World Fantasy Award Judges

The judges for this year’s World Fantasy Award have been named. The World Fantasy Award will be presented at World Fantasy Con in San Diego, CA the weekend of October 27-30. This year’s judges include Andrew Hook, Sacha Mamczak, Mark Rich, Sean Wallace, and Kim Wilkins. They represent four different countries, including Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

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Stoker Nominations

The nominations for the 2010 Bram Stoker Awards have been announced. The Stoker Awards are presented annually by the Horror Writers of America to recognize superior achievement in the field of Horror. The awards will be presented at the Stoker Awards Banquet held at World Horror Con in Austin, Texas the weekend of April 28.

Superior Achievement in a Novel

• Horns, by Joe Hill
• Rot and Ruin, by Jonathan Maberry
• Dead Love, by Linda Watanabe McFerrin
• Apocalypse of the Dead, by Joe McKinney
• Dweller, by Jeff Strand
• A Dark Matter, by Peter Straub

Superior Achievement in a First Novel

• Black and Orange, by Benjamin Kane Ethridge
• A Book of Tongues, by Gemma Files
• Castle of Los Angeles, by Lisa Morton
• Spellbent, by Lucy Snyder

Superior Achievement in Long Fiction

• ”The Painted Darkness,” by Brian James Freeman
• ”Dissolution,” by Lisa Mannetti
• ”Monsters Among Us,” by Kirstyn McDermott
• ”The Samhanach,” by Lisa Morton
• ”Invisible Fences,” by Norman Prentiss

Superior Achievement in Short Fiction

• ”Return to Mariabronn,” by Gary Braunbeck
• ”The Folding Man,” by Joe R. Lansdale
• ”1925: A Fall River Halloween,” by Lisa Mannetti
• ”In the Middle of Poplar Street,” by Nate Southard
• ”Final Draft,” by Mark W. Worthen

Superior Achievement in an Anthology

• Dark Faith, edited by Maurice Broaddus and Jerry Gordon
• Horror Library IV, edited by R.J. Cavender and, Boyd E. Harris
• Macabre: A Journey Through Australia’s Darkest Fears, edited by Angela Challis and Marty Young
• Haunted Legends, edited by Ellen Datlow and Nick Mamatas
• The New Dead, edited by Christopher Golden

Superior Achievement in a Collection

• Occultation, by Laird Barron
• Blood and Gristle, by Michael Louis Calvillo
• Full Dark, No Stars, by Stephen King
• The Ones That Got Away, by Stephen Graham Jones
• A Host of Shadows, by Harry Shannon

Superior Achievement in Nonfiction

• To Each Their Darkness, by Gary A. Braunbeck
• The Conspiracy Against the Human Race, by Thomas Ligotti
• Wanted Undead or Alive, by Jonathan Maberry and Janice Gable Bashman
• Listen to the Echoes: The Ray Bradbury Interviews, by Sam Weller

Superior Achievement in a Poetry collection

• Dark Matters, by Bruce Boston
• Wild Hunt of the Stars, by Ann K. Schwader
• Diary of a Gentleman Diabolist, by Robin Spriggs
• Vicious Romantic, by Wrath James White

For more information…

Academy Awards

The Academy of Motion Picture Ares and Sciences presented the Oscars on February 27. In the science fiction genre, perhaps the biggest win was for Shaun Tan, who became the first Worldcon Guest of Honor to win a competitive Oscar for his short animated film The Lost Thing. A full list of genre winners appears below.

• Animated Feature: Toy Story 3
• Art Direction: Alice in Wonderland, Robert Stromberg (Production Design) and Karen O’Hara (Set Decoration)
• Achievement in Cinematography: Inception, Wally Pfister
• Achievement in Costume Design: Alice in Wonderland, Colleen Atwood
• Achievement in Makeup: The Wolfman, Rick Baker and Dave Elsey
• Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song): “We Belong Together,” from Toy Story 3, music and lyrics by Randy Newman
• Best Animated Short Film: The Lost Thing, Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann
• Achievement in Sound Editing: Inception, Richard King
• Achievement in Sound Mixing: Inception, Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo, and Ed Novick
• Achievement in Visual Effects: Inception, Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley, and Peter Bebb

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Razzie Winners

The winners of the Golden Raspberry Awards for worst films Hollywood has to offer, were announced on February 26. The winners are listed below.

• Worst Picture: The Last Airbender
• Worst Actor: Ashton Kutcher in Killers and Valentine’s Day
• Worst Actress: The Four “Gal Pals” in Sex and the City #2 (Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis & Cynthia Nixon)
• Worst Supporting Actor: Jackson Rathbone in Twilight Saga: Eclipse and The Last Airbender
• Worst Supporting Actress: Jessica Alba in The Killer Inside Me, Little Fockers, Machete, and Valentine’s Day
• Worst Eye-Gouging Mis-Use of 3-D (Special 2010 Category): The Last Airbender (Released in “Fake 3-D”)
• Worst Screen Couple / Worst Screen Ensemble: The Entire Cast of Sex and the City #2
• Worst Director: M. Night Shyamalan for The Last Airbender
• Worst Screenplay: M. Night Shyamalan for The Last Airbender
• Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel: Sex and the City #2

For more information…

KSSP Awards

Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad will present an award for Best Science Fiction to PN Krishnankutty and B Josukutty on February 26. The award is organized by Indian magazine Shastragathi and the winners selected by a jury, which this year was comprised of CG Ramachandran Nair, B Sunitha, and G Sajan. Krishnankutty is being honored for his story “AD 2050″ and Josukutty is being honored for “British Food India Limited.” Both stories will be published in a future issue of Shastragathi.

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Obituary: Lisa Wolfson

Author Lisa Wolfson (b.1963) died February 23. Wolfson, who wrote under the pseudonym L. K. Madigan, had published two children’s fantasy novels, Flash Burnout and The Mermaids Mirror. Wolfson won the William C. Morris Award for first time authors for Flash Burnout. A twenty year survivor of breast cancer, Wolfson announced last month that she had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Saturn Award Nominations Announced

The Academy of Science Fiction Fantasy and Horror Films has announced the nominees for the Annual Saturn Awards. The Saturn Awards, founded in 1972, recognize the best in genre for television, films, and DVD releases. The winners will be announced in June.

MOVIES

Best Science Fiction Film

• Hereafter
• Inception
• Iron Man 2
• Never Let Me Go
• Splice
• Tron: Legacy

Best Fantasy Film

• Alice in Wonderland
• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
• Clash of the Titans
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I
• Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
• The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Best Horror/Thriller Film

• The American
• Black Swan
• Kick-Ass
• Let Me In
• Shutter Island
• The Wolfman

Best Action/Adventure Film

• The Expendables
• The Green Hornet
• Red
• Robin Hood
• Salt
• True Grit
• Unstoppable

Best Actor

• Jeff Bridges (Tron: Legacy)
• George Clooney (The American)
• Leonardo diCaprio (Inception)
• Leonardo diCaprio (Shutter Island)
• Robert Downey, Jr. (Iron Man 2)
• Ryan Reynolds (Buried)

Best Actress

• Cecile De Francel (Hereafter)
• Angelina Jolie (Salt)
• Carey Mulligan(Never Let Me Go)
• Ellen Page (Inception)
• Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
• Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)

Best Supporting Actor

• Christian Bale (The Fighter)
• Andrew Garfield (Never Let Me Go)
• Tom Hardy (Inception)
• Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy)
• John Malkovich (Red)
• Mark Ruffalo (Shutter Island)

Best Supporting Actress

• Scarlett Johansson (Iron Man 2)
• Keira Knightley (Never Let Me Go)
• Mila Kunis (Black Swan)
• Helen Mirren (Red)
• Vanessa Redgrave (Letters to Juliet)
• Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom)

Best Performance by a Younger Actor

• Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief)
• Frankie/George McLaren (Hereafter)
• Kodi Smit-McPhee (Let Me In)
• Chloe Moretz (Let Me In)
• Will Poulter (Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader)
• Hailee Steinfield (True Grit)
• Charlie Tahan (Charlie St. Cloud)

Best Director

• Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)
• Clint Eastwood (Hereafter)
• Christopher Nolan (Inception)
• Matt Reeves (Let Me In)
• Martin Scorsese (Shutter Island)
• David Yates (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I)

Best Writing

• Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3)
• Alex Garland (Never Let Me Go)
• Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz, John McLaughlin(Black Swan)
• Peter Morgan (Hereafter)
• Christopher Nolan (Inception)
• Matt Reeves (Let Me In)

Best Music

• Daft Punk (Tron: Legacy)
• Clint Eastwood (Hereafter)
• Michael Giacchino (Let Me In)
• Gottfried Huppertz (as conducted by Frank Strobel) (The Complete Metropolis)
• John Powell (How to Train Your Dragon)
• Hans Zimmer (Inception)

Best Costume

• Colleen Atwood (Alice in Wonderland)
• Milena Canonero (The Wolfman)
• Isis Mussenden (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader)
• Jany Temime (Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part I)
• Michael Wilkinson (Tron: Legacy)
• Janty Yates (Robin Hood)

Best Make-Up

• Splice
• Repo Men
• Let Me In
• Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part I
• The Wolfman
• Alice in Wonderland

Best Production Design

• Kathy Altieri (How to Train Your Dragon)
• Dante Ferretti (Shutter Island)
• Darren Gilford (Tron: Legacy)
• Rich Heinrichs (The Wolfman)
• Guy Hendrix Dyas (Inception)
• Robert Sttromberg (Alice in Wonderland)

Best Special Effects

• Tron: Legacy
• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
• Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part I
• Inception
• Alice in Wonderland
• Iron Man 2

Best International Film

• The Complete Metropolis
• Centurion
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
• Monsters
• Mother
• Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale

Best Animated Film

• Despicable Me
• How to Train Your Dragon
• Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole
• Shrek Forever After
• Tangled
• Toy Story 3

TELEVISION:
Best Network Series:

• Fringe
• Lost
• Smallville
• Supernatural
• V
• The Vampire Diaries

Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series:

• Breaking Bad
• The Closer
• Dexter
• Eureka
• Leverage
• Spartacus: Blood and Sand
• True Blood

Best Television Presentation:

• Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol
• Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special
• The Pillars of the Earth
• Sherlock
• Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
• The Walking Dead

Best Actor in Television:

• Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad)
• Matthew Fox (Lost)
• Michael C. Hall (Dexter)
• Timothy Hutton (Leverage)
• Andrew Lincoln (The Walking Dead)
• Stephen Moyer (True Blood)

Best Actress on Television:

• Sarah Wayne Callies (The Walking Dead)
• Erica Durance (Smallville)
• Elizabeth Mitchell (V)
• Anna Paquin (True Blood)
• Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer)
• Anna Torv (Fringe)

Best Supporting Actor on Television:

• Michael Emerson (Lost)
• John Noble (Fringe)
• Dean Norris (Breaking Bad)
• Terry O’Quinn (Lost)
• Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad)
• Lance Reddick (Fringe)
• Steven Yein (The Walking Dead)

Best Supporting Actress in Television:

• Morena Baccarin (V)
• Gina Bellman (Leverage)
• Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter)
• Laurie Holden (The Walking Dead)
• Lucy Lawless (Spartacus: Blood and Sand)
• Beth Riesgraf (Leverage)

Best Guest Starring Role in Television:

• Richard Dreyfuss (Weeds)
• Noah Emmerich (The Walking Dead)
• Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad)
• Joe Manganiello (True Blood)
• John Terry (Lost)
• Seth Gabel (Fringe)

DVD:
Best DVD Release:

• The Disappearance of Alice Creed
• District 13: Ultimatum
• The Good Heart
• Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy
• The New Daughter
• The Square

Best DVD Television Release:

• Lost (The Complete Sixth and Final Season)
• The Six Million Dollar Man (The Complete Collection)
• Space: 1999 The Complete Season One (Blu Ray)
• Thriller The Complete Series
• The Twilight Zone (Season 1 & 2) (Blu Ray)
• Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (Season 4, Volume 2)

Best DVD Special Edition:

• Avatar (Extended Collector’s Edition)
• Monsters (Special Edition)
• Red Cliff (International Version)
• Robin Hood (Unrated Director’s Cut)
• Salt (Deluxe Unrated Edition)
• The Wolf Man (Unrated Director’s Cut)

Best Classic Film Release:

• The Complete Metropolis
• Cronos
• The Exorcist (Extended Director’s Cut)
• King Kong
• Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (Deluxe Edition)
• Psycho (50th Anniversary Edition)

Best DVD Movie Collection:

• Alien Anthology
• Back to the Future 25th Anniversary Trilogy
• Clint Eastwood: 35 Films 35 Years at Warner Brothers
• Fantomas: Five Film Collection
• Film Noir Classic Collection, Volume 5
• Vengeance Trilogy

Stage Presentation:
Best Local Stage Production: Musical:

• Beauty and the Beast (Orange County Performing Arts Center)
• Leap of Faith (Ahmanson Theatre)
• Young Frankenstein (Pantages Theatre)

Best Local Stage Production: Drama or Comedy

• The 39 Steps (Ahmanson Theatre)
• The Glass Menagerie (Mark Taper Forum)
• The Lieutenant of Inishmore (Mark Taper Forum)

Best Local Stage Production: Small Theater:

• The Arsonists (Odyssey Theatre)
• U.S.S. Pinafore (Crown City Theatre Company)
• Watson (Sacred Fools Theatre)

For more information…

Norton Documentary in the Works

Sue Stewart and the Motion Picture Company have announced plans to produce a documentary entitled The Lady’s Quill: A Tribute to Andre Norton, which will look at Norton’s early career. Pre-production and development is scheduled to begin on March 17, 2011, which marks the sixth anniversary of Norton’s death. Norton was a prolific author of fantasy, science fiction, and children’s books. She was the first woman to win the Gandalf and SFWA Grand Master Awards. The Andre Norton Award is named in her honor.

Obituary: Ion Hobana

Romanian SF author Ion Hobana (b.Aurelian Manta Roşie, 1931) died February 22 in a Bucharest hospital. Hobana’s most recent work was an history of French science fiction prior to 1900. Among many novels, short stories, and critical works, Hobana’s stories “A Kind of Space” and “Night Broadcast” were translated into English.

Discovery Cleared for Launch

NASA has cleared Discovery for its final launch on Thursday, February 24 at 4:50 pm. Discovery is the most traveled manned spacecraft in history, having traveled nearly 143 million miles in its 38 missions since its first launch in 1984. This mission will take Discovery to the International Space Station.

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