The 16th Satellite Awards is an award ceremony honoring the year's outstanding performers, films, television shows, home videos and interactive media, presented by the International Press Academy at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Century City, Los Angeles.
The nominations were announced on December 1, 2011. The winners were announced on December 18, 2011.
The categories for motion picture were pared down from 22 to 19 classifications; the change reflected the merger of comedy and drama under a general Best Picture heading.
Special achievement awards Auteur Award (for his body of film work, as well as his books on the inner workings of filmmaking and filmmakers) – Peter Bogdanovich Humanitarian Award (for community involvement and work on social causes) – Tim Hetherington Mary Pickford Award (for outstanding contribution to the entertainment industry) – Mitzi Gaynor Nikola Tesla Award (for his work as film preservationist and historian) – Douglas Trumbull Best First Feature – Paddy Considine (Tyrannosaur) Best Educational Motion Picture – The First Grader (Sam Feuer, Richard Harding, and David Thompson) Career of Outstanding Service in the Entertainment Industry – Brian Edwards Outstanding Performance in a TV Series – Jessica Lange (American Horror Story)
Motion picture winners and nominees
Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.
{| class=wikitable style="width="100%" |- ! style="background:#EEDD82;" | Best Film ! style="background:#EEDD82;" | Best Director |- | valign="top" | The Descendants The Artist Drive The Help Hugo Midnight in Paris Moneyball Shame Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy War Horse | valign="top" | Nicolas Winding Refn – Drive Tomas Alfredson – Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy Woody Allen – Midnight in Paris Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist Steve McQueen – Shame John Michael McDonagh – The Guard Alexander Payne – The Descendants Martin Scorsese – Hugo Steven Spielberg – War Horse Tate Taylor – The Help |- ! style="background:#EEDD82;" | Best Actor ! style="background:#EEDD82;" | Best Actress |- | valign="top" | Ryan Gosling – Drive as the Driver George Clooney – The Descendants as Matthew "Matt" King Leonardo DiCaprio – J. Edgar as J. Edgar Hoover Michael Fassbender – Shame as Brandon Sullivan Brendan Gleeson – The Guard as Sergeant Gerry Boyle Tom Hardy – Warrior as Tommy Riordan Woody Harrelson – Rampart as Officer David "Dave" Brown Gary Oldman – Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy as George Smiley Brad Pitt – Moneyball as Billy Beane Michael Shannon – Take Shelter as Curtis LaForche | valign="top" | Viola Davis – The Help as Aibeleen Clark Glenn Close – Albert Nobbs as Albert Nobbs Olivia Colman – Tyrannosaur as Hannah Vera Farmiga – Higher Ground as Corinne Walker Elizabeth Olsen – Martha Marcy May Marlene as Martha / Marcy May / Marlene Lewis Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady as Margaret Thatcher Charlize Theron – Young Adult as Mavis Gary Emily Watson – Oranges and Sunshine as Margaret Humphreys Michelle Williams – My Week with Marilyn as Marilyn Monroe Michelle Yeoh – The Lady as Aung San Suu Kyi |- ! style="background:#EEDD82;" | Best Supporting Actor ! style="background:#EEDD82;" | Best Supporting Actress |- | valign="top" | Albert Brooks – Drive as Bernie Rose Kenneth Branagh – My Week with Marilyn as Laurence Olivier Colin Farrell – Horrible Bosses as Bobby Pellit Jonah Hill – Moneyball as Peter Brand Viggo Mortensen – A Dangerous Method as Sigmund Freud Nick Nolte – Warrior as Paddy Conlon Christopher Plummer – Beginners as Hal Fields Andy Serkis – Rise of the Planet of the Apes as Caesar Christoph Waltz – Carnage as Alan Cowan Hugo Weaving – Oranges and Sunshine as Jack | valign="top" | Jessica Chastain – The Tree of Life as Mrs. O'Brien Elle Fanning – Super 8 as Alice Dainard Lisa Féret – Mozart's Sister as Princess Louise of France Judy Greer – The Descendants as Julie Speer Rachel McAdams – Midnight in Paris as Inez Janet McTeer – Albert Nobbs as Hubert Page Carey Mulligan – Shame as Sissy Sullivan Vanessa Redgrave – Coriolanus as Volumnia Octavia Spencer – The Help as Minerva "Minny" Jackson Kate Winslet – Carnage as Nancy Cowan |- ! style="background:#EEDD82;" | Best Original Screenplay ! style="background:#EEDD82;" | Best Adapted Screenplay |- | valign="top" | The Tree of Life – Terrence Malick The Artist – Michel Hazanavicius The Guard – John Michael McDonagh Mozart's Sister – René Féret Shame – Abi Morgan and Steve McQueen Tyrannosaur – Paddy Considine | valign="top" | The Descendants – Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash The Adventures of Tintin – Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright, and Joe Cornish Albert Nobbs – Glenn Close and John Banville The Help – Tate Taylor Moneyball – Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin War Horse – Lee Hall and Richard Curtis |- ! style="background:#EEDD82;" | Best Animated or Mixed Media Film ! style="background:#EEDD82;" | Best Foreign Language Film |- | valign="top" | The Adventures of Tintin Kung Fu Panda 2 The Muppets Puss in Boots Rango Rio | valign="top" | Mysteries of Lisbon (Portugal) 13 Assassins (Japan / United Kingdom) Faust (Russia) The Kid with a Bike (Belgium / France / Italy) Las Acacias (Argentina) Le Havre (Finland / France / Germany) Miss Bala (Mexico) Mozart's Sister (France) A Separation (Iran) The Turin Horse (Hungary) |- ! style="background:#EEDD82;" | Best Documentary Film ! style="background:#EEDD82;" | Best Cinematography |- | valign="top" | Senna American: The Bill Hicks Story Cave of Forgotten Dreams The Interrupters My Perestroika One Lucky Elephant Pina Project Nim Tabloid Under Fire: Journalists in Combat | valign="top" | War Horse – Janusz Kamiński The Artist – Guillaume Schiffman Drive – Newton Thomas Sigel Faust – Bruno Delbonnel Hugo – Robert Richardson The Tree of Life – Emmanuel Lubezki |- ! style="background:#EEDD82;" | Best Original Score ! style="background:#EEDD82;" | Best Original Song |- | valign="top" | Soul Surfer – Marco Beltrami Drive – Cliff Martinez Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 – Alexandre Desplat Super 8 – Michael Giacchino War Horse – John Williams Water for Elephants – James Newton Howard | valign="top" | "Lay Your Head Down" – Albert Nobbs "Bridge of Light" – Happy Feet Two "Gathering Stories" – We Bought a Zoo "Hello Hello" – Gnomeo & Juliet "Life's a Happy Song" – The Muppets "Man or Muppet" – The Muppets |- ! style="background:#EEDD82;" | Best Visual Effects ! style="background:#EEDD82;" | Best Art Direction and Production Design |- | valign="top" | Hugo Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 Rise of the Planet of the Apes Super 8 Transformers: Dark of the Moon War Horse | valign="top" | The Artist Anonymous Faust Hugo Mysteries of Lisbon Water for Elephants |- ! style="background:#EEDD82;" | Best Film Editing ! style="background:#EEDD82;" | Best Sound (Editing and Mixing) |- | valign="top" | The Guard The Descendants Drive Shame War Horse Warrior | valign="top" | Drive Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 Super 8 Transformers: Dark of the Moon The Tree of Life War Horse |- ! style="background:#EEDD82;" | Best Costume Design ! style="background:#EEDD82;" | Best Ensemble – Motion Picture |- | valign="top" | Water for Elephants Anonymous The Artist Faust Jane Eyre Mysteries of Lisbon | valign="top" | The Help – Anna Camp, Jessica Chastain, Viola Davis, Nelsan Ellis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Dana Ivey, Allison Janney, Leslie Jordan, Brian Kerwin, Chris Lowell, Ahna O'Reilly, David Oyelowo, Sissy Spacek, Octavia Spencer, Mary Steenburgen, Emma Stone, Cicely Tyson, and Mike Vogel|}
Television winners and nominees
Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.
Best Drama Series Best Comedy or Musical Series Justified – FX Boardwalk Empire – HBO Breaking Bad – AMC Friday Night Lights – NBC / The 101 Network Sons of Anarchy – FX Treme – HBO | valign="top" | It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia – FX The Big C – Showtime Community – NBC Episodes – Showtime Louie – FX Modern Family – ABC |- ! style="background:#EEDD82;" | Best Miniseries or TV Film ! style="background:#EEDD82;" | Best Genre Series |- | valign="top" | Mildred Pierce – HBO Cinema Verite – HBO Downton Abbey – PBS Page Eight – PBS Thurgood – HBO Too Big to Fail – HBO | valign="top" | American Horror Story – FX Game of Thrones – HBO Once Upon a Time – ABC Torchwood – BBC True Blood – HBO The Walking Dead – AMC |- ! style="background:#EEDD82;" | Best Actor in a Drama Series ! style="background:#EEDD82;" | Best Actress in a Drama Series |- | valign="top" | Timothy Olyphant – Justified Steve Buscemi – Boardwalk Empire Kyle Chandler – Friday Night Lights Bryan Cranston – Breaking Bad William H. Macy – Shameless Wendell Pierce – Treme Claire Danes – Homeland Connie Britton – Friday Night Lights Mireille Enos – The Killing Julianna Margulies – The Good Wife Katey Sagal – Sons of Anarchy Eve Myles – Torchwood Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Film Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Film Jason Isaacs – Case Histories Hugh Bonneville – Downton Abbey Idris Elba – Luther Laurence Fishburne – Thurgood William Hurt – Too Big to Fail Bill Nighy – Page Eight Kate Winslet – Mildred Pierce Taraji P. Henson – Taken from Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story Diane Lane – Cinema Verite Jean Marsh – Upstairs, Downstairs Elizabeth McGovern – Downton Abbey Rachel Weisz – Page Eight Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy Series Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy Series Louis C.K. – Louie Martin Clunes – Doc Martin Charlie Day – It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Matt LeBlanc – Episodes Joel McHale – Community Elijah Wood – Wilfred Martha Plimpton – Raising Hope Zooey Deschanel – New Girl Felicity Huffman – Desperate Housewives Laura Linney – The Big C Melissa McCarthy – Mike & Molly Amy Poehler – Parks and Recreation Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries, or TV Film Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries, or TV Film Peter Dinklage – Game of Thrones (TIE) Ryan Hurst – Sons of Anarchy (TIE) Ty Burrell – Modern Family Donald Glover – Community Walton Goggins – Justified Neil Patrick Harris – How I Met Your Mother Guy Pearce – Mildred Pierce James Woods – Too Big to Fail Vanessa Williams – Desperate Housewives Michelle Forbes – The Killing Kelly Macdonald – Boardwalk Empire Margo Martindale – Justified Maya Rudolph – Up All Night Maggie Smith – Downton Abbey Sofía Vergara – Modern Family Evan Rachel Wood – Mildred Pierce
New Media winners and nominees Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.
Best Classic DVD Best DVD Extras West Side Story: 50th Anniversary Edition Blow Out Citizen Kane: Ultimate Collector's Edition A Clockwork Orange: 40th Anniversary Edition Once Upon a Time in the West Star Wars: The Complete Saga Blue Velvet Das Boot: 2-Disc Collector's Set Planet Earth: Limited Edition Super 8: 2-Disc Edition Outstanding Action/Adventure Game Outstanding Mobile Game Batman: Arkham City (Rocksteady Studios) The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Nintendo) Limbo (Double Eleven / Playdead) Portal 2 (Valve) | valign="top" | Infinity Blade II (Chair Entertainment / Epic Games) Patapon 3 (Pyramid / Japan Studio) Pokémon Black and White (Game Freak) World of Goo (2D Boy) |- ! style="background:#EEDD82;" | Outstanding Role Playing Game ! style="background:#EEDD82;" | Outstanding Sports/Racing Game |- | valign="top" | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda) Bastion (Supergiant Games) Dark Souls (FromSoftware) Total War: Shogun 2 (Creative Assembly / Feral Interactive) | valign="top" | Forza Motorsport 4 (Turn 10 Studios) FIFA 12 (Electronic Arts) MLB 11: The Show (San Diego Studio) NBA 2K12 (Virtuos / Visual Concepts) |- ! style="background:#EEDD82;" | Outstanding Youth DVD ! style="background:#EEDD82;" | |- | valign="top" | The Lion King: Diamond Edition