DAISY RIDLEY named Best Female Newcomer as STAR WARS: EPISODE VII – THE FORCE AWAKENS triumphs at the Jameson Empire Awards

STAR WARS: EPISODE VII - THE FORCE AWAKENS triumphs at the Jameson Empire Awards, winning five awards

Posthumous Empire Legend award for Alan Rickman

Matt Damon collects Jameson Best Actor award and Best Actress goes to Alicia Vikander

Honouring the best films and entertainment of the past year, the Jameson Empire Awards took place this evening, hosted by David Walliams. The force remained strong for Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens which received the most awards, including Best Director presented by Vue Entertainment 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 presented by Jameson Irish Whiskey; 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 and Spotlight. 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. Director Paul Greengrass, who has recently reunited with Damon on the upcoming Jason Bourne, presented the award to him on stage. Alicia Vikander was crowned Best Actress for The Danish Girl, as announced by Richard E. Grant.

The top film awards of the evening – Best British Film presented by The Hollywood Reporter and Best Film presented by Sky Movies 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 presented by Corinthia Hotel London. 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 presented by Absolute Radio, which was awarded to Spy and collected by actor Peter Serafinowicz from comedian Katherine Ryan.

The award for Best TV Series, presented by Wuaki TV, presented this year for the first time, went to This Is England ’90. Series director and co-writer Shane Meadows collected the award alongside cast members Thomas Turgoose, Jo Hartley and Chanel Cresswell.

Other new awards announced at the end of the ceremony included: Batman: Arkham Knight for Best Game presented by the Forever Hope Foundation; Inside Out for Best Animation; Amy for Best Documentary; The Big Short for Best Screenplay; and World Of Tomorrow for Best Short Film presented by Jameson Irish Whiskey. Mad Max: Fury Road triumphed in the newly introduced craft categories, taking four awards in total for: Best Soundtrack; Best Costume Design; Best Make-Up And Hairstyling; and Best Production Design.

Legend remade in 60 seconds was awarded the annual Jameson Empire Done In 60 Seconds short film award, presented to its director Marc Barnes by jury member Corin Hardy. A total of 355 contestants from four countries submitted a 60-second remake of their favourite film to enter this year’s competition. The entries were judged by a panel of film experts including director Corin Hardy, producer Bekki Wray-Rogers, actress Faye Marsay and Paul Keenan, CEO of Bauer Media, owners of Empire magazine. All 2016 entries and finalists are available to watch.

The 21st annual Jameson Empire Awards were once again held at Grosvenor House, a JW Marriott Hotel, in Park Lane in the heart of London’s Mayfair. In attendance were nominees, presenters and other distinguished guests from the entertainment world, including: Matt Damon; Sam Mendes; Daisy Ridley; John Boyega; Anthony Daniels; Paul Greengrass; Miranda Richardson; Shane Meadows; Paddy Considine; Andy Serkis; Stanley Tucci; Laura Carmichael; Caitlin Moran; Max Irons; Jonathan Ross; Jane Goldman; Richard E. Grant; Thomas Turgoose; Sarah Gavron; Maisie Williams; Amara Karan; Daniel Mays; Craig Roberts; Peter Serafinowicz; Katherine Ryan; Edith Bowman; Johnny Vegas; Joseph Mawle; Meera Syal; Georgina Campbell.

Empire’s Editor in Chief Terri White concludes: "The Jameson Empire Awards has long been a highlight for the film industry – a chance for filmmakers and actors to come together and toast the previous year. And there was much to toast! With Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, Spectre, The Martian and The Revenant all taking home some serious silverware, the film world has never been more exciting than it is right now. Now we should probably all get a bit of sleep…"

The Jameson Empire Awards 2016 WINNERS IN FULL (bold and red):

BEST COMEDY (presented by Absolute Radio)

Ant-Man
Inside Out
Me And Earl And The Dying Girl
Spy
Trainwreck

BEST SCI-FI/FANTASY

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2
Jurassic World
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens

BEST HORROR

Crimson Peak
The Hallow
Insidious: Chapter 3
It Follows
Krampus

BEST THRILLER (presented by Corinthia Hotel London)

Bridge Of Spies
The Gift
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
Sicario
Spectre

BEST MALE NEWCOMER
Abraham Attah (Beasts Of No Nation)
John Boyega (Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens)
Thomas Mann (Me And Earl And The Dying Girl)
Jason Mitchell (Straight Outta Compton)
Jacob Tremblay (Room)

BEST FEMALE NEWCOMER (presented by the Forever Hope Foundation)

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)
Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens)

BEST BRITISH FILM (presented by The Hollywood Reporter)

45 Years
Legend
Macbeth
Spectre
Suffragette

BEST FILM (presented by Sky Movies)

The Hateful Eight
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens

BEST TV SERIES (presented by Wuaki TV)

Fargo
Game Of Thrones
Marvel’s Daredevil
Marvel’s Jessica Jones
This Is England ’90

BEST DIRECTOR (presented by Vue Entertainment)

J. J. Abrams (Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens)
Ryan Coogler (Creed)
Alejandro González Iñárritu (The Revenant)
George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Ridley Scott (The Martian)

BEST ACTRESS

Emily Blunt (Sicario)
Brie Larson (Room)
Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2)
Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)

JAMESON BEST ACTOR

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 SCREENPLAY

The Big Short — Charles Randolph, Adam McKay
The Hateful Eight – Quentin Tarantino
Spotlight — Josh Singer, Tom McCarthy
Steve Jobs – Aaron Sorkin
Trainwreck — Amy Schumer

BEST ANIMATED FILM

Inside Out
Minions
Shaun The Sheep Movie
Song Of The Sea
The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya

BEST DOCUMENTARY

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

The Hateful Eight
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
Sicario
Straight Outta Compton

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Carol
Cinderella
Crimson Peak
Mad Max: Fury Road
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens

BEST MAKE-UP AND HAIRSTYLING
Crimson Peak
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Ant-Man
Jurassic World
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens

BEST SHORT FILM (presented by Jameson Irish Whiskey)

Kung Fury
Lava
Sanjay’s Super Team
Stutterer
World Of Tomorrow

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Crimson Peak
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens

BEST GAME (presented by the Forever Hope Foundation)

Batman: Arkham Knight
Bloodborne
Fallout 4
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

WINNER EMPIRE LEGEND

Alan Rickman

WINNER EMPIRE HERO

Stanley Tucci

WINNER EMPIRE INSPIRATION (presented by Jameson Irish Whiskey)

Paddy Considine

#JamesonEmpireAwards

About Empire
Empire (m) – 145,183 (print + digital)

Empire dominates the film market, outselling its nearest competitor by over two to one. 2015 has seen the introduction of a new vision for the brand, expanding its breadth of content to cover every cinematic form, from movies and TV to streaming and mobile. Connecting with four million fans across its multiple touchpoints, Empire continues to deliver compelling entertainment content and unique, creative cover treatments with world-first reveals for films such as Spectre, Jurassic World, Terminator Genisys and Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens.

About Bauer Media
Bauer Media UK reaches over 22 million UK consumers through a portfolio of world-class, multi-platform media and entertainment brands including heat, Kiss, Grazia, Empire, Magic and Absolute Radio. It creates and curates entertaining media content that audiences love whenever, wherever and however they want through a multi-channel strategy and a focus on product excellence and audience insight. The result is an exciting array of influential brands, content and talent which provide compelling and engaging advertising opportunities with valuable audiences for UK commercial partners. Bauer Media UK is part of the Bauer Media Group, one of the world’s largest privately owned media businesses with media assets all over the globe.

About Jameson Irish Whiskey
Jameson Irish Whiskey is the world’s No. 1-selling Irish whiskey. The success of the Irish brand is down to its great quality and smooth taste, coupled with a fantastic heritage, established in 1780 by the legendary John Jameson. Having played a part in film since 1998, today Jameson is involved with film festivals and events that celebrate the passion and craft of filmmaking including Jameson Cult Film Club, the Jameson Empire Done In 60 Seconds competition, the Jameson Empire Awards and Jameson First Shot, a short film competition run in partnership with Kevin Spacey and Trigger Street Productions.