BAFTA chose Boyhood, Golden Globes elected the latter and The Grand Budapest Hotel, Oscars voted for Birdman while our own pick was Guardians of the Galaxy. Empire, a ceremony that brilliantly mashes together the arthouse and the mainstream, has just revealed its recipients. Previous winners of Best Film have included Seven, The Matrix, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Bourne Ultimatum, The Dark Knight, Avatar, Inception, Skyfall and Gravity. For a bit of background on the honorary awards, Hero marks a current contribution to cinema (Simon Pegg, Daniel Radcliffe, Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender, Jude Law), the Icon/Legend celebrates a lifespan of great work (Brian Cox, Ewan MacGregor, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Gary Oldman, Hugh Jackman) and Inspiration is for a modern master filmmaker (Monty Python, Aardman, Pixar, Michael Mann, Ray Harreyhausen, Guillermo Del Toro, Sam Mendes, Ron Howard, Kenneth Branagh, Edgar Wright, Stephen Frears, Spike Lee, Paul Greengrass).
Best Film:
Interstellar
Boyhood
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
The Imitation Game
Best British Film:
Kingsman: The Secret Service
Paddington
The Imitation Game
The Theory of Everything
Under the Skin
Best Director:
Christopher Nolan – Interstellar
Matt Reeves – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Morten Tyldum – The Imitation Game
Peter Jackson – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Richard Linklater – Boyhood
Best Actor:
Andy Serkis – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game
Bradley Cooper – American Sniper
Eddie Redmanye – The Theory of Everything
Richard Armitage – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Best Actress:
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
Alicia Vikander – Ex Machina
Emily Blunt – Edge of Tomorrow
Felicity Jones – The Theory of Everything
Keira Knightley – The Imitation Game
Best Male Newcomer:
Taron Egerton – Kingsman: The Secret Service
Dan Stevens – The Guest
Daniel Huttlestone – Into the Woods
Ellar Coltrane – Boyhood
Jack O’Connell – Unbroken
Best Female Newcomer:
Karen Gillan – Oculus and Guardians of the Galaxy
Carrie Coon – Gone Girl
Essie Davis – The Babadook
Gugu Mbatha Raw – Belle
Sophie Cookson – Kingsman: The Secret Service
Best Comedy:
Paddington
22 Jump Street
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Inbetweeners 2
The Lego Movie
Best Horror:
The Babadook
Annabelle
Oculus
The Guest
Under the Skin
Best Sci-fi/Fantasy:
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Best Thriller:
The Imitation Game
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Gone Girl
Kingsman: The Secret Service
Locke
Empire Legend:
Ralph Fiennes (The English Patient, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Schindler’s List, Skyfall)
Empire Hero:
Game of Thrones (Peter Dinklage, Emilia Clarke, Kit Harrington, Lena Headey, Charles Dance, Natalie Dormer, Sean Bean)
Empire Inspiration:
Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight trilogy, The Following, Inception, Insomnia, Interstellar, Memento, The Prestige)
Here’s a few images from the night itself, hosted by James Nesbitt. Guests include: Henry Cavill (Man of Steel), Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace), Jessica Chastain (The Help), Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead), James McAvoy (Atonement), Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Reece Shearsmith (A Field in England) and Matt Berry (The IT Crowd).