Honouring the best films and entertainment of the past year, the Jameson Empire Awards took place on Sunday 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 the Hunger Games series andSpotlight. 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.”
Other stars of the screen honoured at the ceremony included Matt Damon, who was in attendance to receive the Jameson Best Actor award for his performance in The Martian.
The top film awards of the evening – Best British Film and Best Film 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. 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 which was awarded to Spy and collected by actor Peter Serafinowicz from comedian Katherine Ryan.
