Wednewsday 25th April

Good News: Pixar have announced another future project, which will focus on the Mexican Holiday of Dia De Los Muertos or the Day of the Dead. Toy Story 3 director and long-time Pixar lieutenant Lee Unkrich is set to direct.

Bad News: Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci have been hired to work on the Amazing Spider-Man 2 script (even though the first one is not due out until the summer). Considering the duo wrote Transformers 2 and Cowboys & Aliens, fans are not exactly filled with confidence. Then again, they did write Star Trek...

Mad News: studios continue to scrape the barrel for superheroes to upgrade to the big screen. Next up, Warner Brothers are looking at a Lobo movie. Lobo is a blue-skinned, goth-haired alien bounty hunter from DC Comics and certainly an unlikely choice. The attached director is even more unlikely: Brad Peyton, director of Journey 2 and Cats & Dog 2.

Poster News: if the title didn't sell the point then the posters certainly will. Piranhas 3DD (yes, they made a sequel) is a film with violence and boobs and very little else. Well, accept Gary Busey. Don't say they didn't warn you.

Trailer News: the third and final trailer for Pixar's Brave has now been released. This one provides a better feel for the story than the previous two, which largely seems focussed on a strained mother-daughter relationship. After the underwhelming Cars 2, it looks like Brave will be a return to five-star form.

Wednewsday 18th April

Good News: the recently-revived Hammer Horror Studios is blooming after their Woman in Black box office takings. They are currently investing in new projects including The Quiet Ones, which will star Jared Harris (Mad Men, Sherlock Holmes 2) as a professor who encourages his students to create a poltergeist out of their negative energy.

Bad News: Sony Pictures are giving Sabrina the Teenage Witch an edgy big-screen reboot. Her black cat Salem, formerly a transformed warlock, will now be a transformed handsome prince. Expect some supernatural Twilight-style romantic sub-plots.

Mad News: Disney is turning another theme park ride into a feature length film. This time, they are looking at a CG/live-action adaptation of Mr Toad's Wild Ride, which in turn was adapted from The Wind in the Willows. Well, it worked for Pirates of the Caribbean.

Poster News: the first Django Unchained poster has been revealed and it's looking retro. Classic Tarantino.

Trailer News: the trailer for Looper is out. Time travel, assassins and Joseph Gordon Levitt tries to bring down an older version of himself played by Bruce Willis! Check it out.

Wednewsday 11th April

Good News: Ben Kingsley has signed on to play the villain in Iron Man 3, due May 2013. Although the name off the villain has yet to be released, you can expect Kingsley to play Iron Man's arch-nemesis: the Mandarin.

Bad News: ...or good news, depending on how much you enjoyed The Hunger Games. Either way, Gary Ross will not be returning as director for the sequel, which hopefully means they will get someone with a bit more adrenaline to shoot the games sequences.

Mad News: not only is the Adam Sandler comedy Grown Ups getting a sequel but Taylor Lautner has joined the cast. Considering he plays JacAbs in the ridiculously-popular Twilight franchise, you would think he could have his pick of decent acting jobs.

Bond News: a new Bond girl has been added to the Skyfall cast. Greek actress Tonia Sotiropoulou will star in a small role but will get ample opportunity to romance Daniel Craig. Lucky bloke.

Trailer News: the new Simon Pegg comedy, A Fantastic Fear of Everything, now has a trailer. And best of all, the director is none other than Kula Shaker! Check it out.

The Empire Awards 2012

The Jameson Empire Awards 2012 took place on Sunday 25th March. All winners are decided by Empire readers and so many unsung heroes, such as Gary Oldman and Olivia Coleman, finally get their reward. Best of all, the politics are put aside and comedies, comic book films and horrors are all given due consideration.

The Empire Awards also present three special crowns each year (Hero, Inspiration, Icon) for film-makers who have been particularly influential.

Personal highlights for me include Thor taking home best Sci-Fi/Fantasy and David Yates taking home a well-deserved Best Director after an impressive four Harry Potter films.

The full list of nominees and winners are below.

Empire Hero Award: Michael Fassbender

Empire Inspiration Award: Ron Howard

Empire Icon Award: Tim Burton

Best Male Newcomer 

John Boyega (Attack The Block) 

Asa Butterfield (Hugo) 

Sam Claflin (Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) 

Tom Hiddleston (Thor) - WINNER

Jeremy Irvine (War Horse)

Craig Roberts (Submarine)

Best Female Newcomer 

Celine Buckens (War Horse) 

Elle Fanning (Super 8)

Laura Haddock (The Inbetweeners Movie)

Felicity Jones (Like Crazy) - WINNER

Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit)

Bonnie Wright (Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows — Part 2)

Best Comedy

Attack The Block

Bridesmaids

Crazy Stupid Love 

The Inbetweeners Movie - WINNER

Midnight In Paris

Best Horror

Attack The Block 

Insidious

Kill List - WINNER

Paranormal Activity 3

Troll Hunter

Best Thriller (Presented by Café de Paris)

Drive

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Hanna

Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows 

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - WINNER

Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Captain America: The First Avenger

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes

Super 8

Thor - WINNER

X-Men: First Class

The Art Of 3D (Presented by RealD)

The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn - WINNER

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows — Part 2

Hugo

Thor 

Transformers: Dark Of The Moon

Jameson Best Actor

Daniel Craig (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo)

Ryan Gosling (Drive)

Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) - WINNER

Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows — Part 2)

Andy Serkis (Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes)

Best Actress (Presented by Citroën)

Olivia Colman (Tyrannosaur) - WINNER

Rooney Mara (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) 

Carey Mulligan (Drive) 

Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady) 

Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn)

Best Director

Tomas Alfredson (Tinker Tailor Solider Spy) 

Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive) 

Steven Spielberg (War Horse) 

Rupert Wyatt (Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes)

David Yates (Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows — Part 2) - WINNER

Best British Film 

Attack The Block

The Inbetweeners Movie

Submarine

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - WINNER

Tyrannosaur

Best Film (Presented by Sky Movies)

Drive

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo 

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows — Part 2 - WINNER

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes

Wednewsday 4th April

Good News: two new Skyfall videoblogs are available over on the official Bond website, this time focussing on Bond girls Naomie Harris and Berenice Marlohe.

Bad News: The Woman in Black's impressive box office haul has led to the inevitable green-lighting of a sequel titled The Woman in Black: Angels of Death. Although it is taking place 40 years after the original, you can expect it to be a box-ticking exercise designed to make more money.

Mad News: Jobs, the film biopic of Steve Jobs, is due to start shooting next month. Steve Jobs will be played by none other than Ashton Kutcher. Yep. The guy from Cheaper by the Dozen, The Butterfly Effect and Two and a Half Men.

Madder News: Universal have announced that they are making a sequel to the 1988 film, Twins, which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito as unlikely long-lost siblings. The sequel will be called Triplets (really) and the third brother is going to be play by Eddie Murphy (really really). Bonkers!

Trailer News: speaking of unnecessary films, the Total Recall remake starring Colin Farrell now has a trailer and, in fairness, it looks totally awesome.