The Empire Film Podcast

The new issue of Empire magazine is on sale right now, folks, in all good, evil, and virtual newsagents, and it's a belter. This month's issue is dedicated to a celebration of the greatest actors of all time, as voted for by you, the readers of Empire. It's got everything, from exclusive interviews with Nicolas Cage (our cover star) and Tilda Swinton, to the likes of Tim Burton waxing lyrical about that time he worked with Jack Nicholson on a little film called Batman, and Gina Prince-Bythewood talking about Viola Davis. And that's not all: James Mangold has written an exclusive essay for us, celebrating the incredible work and legacy of Buster Keaton. It's a great issue, and so we've decided to take podspiration from it. So, in this podcast special, Chris Hewitt, James Dyer, Alex Godfrey and Helen O'Hara get together and have a wide-ranging discussion about some of their favourite actors, the art of acting itself, the mythology of the Method, omissions from the list that made their blood boil, and much, much more. Oh, and Helen was patching in to the studio from Northern Ireland, and her audio is a little distorted at times. Hopefully it won't spoil your enjoyment too much. Speaking of which... enjoy!

On the last Empire Podcast of the year, we have something of a The Prestige reunion, which is nice. First, Christian Bale, star of The Pale Blue Eye, talks to Chris Hewitt about being mistaken for Gareth Bale, and his experiences working with directors on multiple occasions, including Adam McKay, Scott Cooper, and Terrence Malick. Then Hugh Jackman, Golden Globe-nominated star of The Son (which opens here in February), talks to Amon Warmann about his experiences on that movie, working with Anthony Hopkins for a day, and why he's about to play Wolverine again in Deadpool 3. Then, Kate Hudson and Jessica Henwick, neither of whom were in The Prestige, more than make up for it by having a freewheeling and very funny chat with Chris about their new movie Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, life with an assistant, British sitcoms, and John Carpenter and Kurt Russell. And if that weren't enough, Chris is then joined in the podbooth by James Dyer and Helen O'Hara (who's not in the podbooth, which is why there's some slight distortion on her mic this week. Hopefully it won't spoil your listening experience.) for a fun episode in which they discuss their Christmas movie traditions, who would win between John McClane and Kevin McCallister; talk about the week's movie news, including Avatar: The Way Of Water's box office, the Barbie trailer, and the sad passing of Mike Hodges; and review Corsage, Glass Onion, and The Pale Blue Eye. We're taking a little break but are back on January 13, folks, so have a great Christmas if you celebrate, a fantastic holiday season if you don't, and an amazing start to 2023. Thanks so much for listening and supporting our nonsense throughout the year. Here's to more!

Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen. James Cameron has finally returned to the director's chair after more than a decade away, with Avatar: The Way Of Water, the sequel to the biggest film of all time. And when he came to London recently, we were delighted to stage a special Cameron-centric event, via the Empire VIP Club. First up, the Empire Podcast team of Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara and James Dyer hold court in front of a packed audience of Empire VIP Club members, waxing lyrical about all things Cameron (James, not Diaz or David). Then, in the second half of the show, Chris is joined on stage by Cameron himself for a one-hour deep dive into the career of one of the most successful directors of all time, and the path that has finally led him back to Pandora. If you're interested in becoming a member of the Empire VIP Club and being first in the queue (real and virtual) for events like this, go to empireonline.com/vip for more information and to sign up.

Christmas is coming, and the goose isn't the only thing that's getting fat. The Empire Podcast is bursting at the seams with incredible guests yet again, as we welcome a trio of top directors this week. First up, you get a brief excerpt from Chris Hewitt's live Q&A with James Cameron as he returns to cinemas with Avatar: The Way Of Water (the full show will be up soon, should you wish to listen to the rest; and you should!). Then, Amon Warmann has a nice in-depth chat with Alejandro G. Inarritu about his most personal film yet, Bardo: False Chronicle Of A Handful Of Truths, and then Chris talks to Spirited director Sean Anders about turning Dickens into a musical. Oh, and Chris gushes about one of Anders' films. No, not Daddy's Home 2. Although it is a Christmas movie. Then, in the virtual podbooth this week, Chris is joined by Helen O'Hara and James Dyer to talk about the movie-themed Christmas presents they'd like, the film they've bought the most; to discuss the week's movie news, including Henry Cavill's on-off-on-off-again relationship with Superman; and review Bardo, The Amazing Maurice and that water film. Enjoy.

Mele Kalikimaka, everybody. As part of Empire's Advent Calendar season, here's a little gift from us to you, as we temporarily break down the door of the Empire Spoiler Special subscription channel and bring you the retro spoiler pod we recorded a couple of years ago for one of the most beloved modern Christmas movies: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Featuring an in-depth deep dive with the film's director, Jeremiah S. Chechik (no, the S. doesn't stand for Santa), and a good old natter about the film and the Griswold family festivities between superfans Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, and Nick de Semlyen. As the poster once put it, 'Yule love it!'. Thankfully, the jokes in the film are better. And if you like this, there's more where that came from for Spoiler Special subscribers. Enjoy!

Christmas is coming, folks, and that means that the Empire Podcast's sack is simply heaving with guests this week. First, Toy Story 3 and Coco director, Lee Unkrich, pops into the booth for a bit to talk about his new, definitive book about the making of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, and tackle this week's listener question (about Christmas songs in movies). Then Chris Hewitt chats with Resurrection star Rebecca Hall and Emancipation director Antoine Fuqua, and Amon Warmann gets to the heart of The Silent Twins' silent twins, Letitia Wright and Tamara Lawrance. And yes, he asks about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Then, in the podbooth, Chris is joined by Helen O'Hara and James Dyer to talk about the week's movie news, including the possible demise of Wonder Woman 3, and review Emancipation, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio and Resurrection. Bumper-sized! Jampacked! Ho ho ho! Enjoy!

Blimey, folks, this week's episode of the Empire Podcast has more guests than Jamie Lee Curtis' home on Christmas Day. (Because she's married to Christopher Guest, you see, and presumably there would be a large number of extended family members invited around for a slap-up meal.) Helen O'Hara has a lovely chat with White Noise star Greta Gerwig about casting herself, her desire to make a musical, and more. Then Chris Hewitt has a lovely natter with action movie ace Frank Grillo, who's spreading his wings as the star of Lamborghini: The Man Behind The Legend. And, in the studio this week, Chris and Helen are joined by the brilliant Damian Lewis and Nick Murphy, star and director respectively of the ITVX drama, A Spy Among Friends (take that, Pilot TV). Lewis and Murphy (no, they're not a RoboCop tribute act) occupy the third and fourth chairs with remarkable grace, fielding questions about spies, breakfasts and buttocks, while tackling this week's listener question, about the best time jumps in movies and TV. Then, Chris and Helen are joined by Amon Warmann to discuss the week's movie news (including all those big trailers), review Violent Night and White Noise, and bang on about Cocaine Bear. Oh, and Amon has his mind blown by Frank Grillo. Enjoy.

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast sees Luca Guadagnino, director of Call Me By Your Name, talk about his new movie, the dark cannibal romance Bones And All, and to spare him the ignominy of Chris Hewitt bellowing *that* song at him, we asked John Nugent to Zoom with Guadagnino instead. The result is a fascinating and frank discussion about the director's creative process. Also being frank and fascinating about their creative process is Tim Minchin, the genius songwriter behind the tunes of this week's Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical. He talks to Helen O'Hara about turning the hit stage musical into a movie, and about the sad failure of the quite wonderful Groundhog Day The Musical. Then, in the podbooth, Chris Hewitt returns and, as well as Googling 'how to host a podcast', welcomes Helen, James Dyer and fourth chair newcomer, Kelechi Ehenulo for discussions of random encounters with Emma Thompson in a lift, the best sequels to not feature the main character from the previous movie, the week's movie news (such as it is; thanks a bunch, Thanksgiving!), and review Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, She Said, Strange World, Matilda, The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special, and more. It's podcast time — gobble gobble!

The Empire Podcast has more hat-tricks than Mo Salah, and this week is no exception, as we welcome three batches of tremendous guests. First, Paul Mescal, star of the wonderful new drama Aftersun, goes it alone, as he tells Ella Kemp that he's not as serious as the movies and TV shows he makes, no honest. Then, Chris Hewitt is the Host Of Christmas Present as he chats to Spirited stars Will Ferrell and Octavia Spencer about the best swag they've ever got from a movie. And finally, Amon Warmann chats to Florence Pugh and Sebastian Lelio, star and director respectively of stunning new Netflix drama, The Wonder. And as well as all of that, there's an actual podcast in there too as, with Chris stricken with lurgy, Helen O'Hara invites Amon and regular pod debutant, Sam Clements, into the virtual podbooth for a fun pod in which they discuss the fictional movie companies they'd buy and tank if they could; the week's movie news (up to Thursday night that is); and review Disenchanted, Aftersun, Confess, Fletch, Bardo, Spirited, and more in another jam-packed reviews section. Oh, and a special guest host drops in for a short while too. Enjoy! (And please accept our apologies for the delay in it going up...)

Another bumper belting bangily-banger this week, folks, as the Empire Podcast marks the eagerly-awaited arrival of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever by dispatching Amon Warmann to talk to two of its stars, Dania Gurira — Okoye herself — and the MCU's latest menace, Namor The Sub-Mariner, aka Tenoch Huerta Mejía. Then, Chris Hewitt has a chat with Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, the filmmaking duo behind the trippy and terrific Something In The Dirt. But that's not all — in the virtual podbooth this week, Chris is joined by Amon, James Dyer, and Helen O'Hara to talk about the Christmas movies they wish could have sequels (and things take a turn for the dark pretty quickly), discuss the week's movie news, review Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Hellraiser, The Wonder, My Father's Dragon, Slumberland and Is That Black Enough For You?, while all trying desperately to name every movie Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg have made together. Who will be the lone survivor? Find out by listening. Enjoy!