The Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works mainly in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed in 1972, who felt that films within those genres were never given the appreciation they deserved at that time. The physical award is a representation of the planet Saturn, surrounded with a ring of film. The award was initially and is still sometimes loosely referred to as a Golden Scroll.

Similar to other awards, like the Oscars, the Emmys and the Grammys, the Saturn Awards are voted on by members of the presenting Academy. The academy is a non-profit organization with membership open to the public. The first awards were presented in 1972 by William Shatner.

Although the awards still primarily nominate films and TV in the science fiction, fantasy and horror categories, the Saturns have also recognized productions in standard dramatic genres. There are also special awards for lifetime achievement in the field. The 38th Saturn Awards will be held on June 20, 2012 in Burbank, California.

Quentin Jerome Tarantino (pronunciation: /ˌtærənˈtiːnoʊ/; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. He has received many industry awards, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA and the Palme d'Or and had been nominated for an Emmy and Grammy.

Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, Tarantino was an avid film fan. His career began in the late 1980's, when he wrote and directed My Best Friend's Birthday. Its screenplay would form the basis for True Romance. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence. His films include Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), Jackie Brown (1997), Kill Bill (2003, 2004), Death Proof (2007), and Inglourious Basterds (2009).

His movies are generally characterized by stylistic influences from grindhouse, kung fu, and spaghetti western films. Tarantino also frequently collaborates with his friend and fellow filmmaker Robert Rodriguez.

Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon ( /ˈwiːdən/; born June 23, 1964) is an American screenwriter, executive producer, director, comic book writer, occasional composer and actor, founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures. He is best known as the creator and showrunner of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003), Angel (1999–2004), Firefly (2002) and Dollhouse (2009–2010), as well as the short film Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008). Whedon co-wrote and produced the horror film The Cabin in the Woods (2012), and wrote and directed the film adaptation of Marvel's The Avengers (2012).

He is also notable for his work in film, comic books, and online media. Many of Whedon's projects enjoy cult status.

Joss Whedon was born in New York City. He has been described as the world's first third-generation TV writer, as he is the son of Tom Whedon, a screenwriter for The Electric Company in the 1970s and The Golden Girls in the 1980s, and the grandson of John Whedon, a writer for The Donna Reed Show in the 1950s. His mother, Lee Stearns, taught history at Riverdale Country School as Lee Whedon, and was an unpublished novelist. Joss Whedon is the younger brother of Samuel and Matthew Whedon and older brother of writers Jed Whedon and Zack Whedon.

Anna Torv (born 15 June 1978) is an Australian actress known for her role as FBI agent Olivia Dunham on the Fox television series Fringe.

Anna Torv was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia to Susan and Hans Torv and grew up on the Hinterlands of the Gold Coast, Queensland. Anna's father Hans Torv is of Estonian descent, but was born in Stirling, Scotland. She has been estranged from her father since the age of 8. She has one sibling, a younger brother, Dylan. Her paternal aunt is writer Anna Maria Torv Murdoch Mann, who was married for 31 years to billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

Torv graduated from Benowa State High School in 1996. She graduated from Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) with a degree in Performing Arts in 2001.

In 2004, Torv joined the cast of Australia's acclaimed television drama The Secret Life Of Us playing Nikki Martel.

Torv appeared in the BBC series Mistresses. She also played the voice and performed motion capture of the main character Nariko in the 2007 video game Heavenly Sword.

Jennifer Leann Carpenter (born December 7, 1979) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Debra Morgan on the Showtime drama series Dexter, for which she won a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television in 2009.

Carpenter was born in Louisville, Kentucky, the daughter of Catherine (née Mitchell) and Robert Carpenter. She attended St. Raphael the Archangel and then Sacred Heart Academy. She trained at the Walden Theatre Conservatory program, and later at New York City's Juilliard School (Drama Division Group 31: 1998–2002). Before graduation, she was cast in the 2002 Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's The Crucible starring Liam Neeson and Laura Linney.

Carpenter first attracted critical attention for her performance in The Exorcism of Emily Rose.^{[citation needed]} She took home the 2006 MTV Movie Award for 'Best Frightened Performance', and also received a 'Hollywood Life Breakthrough Award'. She was also named 'Breakout Performer' at the 2006 Scream Awards.

Carpenter currently plays the role of Debra Morgan in the Showtime crime drama television series Dexter which premiered October 1, 2006. Her portrayal of the title character's sister has impressed some critics, with Australian journalist Jack Marx describing her portrayal of "cool and clumsy" Debra as "so perfect that many viewers appear to have mistaken the character's flaws for the actor's."