Star Wars: The Force Awakens Wins 5 At Empire Film Awards

The 21st annual Jameson Empire Awards were once again held at Grosvenor House in Park Lane in the heart of London’s Mayfair. Honouring the best films and entertainment of the past year, the Jameson Empire Awards took place this evening, hosted by David Walliams. The force remained strong for Star Wars: The Force Awakens which received the most awards, including Best Director  for J.J. Abrams, Best Visual Effects, Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy collected by C-3PO himself, Anthony Daniels, and Best Male and Female Newcomer awards for stars John Boyega and Daisy Ridley, who were both present to accept their trophies.

Three honorary awards were bestowed by Empire magazine: Empire Inspiration Empire Hero; and Empire Legend. British actor-director Paddy Considine was presented with the Empire Inspiration award by long-time collaborator and friend Shane Meadows, and actor Stanley Tucci was named Empire Hero. Miranda Richardson, currently filming Churchill with Tucci, presented him with the award in recognition of his recent performances in high-profile films including Spotlight. The late Alan Rickman was posthumously named this year’s Empire Legend by Editor in Chief of Empire, Terri White and News Editor, Chris Hewitt who commented on stage: “This is a heartfelt tribute from the Empire staff to an actor who touched us all with his extraordinary career.”

The top film awards of the evening – Best British Film and Best Film presented went to Spectre and The Revenant respectively. Director Sam Mendes collected the Best British Film award from Jonathan Ross for Spectre, which also won Best Thriller despite been regarded as one of the ‘weaker’ Bond films. Further awards dedicated to popular genres were Best Horror, which went to The Hallow and was received by director Corin Hardy and actor Joseph Mawle, and Best Comedy was awarded to Spy and collected by actor Peter Serafinowicz.

The award for Best TV Series,  presented this year for the first time, went to This Is England ’90. Series director and co-writer Shane Meadows collected the award alongside cast Thomas Turgoose, Jo Hartley and Chanel Cresswell.

Other new awards announced at the end of the ceremony included: Batman: Arkham Knight for Best Game. Inside Out for Best Animation; Amy for Best Documentary; The Big Short for Best Screenplay; and World Of Tomorrow for Best Short Film . Mad Max: Fury Road triumphed in the newly introduced craft categories, taking four awards in total for: Best Soundtrack; Best Costume Design; Best Make-Up And Hairstyling; and Best Production Design.

Legend remade in 60 seconds was awarded the annual Jameson Empire Done In 60 Seconds short film award, presented to its director Marc Barnes by jury member Corin Hardy. A total of 355 contestants from four countries submitted a 60-second remake of their favourite film to enter this year’s competition. The entries were judged by a of film experts including director Corin Hardy, producer Bekki Wray-Rogers, actress Faye Marsay and Paul Keenan, CEO of Bauer Media, owners of Empire magazine. Watch All the 2016 entries and finalists here.

THE JAMESON EMPIRE AWARDS 2016 WINNERS IN FULL

BEST COMEDY presented by Absolute Radio
· Ant-Man
· Inside Out
· Me And Earl And The Dying Girl
· Spy – WINNER
· Trainwreck

BEST SCI-FI/FANTASY
· The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2
· Jurassic World
· Mad Max: Fury Road
· The Martian
· Star Wars: The Force Awakens – WINNER

BEST HORROR
· Crimson Peak
· The Hallow – WINNER
· Insidious: Chapter 3
· It Follows
· Krampus

BEST THRILLER presented by Corinthia Hotel London
· Bridge Of Spies
· The Gift
· Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
· Sicario
· Spectre – WINNER

BEST MALE NEWCOMER
· Abraham Attah (Beasts Of No Nation)
· John Boyega (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) – WINNER
· Thomas Mann (Me And Earl And The Dying Girl)
· Jason Mitchell (Straight Outta Compton)
· Jacob Tremblay (Room)

BEST FEMALE NEWCOMER presented by the Forever Hope Foundation
· Olivia Cooke (Me And Earl And The Dying Girl)
· Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation)
· Maika Monroe (It Follows)
· Bel Powley (The Diary Of A Teenage Girl)
· Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) – WINNER

BEST BRITISH FILM presented by The Hollywood Reporter
· 45 Years
· Legend
· Macbeth
· Spectre – WINNER
· Suffragette

BEST FILM presented by Sky Movies
· The Hateful Eight
· Mad Max: Fury Road
· The Martian
· The Revenant – WINNER
· Star Wars: The Force Awakens

BEST TV SERIES presented by Wuaki TV
· Fargo
· Game Of Thrones
· Marvel’s Daredevil
· Marvel’s Jessica Jones
· This Is England ’90 – WINNER

BEST DIRECTOR presented by Vue Entertainment
· J. J. Abrams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) – WINNER
· Ryan Coogler (Creed)
· Alejandro González Iñárritu (The Revenant)
· George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)
· Ridley Scott (The Martian)

BEST ACTRESS
· Emily Blunt (Sicario)
· Brie Larson (Room)
· Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2)
· Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road)
· Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl) – WINNER

JAMESON BEST ACTOR
· Matt Damon (The Martian) – WINNER
· Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)
· Michael Fassbender (Macbeth/Steve Jobs)
· Tom Hardy (Legend/Mad Max: Fury Road)
· Michael B. Jordan (Creed)

BEST SCREENPLAY
· The Big Short — Charles Randolph, Adam McKay – WINNER
· The Hateful Eight – Quentin Tarantino
· Spotlight — Josh Singer, Tom McCarthy
· Steve Jobs – Aaron Sorkin
· Trainwreck — Amy Schumer

BEST ANIMATED FILM
· Inside Out – WINNER
· Minions
· Shaun The Sheep Movie
· Song Of The Sea
· The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya

BEST DOCUMENTARY
· Amy – WINNER
· Going Clear: Scientology And The Prison Of Belief
· He Named Me Malala
· The Jinx: The Life And Deaths Of Robert Durst
· Making A Murderer

BEST SOUNDTRACK
· The Hateful Eight
· Mad Max: Fury Road — WINNER
· The Martian
· Sicario
· Straight Outta Compton

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
· Carol
· Cinderella
· Crimson Peak
· Mad Max: Fury Road — WINNER
· Star Wars: The Force Awakens

BEST MAKE-UP AND HAIRSTYLING
· Crimson Peak
· The Danish Girl
· Mad Max: Fury Road — WINNER
· The Revenant
· Star Wars: The Force Awakens

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
· Ant-Man
· Jurassic World
· Mad Max: Fury Road
· The Revenant
· Star Wars: The Force Awakens — WINNER

BEST SHORT FILM presented by Jameson Irish Whiskey
· Kung Fury
· Lava
· Sanjay’s Super Team
· Stutterer
· World Of Tomorrow — WINNER

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
· Crimson Peak
· The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2
· Mad Max: Fury Road — WINNER
· The Martian
· Star Wars: The Force Awakens

#BEST GAME presented by the Forever Hope Foundation
· Batman: Arkham Knight — WINNER
· Bloodborne
· Fallout 4
· Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
· The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

WINNER EMPIRE LEGEND
Alan Rickman

WINNER EMPIRE HERO
Stanley Tucci

WINNER EMPIRE INSPIRATION presented by Jameson Irish Whiskey
Paddy Considine