Cameron's Avatar leads Empire magazine nominations

London (ANI): Canadian film director James Cameron"s Avatar has landed five top nomination spots at the upcoming Empire magazine film awards. The 3D blockbuster received nods in the Best Film and Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy categories, while Cameron, 55, is in the running for the Best Director prize, reports the Daily Star.

The movie"s stars Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana are each tipped in the Best Actor/Actress category. Worthington, 33, will be fighting for the prize with Sir Michael Caine (Harry Brown), Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds), Robert Pattinson (The Twilight Saga: New Moon) and Robert Downey Jr. (Sherlock Holmes).

Saldana, 31, is up against Anne-Marie Duff (Nowhere Boy), Carey Mulligan (An Education), Emily Blunt (The Young Victoria) and Melanie Laurent (Inglourious Basterds). Cameron will go head-to-head with ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) in the Best Director list, as well as Neil Blomkamp (District 9), JJ Abrams (Star Trek) and Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds).

The awards will take place in London on March 28.