A STAR IS BORN WINS BIG AT EMPIRE FILM AWARDS

Musical remake A Star is Born and The Avengers: Infinity War were among the winners of the annual Empire Film Awards this week. The Marvel blockbuster won Best Film, while the tragic love story starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga – the current favourite for the Academy Award for Best Picture -  landed trophies for its two stars as well as ‘Best Onscreen Couple’.

Meanwhile, the hugely successful Black Panther was the movie that Aussie fans found most disappointing, beating Deadpool 2 and Ocean’s 8 to the least coveted award. The Most Underrated release was Solo: A Star Wars Story, which proved a box office flop.

More than 4,000 Empire readers voted in the poll, which also covered the cream of Australian cinema.  Indigenous thriller Sweet Country was judged the best Aussie film while Thor hunk Chris Hemsworth and Hereditary star Toni Collette collected the acting accolades. Nash Edgerton’s comedy drama Mr Inbetween was named best Australian TV Show.

Empire editor James Jennings commented, “Having a huge superhero franchise like Avengers: Infinity War and a small-scale drama, Sweet Country take out Best Film and Best Australian Film respectively shows that Empire readers appreciate a wide range of movies.  The votes indicate that A Star Is Born is rightly the big award season favourite, but we were shocked that Black Panther, the highest-grossing solo superhero film of all time, was seen as a let-down.”

The full list of winners is:

Best Film: Avengers: Infinity War

Best Actor: Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born

Best Actress: Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born

Best Scene: Bad Times At The El Royale (Cynthia Erivo takes down Chris Hemsworth)

Best Line: Drax in Avengers: Infinity War (“I’ll do you one better: WHY is Gamora?”)

Best Screen Couple: Bradley Cooper & Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born

Best TV series: Barry

Best Aussie Actor: Chris Hemsworth

Best Aussie Actress: Toni Collette

Best Aussie Film: Sweet Country

Best Aussie TV series: Mr Inbetween

Most Overrated Film: Black Panther

Most Underrated Film: Solo: A Star Wars Story

Biggest Disappointment: Venom

Best Film-Related Thing: Time’s Up Movement

Best Film-Related Thing: The Death of Stan Lee

The Nicolas Cage Award for Overall Excellence: Nicholas Cage, Mandy