The Empire Film Podcast

The Shameless Plug — the show in which Chris Hewitt and Empire editor Nick de Semlyen sit down and do a deep dive into the contents of the latest issue of Empire — is back, folks, and this one really is fantastic. That's because this month's cover story is The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which inspires Chris and Nick to talk about some of their set visit experiences (including one on the set of the 2005 Fantastic Four), among other things. They also talk about the other features and great standouts in the issue, and the thinking behind them, in another fun episode. Enjoy.

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast sees Chris Hewitt sit down in person with Deep Cover stars, Bryce Dallas Howard, Orlando Bloom, and Nick Mohammed, to talk about their experiences playing improvisers who go undercover as fake cops;[1:00:00 - 1:15:52 approx] and on Zoom with Tornado and Slow Horses star, Jack Lowden. [26:15 - 39:20 approx] Either side of those, Chris is joined in the podbooth by James Dyer, Alex Godfrey and Empire Podcast debutant, Harry Stainer, to discuss the best and worst retcons, run their eye over the week's movie news, review Deep Cover, Echo Valley, Tornado, and How To Train Your Dragon. Oh, and there's some extreme improv, so be warned. Enjoy.

Here's a damn fine special episode of the Empire Podcast for you to enjoy. We're in the grip of Twin Peaks fever all over again — the seminal David Lynch/Mark Frost TV show is being celebrated this Sunday (June 15th) at the BFI Southbank in London with a special 35mm print screening of the show's pilot, and if that weren't enough, every single episode of Twin Peaks, including 2017's The Return, will be available to watch on MUBI as of Friday June 13th. So, naturally, we decided to mark the occasion by sitting down on Zoom with two of the show's legends. First, co-creator Mark Frost talks to Mike Muncer, then Kyle MacLachlan — Agent Dale Cooper himself — has an in-depth chat with Chris Hewitt about Twin Peaks, and his incredible friendship and working relationship with David Lynch. Pour yourself a cup of coffee, carve yourself a slice of cherry pie, and enjoy.

This week's episode of the freshly award-losing Empire Podcast sees the podteam lick their wounds after a demoralising defeat in the Best Podcast (Consumer) category at the BSMEs earlier in the week. How do they do this? By talking about movies, of course, as they discuss the week's news (a load of trailers, and a potential new James Cameron movie), reviewing Ballerina: From The World Of John Wick, Dangerous Animals, and Predator: KIller Of Killers. Oh, and they talk about actors who might be able to reprise their iconic animation roles in live-action, while James hits Helen and Chris with a question that shakes them to their very foundations. Oh, and Chris also has lovely chats with Dangerous Animals star Jai Courtney, [25:17 - 40:27 approx] and Ballerina star/all-round legend, Ian McShane, [1:00:03 - 1:14:56 approx] while Harry Stainer makes his pod debut as he talks to How To Train Your Dragon (both animation and live-action) director, Dean DeBlois. [1:38:49 - 1:55:16 approx] Enjoy.

Whether it's Tom Cruise risking his neck underwater, or above ground while clinging to the wing of a biplane, Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning is filled with stunts that might just turn your hair white. That's if you don't lose it completely. That's just one of the side effects discussed in this Empire Podcast interview special, as the film's second unit director and stunt co-ordinator, the wonderful Wade Eastwood, sits down on Zoom with Chris Hewitt, and tells us how he, Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie and their team pulled off some of the greatest stunts ever committed to celluloid. This is not a spoiler special, folks, but if you haven't seen the film, maybe best to give this one a swerve and come back when you have. For everyone else, enjoy.

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast sees the podteam — Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, James Dyer and Alex Godfrey — get to grips with the definition of in media res, as they discuss some of their favourite films that throw you right into the action. Elsewhere, they talk about the week's movie news, pay tribute to Empire's founding editor Barry McIlheney, who has sadly died at the age of 65, and review The Ballad Of Wallis Island, Karate Kid: Legends, Mountainhead, The Ritual, and The Salt Path. And Chris has a whale of a time talking to this week's guests, Mountainhead writer/director (and Succession creator), Jesse Armstrong, [26:34 - 39:29 approx] and Tom Basden, Tim Key and Carey Mulligan, the stars of the delightful new film, The Ballad Of Wallis Island. [1:01:06 - 1:19:38 approx] Oh, and Alex goes full Rory Bremner too, which is... unexpected. Enjoy.

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast sees Chris Hewitt mark the release of Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning by doing a non-spoiler, non-epic (less than 20 minutes!) chat with that film's director, the legendarily loquacious Christopher McQuarrie, [26:00 - 43:06 approx] and have a lovely natter with the stars of the new Wes Anderson film, The Phoenician Scheme, Benicio del Toro and Michael Cera. [1:01:37 - 1:15:35 approx] Right at the end of the show, we also bring you an extended excerpt from our Andor s2 spoiler chat with that show's creator, Tony Gilroy, who tells Ben Travis all about the fates of certain characters. Do not listen if you haven't seen Andor! [1:43:43 - 1:56:02 approx] Elsewhere, Chris Hewitt is joined in the podbooth by Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and John Nugent, to talk about Cannes and Cruise, run their collective eye over the week's movie news, and review The Final Reckoning, The Phoenician Scheme, Lilo & Stitch, and Guy Ritchie's Fountain Of Youth. Enjoy.

The Shameless Plug — the show in which Chris Hewitt and Empire editor, Nick de Semlyen, sit down and talk you through the latest issue of Empire — is back for its third episode, folks. This one is dedicated to issue 441 of Empire (on sale now at all good, evil, and virtual newsagents), which features Jurassic World Rebirth on the cover, and Nick talks through the creative process behind our cover, behind his choice of writer for the feature, and drops a couple of Jurassic World tidbits that didn't make it into the article. Elsewhere, our dynamic duo chat about the choices they made in putting the issue together, Nick tackles a quiz he wrote, and Chris reads out the first line of each feature, despite Nick's protestations. Enjoy.

Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard's The Extraordinary Miss Flower is part-concert film, part-performance art piece inspired by the life of its subject, a woman called Geraldine Flower. When she passed away a few years ago, her daughter Zoe discovered a number of letters, written over the years by suitors of Geraldine's, which painted a picture of a wildly charismatic, enigmatic and magnetic woman. Zoe's close friend, Icelandic singer Emiliana Torrini, and Zoe's husband, the musician Simon Byrt, were inspired by the letters, and thus 2024's album, Miss Flower, was born. And, not long after that, Forsyth and Pollard's film, which combines performances from Torrini and her band, with interstitial pieces featuring a host of famous faces reading aloud the letters, and Caroline Catz as the extraordinary Geraldine Flower. And in this Empire Podcast interview special, Chris Hewitt is joined in the podbooth by Zoe Flower, the film's producer and daughter of its subject, and Catz for a frank and fascinating conversation in

This week's episode of the BSME Awards-nominated Empire Podcast had better not be the episode that the BSME Awards judging panel listens to ahead of voting, or our nomination might be rescinded. Which is to say, chaos reigns as Chris Hewitt returns — eventually, after being waylaid by a McQ&A — to the hosting chair, and is joined by Helen O'Hara, James Dyer and, for a limited time only, Nick de Semlyen to talk about movies only they love, the week's movie news including the new Superman trailer, and review Final Destination Bloodlines, Hallow Road, and The Marching Band. Oh, and there's a spelling bee that exudes some serious little D energy. Our guests this week are the wonderful pairings of Matthew Rhys and Rosamund Pike, stars of the blistering new psychodrama, Hallow Road, and Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein, directors of the riotously entertaining new Final Destination movie, Bloodlines. Enjoy! Vote for us!

It's another cracking episode of the (freshly award-nominated) Empire Podcast this week, folks, as Helen O'Hara slips into the hosting chair and tries to wrestle James Dyer and Alex Godfrey into shape as they talk about changeable movie titles, great actor/director pairings, Alex's favourite teen movies, the week's movie news including Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on the film industry, The Long Walk and Highest 2 Lowest trailers, and review The Uninvited, The Extraordinary Miss Flower, The Surfer, and The Wedding Banquet. That last movie also provides us with our guests, as Chris Hewitt sits down for an incredibly fun chat with its stars, Lily Gladstone and Kelly Marie Tran. [22:12 - 44:11 approx] Have a listen, you won't regret it. Enjoy!

It had to happen: the Empire podcast has finally gone to hell — quite literally in this case, as this particular show is episode 666. Perhaps appropriately, James is in the driving seat for this one, embracing this demonically anointed episode to bring you such thematically-relevant discussions as a Mount Rushmore of movie Satans and an off-topic discussion as to why subtitles are also the devil’s work. But that’s not all, because while Chris isn’t here in body, having hopped over to Ireland for a few rounds of golf, he is here in spirit, not least of all as he interviews all of this week’s guests, specifically three of the Thunderbolts — Hannah John-Kamen, Wyatt Russell and David Harbour (approx 57:36-1:13:09)— Another Simple Favour director Paul Feig (approx 11:21-23:48), and Ryan Coogler (at the very end) in a little tease of our Sinners spoiler special episode, which is available now on the Spoiler Specials subscription feed. Joining James and Helen this week is John ‘The Nuge’ Nugent, who does his b

It was foretold by the Ancient Ones: The Convergence (or Gunvergence, if you will), the day on which three absolutely slamming action movies will be released at the same time in the UK (albeit on different formats), ushering in a new era of sweaty dad bods, car chases, and many scenes where people die in a hail of bullets. And that day is today, folks. April 25, which sees the release of Gareth Evans' HAVOC on Netflix, Christian Gudegast's Den Of Thieves: Pantera on Prime Video, and Gavin O'Connor's The Accountant 2 in cinemas across the country. The Convergence has been keeping our Chris Hewitt going for some time now, and he gets to sit down with the directors of all three films on this week's episode: Evans at 22:24 (approx), O'Connor at 1:03:23 (approx), and Gudegast at 1:39:48 (approx). But that's not all. Chris is joined in the podbooth this week by Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Beth Webb to run their eye over the week's movie news (sadly, last week's Fantastic Four trailer fell through the cracks), rev

The Shameless Plug returns, folks, for a second glorious episode in which Chris Hewitt and Empire editor, Nick de Semlyen, sit down in the podbooth and tell you how (and why) the sausage is made. That sausage being the new issue of Empire, which is on sale now in all good, evil, and virtual newsagents. Our dynamic duo talk through the month's big cover feature, a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Jaws, look back to a dark moment in Empire's history, and Chris has a bone to pick with Nick. Enjoy.

This week's Empire Podcast (episode 664 if you're keeping score!) is more packed with goodness than your average Easter egg. Not only do Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, and Alex Godfrey get into a discussion about what exactly makes a musical a musical (along with an impromptu visit to a certain mountain), but they tackle the week's movie news, including the revelation that the Oscars will finally have a Best Stunt Design category (note: this was recorded, due to the Easter holidays, before the new Fantastic Four trailer and Star Wars movie news. We'll get to those next week), and review Ryan Coogler's Sinners, Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza's Warfare, and the new Steve Coogan film, The Penguin Lessons. And if that weren't enough, our guest egg overcracketh, as Chris sits down with Steve Coogan and co-star Jonathan Pryce, [21:13 - 33:16 approx] and Sinners' genius composer, Ludwig Göransson, [1:31:25 - 1:45:01 approx] while Alex has an engrossing chat with Warfare's directors, Ray Mendoza and the other Alex G. [52:

Kevin Macdonald's latest documentary, One To One: John & Yoko, is out now in cinemas around the UK, folks, and it's well worth your time for anyone with even a passing interest in John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, and their lives after The Beatles split up. But if you're a Beatlemaniac, this is manna from heaven as it not only brings you remastered footage of the One To One benefit concerts that Lennon and Ono performed at Madison Square Garden in 1972 (the only full-length concerts Lennon performed after leaving The Beatles), but also a glimpse into their lives and personal dynamic, courtesy of some incredible archive footage (video and audio). It also paints a portrait of the year 1972, and the political maelstrom that was swirling across America at the time. In this interview special, Chris Hewitt sits down on Zoom with Macdonald for a deep dive into how and why he made the film, and much, much more, including a little chat about The Runner, the action film Macdonald is just about to start directing

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast is jam-packed etc. etc. Bumper-sized, and so on and so forth. But it's true, perhaps this week more than ever as Chris Hewitt sits down for chats with two pairs — first, there's Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche, who reunite almost 30 years after The English Patient for this week's Odyssey-sampling drama, The Return. [24:05 - 38:32 approx] Then, there's Rami Malek and Laurence Fishburne, stars of the new spy thriller The Amateur, who reflect upon where they met, their working relationship, and the influence of Event Horizon upon modern cinema. [1:03:32 - 1:17:24 approx] Finally, Ben Travis has a lovely chat with Christopher Landon, the always affable director of this week's thriller, Drop. [1:38:53 - 1:53:53 approx] Either side of those, Chris welcomes Ben and James Dyer into the podbooth, as well as our returning geek queen, Helen O'Hara, back after that small business of getting married. They talk about that, discuss the great movie weddings they'd like to attend,

This week's Empire Podcast sees the long-awaited return of one of our favourite guests, the wonderful British actor Will Poulter, who talks to Chris Hewitt about his role in the new movie, Death Of A Unicorn, playing a prize A-hole, and impromptu tongue-twisters. [20:38 - 33:28 approx]Another returning guest joins us this week, as the delightful Amber Midthunder sits down on Zoom with Amon Warmann to dive deep into her role in the new action comedy Novocaine. That interview does contain some spoilers, so tread carefully! [1:07:21 - 1:23:34 approx] Either side of those, Chris is joined in the podbooth by James Dyer and, for the first time in forever, Ben Travis as they discuss the videogames they'd like to see adapted into movies, review Death Of A Unicorn, Holland, Last Swim and The Most Precious Of Cargoes, and go deep on tons of movie news, including the casting of The Beatles, the Once Upon A Time In Hollywood sequel, and the sad news of the death of the great Val Kilmer.

We start on a director's chair. We pull back to reveal its back. On it is emblazoned a name. That name? George MacKay, the wonderful star of this week's thought-provoking original movie musical, Joshua Oppenheimer's The End, who pops into the podbooth to have a good old natter [from 30:49 - 48:20 approx] with... We pull back. It's another director's chair. On it, another name: Chris Hewitt. Everyone shrugs their shoulders. But wait! There's another chair, and another name! That name is Irwin Winkler, the legendary producer of Rocky, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, The Irishman, Creed, and now The Alto Knights, as he talks to Chris about going double De Niro on that movie. [1:00:37 - 1:17:11 approx] And then there are three more chairs, with three more names, as Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and John Nugent join Chris in the podbooth for a topsy-turvy episode that flips the format of the show upside down. Our intrepid quartet answer a listener question about Double De Niro, review A Working Man, The Woman In The Yard, an

Welcome to The Shameless Plug, a brand new Empire Podcast regular show, folks. As the title suggests, every month Chris Hewitt will sit down with Empire editor, Nick de Semlyen, for a deep dive into the latest issue of Empire, bringing you the stories behind the stories and covering everything including the cover. This month's cover feature is Thunderbolts*, and Chris talks about his trip to Atlanta to visit the movie's set, while Nick shares tales of seeing a major star cram jelly beans into their pockets. And there's much, much more. The issue is on sale now at all good, evil and virtual newsagents, and you can subscribe via empireonline.com Do let us know your thoughts on The Shameless Plug. We'll be back in four weeks!