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UK short film finalists to feature at this year’s Jameson Empire Awards under the watchful eye of Tom Hooper

This weekend sees the fantastic Jameson Empire Awards take place at one of London’s swishest hotels, the Grosvenor House Hotel. As part of this year’s event, Empire are also hosting their short film awards named Done In 60 Seconds, in which each short condenses an entire movie down into just one minute.

Well, today the finalists of said competition were announced. They are: Jack Kendall, Gareth Soen Hughes, Lee Hardcastle, Michael Whaite and Simon Jago, who shrink-wrapped movies from THE SOCIAL NETWORK to 300. All five of them will now head to the London Film Museum for a showcase, which will pit them up against 19 other entries coming from 11 countries (including Russia, Germany, Sweden and The Netherlands). THE KING’S SPEECH helmer Tom Hooper will be heading up a jury to decide the winner!

See all of the finalists over at Empire.

Our own Katie McCabe will be at the event, and will be bringing you all of the gossip on the site next week. The Empire Awards will take place on Sunday, from which I will be hunting down celebrities on the red carpet…

Here’s the full release:

Jack Kendall (London), Gareth Soen Hughes (Cheshire), Lee Hardcastle (Yorkshire), Michael Whaite (Manchester) and Simon Jago (London), are keen movie-makers hailing from around the UK, who soon may find themselves walking the red carpet alongside the top stars of the film industry. Jack remade this year’s Golden Globes’ Best Picture The Social Network, Gareth re-created the hit film Predator, Lee remade the Exorcist with animated plasticine figures, Michael re-created the award winning Disney animation The Lion King and Simon re-created the film 300, which emphasised the fictionalized retelling of the Battle of Thermopylaehas, all earned them spots as finalists in the Jameson Empire Done in 60 Seconds competition – the cornerstone of the 2011 Jameson Empire Awards, taking place in London this weekend.

But to win, they will need to gain the seal of approval from the current leading Director in Hollywood – Academy Award winning British Director of The King’s Speech, Tom Hooper, who is leading the judging panel for this year’s competition.

They have already beaten off strong competition from 15 other UK entries, which included remakes of classics like Ghost, Die Hard and The Wizard of Oz alongside 60-second takes on modern favourites Toy Story, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and Juno. The UK entries were whittled down to a shortlist of five finalists by 23,000 avid film fans voting online at Empireonline.com.

Now, the UK finalists face opposition from 19 other entries coming from 11 countries (including Russia, Germany, Sweden and The Netherlands), all of whom will be showcased at the DISS International Finals night at the London Film Museum next Friday night (25th March).

Hooper has spoken of his support for the competition and the opportunity it gives young aspiring film-makers:

“I am delighted to be on the judging panel of such a great competition. Done in 60 Seconds is a fantastic way for amateur directors to show-case their talent in the film world. Empire and Jameson have created a novel Award that really tests entrants’ creativity and editing skills. Making a movie in 60 seconds is a tough challenge – I’m excited to see what they deliver!”

The DISS International Finals night will see all 24 finalists screened and five final shortlisted entries announced, each winning themselves an invitation to attend the star-studded Jameson Empire Awards two days later, on March 27th, at the Grosvenor House Hotel on London’s Park Lane – where the judging panel will announce the overall winner.

Any other budding film-makers out there can log-on to the Jameson Empire Done In 60 Seconds Film Academy to learn top movie-making tips from the stars and watch the UK finalists: www.jamesonwhiskey.com/DISS

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