“Potter” Alumni Nominated in the 44th Annual Saturn Awards
The Saturn Awards, presented by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, are back for their 44th year and Potter alumni have racked up an impressive number of nominations! Founded by Dr. Donald A. Reed to honor works overlooked by mainstream awards, the academy recognizes a broad spectrum of works across film and television. Eligibility for nomination is through the February 2017 to February 2018 period.
The Best Fantasy Film Release category is packed with Potter credentials. Paddington 2 has a slew of Potter alumni who have lent their voices, such as Dame Julie Walters (Molly Weasley) as Mrs. Bird, Brendan Gleeson (Mad-Eye Moody) as Knuckles McGinty, and Sir Michael Gambon (Albus Dumbledore) as Uncle Pastuzo. Both Beauty and the Beast, starring Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) as Belle and Emma Thompson (Professor Trelawney) as Mrs. Potts, and Oscar-winner The Shape of Water, which shares composer Alexandre Desplat with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Parts 1 and 2, have also won a nomination in the category.
Sir Kenneth Branagh (Gilderoy Lockhart) has landed two nominations, one for Murder on the Orient Express, which he both directed and starred in as detective Hercule Poirot, in the Best Thriller Film Release category, and a second for the highly acclaimed Dunkirk, in which he had a role as Commander Bolton, in the Best Action/Adventure Film Release category. Sharing the limelight in the Best Thriller Film Release category is The Post, which was composed by original Potter musical magician John Williams. Williams himself has been nominated in the Best Music category for his work on Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Domhnall Gleeson (Bill Weasley) also has two nominated movies: psychological thriller Mother! in Best Horror Film Release and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which also features Warwick Davis (Filius Flitwick/Griphook), in Best Science Fiction Release. Also in the latter category is Alien: Covenant, which features Fantastic Beasts actresses Katherine Waterston (Tina Goldstein) and Carmen Ejogo (Seraphina Picquery) as Daniels and Karine Oram, respectively. The Best Comic-to-Motion Picture Release category includes a nomination for Wonder Woman, in which David Thewlis (Remus Lupin) plays the titular character’s nemesis.
The Best Film Production Design category features Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Beauty and the Beast, and The Shape of Water, the Best Film Editing category features The Shape of Water and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the Best Film Costume Design features Beauty and the Beast, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Wonder Woman, and the Best Film Make-Up category features The Shape of Water and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Star Wars: The Last Jedi was also nominated for Best Film Special/Visual Effects. Both Star Wars: The Last Jedi and The Shape of Water, along with Wonder Woman, have the further honor of being nominated for Best Film Director and Best Film Screenplay as well! Meanwhile, Emma Watson herself was nominated in the Best Actress in a Film category for her role as Belle in Beauty and the Beast.
On the silver screen, the ever-present Game of Thrones, which features Potter alumni David Bradley (Argus Filch) and Jim Broadbent (Horace Slughorn) this season, was nominated for Best Fantasy Television Series, while The Flash (featuring Tom Felton) was nominated for Best Superhero Television Series. Felton’s on-screen father, Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy), earned a nomination for Best Actor on a Television Series for his work on the series Star Trek: Discovery, in the role of Captain Gabriel Lorca. Fear the Walking Dead, starring Frank Dillane as Nick Clark was nominated in the Best Horror Television Series category alongside parent show The Walking Dead, starring Andrew Lincoln, our new Quidditch Through the Ages audiobook narrator. Lincoln himself was also nominated for Best Actor on a Television Series for his role as Rick Grimes.
If you’d like to read the full list of nominees, then you can check them out here.
Congratulations to all the nominees! The awards ceremony will take place in June.
