The award ceremony season is in full swing with last week’s BAFTAs, this weekend’s Oscars and last night’s homegrown Tuorhoth Awards. Another alternate look on the last year’s films can be found with the Empire Awards for which the nominations have just been announced. The winners will be announced on March 30th but you can vote for your favourites here.
Best Film:
12 Years a Slave
Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Best Director:
Alfonso Cuaron – Gravity
Edgar Wright – The World’s End
Paul Greengrass – Captain Phillips
Peter Jackson – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Steve McQueen – 12 Years a Slave
Best Leading Actor:
Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave
James McAvoy – Filth
Leonardo Di Caprio – The Wolf of Wall Street
Martin Freeman – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Tom Hanks – Captain Phillips
Best Leading Actress:
Amy Adams – American Hustle
Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine
Emma Thompson – Saving Mr Banks
Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Sandra Bullock – Gravity
Best British Film:
Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa
Filth
Rush
Sunshine on Leith
The World’s End
Best Supporting Actress:
Evangeline Lilly – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Jennifer Lawrence – American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave
Mia Wasikowska – Stoker
Sally Hawkins – Blue Jasmine
Best Supporting Actor:
Daniel Bruhl – Rush
Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave
Sam Clafin – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Richard Armitage – The Hobbit:The Desolation of Smaug
Tom Hiddleston – Thor: The Dark World
Best Sci-fi/Fantasy:
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Pacific Rim
Star Trek Into Darkness
Best Thriller:
Captain Phillips
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Now You See Me
Prisoners
Trance
Best Comedy:
Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
This is 40
This is the End
The World’s End
Best Horror:
A Field in England
The Conjuring
Evil Dead
World War Z
You’re Next
Best Female Newcomer:
Adele Exarchopoulous – Blue is the Warmest Colour
Antonia Thomas – Sunshine on Leith
Elizabeth Debecki – The Great Gatsby
Freya Mavor – Sunshine on Leith
Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave
Margot Robbie – The Wolf of Wall Street
Best Male Newcomer:
Aidan Turner – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Barkhad Abdi – Captain Phillips
George McKay – Sunshine on Leith
Oscar Isaac – Inside Llewyn Davis
Tye Sheridan – Mud
Will Poulter – We’re the Millers
Picking up a Best Comedy nomination at the Empires was This is the End and the writing/directing duo behind it are lining up a new project. Evan Goldberg (writer of Goon, Pineapple Express and Superbad) and Seth Rogen (Knocked Up, 50/50, Paul) have been hired by Sony for Console Wars. This is a comedy detailing the vicious rivalry between Sega and Nintendo in the ’90s which lead to the multi-billion industry we know today. The pair will write and direct, as they did in This is the End, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Rogen went on to star in the film yet nothing’s been confirmed about that just yet.
Finally, we can announce the directing shortlist for Marvel’s upcoming fantasy project Doctor Stranger. The film was greenlighted by producer Kevin Feige in October and since there’s been huge speculation as to both who would call the shots on the superhero adventure as well as who would portray the titular hero. The potential directors are Mark Andrews, Nicolaj Arcel, Dean Israelite and Jonathan Levine. We’ll give you a quick brief for these four candidates.
Oscar winning director Mark Andrews directed Pixar’s feature length Brave and short animation One Man Band as well as writing Pixar’s short Jack-Jack Attack and John Carter. Israelite, cousin of Jonathan Liebesman is the director of successful short films The Department of Nothing and Magician. The most famous of the quartet is probably Jonathan Levine (50/50, Warm Bodies, The Wackness) but the most promising is Danish born Nikolaj Arcel, director of King’s Game and the brilliant period drama A Royal Affair.
The film will likely be the second in Marvel’s third phase but, if you can’t wait till 2016, there’s plenty of superhero action to keep you company. Captain America: The Winter Soldier comes this March, Guardians of the Galaxy launches in August, The Avengers: Age of Ultron battles in May 2015 followed by Ant-Man in July of that year. After that, there could be Captain America 3, Thor 3, Guardians 2 or Black Panther before Avengers 3.
Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo and the Battle that Defined a Generation – 2016
Doctor Strange – 2016
2014 Empire Awards – March 30th