Ed’s letter

When you read this it’ll be just a few days since the jameson empire awards — our annual celebration of the absolute best in the world of film. We’ll have saluted the winners, held the also-rans as they wept, welcomed the new, said goodbye to those that we sadly lost, had a few drams, made a show of ourselves on the dance floor, slept a little and loved a lot. you see, apart from a rollicking good party, the wonderful thing about the awards is that we get to spend a few hours in a room of people who love what we love as fiercely as we love it. not just that, they’re the ones who actually make it. they’re responsible for that churn of excitement and trepidation that fills our guts when the lights go down. though many of you won’t have been able to be there with us, we hope you got involved via twitter, Periscope and empireonline.com — head there now to catch up on all the action and pick up next month’s magazine for a glorious celebration of the night. the only people who mean more to us than the magicians behind our favourite movies are you guys: it’s all for you, after all.

and we have an extra-special treat for you this month, too: the most in-depth, exclusive access to X-men: Apocalypse of any magazine anywhere. We have nine special, jaw-dropping covers to collect. and for our subscribers, an incredible free one-of-a-kind poster. just one of the many perks of signing up (not to mention saving cash, getting the mag first and my personal favourite, never having to leave the house in daylight). see p.122 if you want to know more about joining our crew. We would love to have you.

along with that we have stories on Green Room, Ghostbusters, Game Of Thrones and the greatest stuntman tale you’ll never have read.

enjoy the issue. i know i would say this, but it’s a blinder.