| 14th Empire Awards | |
|---|---|
 The logo for the 14th Empire Awards | |
| Date | 29 March 2009[1] |
| Site | Grosvenor House Hotel, London, England[1] |
| Hosted by | Dara Ó Briain[1] |
| Highlights | |
| Best Film | The Dark Knight |
| Best British Film | RocknRolla |
| Most awards | The Dark Knight (3) |
| Most nominations | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (5) |
The 14th Empire Awards ceremony (officially known as the Jameson Empire Awards), presented by the British film magazine Empire, honored the best films of 2008 and took place on 29 March 2009 at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, England.[1][2] During the ceremony, Empire presented Empire Awards in 12 categories as well as four honorary awards. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Empire magazine a special honorary award was presented, the Actor of our Lifetime and to mark the loss of Heath Ledger, he was awarded the special honorary Heath Ledger Tribute Award. The Sony Ericsson Soundtrack Award was renamed to "Best Soundtrack" and the Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy award was renamed this year only to "Best Sci-Fi/Superhero". The Best Newcomer and Best Soundtrack awards were presented for the last time. Irish comedian Dara Ó Briain hosted the show for the first time.[1][2][3] The awards were sponsored by Jameson Irish Whiskey for the first time.[1][4][5][6]
The Dark Knight won the most awards with three including Best Film and Best Director for Christopher Nolan. Other winners included Eden Lake, Mamma Mia!, Quantum of Solace, RocknRolla, Son of Rambow, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Wanted with one. Viggo Mortensen received the Empire Icon Award, Danny Boyle received the Outstanding Contribution to British Film award, Russell Crowe received the Actor of our Lifetime award and Heath Ledger received a special post-mortem tribute. Stephen Power and Conal O'Meara from the United Kingdom won the Done In 60 Seconds Award for their 60-second film version of Jerry Maguire.
- ^ a b c d e f "Jameson Empire Awards 2009 – Nominations" (Press release). Bauer Consumer Media. March 2, 2009. Archived from the original on May 8, 2009.
- ^ a b Reynolds, Simon (March 2, 2009). "'Sweeney Todd' leads Empire noms". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
- ^ "Minute-By-Minute Blog". Empireonline.com. Bauer Consumer Media. March 29, 2009. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
- ^ "UK: Jameson cuts Empire film awards deal". just-drinks.com. Aroq Ltd. November 28, 2008. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
- ^ "Jameson to sponsor film awards". Business & Leadership. Business and Leadership Ltd. December 1, 2008. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
- ^ Turney, Ewan (December 1, 2008). "Jameson to sponsor Empire Awards". Morningadvertiser.co.uk. William Reed Business Media. Retrieved October 1, 2014.