It's been a jolly good week for Peter Jackson and the other inhabitants of Middle-earth. Not only was Return of the King nominated for 11 Oscars on Tuesday, but the film is also leading the nominations for the 2004 Sony Ericsson Empire Awards. Blazing ahead with a total of eight nods, it looks as though Empire's readers are determined to see justice done by the trilogy's final instalment and make sure Jackson and co go out with a bang. Also duking it out in the Best Film category will be Pirates of the Caribbean (which gained five overall nominations), Cold Mountain (also with five), Kill Bill (which received four) and X-Men 2. Jackson, Tarantino and Minghella will have to wrestle with Peter Weir and the Coen Brothers for Best Director. Actors par excellence were topped by Johnny Depp, Hugh Jackman, Viggo Mortensen, Daniel Day-Lewis and, pleasingly, good old Sean Astin for his role as stalwart hobbit Samwise Gamgee. The girls, on the other hand, comprised Uma Thurman, Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Cate Blanchett and, surprisingly, Maggie Gyllenhaal for her role in Secretary. 'And what about us Brits?' you cry. Well, Richard Curtis will be chuffed, gaining five nominations for Love Actually and facing off against Calendar Girls, Young Adam, Stephen Fry's Bright Young Things and, in an interesting turn, Johnny English. In the thesping stakes, names like Jude Law, Ewan McGregor, Orlando Bloom, Emma Thompson and Keira Knightley are all present and correct with Martine McCutcheon, Mackenzie Crook and Andrew Lincoln among those in with a hope for Best Newcomer. The Awards will kick off on Wednesday 4 February, when all will be revealed. It goes without saying that the Empire Online team will (in varying states of inebriation) be working through the night to bring you the very best Awards coverage you could imagine, so be sure to check back the minute, nay the second it happens. The full list of nominees:
**Best Newcomer **
Martine McCutcheon (Love, Actually)
Mackenzie Crook (Pirates of the Caribbean)
Fenella Woolgar (Bright Young Things)
Andrew Lincoln (Love Actually)
Eli Roth (Cabin Fever) Sony Ericsson Scene of the Year
Ride of the Rohirrim (Return of the King)
House of the Blue Leaves (Kill Bill)
Opening Battle (Master and Commander)
The flag speech (Gangs of New York)
The rum scene (Pirates of the Caribbean) **Best British Actress **
Keira Knightley (Pirates of the Caribbean)
Emma Thompson (Love Actually)
Julie Walters (Calendar Girls)
Helen Mirren (Calendar Girls)
Emily Mortimer (Young Adam) **Best British Actor **
Jude Law (Cold Mountain)
Andy Serkis (Return of the King)
Sir Ian Mckellen (Return of the King)
Orlando Bloom (Return of the King)
Ewan McGregor (Young Adam) Best British Film
Love, Actually
Calendar Girls
Johnny English
Young Adam
Bright Young Things **Best Actress **
Uma Thurman (Kill Bill)
Nicole Kidman (Cold Mountain)
Julianne Moore (Far From Heaven)
Maggie Gyllenhaal (Secretary)
Cate Blanchett (Veronica Guerin) **Best Actor **
Johnny Depp (Pirates)
Viggo Mortensen (Return of the King)
Hugh Jackman (X2)
Sean Astin (Return of the King)
Daniel Day-Lewis (Gangs of New York) Best Director
Peter Jackson (Return of the King)
Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill) Coens (Intolerable Cruelty)
Anthony Minghella (Cold Mountain)
Peter Weir (Master and Commander) Best Film
Return of the King
Kill Bill
Pirates of the Caribbean
Cold Mountain
X2 Update
The Sony Ericsson Empire Awards will be broadcast live on Sky Movies 1 on Wednesday 4 February from 8pm, with highlights repeated at 11pm on Thursday 5 February on Sky Movies 3.