Star Wars: The Last Jedi triumphs at Rakuten TV Empire Awards 2018, Spielberg and Hamill are honoured

The Rakuten TV Empire Awards celebrate what moviegoers and film fans have voted the best films and entertainment of the last year. Stars of both the small and big screen attended the ceremony last night at Camden’s Roundhouse, including Steven Spielberg, who was there to receive an Empire’s Legend of Our Lifetime Award, which was presented by leading video-on-demand platform Rakuten TV. The director spoke about diversity and his support of the Time’s Up movement.

Mark Hamill collected Empire’s Icon Award – presented to him co-star Daisy Ridley – and spoke to us after receiving the accolade about the new generation of Star Wars; screenwriter Amma Asante, who in her speech called for greater inclusivity in the film industry, and director Edgar Wright were also honoured on the night.

In what Empire Magazine Editor-in-Chief Terri White said was “a hugely important year for cinema, both on screen and off”, it was Star Wars: The Last Jedi that garnered the greatest number of awards, including Best Film, Best Actress for Daisy Ridley and Best Director for Rian Johnson, Best Visual Effects and Costume. Best Screenplay went to Jordan Peele for Get Out, which had also been nominated in a number of categories including Best Film, Best Director and Best Male Newcomer for Daniel Kaluuya – but it did beat Mother! to Best Horror. The Best British Film Award went to God’s Own Country, with its lead actor Josh O’Connor also winning Best Male Newcomer, while breakout star Dafne Keen took home Best Female Newcomer for her portrayal of young mutant Laura Kinney in Logan.

Hollywood stars Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman were also award recipients, I Am Not Your Negro was Best Documentary and The Crown was honoured as the best TV series of the past year.

Steven Spielberg spoke with us after the ceremony about building a whole world in soon-to-be released sci-fi Ready Player One and some of his favourite projects over the years. We also talked with Simon Pegg about working with the iconic director and the upcoming release of Mission Impossible: Fallout. The British actor shared some insight about the Star Trek story idea pitched by Quentin Tarantino to JJ Abrams.

Hugh Jackman told us his three highlights from making Logan after winning Best Actor and how it feels to have won an award voted for by fans. 

The editorial unit
Featured image: Carsten Windhorst
Interviews: Filippo L’Astorina
Videos: Marta Starczynowska

Watch all the interviews on our YouTube channel here.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is released on Blu-Ray, DVD and digital platforms on 9^th April 2018.

List of winners and nominees:

EMPIRE “LEGEND OF OUR LIFETIME” AWARD, PRESENTED BY RAKUTEN TV
• Honouree: Steven Spielberg
EMPIRE ICON PRESENTED BY BMW
• Honouree: Mark Hamill
EMPIRE INSPIRATION AWARD
• Honouree: Amma Asante
EMPIRE VISIONARY AWARD
• Honouree: Edgar Wright
BEST FILM, PRESENTED BY SKY CINEMA
• Winner: Star Wars: The Last Jedi
• Get Out
• Call Me By Your Name
• Thor: Ragnarok
• Wonder Woman
BEST DIRECTOR, PRESENTED BY VUE ENTERTAINMENT
• Winner: Rian Johnson – Star Wars: The Last Jedi
• Edgar Wright – Baby Driver
• Jordan Peele – Get Out
• Patty Jenkins – Wonder Woman
• Taika Waititi – Thor: Ragnarok
BEST MALE NEWCOMER
• Winner: Josh O’Connor — God’s Own Country
• Fionn Whitehead – Dunkirk
• Ansel Elgort – Baby Driver
Daniel Kaluuya – Get Out
• Timothée Chalamet – Call Me By Your Name
BEST FEMALE NEWCOMER: THE HILTON PARK LANE
• Winner: Dafne Keen – Logan
• Emily Beecham – Daphne
Florence Pugh – Lady Macbeth
• Tessa Thompson – Thor: Ragnarok
• Kelly Marie Tran – Star Wars: The Last Jedi
BEST ACTRESS, PRESENTED BY RAKUTEN TV
• Winner: Daisy Ridley – Star Wars: The Last Jedi
• Gal Gadot – Wonder Woman
• Frances McDormand – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
• Tiffany Haddish – Girls Trip
• Emma Watson – Beauty And The Beast
BEST ACTOR, PRESENTED BY RAKUTEN TV
• Winner: Hugh Jackman – Logan
• John Boyega – Star Wars: The Last Jedi
• Andy Serkis — War For The Planet Of The Apes
• Armie Hammer – Call Me By Your Name
• Gary Oldman – Darkest Hour
BEST SCREENPLAY
• Winner: Get Out
• God’s Own Country
• Call Me By Your Name
• The Death Of Stalin
• Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
BEST SCI-FI/FANTASY, PRESENTED BY THREE
• Winner: Wonder Woman
• Logan
• Star Wars: The Last Jedi
• Thor: Ragnarok
• Blade Runner 2049
BEST BRITISH FILM, PRESENTED BY THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
• Winner: God’s Own Country
• The Death Of Stalin
• Dunkirk
• The Darkest Hour
• Paddington 2
BEST HORROR
• Winner: Get Out
• Mother!
• The Autopsy Of Jane Doe
• It
• Split
BEST DOCUMENTARY
• Winner: I Am Not Your Negro
• I Called Him Morgan
• City Of Ghosts
• An Inconvenient Sequel
• Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond
BEST COMEDY, PRESENTED BY MONKEY SHOULDER
• Winner: The Death Of Stalin
• Toni Erdmann
• The Big Sick
• The Disaster Artist
• Girls Trip
BEST THRILLER, PRESENTED BY ABSOLUTE RADIO
• Winner: Kingsman: The Golden Circle
• Baby Driver
• John Wick: Chapter 2
• The Handmaiden
• Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri BEST ANIMATED FILM
• Winner: Coco
• The Lego Batman Movie
• My Life As A Courgette
• The Red Turtle
• Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie
BEST SOUNDTRACK
• Winner: Baby Driver
• Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2
• Logan Lucky
• Beauty And The Beast
• Call Me By Your Name
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
• Winner: Star Wars: The Last Jedi
• The Greatest Showman
• The Death Of Stalin
• Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2
• Thor: Ragnarok
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
• Winner: Baby Driver
• Dunkirk
• Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2
• Thor: Ragnarok
• Star Wars: The Last Jedi
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS, PRESENTED BY VUE ENTERTAINMENT
• Winner: Star Wars: The Last Jedi
• War For The Planet Of The Apes
• Thor: Ragnarok
• Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2
• Ghost In The Shell
BEST MAKE-UP AND HAIRSTYLING
• Winner: Beauty And The Beast
• Murder On The Orient Express
• The Greatest Showman
• Thor: Ragnarok
• Ghost In The Shell
BEST TV SERIES, PRESENTED BY THREE
• Winner: The Crown
• The Handmaid’s Tale
• Big Little Lies
• Twin Peaks: A Limited Event Series
• Stranger Things 2
BEST ACTRESS IN A TV SERIES
• Winner: Nicole Kidman (Big Little Lies)
• Claire Foy (The Crown)
• Reese Witherspoon (Big Little Lies)
• Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale)
• Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things 2)
BEST ACTOR IN A TV SERIES
• Winner: Jason Isaacs (Star Trek: Discovery)
• Alexander Skarsgård (Big Little Lies)
• Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks: A Limited Event Series)
• Matt Smith (The Crown)
• Dan Stevens (Legion)