Stan Lee on a flying balloon barge, Morgan Freeman upstaged by William Shatner, Megan Fox swearing her undying allegiance to the “Transformers” franchise, and Keith Richards at an award show devoted to horror movies — yeah, it’s Spike TV’s Scream Awards.

The 2009 edition, which went down in typically reserved fashion at the Greek Theatre on Oct. 17, featured all of the above-mentioned hoopla, as well as an impressive roster of stars to hand out and receive the lethal-looking trophies for the best in horror, science fiction and fantasy media. The juggernaut that is “Twilight” was among the big winners of the night, with HBO’s “True Blood” and the J.J. Abrams revamp of “Star Trek” not far behind.

“Twilight” took home four awards, including Best Fantasy Movie, and leads Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart earning Best Actor and Best Actress in a Fantasy Movie or Television Series. Neither was present at the event, but co-star Taylor Lautner claimed his award for Breakout Performance (Male) and later presented exclusive footage from the upcoming sequel, “New Moon,” to the attending throng.

However, “True Blood” co-stars and real-life couple Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin were in attendance to pick up their awards for Best Horror Actor and Actress, as well as for the coveted Best TV Show. Alexander Skarsgård was also on hand to net “Blood’s” fourth award of the night for Best Villain.

“Trek” pulled up third with three awards, including Best Science Fiction Movie, Best Director for J.J. Abrams, and the Ultimate Scream, which featured a typically self-lampooning guest appearance by William Shatner, who emerged from the crowd to accept the award from presenter Morgan Freeman and chide Abrams for not including him in the film. The surprise appearance was one of the highlights of the show, matched only by Johnny Depp’s presentation of the Rock Immortal Award to a visibly amused Keith Richards. One may question the presence of Richards at an award show devoted to horror movies (and save those snarky comments about his resemblance to a certain animatronic TV horror anthology host), but his appearance certainly gave the event a quantum boost in cool points.

Other notable guests included Stan (The Man) Lee’s arrival via balloon to accept the Comic-Con Icon Lifetime Achievement Award from “Spider-Man” star Tobey Maguire, a surprisingly heartfelt reunion of the “Battlestar Galactica” cast (Ronald Moore version), and Quentin Tarantino’s enthusiastic (to put it mildly) tribute to director George A. Romero (“Night of the Living Dead” and the upcoming “Survival of the Dead”) who quite rightly received the Scream Mastermind Lifetime Achievement Award. But the show’s most gossip-spasm-inducing moment of the night came when Megan Fox acknowledged the “false reports” regarding her recent, let us say, untoward comments about the “Transformers” franchise and director Michael Bay while picking up her award for Best Sci-Fi Actress. “I’ve always felt that I am a very ordinary part of an extraordinary film,” she said. “These movies took me out of obscurity and they gave me a career and I am completely grateful to everyone involved with this franchise.” That, I believe, is called saving face.

The night was rounded out by the world premiere of clips from a number of upcoming genre pics, including Martin Scorsese’s “Shutter Island” and Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” (itself a winner of the night as Most Anticipated Fantasy Film), as well as a preview of ABC’s revamp of “V.” The 2009 Scream Award will air for your edification and enjoyment on Oct. 27 on Spike TV, but should you have plans for the evening, here’s a full list of the winners and equally stellar presenters. After the break, mais oui.

Most Anticipated Fantasy Film:
“Alice in Wonderland” — Presenter: Jessica Alba. Accepting: Johnny Depp

Best Sci-Fi Actress:
Megan Fox — “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” — Presenter: Justin Long. Accepting: Megan Fox

Break-out Performance Female:
Isabelle Lucas — “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” — Presenter: John C. Reilly. Accepting: Isabelle Lucas.

Best Villain:
Alexander Skarsgård — “True Blood” — Presenter: Kate Bosworth. Accepting: Alexander Skarsgård.

Break-out Performance Male:
Taylor Lautner — “Twilight” — Presenter: Christina Ricci. Accepting: Taylor Lautner.

Best Comic Book Writer:
Jeff Jones — Presenters: Eliza Dushku and Dave Navarro. Accepting: Jeff Jones.

Best Comic Book Movie:
“Watchmen” — Presenters: Eliza Dushku and Dave Navarro. Accepting: Jackie Earle Haley.

Rock Immortal Award:
Keith Richards — Presenter: Johnny Depp. Accepting: Keith Richards.

Best Horror Movie:
“Drag Me to Hell” — Presenter: Jennifer Carpenter. Accepting: Sam Raimi and principal cast minus Allison Lohman.

Best Horror Actor Male:
Stephen Moyer — “True Blood” — Presenter: Liv Tyler. Accepting: Stephen Moyer.

Best Horror Actor Female:
Anna Paquin — “True Blood” — Presenter: Jackie Earle Haley. Accepting: Anna Paquin

Scream Mastermind Lifetime Achievement Award:
George A. Romero — Presenter: Quentin Tarantino. Accepting: George A. Romero

Best Director:
J.J. Abrams — “Star Trek” — Presenter: Harrison Ford. Accepting: J.J. Abrams

Best TV Show:
“True Blood” — Presenter: Cast of “Vampire Diaries.”

Best Fantasy Actor, Male:

Robert Pattinson – Twilight

Best Fantasy Actor, Female:

Kristen Stewart – Twilight

Best Fantasy Movie:
“Twilight” — Presenter: Elijah Wood. Accepting: Taylor Lautner

Comic-Con Icon Lifetime Achievement Award:
Stan Lee — Presenter: Tobey Maguire. Accepting: Stan Lee

Ultimate Scream:
Star Trek — Presenter: Morgan Freeman. Accepting: William Shatner

– Paul Gaita

Photo: The cast of “True Blood” accepts the award for Best TV Show / Getty Images

SOURCE:  LA Times THE ENVELOPE