The nominees for Spike TV’s “Scream 2010” have been announced and Christopher Nolan’s Inception leads all films with fourteen nominations.  While there are certainly more prestigious awards that films (especially Inception) would like to be honored with, the award show always looks like a good time from my couch and I imagine it’s nice to be recognized for your work regardless of the outlet.  Moreover, while fans may vote for the winners, the nominees themselves are chosen by an advisory board made up of industry professionals including: Tim Burton, John Carpenter, Wes Craven, Neil Gaiman, Eli Roth, Quentin Tarantino, and Joss Whedon.  In short, it’s not like the kind people at Spike are calling me up asking for my opinion on who deserves a “Scream” nod (Note: I am available just in case though).

Officially, the “Scream Awards” honor “the best in sci-fi, fantasy, comics, and horror” and will air on Spike on October 19th.  In addition, they are responsible for one of the few times a year that I feel compelled to watch Spike TV (I’ll admit to occasionally indulging in an episode or five of Pros vs. Joes).  To check out the press release which includes a full list of this year’s nominees, hit the jump.

Here’s the press release:

Voting Begins Today Only At Scream.Spike.com

Summer science fiction blockbuster “Inception” leads the way with nominations in 14 categories for Spike TV’s fifth annual “SCREAM.” Taping on Saturday, October 16 at The Greek Theater in Los Angeles, CA, “SCREAM” is the first and only global event of its kind to honor the luminaries in the sci-fi, fantasy, horror and comic book genres, and the actors, creators, icons and pioneers who have influenced and shaped the industry over the past year.

This year’s show will also continue the tradition of featuring exclusive World Premieres from some of the most anticipated movies of 2011.  The two-hour extravaganza will premiere on Spike TV on Tuesday, October 19 (9:00–11:00 PM, ET/PT).  Presenters and musical performers will be announced shortly.

“SCREAM nominees comprise the top four grossing films of 2010, totaling a US box office of over 1 billion dollars among them, and that doesn’t even include 2009’s Avatar, the most successful film in history,” said Casey Patterson, executive producer of “SCREAM 2010” and senior vice president of event production, talent development and studio relations for Spike TV.  “This October, the fans, whose reverence for these genres makes them the commercial successes that they are, will once again have their night on Spike dedicated to honoring their heroes.”

Directed by Christopher Nolan, “Inception” nabbed 15 nominations in 14 categories, one for every year the critically hailed project was in development, including nods for “The Ultimate Scream,” “Best Ensemble,” and “Fight Scene of the Year.”  “Kick-Ass” was nominated in 13 categories for a total of 17 nominations, while Tony Stark’s adventures in “Iron Man 2” garnered 13 nominations.  HBO’s “True Blood” had the most nominations of any television series with 10.

Following are several of the categories and nominees for Spike TV’s “SCREAM 2010”.  For the full list fans can go to scream.spike.com:

THE ULTIMATE SCREAM

  • Alice in Wonderland
  • Avatar
  • District 9
  • Inception
  • Iron Man 2
  • Kick-Ass
  • Lost
  • True Blood
  • The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
  • Zombieland

BEST SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE

  • Avatar
  • District 9
  • Inception
  • Iron Man 2
  • Predators
  • The Road

BEST FANTASY MOVIE

  • Alice in Wonderland
  • The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
  • Kick-Ass
  • Toy Story 3
  • The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
  • Where the Wild Things Are

BEST HORROR MOVIE

  • The Crazies
  • A Nightmare on Elm Street
  • Paranormal Activity
  • Shutter Island
  • Thirst
  • Zombieland

BEST TV SHOW

  • Dexter
  • Doctor Who
  • Lost
  • True Blood
  • V

BEST DIRECTOR

  • Neill Blomkamp, District 9
  • Tim Burton, Alice in Wonderland
  • James Cameron, Avatar
  • Roland Emmerich, 2012
  • Christopher Nolan, Inception
  • Martin Scorsese, Shutter Island

BEST SCREAM-PLAY

  • District 9, written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
  • Inception, written by Christopher Nolan
  • Kick-Ass, written by Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman
  • Shutter Island, written by Laeta Kalogridis
  • Toy Story 3, written by Michael Arndt

Some of the nominees’ reactions include:

“I'm thrilled to be included in this exceptional group of actors and so excited that “True Blood” has been recognized by the Scream Awards,” said Sam Trammell, who is nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his work on HBO’s vampire hit.

Stephen Lang, nominated for Best Villain for his role in the highest grossing film of all time, “Avatar,” by saying, “"I am deeeeply honored to be included among such a vile, loathsome and scoundrelly set of blackguards."

Sharlto Copley, star of “District 9,” said "Thank you.  I'm very grateful to the distinguished "SCREAM" advisory board for these nominations," for the nods he received for Breakout Performance and Best Science Fiction Actor.

Ballots were sent out to Spike TV’s “SCREAM 2010” advisory board, consisting of some of the most respected and well-known members of the horror, sci-fi, fantasy and comic book worlds who were responsible for advising on categories and determining nominees in each category.  All films, television shows and comic books were deemed eligible for inclusion if they were released between July 16, 2009 and July 16, 2010 and were representative of the genres listed.  Winners will be determined by online voting at scream.spike.com.

Esteemed members of this year’s advisory board include:

  • TIM BURTON
  • JOHN CARPENTER
  • WES CRAVEN
  • DAMON LINDELOF
  • RIDLEY SCOTT
  • QUENTIN TARANTINO
  • JOSS WHEDON
  • Zombieland, written by Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese

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