The52nd Annual Saturn AwardssawDune: Part Twodominate the night, while Nicolas Cage used his win to criticize AI’s role in entertainment. Hosted by Joel McHale,the Saturn Awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horrorin film, but have since grown to reward other projects in genre fiction, including television. Going into the ceremony,Dune: Part Two,the sequel to Denis Villeneuve’sDune, had the most nominations with 14 total. On the television side,FalloutandThe Waking Dead: The Ones Who Liveeach had 5 nominations.
The 52nd Saturn Awards took place on Sunday, February 2, and honored a number of films, shows, and creatives for their 2024 genre works. In terms of special honors,William Shatner was given the Lifetime Achievement Award, Laurence Fishburne received the Lance Reddick Legacy Award, and the George Pal Memorial Award went to the 40th anniversary ofBack to the Future.Additionally,Falloutreceived the Spotlight Award, Hiroyuki Sanada was given the Robert Forster Artist’s Award, andSuperman & Loiswas honored with the Dan Curtis Legacy Award. The full list of winners for the competitive categories is below:
House of the Dragon
Best 4K Home Media Release
Saw X
In accepting his award forDream Scenario,Cage used his speech to address AI’s impact on acting and movie-making(viaVariety). Starting by reflecting on the odd world featured inDream Scenario, Cage went on to say, “But there is another world that is also disturbing me. It’s happening right now around all of us: the new AI world.” He also paid tribute to the late David Lynch and reflected on working with him onWild at Heart, where he starred alongside Laura Dern. His full speech can be read below:
Thank you for recognizing Dream Scenario. This is in fact one of my favorite movies I’ve ever made. I have to thank Kristoffer Borgli for his direction, his writing, his editing and for creating this incredibly disturbing but hilarious world that he dreamt up.
But there is another world that is also disturbing me. It’s happening right now around all of us: the new AI world. I am a big believer in not letting robots dream for us. Robots cannot reflect the human condition for us. That is a dead end if an actor lets one AI robot manipulate his or her performance even a little bit, an inch will eventually become a mile and all integrity, purity and truth of art will be replaced by financial interests only. We can’t let that happen.
The job of all art in my view, film performance included, is to hold a mirror to the external and internal stories of the human condition through the very human thoughtful and emotional process of recreation. A robot can’t do that. If we let robots do that, it will lack all heart and eventually lose edge and turn to mush. There will be no human response to life as we know it. It will be life as robots tell us to know it. I say, protect yourselves from AI interfering with your authentic and honest expressions.
The enthusiasm in this room is not like any other award show and you remind me of one of my greatest collaborators, David Lynch. When I was doing Wild at Heart, I was a very serious, young actor and I said, ‘David, is it okay if I have fun on this movie?’ He said, ‘Buddy not only is it okay, it’s necessary.'
What This Means For Genre Filmmaking And The Saturn Awards
The Ceremony Brought Up Two Of Hollywood’s Hottest Topics: Sci-Fi And AI
The Saturn Awards remain an essential platform for recognizing genre storytelling. While major awards often overlook science fiction, fantasy, and horror, the Saturns honor projects that push narrative and technical boundaries.Dune: Part Two’s successwith five wins – the most of the night –reinforces its influence on modern sci-fi and highlights the strength of the genre. AsDune: Part Twoprepares for the Academy Awards in March, where it has different competition, the Saturn Awards has ensured it earns the recognition it deserves.
Furthermore,Cage’s comments on AI during his speech arrive amid growing concerns over its impact on Hollywood,especially after the 2023 SAG-AFTRA and writers strikes. Before the strikes, studios had begun toying with AI performances and writing, raising ethical and creative issues for actors and filmmakers. Though the strikes ended with major wins for actors and writers alike, AI remains a controversial topic, and Cage deemed it important enough to highlight it in his speech. This indicates the fight is far from over, and AI will continue to spark conversation in entertainment.
Our Take On The 52nd Saturn Awards
This Year’s Saturn Awards Emphasized The Importance Of Humanity In Art
For this year’s Saturn Awards, Cage’s speech seemingly set the tone in reinforcing the value of human performance and honoring diverse storytelling, the kind that can only come from real people. ThoughDune: Part Twowas perhaps the biggest victor, a wide variety of projects were honored, from the multiversal MCU hitDeadpool & WolverinetoNetflix’s fan favoriteCobra Kai. If anything, theSaturn Awardshave cemented the fact thatgenre storytelling is thriving, as it has so many brilliant offerings for viewers to enjoy.
