It’s that time of year again when it seems like the every faction of the entertainment industry is rolling out the red carpet. While most awards seem to neglect the sci-fi genre, fans of science fiction, horror and fantasy do have the Saturn Awards to look forward to! Today, the list of nominations has been released and for genre fans, 2012 was a great year.

Leading the pack with 9 nominations is ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’. The Peter Jackson directed film received nods in the categories of Best Fantasy Film, Best Direction (for Jackson), Best Actor (for Martin Freeman), Best Supporting Actor (for Sir Ian McKellan), Best Musical Score (for Howard Shore and a slew of technical nods. Close behind was Ang Lee’s ‘Life of Pi’ with 8 nominations including nods in the Best Fantasy Film, Best Performance by a Younger Actor (for Suraj Sharma) and Best Direction categories. In third position for most nominations is the James Bond flick ‘Skyfall’ receiving 7 nods.

Of course box office and fan favorite superhero movies ‘The Avengers’ and ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ also received nominations with 6 each and is up against each other in the categories of Best Supporting Actor and Best Direction. Personally, the latter category would be a hard one to choose: Joss Whedon or Christopher Nolan? This is the category to watch!

On the television front, ‘Fringe’ leads the pack with 6 nominations from its final year followed by ‘Dexter’ with 5 and with 4 nominations each ‘Breaking Bad’, ‘Falling Skies’, ‘Leverage’, ‘Revolution’ and ‘The Walking Dead’. Surprisingly, ‘Doctor Who’ only received one nomination in the category of Best Youth Oriented Series on Television up against ‘Merlin’, ‘Arrow’, ‘Beauty and the Beast’, ‘Teen Wolf’  and ‘The Vampire Diaries’. NBC’s ‘Grimm’ was not nominated at all.

The Saturn Awards is presented by The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Film, a non-profit organization that was founded in in 1972 by film historian Dr. Donald A. Reed. He saw that the genre was often overlooked by mainstream awards organizations and wanted to start an outlet to honor and recognize it. Over the years, the Awards have expended to also include “dark and edgy entertainment to colorful and life-affirming fable-esque slices of life.” That’s why you’ll see films such as ‘Skyfall’, ‘Les Mis’ and ‘Life of Pi’ included on the list of nominations.

New this year is the category of independent film releases. Organization President Robert Holgium states, “I’ve long admired and respected independent filmmakers and their focused vision.  I’m thrilled to see the organization create a category which expressively allows our membership to champion personal film projects which helps expand ideas and creativity in the genre field.” Included in this category are the movies ‘Hitchcock’, ‘Robot and Frank’ and ‘Seeking a Friend at the End of the World’.

You can see the complete list of nominees below. At this time, the Academy has yet to announce the date of the awards ceremony, but once they do, ScienceFiction.com will be there to cover the event!

In the meantime, who are your picks to win?

MOVIES

Best Science Fiction Film

Marvel’s The Avengers (Marvel / Walt Disney Studios)
Chronicle (20th Century Fox)
Cloud Atlas (Warner Bros.)
The Hunger Games (Summit / Lionsgate)
Looper (Sony Pictures)
Prometheus (20th Century Fox)

Best Fantasy Film

The Amazing Spider-Man (Sony Pictures)
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Warner Bros.)
Life of Pi (20th Century Fox)
Ruby Sparks (Fox Searchlight)
Snow White and the Huntsman (Universal)
Ted (Universal)

Best Horror/Thriller Film

Argo (Warner Bros.)
The Cabin in the Woods (Lionsgate)
The Impossible (Summit / Lionsgate)
Seven Psychopaths (CBS Films)
The Woman in Black (CBS Films)
Zero Dark Thirty (Sony Pictures)

Best Action/Adventure Film

The Bourne Legacy (Universal)
The Dark Knight Rises (Warner Bros.)
Django Unchained (The Weinstein Co.)
Les Miserables (Universal)
Skyfall (Sony Pictures)
Taken 2 (20th Century Fox)

Best Independent Film Release

Compliance (Magnolia)
Hitchcock Fox (Searchlight)
Killer Joe LD (Entertainment)
The Paperboy (Millennium)
Robot and Frank (Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Safety Not Guaranteed (FilmDistrict)
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (Focus Features)

Best International Film

Anna Karenina (Focus Features)
Chicken With Plums (Sony Pictures Classics)
The Fairy (Kino Lorber)
Headhunters (Magnolia)
My Way Well (Go USA)
Pusher (Radius)

Best Animated Film

Brave (Pixar / Walt Disney Studios)
Frankenweenie (Walt Disney Studios)
ParaNorman (Focus Features)
Wreck-It Ralph (Walt Disney Studios)

Best Actor

Christian Bale, The Dark Knight Rises (Warner Bros.)
Daniel Craig, Skyfall (Sony Pictures)
Martin Freeman, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Warner Bros.)
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables (Universal)
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Looper (Sony Pictures)
Matthew McConaughey, Killer Joe (LD Entertainment)

Best Actress

Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty (20th Century Fox)
Ann Dowd, Compliance (Magnolia)
Zoe Kazan, Ruby Sparks (Fox Searchlight)
Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games (Summit / Lionsgate)
Helen Mirren, Hitchcock (Fox Searchlight)
Naomi Watts, The Impossible (Summit / Lionsgate)

Best Supporting Actor

Javier Bardem, Skyfall (Sony Pictures)
Michael Fassbender, Prometheus (20th Century Fox)
Clark Gregg, Marvel’s The Avengers (Marvel / Walt Disney Studios)
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, The Dark Knight Rises (Warner Bros.)
Ian McKellen, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Warner Bros.)
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained (The Weinstein Co.)

Best Supporting Actress

Judi Dench, Skyfall (Sony Pictures)
Gina Gershon, Killer Joe (LD Entertainment)
Anne Hathaway, The Dark Knight Rises (Warner Bros.)
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables (Universal)
Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy (Millennium)
Charlize Theron, Snow White and the Huntsman (Universal)

Best Performance By a Younger Actor

CJ Adams, The Odd Life of Timothy Green (Walt Disney Studios)
Tom Holland, The Impossible (Summit / Lionsgate)
Daniel Huttlestone, Les Miserables (Universal)
Chloe Grace Moretz, Dark Shadows (Warner Bros.)
Suraj Sharma, Life of Pi (20th Century Fox)
Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild (Fox Searchlight)

Best Direction

William Friedkin, Killer Joe (LD Entertainment)
Peter Jackson, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Warner Bros.)
Rian Johnson, Looper (Sony Pictures)
Ang Lee, Life of Pi (20th Century Fox)
Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight Rises (Warner Bros.)
Joss Whedon, Marvel’s The Avengers (Marvel / Walt Disney Studios)

Best Writing

Tracy Letts, Killer Joe (LD Entertainment)
David Magee, Life of Pi (20th Century Fox)
Martin McDonagh, Seven Psychopaths (CBS Films)
Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained (The Weinstein Co.)
Joss Whedon, Marvel’s The Avengers (Marvel / Walt Disney Studios)
Joss Whedon, Drew Goddard, The Cabin in the Woods (Lionsgate)

Best Production Design

Hugh Bateup, Uli Hanisch, Cloud Atlas (Warner Bros.)
Sarah Greenwood, Anna Karenina (Focus Features)
David Gropman, Life of Pi (20th Century Fox)
Rick Heinrichs, Dark Shadows (Warner Bros.)
Dan Hennah, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Warner Bros.)
Eve Stewart, Les Miserables (Universal)

Best Editing

Stuart Baird, Kate Baird, Skyfall (Sony Pictures)
Alexander Berner, Cloud Atlas (Warner Bros.)
Bob Ducsay, Looper (Sony Pictures)
Jeffrey Ford, Lisa Lassek, Marvel’s The Avengers (Marvel / Walt Disney Studios)
John Gilroy, The Bourne Legacy (Universal)
Tim Squyres, Life of Pi (20th Century Fox)

Best Music

Mychael Danna, Life of Pi (20th Century Fox)
Danny Elfman, Frankenweenie (Walt Disney Studios)
Dario Marianelli, Anna Karenina (Focus Features)
Thomas Newman, Skyfall (Sony Pictures)
Howard Shore, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Warner Bros.)
Hans Zimmer, The Dark Knight Rises (Warner Bros.)

Best Costume

Jacqueline Durran, Anna Karenina (Focus Features)
Kym Barrett, Pierre-Yves Gavraud, Cloud Atlas (Warner Bros.)
Sharen Davis, Django Unchained (The Weinstein Co.)
Bob Buck, Ann Maskrey, Richard Taylor, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Warner Bros.)
Paco Delgado, Les Miserables (Universal)
Colleen Atwood, Snow White and the Huntsman (Universal)

Best Make-Up

Heike Merker, Daniel Parker, Jeremy Woodhead, Cloud Atlas (Warner Bros.)
Gregory Nicotero, Howard Berger, Peter Montagna, Julie Hewitt, Hitchcock (Fox Searchlight)
Peter Swords King, Rick Findlater, Tami Lane, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Warner Bros.)
David Marti, Montse Ribe, Vasit Suchitta, The Impossible (Summit / Lionsgate)
Naomi Donne, Donald Mowat, Love Larson, Skyfall (Sony Pictures)
Jean Ann Black, Fay Von Schroeder, Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 (Lionsgate)

Best Special Effects

Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams, Dan Sudick, Marvel’s The Avengers (Marvel / Walt Disney Studios)
Grady Cofer, Pablo Helman, Jeanie King, Burt Dalton, Battleship (Universal)
Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, R. Christopher White, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Warner Bros.)
Chris Corbould, Peter Chiang, Scott R. Fisher, Sue Rowe, John Carter (Walt Disney Studios)
Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan de Boer, Donald R. Elliott, Life of Pi (20th Century Fox)
Cedric Nicholas-Troyan, Philip Brennan, Neil Courbould, Michael Dawson, Snow White and the Huntsman (Universal)

TELEVISION:

Best Network Television Series

Elementary (CBS)
The Following (Fox)
Fringe (Fox)
Once Upon a Time (ABC)
Revolution (NBC)
Supernatural (CW)

Best Syndicated Cable Television Series

American Horror Story: Asylum (FX)
Dexter (Showtime)
Leverage (TNT)
The Killing (AMC)
True Blood (HBO)
The Walking Dead (AMC)

Best Television Presentation

Breaking Bad (AMC)
Continuum (Syfy)
Falling Skies (TNT)
Game of Thrones (HBO)
Ken Follett’s World Without End (Reelz)
Mockingbird Lane (NBC)
Spartacus: War of the Damned (Starz)

Best Youth Oriented Series on Television

Arrow (CW)
Beauty and the Beast (CW)
Doctor Who (BBC America)
Merlin (Syfy)
Teen Wolf (MTV)
The Vampire Diaries (CW)

Best Actor

Kevin Bacon, The Following (Fox)
Billy Burke, Revolution (NBC)
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad (AMC)
Michael C. Hall, Dexter (Showtime)
Joshua Jackson, Fringe (Fox)
Timothy Hutton, Leverage (TNT)
Andrew Lincoln, The Walking Dead (AMC)

Best Actress

Moon Bloodgood, Falling Skies (TNT)
Mireille Enos, The Killing (AMC)
Sarah Paulson, American Horror Story: Asylum (FX)
Charlotte Riley, Ken Follett’s World Without End (Reelz)
Tracy Spiridakos, Revolution (NBC)
Anna Torv, Fringe (Fox)

Best Supporting Actor

Jonathan Banks, Breaking Bad (AMC)
Giancarlo Esposito, Revolution (NBC)
Todd Lasance, Spartacus: War of the Damned (Starz)
Colm Meaney, Hell on Wheels (AMC)
David Morrissey, The Walking Dead (AMC)
John Noble, Fringe (Fox)

Best Supporting Actress

Jennifer Carpenter, Dexter (Showtime)
Sarah Carter, Falling Skies (TNT)
Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad (AMC)
Laurie Holden, The Walking Dead (AMC)
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Asylum (FX)
Beth Riesgraf, Leverage (TNT)

Best Guest Starring Role in a Series

Blair Brown, Fringe (Fox)
Terry O’Quinn, Falling Skies (TNT)
Lance Reddick, Fringe (Fox)
Mark Sheppard, Leverage (TNT)
Ray Stevenson, Dexter (Showtime)
Yvonne Strahovski, Dexter (Showtime)

HOME ENTERTAINMENT:

Best DVD/Blu-ray Release

Atlas Shrugged II: The Strike (Atlas Distribution/Fox)
Chained (Anchor Bay)
Cosmopolis (Entertainment One)
The Possession (Lionsgate)
A Thousand Cuts (Lorber Films)
Touchback (Anchor Bay/Starz)

Best DVD/Blu-ray Special Edition Release

Jaws (Universal 100th Anniversary Edition) (Universal)
Lawrence of Arabia (50th Anniversary Collector’s Edition) (Sony)
Les Vampires Classics Edition (Kino International)
Little Shop of Horrors: The Director’s Cut (Warner)
Stanley Kubrick’s Fear and Desire (Kino International)

Best DVD/Blu-ray Collection

Alfred Hitchcock (The Masterpiece Collection) (Universal)
Battle Royale (The Complete Collection) (Anchor Bay)
Bond 50 (The Complete 22 Film Collection) (MGM)
Dark Shadows: The Complete Original Series (MPI)
The Ultimate Buster Keaton Blu-ray Collection (Kino Lorber)
Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection (Universal)

Best DVD/Blu-ray TV Series

In Search Of: The Complete Series (Visual Entertainment)
Logan’s Run: The Complete Series (Warner)
The River: The Complete First Season (ABC Studios)
Shazam! The Complete Live-Action Series (Warner Archive)
Spartacus: Vengeance (The Complete Second Season) (Starz/Anchor Bay)
Star Trek: The Next Generation (Seasons 1 & 2) (Paramount)