Film Fans Honour Avatar, Christoph Waltz, Ian McKellen & Andy Serkis at 2010 Empire Awards

Sir Ian McKellan poses with the Icon award at the Winners Boards
Jameson Empire Film Awards, March 28, 2010
Grosvenor House Hotel in London, England.

There was something for just about everyone at the 2010 Jameson Empire Awards held this Sunday evening, March 28, at London’s The Grosvenor House Hotel.

Deemed by many in the industry to be the most fun awards in the British movie calendar, the Jameson Empire Awards attract A-list star-studded movie talent from around the globe. In fact, you’ll be hard-pressed to find an awards ceremony featuring teen idols, Academy Award winners, 3D blockbusters, little-seen indies, festival favorites, and lots of vampires among its nominees. The Empire Awards is an eclectic, more upscale version of the People’s Choice Awards.

Held in London each March, the Jameson Empire Awards celebrate the film industry's success stories of the year with Empire Magazine readers voting for the winners, making them the ultimate film fan awards with international profile.

Empire Awards 2010 winners are:

Best Film presented by Sony
Avatar - WINNER!
Star Trek
District 9
Inglourious Basterds
The Hurt Locker

Best Actor presented by Citroën
Sir Michael Caine (Harry Brown)
Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) - WINNER!
Robert Pattinson (New Moon)
Sam Worthington (Avatar)
Robert Downey Jr. (Sherlock Holmes)

Christoph Waltz poses with the award for Best Actor

Best Actress
Anne-Marie Duff (Nowhere Boy)
Carey Mulligan (An Education)
Zoe Saldana (Avatar) - WINNER!
Emily Blunt (The Young Victoria)
Melanie Laurent (Inglourious Basterds)

Best Director
James Cameron (Avatar) - WINNER!
Neil Blomkamp (District 9)
JJ Abrams (Star Trek)
Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)
Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)

Best British Film
Harry Brown - WINNER!
The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus
An Education
Nowhere Boy
In The Loop

Best Comedy
In The Loop - WINNER!
A Serious Man
The Hangover
Up In The Air
The Men Who Stare At Goats

Best Horror
Let The Right One In - WINNER!
Paranormal Activity
Zombieland
Thirst
Drag Me To Hell

Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Moon
Star Trek - WINNER!
Avatar
District 9
The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus

Best Thriller
Harry Brown
Public Enemies
Inglourious Basterds
The Hurt Locker
Sherlock Holmes - WINNER!

Best Newcomer
Carey Mulligan (An Education)
Aaron Johnson (Nowhere Boy) - WINNER!
Sharlto Copley (District 9)
Anna Kendrick (Up In The Air/New Moon)
Katie Jarvis (Fish Tank)

Outstanding Contribution To British Film
Ray Winstone


Empire Hero
Jude Law

Jude Law accepts his The Hero Award presented by Gwenyth Paltrow
(Photo by Handout/Jameson via Getty Images)

Naomie Harris and Andy Serkis pose with the Empire Inspiration award

(Photo by Getty Images/Getty Images for Jameson)

Empire Inspiration
Andy Serkis

O'Briain: "Johnny Vegas, ladies and gentlemen, who unlike Christoph Waltz and the Let The Right One In kids, went to school here. Here's the inspiration award for someone who's an inspiration even if they only inspire us to see their films. And to present it here's a woman who doesn't even wait for the end of the introduction, she's already here: Naomie Harris"

Harris: "I love this man; I love him so much that I postponed my holiday to be here to present this award, then got sick and got out of my sickbed to present this award. He's enormously talented and one of the most versatile actors in the whole world. He can lay claim to having literally changed the face of cinema with his groundbreaking performance as Gollum in Lord of the Rings, which inspired James Cameron in creating Pandora. But we all know all this. What's less well known is how he combines all that talent with his humanity. Generous, humble and incredibly hard-working, it's this humanity combined with his skill that makes his performances so compelling. Even when playing a giant gorilla, that humanity shines through and touches our hearts." It's Andy Serkis!

Serkis: "I'm nearly having a fucking cardiac arrest, I had no idea. But, anyway, listen...I have no idea what to say. I didn't know I was up for this award or that it even existed. Naomie, thank you for saying those nice things and postponing your holiday and hope you feel better. It's been an incredible journey since I took part in Lord of the Rings, but I've got to say that performance capture is very important and we've got to acknowledge that. Performances should be judged by whether they transport, move and take you on a journey. Whether it's in costume or CG, that's what matters. I've got to thank my long-standing agent, Peter Jackson and everyone that worked on sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. Yesterday it was 10 years since Ian Dury died, and he was a huge inspiration to me. Finally, I have to say, Lorraine, that I adore you with all my heart and soul. You and the children are everything to me." Awwww!

Sir Ian McKellan poses with the Icon award at the Winners Boards
(Photo by Claire R Greenway/Getty Images for Jameson)

Empire Icon
Ian McKellen

Sir Ian McKellen has been crowned the Empire Icon for his long and varied film career at the Jameson Empire Awards 2010.

The 70-year-old actor, who won an Oscar for his role as real-life filmmaker James Whale in Gods And Monsters and is loved by many for starring in The Lord Of The Rings trilogy and The X-Men films.

Sir Ian said: "I couldn't be more surprised or delighted. Middle-earth rejoices!"

For a transcript of the award presentations and acceptances speeches visit the Jameson Empire Awards Live Blog.

Now in their 15th year, the Jameson Empire Awards are the only film awards to be voted for entirely by British film fans. Visit the EmpireOnline site for more details.

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The Road, District 9, and Star Trek: Among Oscar® Makeup Race Shortlist

A "Prawn" from "District 9"

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences yesterday announced that seven films remain in competition in the Makeup category for the 82nd Academy Awards®.

The Academy Award for Best Makeup actually recognizes the individuals who perform both makeup and hairstyling duties. Like Best Visual Effects, this category has only three nominees, chosen from a list of seven finalists which are announced in a bake-off advance.

Certain names such as three-time Oscar® winner Greg Cannom (Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Mrs. Doubtfire) and six-time Oscar® winner Rick Baker (Tropic Thunder, Men in Black, How the Grinch Stole Christmas) show up with frequency. Creation of monsters and other fantastical characters such as Mike Elizalde's makeups in Hellboy I and Hellboy II, in addition to aging makeups, like those used by Greg Cannom in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, tend to be the branch’s preferred accomplishments.

The 82nd Oscar® Best Makeup finalists (in alphabetical order) are:

* “District 9”
* “Il Divo”
* “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”
* “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian”
* “The Road”
* “Star Trek”
* “The Young Victoria”

Toni Servillo in Il Divo

The biggest surprise was the inclusion of Il Divo among the seven. Paolo Sorrentino’s biting satire has been mostly ignored by US critics’ groups. The makeup job in question transformed actor Toni Servillo into Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti, who is aged over several decades.

Robert Duvall (left) and Viggo Mortensen in "The Road"

The rugged survivors' makeups in The Road, Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic tale are haunting and unforgettable.

Eric Bana as the Romulan Nero in "Star Trek"

The successful reboot of the Star Trek franchise created the numerous famous characters, a bevy of Vulcans, Romulans, Orions, and most notably, Eric Bana’s antagonist Romulan Nero.

A "Prawn" from District Nine

While much of the work in Peter Jackson and Neill Blomkamp’s District 9 was achieved with visual effects, makeup nevertheless played a key role in capturing the hellish life in the title slum. Makeup effects and prosthetics were created by Jackson’s WETA crew.

Christopher Plummer as an immortal Eastern mystic
and Lily Cole as his daughter
in "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus."

Makeup is a key to Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, a circus movie involving a 1,000 year old title character. Sarah Monzani has been out of the race for 27 years since winning this award for Quest for Fire.

Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend as Victoria and Albert

in "The Young Victoria."

The Young Victoria captures the early years of the British monarch.

One surprising omission is that of James Cameron’s Avatar. That’s probably because much of the Na’vi’s look is a result of computer generated imagery, not actual makeup jobs. The makeup artists on the crew have yet to be widely recognized by the Academy.

On Saturday, January 23, all members of the Academy’s Makeup Branch will be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the seven shortlisted films. Following the screenings, members will vote to nominate three films for final Oscar consideration.

The 82nd Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, February 2, 2010, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2009 will be presented on Sunday, March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

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