Cele|bitchy | Empire Film Awards

Stars of Harry Potter at the Empire Film Awards holding their award
The British Empire Film Awards were held today. The awards are based on votes by the British public. The stars of Harry Potter were honored “for their outstanding contribution to the British film industry.” Other winners included:

Best Actress – Thandie Newton (Crash)
Best Actor – Johnny Depp (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
Best Movie – King Kong
Best British Movie – Pride & Prejudice
Best Directors – Wallace and Gromit
Best Sci Fi and Best Scene – Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Best Newcomer – Kelly Reilly (Pride and Prejudice)
Lifetime Achievement – Tony Curits (presented by Roger Moore)

The scene honored from Star Wars Episode III was regarded as one of the worst by critics:

The Birth of Vader scene, in which the anti-hero Darth Vader learns that his wife has died, was mocked by critics from The Scotsman to the Toronto Star for making the central character resemble Frankenstein’s monster. The camera pulls back from Vader’s face as he throws his arms in the air and shouts: “Noooo!…”

The criticism did not deter the 25,000 voting members of the public, who preferred the scene to the dogfight in Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were Rabbit and the arrival of the first alien craft in War of the Worlds.

Maybe most of the people who voted didn’t actually see the film.

Here are some pictures from the awards and the press room. Seven more after the jump.