Marvel Studios' big gamble all began with Iron Man, and in many ways Tony Stark anchored the supersized Avengers, as both a foil for Bruce Banner’s (Mark Ruffalo’s) brand of mad genius and Captain America’s (Chris Evans) Depression era heroics. In the end, Stark makes a sacrifice play and saves the day -- and the team enjoys shawarma to celebrate.
The Avengers and Breaking Bad were the big winners at the 39th annual Saturn Awards, presented Wednesday by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films in the genre world’s version of the Oscars.
The Marvel movie was named best science fiction film and also walked away with awards for best supporting actor (Clark Gregg), best director for Joss Whedon and best special effects (Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams, and Dan Sudick).
Breaking Bad dominated the TV side with three wins, including best presentation on television, best actor for Bryan Cranston, who tied with The Following star Kevin Bacon, and best supporting actor in TV for Jonathan Banks.
Life of Pi, meanwhile, was awarded best fantasy, while Cabin in the Woods won best horror/thriller. The James Bond movie Skyfall won in the best action/adventure category.
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Matthew McConaughey was best actor for his work in Killer Joe while Jennifer Lawrence walked away in the best actress category for The Hunger Games. Anne Hathaway won best supporting actress for her performance as Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises.
Among other winners in film: Quentin Tarantino was awarded the prize for best writing while Tim Burton’s black-and-white ode to monster movies Frankenweenie won best animated film.
NBC’s Revolution was named best network series while The Walking Dead won for best syndicated/cable TV series. Teen Wolf was awarded best youth-oriented series. (Apart from Revolution, the same shows that won last year dominated this year’s Saturns.)
Among the home entertainment highlights was Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection, which won for best DVD/BD collection release.
The Saturns cover the period between February 1, 2012 to February 1, 2013.
