The 25th Jameson Empire Awards took place in London Grosvenor House Ballroom. The British film magazine celebrated the year’s best films with none of the political skewering that dominates the Academy Awards, as all winners are voted on by the public. Christopher Nolan was in attendance to collect the top accolade of Best Film for last year’s Interstellar. Nolan was also present to be awarded the Empire Inspiration award for a career spanning nine hugely successful films including Inception, Memento and the Dark Knight Trilogy.
Other winners of the night include a special award, the Empire Legend to British actor Ralph Fiennes, as well as the Best Actor prize went to Andy Serkis for his motion-captured performance for his role in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Best Actress was awarded to Rosemund Pike for her leading role in David Fincher’s Gone Girl.
The Jameson Empire Awards also included the annual amateur filmmaker’s competition, Done in 60 Seconds, where anyone can enter a short film. The only stipulation being the film has to be under a minute in length and based on an existing film. Previous entries have included Shaun of the Dead, Blade Runner, Black Swan and Halloween amongst other fan favourites.
Celebrating the best British film this year, the award went to Kingsman: The Secret Service starring Colin Firth directed by Matthew Vaughn (X-Men and Kick Ass). Also a winner from that film was Best Male Newcomer Taron Egerton for his role in Kingsman. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, Peter Jackson’s final film in the Hobbit trilogy, The Battle of the Five Armies still received four nominations including Best Film, Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Best Actor and Best Director.
The following is a list of all the winners.
EMPIRE LEGEND
Ralph Fiennes
EMPIRE HERO
Game Of Thrones
EMPIRE INSPIRATION
Christopher Nolan
BEST NEWCOMER – MALE
Taron Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service)
Ellar Coltrane (Boyhood)
Daniel Huttlestone (Into The Woods)
Jack O’Connell (Unbroken)
Dan Stevens (The Guest)
BEST NEWCOMER – FEMALE
Karen Gillan (Guardians Of The Galaxy/Oculus)
Sophie Cookson (Kingsman: The Secret Service)
Carrie Coon (Gone Girl)
Essie Davis (The Babadook)
Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Belle)
BEST SCI-FI/FANTASY
X-Men: Days Of Future Past
Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes
Guardians Of The Galaxy
The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies
Interstellar
BEST HORROR
The Babadook
Annabelle
The Guest
Oculus
Under The Skin
BEST COMEDY
Paddington
22 Jump Street
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Inbetweeners 2
The Lego Movie
BEST THRILLER
The Imitation Game
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Gone Girl
Kingsman: The Secret Service
Locke
BEST BRITISH FILM
Kingsman: The Secret Service
The Imitation Game
Paddington
The Theory Of Everything
Under The Skin
BEST ACTOR
Andy Serkis (Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes)
Richard Armitage (The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies)
Bradley Cooper (American Sniper)
Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game)
Eddie Redmayne (The Theory Of Everything)
BEST ACTRESS
Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)
Emily Blunt (Edge Of Tomorrow)
Felicity Jones (The Theory Of Everything)
Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game)
Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina)
BEST DIRECTOR
Christopher Nolan (Interstellar)
Peter Jackson (The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies)
Richard Linklater (Boyhood)
Matt Reeves (Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes)
Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game)
BEST FILM
Interstellar
Boyhood
Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes
The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies
The Imitation Game