Batman Begins and King Kong topped the winners at the 32nd annual Saturn Awards, taking home three statuettes each in ceremonies in Universal City, Calif., on May 2. Among the television nominees, SCI FI Channel's original series Battlestar Galactica dominated the winners, with three awards. The Saturns were given by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films.

The Batman prequel took home awards for best fantasy film, best actor (Christian Bale) and best writing (director Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer).

King Kong won for best actress (Naomi Watts), best director (Peter Jackson) and best special effects (Joe Letteri, Richard Taylor, Christian Rivers, Brian Van't Hul). Star Wars: Episode III, Sin City and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe each got two Saturns. [More]

The 32nd annual Saturn Awards will be presented tonight. Winners will be announced on the internet after midnight tonight. Here is the list of nominations:

BEST FANTASY FILM:
Batman Begins (Warner Bros.)
Charlie & the Chocolate Factory (Warner Bros.)
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe (Buena Vista)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Warner Bros.)
King Kong (Universal)
Zathura (Sony)

BEST ACTRESS:
Jodie Foster (“Flightplan”)
Laura Linney (“The Exorcism of Emily Rose”)
Rachel McAdams (“Red Eye”)
Natalie Portman (“Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith”)
Tilda Swinton (“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe”)
Naomi Watts (“King Kong”)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A YOUNGER ACTOR:
Alex Etel (“Millions”)
Dakota Fanning (“War of the Worlds”)
Freddie Highmore (“Charlie & the Chocolate Factory”)
Josh Hutcherson (“Zathura”)
William Moseley (“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe”)
Daniel Radcliffe (“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”)

BEST DIRECTOR:
Andrew Adamson (“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe”)
Peter Jackson (“King Kong”)
George Lucas (“Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith”)
Mike Newell (“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”)
Christopher Nolan (“Batman Begins”)
Steven Spielberg (“War of the Worlds”)

BEST WRITER:
Steve Kloves (“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”)
David Koepp (“War of the Worlds”)
David Ko, Christopher Nolan, David S. Goyer (“Batman Begins”)
Ann Peacock, Andrew Adamson, Christopher Markus, Steven McFeely (“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe”)
George Lucas (“Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith”)
Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson (“King Kong”)

BEST COSTUME:
Trisha Biggar (“Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith”)
Lindy Hemming (“Batman Begins”)
Isis Mussenden (“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe”)
Gabriella Pescucci (“Charlie & the Chocolate Factory”)
Terry Ryan (“King Kong”)
Jany Temime (“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”)

BEST MAKE-UP:
Howard Berger, Nikki Gooley, Greg Nicotero (“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe”)
Howard Berger, Greg Nicotero (“Land of the Dead”)
Howard Berger, Greg Nicotero (“Sin City”)
Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight (“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”)
Dave Elsey, Lou Elsey, Nikki Gooley (“Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith”)
Richard Taylor, Gino Acevedo, Dominie Till, Peter Swords-King (“King Kong”)

DENVER - The folks at Walden Media figured they really arrived when the irreverent comedians of "Saturday Night Live" did a rap called "Lazy Sunday — The Chronic of Narnia." SNL's Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell map out a faux hip plan to sneak cupcakes into a theater showing of "The Chronicles of Narnia" in a skit that was a huge hit online. It also drew belly laughs from Walden executives. "That's when I knew we had reached a new level," Walden co-founder Michael Flaherty says. On the heels of the successful "Chronicles of Narnia" film epic last year, Walden is moving into a new phase by not only starting a book publishing arm but exploring a potential joint venture or partnership with studios. [More]

A wildlife trust was yesterday accused of "desecrating" woodland said to have been the inspiration for the author C S Lewis when he created Narnia, the setting for his children's books. Ronald Brind, who grew up close to the Oxford writer's home at Risinghurst and was a boyhood friend of Lewis's stepson, Dougie Gresham, claims that the wood has been "vandalised" by the tree-felling activities of the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust, which was gifted the five-acre site. The wood was once a part of Lewis's home. [More]

The MTV 2005 Movie Award nominations were announced today, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has been nominated for Best Villian (Tilda Swinton). The MTV Movie Awards airs on Thursday, June 8 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

The Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe DVD

Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media present THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA DVD Sweepstakes!!!!!

As THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE becomes the best selling DVD in America 2 weeks in a row, Disney has decided to celebrate by offering a sweepstakes for fans of the film.

One Grand Prize winner will receive a one of a kind replica of the Narnia Wardrobe!

50 First prize winners will receive a Narnia Gift set that includes Pete's Sword Letter Opener, Narnia One Sheet Reproduction poster, Narnia Original Soundtrack and a Narnia Battle of Beruna Deluxe action figure pack

Contestants can enter at www.narniasweeps.com to win these amazing prizes!

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (www.ucr.edu) -- You might want to grab one of the old coats hanging in that big closet: It can be chilly where UC Riverside is taking scholars and fans of C.S. Lewis’ Narnia books, even though travelers will remain in the Humanities 1500 lecture hall the whole time. Fortunately, guides for the journey -- from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, May 5 -- have had some experience with fantasy worlds. “Through the Wardrobe: A Narnia Conference” follows October’s very successful “Pottermania” conference, which drew an enthusiastic, standing-room-only crowd. [More]

Buena Vista Home Entertainment's The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe remained the top-selling DVD for the second consecutive week, according to figures for the week ending April 16.

Universal Studios' King Kong, meanwhile, is showing surprisingly long legs. Three weeks after its release, the film held steady at No. 3 on First Alert and slipped one notch to No. 2 on the rental chart, earning another $5.9 million to boost its total rental take to nearly $20 million.

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The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

King Kong

Folks from the London MCM Expo write: WETA will be making an appearance at the upcoming London MCM Expo in the UK on the 27th & 28th May 2006, they will be showcasing their upcoming and current range of products to the European fans. This is a very rare appearance from the company its self rather than a licensee. Along with their appearance a lot more is happening with guests from film and TV, stage talks and much more. Updates will come when more comes clear, more information on the event can found at www.londonexpo.com

Buena Vista Home Entertainment`s 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' easily topped the national DVD sales chart for the week ended April 9, while the previous week`s top seller, Universal Studios` 'King Kong,' remained perched in the No. 1 slot on the video rental chart for the second consecutive week. With first-day sales pegged at 4 million units, 'Narnia' didn`t have much competition for First Alert dominance. 'Brokeback Mountain,' another Universal title, finished a distant second its first week in stores, barely outselling third-ranked 'Kong,' which was still in high demand during its sophomore week out. Universal said 'Brokeback Mountain' sold 1.4 million DVDs its first day in stores. [More]