The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films belonging to genre fiction, as well as television and home media releases. The Saturn Awards were created in 1973 and were originally referred to as Golden Scrolls.
History
The Saturn Awards were devised by Donald A. Reed in 1972, who felt that work in films in the genre of science fiction at that time lacked recognition within the established Hollywood film industry's award system.About the founder: Dr. Donald A. Reed (1935–2001) Initially, the award given was a Golden Scroll certificate.Fxperts - Saturn Award history Retrieved September 25, 2019. In the late 1970s, the award was revamped to a representation of the planet Saturn, with its ring(s) composed of a film reel.
The Saturn Awards are voted upon by members of the presenting Academy. The Academy is a non-profit organization with membership open to the public. Its president and executive producer is Robert Holguin, and producer/writers Bradley Marcus and Kevin Marcus.Membership and / or Donation information Its members include filmmakers J. J. Abrams, Bryan Singer, Steven Spielberg, Bryan Fuller, Mark A. Altman, Vince Gilligan and James Cameron, among others.
Although the Awards still primarily focus on films and television in the science fiction, fantasy and horror categories, the Saturns have also recognized productions in other dramatic genres. There are also special awards for lifetime achievement in film production.
For the first televised Science Fiction Film Awards in 1978 (as it was called at the time), the production team needed a physical golden award statue to present the winners. Prior to 1978, there was no award statue. The unique statue, with film tape circling Saturn, was created by 19 year old Robert John Wold, the son of Robert Norman Wold, who founded The Robert Wold Company and Wold Communications, located in Los Angeles. The Robert Wold Company was responsible for the televised broadcast of the 1978 Science Fiction Film Awards show, which was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Karen Black was a hostess, and William Shatner performed Bernie Taupin's Rocket Man, while seated at a stool on stage smoking a cigarette.
Following the 46th ceremony held in 2021, the decision to rebrand what would have been the 47th as the "50th Saturn Awards" was made in order to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Saturn Awards, which were founded in 1973. Subsequent ceremonies have continued with the new numbering. The television categories were majorly overhauled at the 50th ceremony, with several categories being split to recognise both network/cable and streaming series. These changes were reverted at the following ceremony, however. In 2023, the nominations announcement and awards process for the 51st Saturn Awards was postponed by several months in solidarity with the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes.
Award categories
Film
Television
Home media Best Classic Film Home Media Release (since 2001) Best Television Home Media Release (since 2002) Best Film Home Media Collection Release (since 2003) Best 4K Home Media Release (since 2021)
Special awards The George Pal Memorial Award The Life Career Award The President's Memorial Award Special Recognition Award Breakthrough Performance Award
Discontinued awards
Best Low-Budget Film (1980–1982) Best Comic-to-Movie Film (2013–2024) Best Network Television Series (1988–2014) Best Streaming Science Fiction, Action & Fantasy Series (2019) Best Streaming Superhero Series (2017–2018) Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series (1996–2014) Best International Series (2007) Best Youth-Oriented Television Series (2011–2014) Best New Media Television Series (2015–2017) Best Streaming Limited Event Television Series (2022) Best Streaming Action/Adventure Television Series (2022) Best Streaming Fantasy Television Series (2022) Best Streaming Horror & Thriller Series (2018, 2022) Best Streaming Science Fiction Television Series (2022) Best Actor in a Streaming Television Series (2018, 2022) Best Actress in a Streaming Television Series (2018, 2022) Best Supporting Actor in a Streaming Television Series (2022) Best Supporting Actress in a Streaming Television Series (2022) Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Streaming Television Series (2022) Best Guest-Starring Performance in a Streaming Television Series (2022) Best DVD or Blu-ray Release (2001–2018) Best DVD or Blu-ray Special Edition Release (2001–2018) Best Home Video Release (1991–2000) Best Live Stage Production (2016–2021)
Records
SuperlativeRecord-holderRecord setYearNotes Most awards for a person James Cameron 10 awards 2022/23 Awards resulted from 15 nominations John Williams 10 awards Awards resulted from 23 nominations Most nominations for a person 23 nominations Nominations resulted in 10 wins Most awards for a film Avatar 10 awards 2009 Awards resulted from 10 nominations Most nominations for a film Star Wars: The Force Awakens 15 nominations 2015 Nominations resulted in 8 wins Most awards for a TV seriesThe Walking Dead 24 awards2021/22 Awards resulted from 62 nominations Most nominations for a TV series 62 nominations Nominations resulted in 24 winsMost awards for acting Anna Torv4 awards 2012 Awards resulted from 5 nominations Robert Downey Jr. 2018/19 Awards resulted from 8 nominations Caitríona Balfe 2022/23 Awards resulted from 8 nominations Patrick Stewart 2022/23 Awards resulted from 7 nominations Mark Hamill 2023/24 Awards resulted from 6 nominations Most nominations for acting Tom Cruise 12 nominations 2021/22 Nominations resulted in 2 wins Most awards for directing James Cameron 6 awards 2022/23 Awards resulted from 7 nominations Most nominations for directing Steven Spielberg 14 nominations 2021/22 Nominations resulted in 4 winsMost awards for writing Christopher Nolan4 awards 2014 Awards resulted from 6 nominations James Cameron 2022/23 Awards resulted from 7 nominationsMost nominations for writing Peter Jackson7 nominations 2014 Nominations resulted in 1 win Fran Walsh 2014 Nominations resulted in 1 win Quentin Tarantino 2019/20 Nominations resulted in 2 wins Guillermo del Toro 2021/22 Nominations resulted in 1 win James Cameron 2022/23 Nominations resulted in 4 wins Most awards for a film series Star Wars 49 awards 2019/20 Awards resulted from 114 nominations Most nominations for a film series Marvel Cinematic Universe 180 nominations 2023/24 Nominations resulted in 43 wins Most nominations for a television franchise at a single ceremony Star Trek 14 nominations 2022/23 Nominations resulted in 5 wins
Criticism The Saturn Awards has been criticized for having broadened its scope, nominating and awarding prestige movies genre awards (sci-fi, fantasy, or horror) and thereby stretching the meanings of the genres too far.Nathaniel Rogers. «Nominations for Everyone!» — Saturn Awards. The Film Experience, February 26, 2014 "I think the Saturn Awards have lost focus. You're a genre award. You're supposed to be about fantasy, sci-fi and horror. That's your whole goddamn raison d'être". Natalie Zutter. It’s About Time the Saturn Awards Introduced a Superhero Category. Tor.com, February 22, 2013Myles McNutt. What’s my Genre Again?: The In(s)anity of the Saturn Awards. Cultural Learnings, February 19, 2010. "The problem is that, over time, the Saturn Awards have stretched the meaning of genre so far that it legitimately has no meaning. <...> Rather than seeming like a legitimate celebration of science fiction, fantasy or horror, the Saturn Awards read like an unflattering and at points embarrassing collection of films and television series which reflect not the best that genre has to offer, but rather a desperate attempt to tap into the cultural zeitgeist while masquerading as a celebration of the underappreciated.Thomas M. Sipos. Saturn Awards Betray Horror. Horror Magazine, 1997Francisco Salazar. Saturn Awards 2015 Date & Nominations. Latinpost, March 5, 2015 "However, sometimes the Saturn Awards choose prestige films and ignore some of the more important science fiction, fantasy and horror films of the year."
Notes
Year-by-year results The year indicates the year of release of the films eligible.
1972: 1st Saturn Awards 1973: 2nd Saturn Awards 1974–1975: 3rd Saturn Awards 1976: 4th Saturn Awards 1977: 5th Saturn Awards 1978: 6th Saturn Awards 1979: 7th Saturn Awards 1980: 8th Saturn Awards 1981: 9th Saturn Awards 1982: 10th Saturn Awards 1983: 11th Saturn Awards 1984: 12th Saturn Awards 1985: 13th Saturn Awards 1986: 14th Saturn Awards 1987: 15th Saturn Awards 1988: 16th Saturn Awards 1989–1990: 17th Saturn Awards 1991: 18th Saturn Awards 1992: 19th Saturn Awards 1993: 20th Saturn Awards 1994: 21st Saturn Awards 1995: 22nd Saturn Awards 1996: 23rd Saturn Awards 1997: 24th Saturn Awards 1998: 25th Saturn Awards 1999: 26th Saturn Awards 2000: 27th Saturn Awards 2001: 28th Saturn Awards 2002: 29th Saturn Awards 2003: 30th Saturn Awards 2004: 31st Saturn Awards 2005: 32nd Saturn Awards 2006: 33rd Saturn Awards 2007: 34th Saturn Awards 2008: 35th Saturn Awards 2009: 36th Saturn Awards 2010: 37th Saturn Awards 2011: 38th Saturn Awards 2012: 39th Saturn Awards 2013: 40th Saturn Awards 2014: 41st Saturn Awards 2015: 42nd Saturn Awards 2016: 43rd Saturn Awards 2017: 44th Saturn Awards 2018–2019: 45th Saturn Awards 2019–2020: 46th Saturn Awards 2021–2022: 50th Anniversary Saturn Awards 2022–2023: 51st Saturn Awards 2023–2024: 52nd Saturn Awards 2024–2025: 53rd Saturn Awards
See also Hugo Award Nebula Award Scream Awards
References
External links