Skyfall leads Empire nominations

Skyfall leads the pack at this year's Empire Awards with six nominations for the Bond film including best actor for Daniel Craig and best actress for Dame Judi Dench.

Dame Judi faces competition from Oscar winners Anne Hathaway and Jennifer Lawrence who are both nominated in the same category, but not for the roles that won them Academy Awards last month.

Hathaway is nominated for The Dark Knight Rises, while Lawrence gets a nod for The Hunger Games.

The shortlist for best actor includes two more winners from this year's Oscars - Daniel Day-Lewis and Christoph Waltz.

Other contenders for best actor include Robert Downey Jr and Martin Freeman, while Golden Globe winner Jessica Chastain and Naomi Watts complete the line-up for best actress.

Skyfall also picked up nominations for best thriller, best British film, best director and best film at the awards which are voted for by film fans.

This years event, formally known as the Jameson Empire Awards 2013, also sees five nominations for Joss Whedon's Avengers Assemble and Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

Skyfall director Sam Mendes is shortlisted with Whedon, Jackson, Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino for best director.

Rafe Spall, Tom Holland and Alice Lowe are among the nominees for best newcomer, while the best horror film category includes Dark Shadows, Sightseers, Sinister, The Cabin In The Woods and The Woman In Black.