The Empire Film Podcast

We can't move for members of the Howard family on the Empire Podcast these days. Why, only the other week we had Bryce Dallas Howard, and now her dad, the great director Ron, is our special guest this episode, as he tells Chris Hewitt all about his latest movie, Thirteen Lives, the story of the near-impossible Thai cave diving rescue that captivated the world in 2018. Ron and Chris also talk about how proud Ron is of Bryce's new career as a director, and her Apollo 13 homage in an episode of The Mandalorian. Then, in the podbooth, Chris is joined by Ben Travis and the returning James Dyer and Helen O'Hara for a heat-addled episode filled with much talk of Predator, the greatest movies with one-word titles, shameless plugging for sundry live shows, discussion of the week's movie news (including the trailers for Michael Flatley's Blackbird and Rob Zombie's The Munsters), and reviews of Where The Crawdads Sing, Persuasion, Don't Make Me Go, and The Princess. Oh, and it's a truth universally acknowledged that Chris will incur the wrath of Jane Austen fans. Enjoy. Next stop: Clint Howard! TIMESTAMPS! (Timings are approx.) Intro/Listener Q: 0:00.00 - 25:01.00 Movie News: 25:02.00 - 58:15.00 Ron Howard: 58:16.00 - 01:14:02.00 Reviews: 01:14:03.00 - end

Don't ever say that the Empire Podcast has a predictable roster of guests. For this week sees tennis legend John McEnroe sit down on Zoom with Chris Hewitt for a fun chat about his career, the new documentary McEnroe (which chronicles said career), and the numerous cameos he's made (usually as himself) in an array of films and TV shows. We cannot be serious? We can be serious. And don't call us Shirley. Chris is also joined by Elvis director Baz Luhrmann in an excerpt from our upcoming spoiler special on that fantastic fever dream of a movie. And, in the brand new podbooth (actually, the Jazz FM studio), Chris is joined by Ben Travis and Sophie Butcher for an episode in which they discuss the panels they want to see at next week's Comic-Con, the week's movie news, including the sad death of the legendary James Caan, and review The Gray Man -- the movie that sees the Russo Brothers reunite with Chris Evans -- McEnroe, The Sea Beast, and The Railway Children Return. The Railway Children have returned? YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS, MAN! Enjoy. TIMESTAMPS! (Timings are approx.) Intro/Listener Question -- 0:00.00 - 31:04.00 John McEnroe Interview -- 31:05.00 - 46:25.00 Movie News -- 46:26.00 - 1:12:50.00 Baz Luhrmann Interview -- 1:12:51.00 - 1:22:39.00 Reviews/Outro -- 1:22:40.00 - end

This week's Empire Podcast sees someone new and noteworthy ease themselves into the fourth chair, as Eddie Hamilton, the brilliant editor of Top Gun: Maverick and the forthcoming double whammy of Mission: Impossible 7 and 8, joins the podteam — Chris Hewitt, James Dyer, and John Nugent — for the duration of the show. So, as well as picking Eddie's brains for tales of editing Maverick and getting the odd tip or ten, he joins us to tackle this week's listener question (about the best fourth instalments in film franchises), and discuss the week's movie news (this episode was recorded before news broke of James Caan's death; we'll discuss the legendary Mr. Caan next week), and we think you'll agree that he's a most welcome addition to the team. Elsewhere, the team review Thor: Love And Thunder, and Brian And Charles, and Chris has an audience with the wonderful Jenny Agutter, star of next week's sequel, The Railway Children Return. The two of them talk about that, and about some of the milestones in her incredible career, including An American Werewolf In London, her cameo in Darkman and, of course, her appearances in the MCU. Enjoy.

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast sees the podteam — Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara and James Dyer — recovering from their failure to win Podcast Of The Year at the BSME awards. In the process of doing so, they prove categorically why they didn't win, and in the process discuss the greatest movie pilots (who aren't Maverick), talk about the best way to beat Roger Deakins in a fight, chat about the week's movie news, prepare to bid farewell to the grey, depressing podbooth, review Nitram, Minions: The Rise Of Gru, and The Man From Toronto, and declare war on The Radio Times Podcast. This week's guest is the fantastic Australian director Justin Kurzel, who chats to Chris about his hard-hitting new drama, Nitram. Enjoy. NB: there is a brief discussion of the future of Bond, which includes some MAJOR spoilers for No Time To Die. So if you've somehow still not seen that film and wish to avoid any revelations, that starts around 29:48.00 and carries on for three minutes or so, until around 32:43:00 (timestamps are approximate).

Elvis has entered the building. This week sees the release of Elvis, Baz Luhrmann's energetic biopic of Elvis Presley, the King of Rock'n'roll, and as a result our guest is Austin Butler, the young actor whose scintillating, swaggering performance as Elvis is set to make him a huge star. The charming Butler talks to Chris Hewitt about getting under Elvis' skin, and about the time he had a surprising encounter while shooting Once Upon A Time In Hollywood with Quentin Tarantino. That interview starts around 40:15.00. Then, in the virtual podbooth this week, Chris is joined by Helen O'Hara, Ben Travis, and Amon Warmann for an episode in which they discuss their favourite movie parents (not just mums or dads), have a chat about the week's movie news (there was some, promise), and dive deep into both Elvis and Scott Derrickson's chilling new horror, The Black Phone, which introduces a cracking horror villain in the shape of Ethan Hawke's The Grabber. Oh, and Helen gets docked some Dune points. Find out why by giving it a listen. Enjoy. Thankyouverymuch.

Good Luck To You, Leo Grande is a fantastic new British movie that sees Dame Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack spend a lot of time together in a hotel room. So that's exactly what we made them do again this week, with Ella Kemp (making her Empire Podcast debut) talking to the stars of Sophie Hyde's movie about an ageing woman who, having had very few positive sexual experiences, hires a sex worker (McCormack), and complications ensue. The film is frank, funny, and insightful, and their chat with Ella is similarly so, featuring Dame Emma's reminiscences about The Tall Guy, and one of the best answers we've ever had on the podcast. Hint: it features an Oscar. Then, in the podbooth this week, Chris Hewitt is joined by James Dyer and, for the first time in ages, Helen O'Hara, and truth be told, being reunited makes them go a little doolally. So, in-between answering a listener question about the film sets they've accidentally stumbled upon in a non-professional capacity, they talk about Helen's Wikipedia page, and Chris and Helen educate James about the history of the Giant's Causeway. They also discuss actual films at some point, including the week's movie news, including Lady Gaga possibly joining Joker 2 (which may be a musical???), the announcement of the Paddington 3 director, and their feelings about the official title of Knives Out 2: Benoit Boogaloo. In the reviews section, they run their eye over Good Luck To You, Leo Grande, Spiderhead, Everything Went Fine, and Last Seen Alive, and Sophie Butcher goes to infinity and beyond to help everyone get to grips with Pixar's Lightyear. Enjoy. TIMESTAMPS! (timings are approx.) Intro/Listener Q/Nonsense: 0:00.00 - 19:56.00 Movie News: 19:57.00 - 43:08.00 Emma Thompson/Daryl McCormack: 43:09.00 - 1:02:19.00 Reviews/Outro: 1:02:20.00 - end

Udo Kier is one of cinema's greatest cult heroes. The German actor has been working steadily for almost sixty years, having become an actor after being discovered by chance while living in London as a young man. Since then, he's built one of the most eclectic filmographies around, appearing in over 200 films which have seen him work with some of the greatest directors around. Virtually all those appearances, though, have been cameos, which is why it's great to see Kier finally get his leading man due, at the age of 77, in Todd Stephens' poignant and funny Swan Song (in cinemas now), in which Kier plays Pat Pitsenbarger, a gay man who rediscovers his spark towards the end of his life. Kier was nominated for Best Actor at the Independent Spirit Awards for the role, and he attacks it with brio. As he does the interview process, as Chris Hewitt found when he sat down over Zoom with Kier to discuss Swan Song and more, and couldn't get a word in. Not that we're complaining -- Udo has anecdotes to spare, and in this interview we're delighted to bring you just a few. Enjoy.

This week's Empire Podcast is an episode 65 million and 29 years in the making, as Jurassic World: Dominion star Bryce Dallas Howard pops in for a face-to-face chat with Chris Hewitt, in which she talks about growing up on set with her director dad, Ron Howard, and how he's rubbish at keeping secrets. There's plenty of dino-chat as well for you Parkheads. Then, in the virtual podbooth this week, Chris is joined by James Dyer and Amon Warmann for an episode in which they take advantage of Helen O'Hara's ongoing absence to have a mass debate over the hottest Chris Evans moments, discuss just what it takes for a film to get the Empire one-star treatment, have a natter about the week's movie news including the announcement of Joker 2 (which whips the podteam into a frenzy of excitement), and review Jurassic World: Dominion, Udo Kier in Swan Song, Karen Gillan and Karen Gillan in Dual, while Chris and Amon have a bit of a barney over Adam Sandler in Hustle. Enjoy!

With Ms. Marvel, the latest MCU TV show, set to debut on Disney+ this Wednesday (June 8), we've decided to bring you a special preview of the show, and what you can expect from Kamala Khan, the newest hero on the Marvel Cinematic Universe block. In this suitably embiggened episode of the Empire Podcast, Chris Hewitt chats with the show's key creatives — head directors Adil & Bilall, show creator and head writer Bisha K. Ali, and Kamala Khan co-creator and producer, Sana Amanat. These are largely spoiler-free chats, but they do touch upon certain things that happen in the first two episodes of the show, so be on the lookout should you wish to be remain spoiler-free. Or, you know, come back here after you've seen the first two episodes. Either way, it works for us. Enjoy! TIMESTAMPS! (timings approx.) Intro/Boring Chris bit -- 0:00.00 - 3:39.00 Adil & Bilall -- 3:40.00 - 17:30.00 Bisha K. Ali -- 17:31.00 - 36:35.00 Sana Amanat -- 36:36.00 - 51:05.00 Another boring Chris bit/call for spoiler special subscribers -- 51:06.00 - end

Britain may have shut down to mark the celebrations of the Queen's latest Jubilation Lee, but the Empire Podcast keeps on trucking, folks. In this week's episode, Chris Hewitt sits down on Zoom (luckily, with no demon present) to talk to director Rob Savage about DASHCAM, his follow-up to the sensational Host, and he brings his stars Annie Hardy and Amar Chadha-Patel along for an interview that is a wild ride in itself. Perhaps it's best to listen to this once you've seen the film, as they talk about the film's unique credit sequence, Annie's fears about playing a character who shares her name, the actors' multi-tasking as camera operators on the film, and whether producer Jason Blum could become a hitman. Then, in the podbooth, Chris is joined by James Dyer and Amon Warmann to tackle listener questions about the greatest examples of royalty in the movies, and what franchises should do to negate toxic fanbases (in the wake of the abhorrent racist comments sent to Obi-Wan Kenobi star, Moses Ingram). They also discuss the week's movie news, including a lengthy tribute to Ray Liotta, and Amon and Chris jettison James to review DASHCAM, Alex Garland's Men, and Bergman Island. Enjoy. TIMESTAMPS! (Timings approx.) Intro/Listener Questions -- 0:00.00 - 22:35.00 Movie News -- 22:36.00 - 45:05.00 DASHCAM Interview -- 45:06.00 - 1:06:34.00 Reviews/Outro -- 1:06:35.00 - end