a fan of) nominated for "Action" since it is basically a rom-com with a NASA setting mixed with a little heist film structure (not a heist but a hoax, but you get the drift). The only 'action' is waiting for Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum to kiss. It's worth the wait obviously; they both remain wonderful MOVIE STARS and we need more of those! 

This is such a vaguely defined genre so who knows what was eligible?! 

BEST THRILLER FILM:

The line between Thriller and Horror is sometimes unclear and sometimes obvious.  I thought Wolfs was a comedy? Once it failed to generate critical excitement or awards buzz i tuned out. It's always so hard to keep up this time of year so you have to cut some titles from the watch list.  

BEST INDEPENDENT FILM:

Thelma nominated at the Saturn Awards is hilarious to me. It's only "genre" is comedy. I should write about the western thriller The Thicket which I feel like nobody has seen and which is surprisingly good. Dream Scenario is the only title from 2023 to make the list and this is not it's only nomination. 

 

MONKEY MAN © Universal Pictures

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM:

I was hoping to love Monkey Man (rooting for Dev Patel) but alas I did not. Have any of you seen it?

Films they skipped: It's so hard to say. There were surely at least a hundred genre-leaning titles from all the movie industries abroad.  

BEST ANIMATED FILM:

The Saturn Awards are hopelessly mainstream. With the exception of last year's Oscar winner and Spy x Family Code: White, both from Japan, these titles are all eligible for Best Animated Feature at the forthcoming Oscars. The Oscar race is surely shaping up to Wild Robot vs Inside Out. But Latvia's Flow (which just opened and therefore probably wasn't eligible for the Saturn Awards) deserves the gold --and quite easily at that -- from the film's I've screened thus far. Sorry adorable robots and neurotic emotions but that black cat and his assorted animal friends are the "should wins" this year. As a reminder here is this year's Animated Feature eligibility list. 

 

BEST ACTOR IN A FILM:

Seven nominees with three nominated again for reprisals of popular charaters.  Ryan Reynolds won this category for the original Deadpool (2016) but Timothée Chalamet lost to Tom Cruise for Top Gun Maverick (2022) for his first time with the sandy warfare of Dune (2021). Finally Michael Keaton lost to Robert Loggia for Big (1988) in Supporting Actor for the first conjuring of his 'ghost with the most', Beetlejuice.

Nicolas Cage's has been up for for three previous Saturn Awards. He won just last year in Supporting Actor for his inspired Dracula performance in the underrated Renfield (2023) and he has been in the Best Actor twice before with  Face/Off (1997) ...losing to Pierce Brosnan's Bond in Tomorrow Never Dies, and for  Mandy (2018) ...losing to Saturn favorite Robert Downey Jr in Avengers Endgame

No actor here will be happier about his nomination here than genre loyalist David Dastmalchian, who you know we've been cheering for since 2008. We're so pleased that he now pops up in everything. 

BEST ACTRESS IN A FILM:

Despite the Saturns having so many acting nominations from mostly-only genre films, Winona wasn't actually a nominee for her first crack at Lydia Deetz in Beetlejuice (1988). But there are a three returning Saturn nominees here (just not for reprising a role they've already done): 

-Lupita Nyong'o for both Black Panther (2018) ... lost to Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman and  Us (2019)... lost to Jamie Lee Curtis doing her 27th Halloween movie 
-Winona Ryder for Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) ... ost to Virginia Madsen in the original Candyman
-Anya Taylor-Joy for The Menu (2023)... lost to Robbie's Barbie

SNUBS: Poor Things (2023) was eligible this year at the Saturns so yes they've essentially snubbed Emma Stone's Oscar winning work which is.... questionable given the lineup they come up. The other major performance (in terms of acclaim) that they obviously watched since the film is nominated but skipped was Mia Goth in MaXXXine. 

I'm giggling that June Squibb (who is great fun as Thelma) is in the mix. Was there a time-travel or mutant manifestation or superpower subplot somewhere in that grandma comedy that I missed? There was a lot going on but we don't remember that.  

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A FILM:

Why did no one tell me that Barbara Hershey is in Strange Darling?

For the record Juliette Lewis is incredible in The Thicket. Strangely it's only her second Saturn nomination (the first was for From Dusk til Dawn in the 1990s)  despite regularly exciting work in genre-leaning films and television. How was she passed over for Natural Born Killers AND Cape Fear AND Yellowjackets AND Kalifornia AND Strange Days at the Saturns? 

I do not want to talk about Cailee Spaeny being nominated for supporting, because... what? That's like saying that Sigourney Weaver isn't the lead in any of her Alien films. 

LONGLEGS © NEON

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A FILM:

To nominate FIVE actors from Dune Part Two and not include Javier Bardem who is best in show for that particular installment is... puzzling. Initially I thought Austin Butler was best in show but had a come to jesus with myself with the reminder of how often Glenn Close's Oscar nomination for The Natural has been ridiculed. Acting awards are supposed to be about performances, not how well performers are lit, nay, worshipped by their DPs.  Not that Butler doesn't make a wonderful Feyd Rautha (he does!) but the costumes, lighting, editing, scoring, and framing are doing a lot of the work to make him a memorable villain. 

With Nicolas Cage's double nomination this year his Saturn tally is now at 6 nominations! To put it into perspective the most nominated male actors of all time at the Saturns are...

 

SATURN'S ALL TIME FAVOURITE MALE MOVIE* ACTORS
🔺= moving up the chart due to another nomination (or two) this year

* the nominations and wins here include their television work if they've done work there, too. If you included people who've only been nominated in the TV section of the awards this list changes a lot (since the person can be nominated repeatedly playing the same character even more than movie actors in franchises could ever be -- for instance Richard Dean Anderson and Michael C Hall both have 8 nominations and 1 win for Stargate and Dexter, respectively, which would put them above Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mark Hamill if you shoved them in here.

  1. Tom Cruise (12/2)
  2. Harrison Ford (10/3) + lifetime achievement
  3. Robert Downey Jr (8/4) 
  4. Arnold Schwarzenegger (7/0) + lifetime achievement
  5. 🔺 Mark Hamill (6/3) - all wins as Luke Skywalker
  6. Jeff Bridges (6/2)
    Robin Williams (6/2)
  7. William Shatner (6/1) + lifetime achievement
  8. 🔺Nicolas Cage (6/1)
    Will Smith (6/1)
  9. Christian Bale (5/1)
    Hugh Jackman (5/1)
  10. Johnny Depp (5/0)
    Viggo Mortensen (5/0)
    Christopher Reeve (5/0)
    Chris Evans (5/0)
  11. Sir Ian McKellen (4/2)
    Andy Serkis (4/2)
  12. Pierce Brosnan (4/1)
  13. Alan Rickman (4/0)
    Bruce Willis (4/0)

 

BEST YOUNGER PERFORMER IN A FILM:

What is the cutoff for "younger" -- Jenna Ortega and Rachel Zegler are 22 and 23 respectively. Were Cailee Spaeny and Zendaya/Anya Taylor-Joy too old for this category (nominated in the main categories) since they're in their mid or late 20s, respectively? In other words shouldn't you be ineligible for "young" categories once you're an adult so it's not so arbitrary? 

BEST FILM DIRECTION:

This is Tim Burton's 6th nomination but he has yet to win. The other returning nominee is Denis Villenuve who was previously nominated twice (Arrival, Blade Runner 2049) but weirdly not for Dune Part One! 

Finally, it's nice to see Yamazaki included here since the Saturn Awards tend to be very focused on mainstream American movies. 

BEST FILM SCREENWRITING:

 

GODZILLA MINUS ONE © Toho Co., Ltd 

BEST VISUAL/SPECIAL EFFECTS:

Lots of returning franchises so let's take them in chronology of when the franchises first began....

1950s: Godzilla films began before the Saturn Awards existed (there have been 33 Japanese Godzilla films and 5 American Godzilla films). This is the first Japanese Godzilla film to receive Saturn love in this category.  American films Godzilla (1998), Godzilla King of Monsters (2019) and Godzilla Vs Kong (2021, which won) were all nominated in this category. Strangely the excellent and beautifully visualized Godzilla (2014) was not nominated for effects (though it had other Saturn nominations) and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024) wasn't either but the latter makes more sense given the presence of that infinitely superior in every way known to man (or Kaiju) Godzilla picture direct from Japan. 
1960s: Planet of the Apes (which is now at film #10) also began before the Saturn Awards existed but just barely. The Saturns did a soft launch the year of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972, film #4) and got some competitive categories in year 2 when Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973, flim #5) arrived. But then the franchise went into hibernation until the Aughts. 
1970s: Aliens (which is at film #9 now, or #7 if you discount the Predator team-ups). Romulus is the first Alien film without Sigourney  (there were four with Lt Ellen Ripley) to be nominated for visual effects.  Alien (1979), Alien3 (1992), Alien Resurrection (1997), were all nominated in this category though Aliens (1986) is the only time the franchise won. 
1980s: Beetlejuice The original in 1988 was popular with Saturn voters but not in this category
1990s: Twisters The original Twister (1996) was nominated ... losing to Independence Day
2000s: Deadpool This is the first time any film with Deadpool in it (there have been four now) has been nominated for vfx

 

BEST FILM MUSIC

Danny Elfman is second only to John Williams in popularity of composers at the Saturn Awards. This is his 17th nomination and he's won 7 times already: The Nightmare Before Christmas, Mars Attacks!, Men in Black, Sleepy Hollow, Spider-Man, Frankenweenie, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse in Madness.

 

BEST FILM PRODUCTION DESIGN:

Are Patrice Vermette and Danny Vermette related? We don't actually know and can't find the info online. 

 

BEST FILM MAKE-UP:

 

BEST FILM EDITING:

 

BEST FILM COSTUME:

 

 

TELEVISION CATEGORIES

 

BEST SCIENCE FICTION TELEVISION SERIES:

Star Trek Discovery is the only returning nominee having had 2 previous nominations and and a win in this category for seasons 3 (win) and 4. Star Trek programs have  won this prize for the past two consecutive years but for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek: Picard neither of which are the Star Trek series nominated this year. So many Star Trek series! So many many many.

 

BEST FANTASY TELEVISION SERIES:

House of Dragons and the Rings of Power, both nominated for their second seasons lost on their first go round to another first season insta-hit, Wednesday on Netflix. For all Mankind won for its first season but wasn't nominated for seasons 2 or 3. 

 

BEST HORROR TELEVISION SERIES: 

Evil, Creepshow, and Interview with the Vampire are all returning nominees but none have won the category.  

 

BEST ACTION/THRILLER TELEVISION SERIES:

Bosch and Cobra Kai both on their second nominations were nominated against each other two years back. They lost to The Boys which the Saturns passed on for its newest season this time around... but maybe that's because it's now moved over into superhero television (below).  

 

BEST ADVENTURE TELEVISION SERIES:

 

BEST SUPERHERO TELEVISION SERIES:

Superman & Lois won last year. The Boys has won before. 

 

BEST TELEVISION PRESENTATION: 

This confusing category used to be for limited events and tv movies and then was renamed "Streaming Limited Event Television Series" and now it's been renamed again (and limited series are apparently now eligible in other categories given the nominations but are still showing up here -- So confusing! And for what purpose? There are plenty of other categories these shows could fit into! 

 

BEST GENRE COMEDY TELEVISION SERIES *NEW CATEGORY*

 

This is a new category apparently replacing "Best New Genre TV Series" which was exclusively for first seasons. This category makes a lot more sense!



BEST ANIMATED TELEVISION SERIES

Star Wars: The Bad Batch won this category last year. The only other returning nominee is Star Trek: Lower Decks

 

BEST ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES:

Harold Perrineau is the only actor returning from last year's lineup in this category. But of course Andrew Lincoln has been nominated many times (7 in point of fact) for playing "Rick Grimes" on the original Walking Dead series, winning twice, and Norman Reedus has 5 nominations now for playing "Daryl Dixon.

 

BEST ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES:

Emma D'Arcy is the only actor returning from last year's lineup. Danai Gurira has won twice previously for playing "Michonne" albeit on the original Walking Dead series. Speaking of that undead (in both senses) franchise: Melissa McBridge's returns for her 8th Saturn nomination playing "Carol" though she's yet to win. 

This is Jodie Foster's 6th Saturn nomination. Her five previous nominations were all in Best Actress and she won twice (The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane and Contact). Yes, that's right she lost for Silence of the Lambs  but at least  she lost to someone who deserved recognition but wouldn't get it from other awards avenues: Linda Hamilton upping her game in an extraordinary character-evolution way in Terminator 2: Judgment Day

 

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES:

Matt Smith is the only actor returning from last year's nominee list. 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES:

Nice to see Rebecca Wisocky nominated again (the only returning nominee from last year in this category). She is easily best-in-show every season of Ghosts. 

 

BEST GUEST STAR IN A TELEVISION SERIES:

 

 

BEST YOUNGER PERFORMER IN A TELEVISION SERIES:

 

 

HOME VIDEO CATEGORIES

It's somehow comforting to know that there are still awards given for physical media releases. We believe in them (for preservation purposes -- things can just vanish from streaming or rights battles can make things disappear) even if we struggle to remember the last time we actually went out and bought one.

Best 4K Home Meda Release:

 

 

 

Best Film Home Media Release Collection:

 

 

 

Best Classic Film Home Media Release:

 

 

 

Best Television Home Media Release:

 

 

 

Article originally appeared on The Film Experience (http://thefilmexperience.net/).
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