THIS MONTH

JULY 1989 WAS a momentous month. Batman opened and set the record for the quickest $100 million in box office history (in just ten days). And, no less significantly, it was the month of Empire’s birth. Great Balls Of Fire, Mississippi Burning, David Puttnam and Sean Young were on the cover. Since then, much has changed and also, much hasn’t. We are still the magazine for full-hearted, full-throated film fans. The place where you can read about the films that matter first — whether blockbuster or indie — and hear from the filmmakers that made them. And the place where you can now come for conversation and debate. We’ve been celebrating our birthday since January, when we announced the 30 Most Adventurous Filmmakers Of Our Lifetime. So far, we’ve spent time with James Cameron, Edgar Wright, Jordan Peele, Quentin Tarantino, Taika Waititi, Danny Boyle, Christopher Mcquarrie and Peter Jackson, with the resulting features running in the magazine every month. And we’re only partway through! But this month, we wanted to mark our 30th by celebrating the greatest films of each year of Empire’s lifetime — 30 years, 30 films. We’ve interviewed those who made the iconic films afresh and dug out Empire’s interviews and set visits from the time. And we’ve printed 30 covers — all are yours to collect (see p48 for details on how to order). The lucky subscribers among you, meanwhile, got the chance to vote for your cover: and you voted overwhelmingly for The Shawshank Redemption. You beautiful lot.

If I haven’t said it enough already, thank you for being with us for 30 years. It means the world to us. And here’s to the next 30. TERRI WHITE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF @terri_white