Star Trek XI producer (and possible director) JJ Abrams has received a Saturn Award nomination as best director for Mission: Impossible III. In addition the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror have nominated M:I:III for best action/adventure thriller. In the directors category Abrams will be going head to head with fellow Trekkie Bryan Singer for Superman Returns. Singer’s Superman racked in a total of 10 nominations and M:I:III garnered a total of 5. Lost (produced by both Trek XI producers JJ Abrams and Damon Lindelof) led the TV nominations with a total of 6, including best series.
Frakes show gets nod and even Trek gets noted
Although there is no best director category for TV, Jonathan Frake’s The Librarian: Return to King Solomon’s Mines found 3 nominations including ‘best presentation’ (for movies or mini series). Although last year had no new Trek on TV, Star Trek was not totally shut out. Star Trek The Animated Series got a nomination for best retro TV series on DVD. Mark Altman’s cult Trek homage Free Enterprise was nominated for best DVD classic film release.
The Saturn Awards ceremony will be held May 10th. JJ Abrams best friend (and certain STXI cast member) Greg Grunberg will be hosting. Grunberg is also nominated for his supporting role on NBC’s Heroes. More info at SaturnAwards.org.
Star Trek The Animated Series got a nomination for best retro TV series on DVD.
Nice to see the recognition. Sure, it was mostly weak Trek, but for (what used to be only) Saturday morning TV, it was phenomenal. Besides, I like M’Ress and Arex. AND, it told us all that T is for Tiberius, not Tomcat.
MI:III only got 5 noms? Hell, my dog got twelve Saturn nominations. Boy, it seems they just fall all over themselves to nominate anything Trek… What a bunch of fanboys. Way to dilute the award’s reputation, dudes!
Here’s a piece on the animated series I hadn’t seen before.
http://news.toonzone.net/article.php?ID=15208
I don’t trust any organization that nominates Superman Returns for 10 awards. Brandon Routh was fine, Singer was the one that screwed it up.
#5, SithMenace
I agree. Superman Returns was a mess.
Thanks, Stanky. That was a blast from my innocent past.
Superman Returns wasn’t bad so much as unecessary. And the chick playing Lois had about as much charisma as… gulp… T’Pol.
If you go to the toonzone.net article that Stanky mentioned, there is a photo from the animated series that reminds me of my childhood, and made me laugh! It’s a picture of the bridge with an overhead perspective you rarely saw in TOS.
What I found very funny as a kid, and still find funny now is how weird the characters look from this view. The animators don’t quite have the angles and perspective right, and Uhura always looks as if she was lying on a recliner and ready to fall off her chair! Kirk looked funny too and seemed much too small and thin sitting in his huge captain’s chair!
Sorry TAS lovers, I don’t mean to pick on your beloved animated series… too much. I was never a big fan of the animated show when it first aired, and I always felt the animation was mediocre at best.
But anyway, if you love your animated trek..more power to you!
Mike :o
I liked the animated series in broad strokes. Some very interesting stories and concepts but it got watered down in the details – the limited animation, the simple dialogue, the stiff performances, and a few silly premises (giant clone Spock, giant Enterprise balloon, et cetera). Its a mixed bag but it has its charms, and some of the episodes would have made excellent live action shows with some rewriting.
And I thought Superman Returns was terrific. I enjoyed the hell out of it.
Steve623… So you’re the one! I’d heard rumours about you, but never believed it!
I also enjoyed Sups Returns, hated the chick that played Lois Lane, far to young for the part, but over all it was an enjoyable film.
As for the animated series some of the stories were good but the animation sucked. How it could win any awards?
LLAP
re: Trek Animated…
It had been suggested previously to “re-animate” the series, and possibly even rescore it. It’s clear that this show suffered from budget/time constraints etc to the nth degree. It would be interesting to give it the “Trek Remastered” treatment, with totally new animation while keeping the voices. The episodes could really be fleshed out with extended animated effects sequences and new music.
Fun to be had by all… Doug
Saturn Award? Isn’t that one step up from a Razzie?
That’s at least three of us then. I thought Superman Returns was a beautiful film.
Given the limited numbers of sci-fi/fantasy movies and tv shows, it is kind of a light-weight award — the list of nominees should pretty much just read “all of them.” But in a world where “Children of Men” isn’t nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, it’s good to have some kind of recognition for work generally classified as genre.
When is Paramount going to give us info about ST: XI…they said news was imminent 8 days ago. What’s the hold up? Are they having second thoughts about the film?
I enjoyed SUPERMAN RETURNS. Still the movie lacks in some important details. It never surpasses SUPERMAN THE MOVIE. Singer could have done a better movie. But, anyways.
Greetings
LOGAN