Star Wars Cleans Up At Empire Awards; Mad Max Recieves 10 Noms

The Empire Awards were held in London last night. Not surprisingly for the awards – voted by Empire Magazine (The UKs highest selling Film publication) readers –  fan favourites Star Wars and Mad Max: Fury Road were the big winners on the night.
Star Wars took 5 gongs, including Best Director for J.J.Abrams, best newcomer in both the male and female categories for John Boyega and Daisy Ridley. Mad Max won four gongs in the technical categories but was the most nominated with a wopping 10 nods to Star Wars’ 9.

Other winners on the night included Matt Damon as best actor for his turn in The Martian, Alicia Vikander for The Danish Girl and the latest Bond outing Spectre which picked up Best Thriller and Best British film from the predominantly UK based voters.
The best television series went to This Is England ’90, a Channel 4 (UK) mini-series that spins-off from the 2006 film This Is England. Both Marvel Netflix shows from last year, Daredevil and Jessica Jones were nominated in the category and joined Ant-Man (nominated for Best-Comedy) as the only three nominations for comic book adaptations on film and television. Batman: Arkham Night however did win in the Best Game category.

British Film legend Alan Rickman who sadly passed away earlier this year won his first post-humous award. In a heartfelt tribute presented by Empire writing staff, Mark Chris Hewitt remembered him as “(an) actor who touched us all with his extraordinary career.” He was awarded the Empire Legend Award which recognises lifetime achievement in film.

Like with many of the alternative film award ceremonies, the Empire film awards has been growing in prestige and popularity in recent years, and the winners on the night are certainly more in line with popular opinion and mainstream audiences’ tastes. Is the further evidence that the predominately old, rich, white male voting body of the Oscars is growing more out of touch? Do you prefer your award ceremonies decided by the populous instead of by stuffy old men?

Sound off with your thoughts below.

Full List of Winners:
 
BEST MALE NEWCOMER
Winner: John Boyega (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
Abraham Attah (Beasts Of No Nation)
Thomas Mann (Me And Earl And The Dying Girl)
Jason Mitchell (Straight Outta Compton)
Jacob Tremblay (Room)
 
BEST FEMALE NEWCOMER
Winner: Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
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)
 
BEST SCI-FI/FANTASY
Winner: Star Wars: The Force Awakens
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2
Jurassic World
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
 
BEST COMEDY presented by Absolute Radio
Winner: Spy
Ant-Man
Me And Earl And The Dying Girl
Trainwreck
Inside Out
 
BEST HORROR
Winner: The Hallow
Crimson Peak
Insidious: Chapter 3
It Follows
Krampus
 
BEST THRILLER presented by Corinthia Hotel London
Winner: Spectre
Bridge Of Spies
The Gift
Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation
Sicario
 
BEST BRITISH FILM presented by The Hollywood Reporter
Winner: Spectre
45 Years
Legend
Macbeth
Suffragette
 
JAMESON BEST ACTOR
Winner: Matt Damon (The Martian)
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)
Michael Fassbender (Macbeth/Steve Jobs)
Tom Hardy (Legend/Mad Max: Fury Road)
Michael B. Jordan (Creed)
 
BEST ACTRESS
Winner: Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)
Emily Blunt (Sicario)
Brie Larson (Room)
Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2)
Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road)
 
BEST DIRECTOR
Winner: J.J. Abrams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
Ryan Coogler (Creed)
Alejandro González Iñárritu (The Revenant)
George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Ridley Scott (The Martian)
 
BEST FILM presented by Sky Movies
Winner: The Revenant
The Hateful Eight
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
 
BEST TV SERIES
Winner: This Is England ’90
Marvel’s Daredevil
Fargo
Game Of Thrones
Marvel’s Jessica Jones
 
BEST SCREENPLAY
Winner: The Big Short — Adam McKay, Charles Randolph
The Hateful Eight – Quentin Tarantino
Spotlight — Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer
Steve Jobs – Aaron Sorkin
Trainwreck — Amy Schumer
 
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Winner: Inside Out
Minions
Shaun The Sheep The Movie
Song Of The Sea
The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya
 
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Winner: Amy
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
Winner: Mad Max: Fury Road
The Hateful Eight
The Martian
Sicario
Straight Outta Compton
 
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Winner: Mad Max: Fury Road
Carol
Cinderella
Crimson Peak
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
 
BEST MAKE-UP AND HAIRSTYLING
Winner: Mad Max: Fury Road Crimson Peak
The Danish Girl
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
 
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Winner: Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Ant-Man
Jurassic World
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
 
BEST SHORT FILM presented by Jameson Irish Whiskey
Winner: World Of Tomorrow
Kung Fury
Lava
Sanjay’s Super Team
Stutterer
 
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Winner: Mad Max: Fury Road
Crimson Peak
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2
The Martian
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
 
BEST GAME
Winner: Batman: Arkham Knight
Bloodborne
Fallout 4
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
 
EMPIRE INSPIRATION
Paddy Considine
 
EMPIRE LEGEND
Alan Rickman
 
EMPIRE HERO
Stanley Tucci