The Empire Film Podcast

This month's episode of The Shameless Plug sees Chris Hewitt away and James Dyer stepping in to sit down once more with Empire editor/podcast hostage Nick De Semlyen for a look at the new issue. In a complete upending of the entire format, Nick goes rogue and decides to inject a little drama into the mix by listing his ten favourite things from the new issue (without telling James what they are). Are all of them James' Dunesplaining breakdown of the new Dune: Part 3 trailer? No, no they're not. It's unclear why.

If we told you that this week's episode of the Empire Podcast featured not one but two people banging on about Taylor Swift, odds are you'd reckon one of them was James Dyer. And you'd be wrong. For those people are Ben Travis and David Lowery, director of the new poptastic psychodrama, Mother Mary. Lowery is this week's guest, and he popped into the podbooth to sit down with Ben to talk all about how Taylor Swift influenced part of his approach to the Anne Hathaway-Michael Coel flick, and much, much more, including an ultra-geeky exchange about Star Wars action figures. [36:32 - 58:21 approx] Either side of that, Helen O'Hara welcomes James Dyer and Amon Warmann into the podbooth as they discuss great movie prison breaks and what makes for a good biopic; the week's movie news (at least, the stuff that broke before the pod was recorded... thanks a bunch, Miami Vice '85 casting news and Clayface trailer!); and review Mother Mary, Charlize Theron-Taron Egerton thriller Apex, and Antoine Fuqua's Michael Jackson

With Chris Hewitt away on an actual holiday, this week's Empire Podcast sees Helen O'Hara slide into the host's chair as she, Ben Travis, and Amon Warmann tackle a hat-trick of listener questions, including musing on male damsels in distress, movies-turned-plays, and the ongoing role of Bluey in saving the world. Then the trio tackle movie news, most of which comes out of this week's CinemaCon, including the revelation that Jamie Dornan, and not Leo Woodall, will be filling Aragorn's boots in The Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum. Finally, they review not one but SIX movies, including Lee Cronin's The Mummy, Jonah Hill's Outcome, and Brian Cox's directorial debut, Glenrothan. Speaking of Cox, the legendary Scottish actor pops into the podbooth to have a delightful, and delightfully foul-mouthed, chat with Chris about popping behind the camera at almost 80 years of age, singing Spice Girls with Alan Cumming, and his complicated relationship with Scotland. Oh, and if there are any glaring editing errors on

It's another jam-packed edition of The Interviews this week, folks. First, Chris Hewitt talks fillums, scary and otherwise, with the wonderful Jack Reynor, star of Lee Cronin's The Mummy. [1:35 - 18:44 approx] Then he has a chaotic, recorded-on-iPhone-because-reasons, chat with Seamus McLean Ross and Samuel Bottomley, the stars of James McAvoy's California Schemin' [20:48 - 37:01 approx]; and finally there's a fun chat between Chris and Kat Coiro and Will Packer, director and producer respectively of the frothy rom-com You, Me & Tuscany.[37:59 - 52:47 approx] Enjoy.

Ok, first things first. Let's get it out of the way. Yes, the Empire Podcast team — Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and John Nugent — spend a great deal of this week's podcast answering a listener question about great movie quartets. They also spend a great deal of time, in the Movie News section, talking about The Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum. And yes, despite all that, they spectacularly fail to mention Bilbo, Samwise, Merry and Pippin in the former category. So, just letting you know that now lest you wish to shout at your podcast device of choice. Forewarned is forearmed and all that. Or maybe fourwarned is more apt in this case. Anyway, it's a fun episode in which our own quartet also talk Taskmaster series 21, discuss other nuggets of movie news, and review James McAvoy's directorial debut, California Schemin', Francois Ozon's The Stranger, rom-com You, Me & Tuscany, and podcasting horror, Undertone. And Chris has a lovely chat with James McAvoy, who pops into the podbooth to talk

This week's episode of The Interviews is a one of a kind, as the legendary Richard Kind pops in to the podbooth to tell Chris Hewitt all about his role as Max Bialystock in the West End production of Mel Brooks' The Producers. Also popping into the podbooth this week are Regé-Jean Page and Halle Bailey, the ridiculously charming pair who headline new rom-com You, Me & Tuscany. They tell Chris about shooting that film in Tuscany, meeting at the Met Gala, getting splashed by sprinklers, and more. And finally, Mike Muncer has a lovely chat over Zoom with Ian Tuason and Nina Kiri, the director and star of Undertone, a new horror movie all about a podcaster undergoing a terrifying ordeal. That's us every time Adobe Audition decides to update in the middle of an edit. Enjoy!

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast is an Easter bonanza, folks, that sees Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, and James Dyer (with new honorific firmly in place, at least for now) discuss the best resurrections in movies, wax lyrical about Richard Kind in The Producers, and cast their learned eyes over a glut of movie trailers, including the new one for Supergirl, and review Fuze, The Drama, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice. Speaking of Fuze, Chris has a lovely chat with that film's star and director, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and David Mackenzie, about their heist thriller, accents, working on a building site, and more. Pop this pod in the fridge, smash it from a great height, and feast on the shards of film-related fun. Enjoy!

This week's episode of The Interviews, the spin-off show that rounds up our chats with film folk, is a belter. First, Chris Hewitt chats accents and auditions and more with Theo James, star of The Fuze [1:36 - 17:51 approx], and then Jamie Graham is joined for some trash talk by The Pope Of Trash himself, John Waters, just in time for the launch of a new season at the BFI Southbank called Trash! The Wildest Films You've Ever Seen. [19:02 - 32:45] Finally, we have an extended excerpt from our Ready Or Not: Here I Come spoiler special interview [34:18 - 52:52 approx] with that film's directors, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, which features strong, unbleeped language from the off, as well as a deep dive into that movie's twists and turns. So be advised! And also, of course, enjoy.

This week's Empire Podcast sees us clamber into the Magic Faraway Tree to talk with the writer and director, respectively, of the brand new Enid Blyton adaptation, Simon Farnaby and Ben Gregor, who tell Alex Godfrey all about how they branched out. Ahem. Either side of that, Chris Hewitt hosts Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Kobi Omenaka to discuss their favourite movie trees and competence porn; run their eye over the week's movie news, including the revelation that Stephen Colbert is co-writing a new Lord Of The Rings movie; and review Splitsville, They Will Kill You, and The Magic Faraway Tree. Enjoy!

This month's episode of The Shameless Plug sees Chris Hewitt sit down once again with Empire editor Nick de Semlyen for a deep dive into the latest issue of Empire magazine. Our dynamic duo talk about the origins of the first ever cover shoot with Star Wars characters, as we celebrate The Mandalorian & Grogu, plus many more stories about the brand new issue, which is on sale right now in all good, evil and virtual newsagents. But as if that weren't enough, at long last Chris and Nick answer listener/reader questions about the magazine and how it's put together. It's a cracker, this one — enjoy!

Snakes! Why did it have to be snakes? Because St. Patrick's Day was earlier this week, and to celebrate the man who drove all the snakes out of Ireland ("you alright in the back there, lads?") this week's Empire Podcast sees Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Beth Webb discuss some of their favourite snake moments in films. Or fillums. Then, our intrepid quartet get their parseltongues into the week's deluge of movie news, including the Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Dune Part 3 trailers, and they look back at the Oscars as well. Reviews-wise, Phil Lord & Chris Miller's Project Hail Mary, Radio Silence's Ready Or Not: Here I Come, Ugo Bienvenu's Arco, and Gus Van Sant's Dead Man's Wire are given the once-over, while the wonderful Lord and Miller are this week's guests, sitting down for a lovely natter about puppets, space, and much more with Chris. [55:48 - 1:10:19 approx] Oh, and James edges closer to a new nickname. Enjoy!

The Interviews is back, folks, with a cracking hat-trick of cinematic conversations, as Chris Hewitt talks to Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come director duo, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, and their star, Samara Weaving, about coming back with a sequel after six years away; Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, directors of Marianne Faithfull docu-drama Broken English, about shining a spotlight on one of the most fascinating figures to emerge from the 1960s music scene; and there's an excerpt from Chris' spoiler special interview with Hoppers director, Daniel Chong, and producer, Nicole Paradis Grindle. From slugging to beavering, it's all here. Enjoy.

This week's Empire Podcast is the second of the year to fall on a Friday the 13th (November will complete the hat-trick), and so the podteam — Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Ben Travis — discuss the life and work of one Jason Voorhees, and head off in a rather unexpected direction. Speaking of unexpected directions, they also pop off to space to discuss their favourite movie astronauts (SPOILERS for some space films, including Gravity), run their collective eye over the week's movie news, including the new Disclosure Day trailer, Quentin Tarantino's newly-announced play, and Arnie's perhaps premature announcement of King Conan. They also review War Machine (again, with a SPOILER WARNING attached), Reminders Of Him, and How To Make A Killing. And guest-wise, Chris sits down with the great Tim Roth, star of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, from 44:40 - 1:01:50 to talk about improvising the movie's opening line, not watching his own movies, and his love of Would I Lie To You? Which is, in fact, tru

This week's Empire Podcast sees Chris Hewitt sit down with The Bride! herself, Jessie Buckley, and her writer/director, Maggie Gyllenhaal, for a lovely chat about their wildly ambitious new movie, The Bride!, which daringly reframes the story of the Bride Of Frankenstein. [22:21 - 40:21 approx] Either side of that, Chris is joined in the podbooth by Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Alex Godfrey to cast their eye over the week's movie news, including the latest developments in the Warner Bros takeover, and news of a Ghosts movie; review The Bride!, Pixar's Hoppers, and Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man; and discuss the movie mums they wish they'd been raised by. Oh, and Chris tries and fails to do a Birmingham accent. We can only apologise to the whole of the Midlands. Enjoy.

This week's episode of The Interviews brings you another sensational hat-trick of goodies, as Chris Hewitt gets frank, and Frank, with The Bride! star, the wonderful Christian Bale; has an absolute hoot and a holler with Hoppers lead voices, Piper Curda and Bobby Moynihan; and celebrates the shiny disc release of Edgar Wright's The Running Man by bringing you an excerpt from our spoiler special interview with the great man. Enjoy!

This week's Empire Podcast sees Chris Hewitt sit down in a London hotel room with Amanda Seyfried and Mona Fastvold, star and director respectively of the audacious new musical biopic, The Testament Of Ann Lee. It's a conversation that takes in everything from wearing T-shirts with your face on it to the trick of choreographing incredibly complex dance numbers, and is a ton of fun. That starts around 42:18 and finishes around 1:02:50. Elsewhere, Chris is joined in the podbooth by Helen O'Hara, James Dyer and, for the first time on the regular pod, Evolution Of Horror host Mike Muncer, as they discuss movie news including the BAFTAs and the latest Toy Story 5 trailer, answer questions on what movie-related thing they'd give up for Lent, the movie juries they'd like to be on (or not), and run their critical eye over Scream 7, The Testament Of Ann Lee, Sirat, and The Bluff. Oh, and Chris finally gets round to explaining how, and why, he nearly stepped on Florence Pugh's dress. Enjoy.

The latest episode of The Shameless Plug — the show in which Chris Hewitt and Empire editor Nick de Semlyen dig into the latest issue of Empire magazine — is here, folks, and it's a cracker. Join Chris and Nick as they talk about the Masters Of The Universe cover story, Chris' encounter with Renny Harlin, and the long pursuit to nab Jon Hamm for Pint Of Milk. We should have just scooped him up in a Hamm-net. Elsewhere in the episode, the two talk Threads, magic trees, and Chris does a First Line Of A Feature read in a Scottish accent. Our apologies to the people of Scotland. We hope this will not damage relations between our countries. Enjoy.

Another week, another episode of The Interviews, the new show that compiles our most compelling cinematic conversations. This week, Chris Hewitt has lovely chats with Rose Byrne about her Oscar-nominated turn in If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, Neve Campbell on returning as Sidney Prescott for Scream 7, and Corin Hardy about his new horror film, Whistle. The latter is an excerpt from our epic spoiler special interview with Corin, which can be found in full over on our spoiler specials subscription feed. Enjoy!

Want to know the story of how Chris Hewitt almost stepped on Florence Pugh's dress? Well, this isn't the podcast for you, as it features Chris and Helen O'Hara trying to tell that tale, from the press night of Cynthia Erivo's Dracula (sorry, Draclier), only to get sidetracked by a dozen different things and forget to finish it. But if you want to hear Chris, Helen, James Dyer, and John Nugent talk about movie characters falling from great heights, pay tribute to the great Robert Duvall, discuss the latest The Mandalorian And Grogu trailer, and review The Secret Agent, Good Luck Have Fun Don't Die, Wasteman and If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, this is the podcast for you. Oh, and Chris and Helen launch new careers as theatre reviewers too. Guest-wise, Harry Stainer talks to the Oscar-nominated star of the Brazilian thriller, The Secret Agent, one Wagner Moura, and his director, Kleber Mendonça Filho. It's a cracking episode, even if we're still nowhere nearer to finding a nickname for Tin Jim. Enjoy.

The Interviews returns this week, folks, with a bumper-sized edition of chatty goodness. First, Chris talks to David Jonsson and Tom Blyth, the stars of hard-hitting prison drama, Wasteman, about the impact of their movie, and wild auditions. Then, Chris has a right giggle with Asim Chaudhry, who is one of the potential saviours of the world recruited by Sam Rockwell in Gore Verbinski's Good Luck Have Fun Don't Die. And, finally, Chris has an audience with a genuinely legendary film critic, the great Leonard Maltin, who tells Chris all about his new book, Every Movie Is A Miracle, meeting Buster Keaton, and starring in Gremlins 2. Three cracking interviews about three wildly different subjects. Every movie podcast is a miracle. Enjoy.