Saturn Awards 2013 Nominations Announced; 'The Hobbit' Scores 9 Nominations; 'Life of Pi,' 'The Dark Knight Rises,' 'Skyfall,' and 'The Avengers' Also Nominated

The 39^th Annual Saturn Awards have announced their nominations with "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" leading the way with 9 nominations.

The film was nominated for Best Director for Peter Jackson, Best Fantasy Film and Best Actor for Martin Freeman.

"Life of Pi" received eight nominations including Best Fantasy Film, Best Director for Ang Lee, Best Young Actor for Suraj Sharma and Best Writing. "Skyfall" followed with seven nominations for Best Action Adventure film, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress but failed to receive a nomination for Best Director.

The films that will battle for Best Science Fiction Film include "The Avenger's," "Chronicle," "The Hunger Games," "Cloud Atlas," "Looper," and "Prometheus."

"The Hobbit" and "Life of Pi" will compete against "Ted," "Snow White and the Huntsman," "Ruby Sparks" and "The Amazing Spiderman."

Oscar nominees "Argo" and "Zero Dark Thirty" will face off against "The Cabin in the Woods," "The Impossible," "Seven Psychopaths," and "The Woman in Black" for the Best Horror/Thriller award.

The Best Action Adventure category will see "Skyfall" compete against Oscar nominees "Django Unchained," and "Les Miserables," and "The Dark Knight Rises," "Taken 2," and "The Bourne Legacy."

The awards also added a new category for Best Independent Film. Among the nominees include "Compliance," "Hitchcock," Killer Joe," "Robot and Frank," "Safety Not Guaranteed," "The Paperboy," and "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World."   

Among the actors nominated include Oscar nominees Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables, The Dark Knight Rises), Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games), Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables), Naomi Watts (The Impossible), and Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained).

Others include Charlize Theron (Snow White and the Huntsman), Nicole Kidman (The Paperboy), Christian Bale (The Dark Knight Rises), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Looper and The Dark Knight Rises), Michael Fassbender (Prometheus), Javier Bardem (Skyfall) and Judi Dench (Skyfall).  

The awards will be handed out by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror this summer.