‘Black Panther’ Tops 44th Saturn Awards With Five; ‘Blade Runner 2049’ , ‘Shape Of Water’, ‘Get Out’ Also Score

It may not be the Oscars, but if tonight’s results of the 44th Annual Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films is any indication of influence on that other Academy (which it usually isn’t) then get prepared for a Black Panther wave at the Dolby Theatre next February. After virtually sweeping last week’s MTV Movie Awards, Panther took five Saturns including Best Comic-to-Film Motion Picture and Best Director for Ryan Coogler. However the Panther himself lost to Luke Skywalker in the Best Actor contest where Mark Hamill took honors for Star Wars: The Last Jedi over favored Chadwick Boseman. Rian Johnson also picked up a Saturn for his Last Jedi screenplay. In fact, due to a diversity of categories , the awards were spread around with other Picture honors going to Blade Runner 2049 as Best Science Fiction Film, The Shape Of Water for Fantasy Film, Get Out for Horror Film , Coco for animated film , and Wonder for Independent Film. In the Best Action/Adventure category the winner was oddly the feel good musical, The Greatest Showman which is hardly my definition of what an Action/Adventure movie is , but then I don’t vote for these things. That other groundbreaking comic book movie , Wonder Woman was not completely swamped by Black Panther as an absent Gal Gadot took the Best Actress prize.

On the TV side The Orville, The Walking Dead, Better Call Saul, Outlander, Twin Peaks, The Flash, Star Trek Discovery, Star Wars Rebels, and Marvel’s The Punisher all came up winners in

their individual categories so you can’t complain about this particular awards show not spreading things out. The unquestioned highlight among the TV awards was the double win and appearance of David Lynch , not only for “Best Presentation On Television” for Twin Peaks, but also as Best Guest Star on Television in the series he resusitated for Showtime this year. The former award was accepted by Twin Peak actors Kimmy Robertson and Robert Forster without the help of Lynch who had just gone off stage after accepting his guest star Saturn and dedicating half of it to his late scene partner Miguel Ferrer. “I want to thank the Saturn Awards for accomodating me for of all things, acting. And I think it is highly unlikely this kind of thing is going to happen to me again, ” he laughed.

Special Achievement awards went to producer Jason Blum, CW’s DC Comics Arrowverse and Archie Comics TV Executive Producer Sarah Schecter (Dan Curtis Legacy Award), Child’s Play “Chucky” creator Don Mancini (Special Achievement Award) , and Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle director Jake Kasdan (Filmmaker’s Showcase Award). Guillermo Del Toro was given the Founders Award in addition to Fantasy Film for Shape Of Water but was not there to accept either in person , instead appearing on a pre-taped thank you where he declared that the Saturn Awards was “my favorite awards show”. For a genre geek like Del Toro , as well as so many others like him in the room , you would have to believe that was true.

Vince Gilligan , there for Better Call Saul , was saying at the reception this is also a favorite awards show of his, and this year marked at least his sixth time attending. Forster told me the same thing when I ran into him, as did Better Call Saul producer Mark Johnson who told me it was like no other. “This is the kind of show where you are likely to see the cast of Gilligans Island turn up as presenters,” he noted of the quirky geek nature of it all. As we stood talking both Rian Johnson and Ryan Coogler came by , with both sharing the news it was their first Saturns ever and looking forward to it. In accepting his Producers Showcase award , two time Academy Award nominee Blum (who also collected a Saturn for Get Out) compared it to another kudos show. “This is so much more fun than the Oscars. It is so much more relaxed. It’s awesome, ” he said before revealing his odd credentials as a modern horror meister by saying that as a kid he collected his own fingernails and kept them in a box. “Who would have ever thought that I could be in a room like this in front of all of you and talk about my fingernail collection, and that would actually kind of like help further my career?”

Hamill’s Best Actor win over a formidable field was another highlight and drew one of the night’s rare and raucous standing ovations (along with Lynch’s). “The first time I was nominated was in 1977 for Star Wars. I

called Harrison and said ‘Harrison, the Saturns! , we’re both nominated in the same category. I think we might cancel each other out unless we call the Academy and get them to put one of us in the supporting category – hint hint’- and there was a long pause and then I heard, ‘what the fuck is the Saturns’? As it turned out it didn’t matter. We were both beaten by George Burns in Oh God. And who doesn’t love George Burns?, ” he said adding he was always a monster model collector as a kid and never expected his own journey in this genre to have lasted as long as it has.

In my recent conversation with Black Panther producer Kevin Feige I pointed out that no comic book movie adaptation had ever been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. He agreed but pointed with pride to the fact that he has a ton of Saturn Awards in his office (and now he has yet another one) . Although as I said the Saturns (and MTV Movie Awards) aren’t bellwethers in this regard I do think this is the year the Oscars will finally change that statistic and nominate Black Panther in Best Picture as it became much more than a comic book movie, and turned instead into a cultural milestone. Expect this award , predictable as it was, to be the latest of many in the next nine months where history could be made.

Here is a complete list of all the winners:

FILM AWARDS

Best Science Fiction Film: Blade Runner 2049

Best Comic-to-Film Motion Picture: Black Panther

Best Fantasy Film: The Shape of Water

Best Horror Film: Get Out

Best Action/Adventure Film: The Greatest Showman

Best Thriller Film: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best International Film: Baahubali 2: The Conclusion

Best Animated Film: Coco

Best Independent Film: Wonder

Best Actor: Mark Hamill (Star Wars: The Last Jedi)

Best Actress: Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman)

Best Supporting Actor: Patrick Stewart (Logan)

Best Supporting Actress: Danai Gurira (Black Panther)

Best Performance by a Younger Actor: Tom Holland (Spider-Man: Homecoming)

Best Director: Ryan Coogler (Black Panther)

Best Writing: Rian Johnson (Star Wars: The Last Jedi)

Best Production Design: Hannah Beachler (Black Panther)

Best Editing: Bob Ducsay (Star Wars: The Last Jedi)

Best Music: Michael Giacchino (Coco)

Best Costume: Jacqueline Durran (Beauty and the Beast)

Best Make-Up: Joel Harlow, Ken Diaz (Black Panther)

Best Special Effects: Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Jonathan Fawkner, Dan Sudick
(Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2)

TELEVISION AWARDS

Best Science Fiction TV Series: The Orville

Best Horror TV Series: The Walking Dead

Best Action/Thriller TV Series: Better Call Saul

Best Fantasy TV Series: Outlander

Best Presentation on Television: Twin Peaks

Best Animated TV Series: Star Wars Rebels

Best Superhero Adaptation Television Series: The Flash

Best New Media TV Series: Star Trek: Discovery

Best New Media Superhero Series: Marvel’s The Punisher

Best Actor on Television: Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks)

Best Actress on Television: Sonequa Martin-Green (Star Trek: Discovery)

Best Supporting Actor on Television: Michael McKean (Better Call Saul)

Best Supporting Actress on Television: Rhea Seehorn (Better Call Saul)

Best Younger TV Actor: Chandler Riggs (The Walking Dead)

Best Guest Star on Television: David Lynch (Twin Peaks)

HOME ENTERTAINMENT AWARDS

Best DVD/BD Release: Dave Made a Maze

Best DVD/BD Classic Film Release: Lifeboat

Best DVD/BD Collection Release: Dracula Complete Legacy Collection

Best DVD/BD Television Series Release: American Gods (Season 1)

Best DVD/BD Special Edition: Night of the Living Dead (Criterion Collection)

Best Local Stage Production: Something Rotten

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS FROM THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE FICTION,
FANTASY & HORROR FILMS

The Producers Showcase Award: Jason Blum

The Dan Curtis Legacy Award: Sarah Schechter

The Special Achievement Award: Don Mancini (“Chucky”)

The Filmmakers Showcase Award: Jake Kasdan

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