The Jameson Empire Awards 2014 are taking place in London this evening, and folks from The Hobbit cast are there in force! In fact, the host for the evening is none other than the very charming, smooth talking James Nesbitt. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug has already taken the award for Best SciFi/Fantasy movie, with Richard Armitage, Adam Brown and Aidan Turner joining Nesbitt on stage to accept the award.
Turner was soon back on the stage to accept the Best Male Newcomer award (which seems odd, as even if we were only thinking of his career in terms of The Hobbit, this is already the second movie… but we’re happy to see any recognition for Hobbit cast members!) Empire reports that Bofur was also delighted for Kili: ‘”A gorgeous, multitalented Irishman winning an award for The Hobbit. I couldn’t be happier for him,” says Nesbitt sourly. We’re not sure he’s really so curmudgeonly.’
Richard Armitage came back to the stage to present the award for Best Female Newcomer – which went to actress Margot Robbie, for The Wolf of Wall Street. So Middle-earth is very well represented at the Jameson Empire Awards this evening!
The winners of these awards are voted for by Empire Magazine’s readers; The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is also nominated in the follow categories:
Best Supporting Actor – Richard Armitage
Best Supporting Actress – Evangeline Lilly
Best Actor – Martin Freeman
Best Director – Peter Jackson
Best Film
And our own Galadriel, Cate Blanchett, is nominated in the Best Actress category, for Blue Jasmine.
Who needs Oscars? When the fans vote, Middle-earth wins! You can follow the Jameson Empire Awards LIVE here; and we’ll bring you all the news once the ceremony is over. Meanwhile, here’s a chat with Aidan Turner, pre-show (thanks to RACentral for putting this up on YouTube):
[Click here to follow the Jameson Empire Awards LIVE]
UPDATE: Alas, no further wins for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in some very tough competition. Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave) took Best Supporting Actor, Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine) Best Supporting Actress, Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity) Best Director, James McAvoy (Filth) Best Actor and Gravity won Best Film. Emma Thompson (Saving Mr Banks) won Best Actress. James Nesbitt was funny and delightful throughout the evening, and many of the acceptance speeches were hilarious (with perhaps just a little alcohol contributing to the high spirits?) Bravo to our friends at Empire Magazine for another excellent Jameson Empire Awards evening, and congratulations to host James Nesbitt and all the Hobbit winners and nominees.
