You voted in your tens of thousands, we sat up all night counting the ballots and now, bleary eyed and full of pride, we present to you the winners of the Sony Ericsson Empire Awards 2008. In an outstanding year for British cinema, Empire’s readers have recognised our home-grown talent and given it the due it deserves.
Sam Riley’s turn as the tragic musician Ian Curtis in Control was a powerhouse performance richly rewarded with a Best Newcomer gong. And when it comes to getting your funnies, it seems the UK is a-okay as Edgar Wright’s titter-rific Hot Fuzz romping to victory over the likes of the supremely entertaining Superbad and Ratatouille. Even the Sci-Fi section, traditionally the preserve of Hollywood and its big budgets fails to fight off the richly entertaining Stardust.
Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s 28 Weeks Later took Best Horror (beating off the likes of 30 Days Of Night and Tarantino’s Death Proof) and American Gangster landed Best Thriller. Meanwhile, David Yates grabbed Best Director for Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix and Control took an award for aural excellence with the Best Soundtrack prize.
The big winner in your eyes was Atonement, which received the Best Actress (Keira Knightley), Best Actor (James McAvoy) and Best British Film accolades. Best Film, though, did not go to Joe Wright’s opus but rather to Paul Greengrass’ awesome The Bourne Ultimatum.
So, all in all, it’s a big pat on the back for the British film industry and a very big thank you to everybody who voted… the 2008 Sony Ericsson Empire Awards salutes you.
The full list of winners:
Best Newcomer
Sam Riley (Control)
Best Comedy
Hot Fuzz
Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Stardust
Best Horror
28 Weeks Later
Best Thriller
American Gangster
The Sony Ericsson Soundtrack Award
Control
Best British Film
Atonement
Best Actress
Keira Knightley (Atonement)
Best Actor
James McAvoy (Atonement)
Best Director
David Yates (Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix)
Best Film
The Bourne Ultimatum
Done In 60 Seconds
Titanic
Empire Inspiration Award
Guillermo Del Toro
Outstanding Contribution To British Film
Shane Meadows
Empire Icon
Ewan McGregor