Another special award, and this time Jessica Chastain is here to present. Chastain was just grinning and waving her speech notes at Nolan across the table. She, of course, worked with the director on his latest triumph, Interstellar, which saw him add “farming” to his list of talents when he not only planted crops for realism but then harvested them and sold them at a profit. Now that’s an inspiration.
"Inspiration is not a word that can be used lightly," says Chastain. "Since his debut in 1999 he has inspired audiences. Never once has he underestimated our ability to follow complex ideas. He's shown that the leap from independent cinema to blockbuster filmmaking need not be that huge. He's a traditionalist in the finest sense, but also incredibly progressive, and he's inspired studios, making them realise that investing in a single filmmaker's vision is not an impossible gamble. Lastly, he's inspired the lexicon. His name has become a verb: 'to Nolanise', defined by the Urban Dictionary as taking an unrealistic idea for a film and making it work in a realistic world."
Christopher Nolan: (after a standing ovation that just wouldn't quit) Thank you to Empire. Not to get Paul King in any more trouble with his wife, but I'm going to start by thanking my wife. I'd like to talk about inspiration, and my main inspiration is Emma. She's produced all the films you saw there and a couple of others. She's been there from the start and nothing would be possible without her. And thanks to Jessica and all the actors I've worked with over the years, who inspire me. I'm old enough to remember the dark days before Empire magazine. I have always been inspired by movies, and I was thrilled when Empire came along. It has a respect for the craft of filmmaking but never leaves behind the mass appeal of movies and the fun. So I do want to thank the readers of Empire and the people who produce it. Movies are the things that inspire me the most, and outside of that the pages of Empire are one of the few places that I've been able to enjoy the love of movies."
BEST DIRECTOR presented by Air New Zealand
Was that a bird? There’s a weird buzz in here. Was it a plane? There’s almost a trembling. Wait, no, it’s Superman! Henry Cavill is presenting this one, and there’s a strange sound in the room, as if several hundred women (and men) all sighed in unison at this paragon of male beauty. He's clearly still in Superman mode too.
And the winner is…CHRISTOPHER NOLAN
Christopher Nolan’s so committed to realism that we were a little surprised he didn’t literally shoot Interstellar in space, if we’re honest. But he did at least push his technical teams hard enough that they discovered some new scientific principles worthy of peer-reviewed publication, so that’s pretty good too. And here he is to accept his award!
Nolan: "You've heard far too much from me already, so thank you to Empire, the readers of Empire, so I'll just thank my brother Jonah who wrote the script and Kip Thorne who gave us the science."
BEST FILM presented by Viber
It’s the big one, the one they’ve all been waiting for, the award that separates the merely excellent from the truly spectacular. Kit Harrington and Peter Firth, stars of upcoming thriller Spooks: The Greater Good (all the Hot Fuzz fans who just chorused “The greater good”, hello), are presenting this one despite MI5’s request that they get back to work and fight terrorism until Bond returns in the autumn.
And the winner is… INTERSTELLAR
Director Christopher Nolan is here, again, along with producer Emma Thomas and star Jessica Chastain, to lift the big trophy of the evening – possibly right into orbit.
Thomas: "Thank you so much to Empire and the readers. It means so much when it's people who actually watch movies who give you an award like this. Interstellar was an amazing film to make. We became like family, so it's wonderful to have Jessica here."
Chastain: "All I have to say is that the second I got a call from my agent asking if I was interested in a role in a Christopher Nolan film I said I didn't even need to read the script because I love this team. What I loved was the message that love transcends time and space, because I believe that."
Last edited by Ace on March 30th, 2015, 9:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
Remind me to never post another Interstellar-related cosplay photos ever again. 
