On Wednesday night, the Academy of Science-Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films held their 35th annual award show high up in the hills, overlooking beautiful downtown Burbank, California. What follows is a full list of the winners:
-THE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD went to Leonard Nimoy and it was presented to him by his most recent director, J.J Abrams.
-THE LIFE CAREER AWARD (whatever that means), went to one of the best character actors in the world, the one, the only, Lance Henriksen, and the award was presented to him by none other than pal Ed Harris.
-THE VISIONARY AWARD went to Jeffrey Katzenberg, and it was presented to him by everyone’s favorite multi-tasking producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
IN FILM:
-BEST SCI-FI FILM: Iron Man
-BEST FANTASY FILM: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
-BEST HORROR FILM: Hellboy II: The Golden Army
-BEST ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER: The Dark Knight
-BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM: Let The Right One
-BEST ANIMATED FILM: WALLE
-BEST ACTOR: Robert Downey, Jr. (Iron Man)
-BEST ACTRESS: Angelina Jolie (Changeling)
-SUPPORTING ACTOR: Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
-SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Tilda Swinton (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
-BEST PERFORMANCE BY A YOUNG ACTOR: Jaden Christopher Smith (The Day The Earth Stood Still)
-BEST DIRECTOR: Jon Favreau (Iron Man)
-BEST WRITER: Christopher Nolan and Jonathon Nolan (The Dark Knight)
-MUSIC: Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard (The Dark Knight)
-COSTUME: Mary Zophres (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls)
-MAKE-UP: Greg Cannom (The Curios Case of Benjamin Button)
-SPECIAL EFFECTS: Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Timothy Webber, Paul J. Franklin (The Dark Knight)
IN TV:
-BEST TV SERIES: Lost
-BEST SYNDICATED/CABLE TV SERIES: Battlestar Galactica
-BEST PRESENTATION ON TV (???): The Librarian: The Curse of the Judas Chalice (accepted by uber producer Dean Devlin)
-BEST ACTOR: Edward James Olmos (Battlestar Galactica)
-BEST ACTRESS: Mary McDonnell (Battlestar Galactica, accepted by co-star and hottie Grace Park, on behalf of Mary)
-SUPPORTING ACTOR: Adrian Pasdar (Heroes)
-SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter)
-BEST GUEST STAR: Jimmy Smits (Dexter)
IN DVD:
-BEST DVD RELEASE: Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer
-BEST CLASSIC FILM RELEASE: Psycho, Universal Legacy Series
-BEST COLLECTION: The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration
-BEST SERIES ON DVD: Moonlight
-BEST RETRO SERIES: The Invaders (accepted by show producer and infamous filmmaker Larry Cohen)
-BEST DVD SPECIAL EDITION: Stephen King’s The Mist (Two-Disc Collector’s Edition)
…and that’s a wrap for this years show. I was glad that “Battlestar Galactica” got in a few more awards, which it so rightly deserved and allowed me a chance to meet Grace Park. I was very happy that Let The Right One In took home an award, but I would have been equally as happy if Slumdog Millionaire, which was also up for Best International Film, would have won.
I don’t think Jaden Christopher Smith deserved the young actor award because he was awful and annoying in The Day The Earth Stood Still, which made that film worse, if that was possible. It should have gone to Dev Patel from “Slumdog” or better yet to Lina Leandersson who played Eli in Let The Right One In.
On the horror front, it was fairly light this year. “Hellboy II” was a great movie, but some would argue not really a horror movie, more of a fantasy film, but I’m just glad that the atrocious The Happening didn’t win. The PsychoDVD was good, but personally, I would have given it to the “Heathers 20th High School Reunion” DVD. I think Starship Troopers 3: Marauder should have won the best DVD release instead of “Jack Brooks” because that film came with a toy replica of the Marauder, which was pretty damn cool. And in what world do we live in when The Godfather beats out the 20th anniversary of “Mystery Science Theater 3000”? Don’t get me wrong, the restoration is great and I love that film series (yes, even the third one), but it’s had its time in the sun and “MST3K” and Shout Factory should have gotten the top honors for their fantastic, fan-friendly release.
So, in the end The Dark Knight cleaned up and I expect next year to see Watchmen sweep the entire show, possibly even DVD, too. Also, here’s hoping they pay more attention to their horror selections and right now my early front runner for best horror film of 2009 has got to be Drag Me To Hell. If that doesn’t get in there next year, then this academy has got be a madhouse…A MADHOUSE!!!!
