The Empire Film Podcast

There are no fewer than *five* guests on this week's show as David Schwimmer and Nick Mohammed stop by to talk about the second series of Intelligence, while Florian Zeller and Sir Anthony Hopkins put down their Oscars to tell us all about The Father (an interview during which Chris and Sir Anthony stage an impromptu Edge-off). And John Krasinski talks all things A Quiet Place Part II in a sneak look at our spoiler special interview. All that plus the usual move news and nonsense as Helen (who's in the driving seat while Chris spends the week lying on a beach earning 20%), James and Ben attempt to bring some chaos to the order of this week's films.

Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd are two men on a mission. And that mission is to enter the murky world of podcasting with their new show, The Friendship Onion, in which the two former Hobbits, and friends of two decades' standing, chat about whatever the heck they want to. And if that just happens to be Lord Of The Rings-centric, then so be it. The Friendship Onion is a ton of fun, as is this interview, in which Chris Hewitt and James Dyer talk to Dom and Billy about all manner of things, from the best apple to how to handle a rattlesnake in your living room, and the biggest question of all: have you ever texted someone a GIF of yourself? And the result was so much fun, and so hard to edit, frankly, that we decided to bring you the full 39-minute experience. Enjoy.

It's another bumper, jam-packed edition of the Empire Podcast this week, with three incredible guests all popping in for a virtual podchat. With Loki about to debut on Disney+, we were delighted to welcome that show's director, and long-time listener to the pod, Kate Herron, who tells Chris Hewitt and Helen O'Hara as much about the show as she can without Marvel security guards having a word. Then Chris has a natter with the wonderful Jodie Turner-Smith about her role as Anne Boleyn in the three-part Channel 5 drama that aired this week (still available on catch up, folks!). And last but not least Chris chats with Cillian Murphy, star of A Quiet Place Part II, about not sending emails to John Krasinski. Then Chris is joined in the virtual podbooth by Helen, Ben Travis and Amon Warmann for a fun episode in which The Three Fact Structure takes an unexpected turn; they discuss cinema's best love at first sight moments; have a chat about the week's movie news (mainly the size of Chris Hemsworth's arms, in fairness), and review A Quiet Place Part II, After Love, and Dream Horse. Not, as Chris insists on calling it, Fish Pie. Enjoy! And if you do, leave a nice review and rating for us on iTunes. Go on, go on, go on... @ChrisHewitt @HelenLOHara @AmonWarmann @BenSTravis

The wonderful Mark Strong returns to the pod this week, telling Chris Hewitt all about why he jumped at the chance to co-star alongside Emmas Stone and Thompson in Cruella, his greenscreen experiences, and how he became the voice of the government's Covid-19 protocol advertisements during the pandemic. Either side of that, Chris is joined in the virtual podbooth by Helen O'Hara and James Dyer for an episode in which they revisit last week's question, and put a small screen spin on it; discuss the week's movie news, including the Eternals trailer, the acquisition of MGM by Amazon, and Henry Cavill starring in a Highlander reboot; and review Cruella, First Cow, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, and Surge. Oh, and they ask the biggest question of them all: what, exactly, is SPUMC? Enjoy. @ChrisHewitt @HelenLOHara @JamesCDyer

Excelsior! Just as we did with WandaVision, we've gathered the Empire Podteam — Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, Amon Warmann and Ben Travis — to talk about their favourite moments from the most recent Disney+ MCU show, The Falcon And The Winter Soldier. It's all here: talk of that bloody ending to episode four, the heartwrenching conversation at the, erm, heart of episode 5, and that bit in episode 2 with the marching band. But that's not all. As well as four giggling idiots, the show's head writer and executive producer, Malcolm Spellman, also weighs in, talking to Chris about some of the key decisions that helped shape the further adventures of Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes. One quick thing: while this isn't a spoiler special (hence its presence here in our regular feed), we thoroughly recommend that you watch all six episodes of The Falcon And The Winter Soldier before listening, or else it won't make a lick of sense. And will spoil the show for you. And with that... enjoy. @ChrisHewitt @HelenLOHara @BenSTravis @AmonWarmann

Two ruddy legends pay a visit to the good ship HMS Empire Podcast this week, both having a good old natter with Chris Hewitt (@ChrisHewitt) about their new movies. First, Chris Rock talks about switching from comedy to horror with Spiral: From The Book Of Saw, how it was his brainchild, his desire to direct again, and what classic film he'd love to try his hand at next. Then Sigourney Weaver logs onto her iPad and tells Chris all about My New York Year, in which she plays a formidable publisher who forms a touching relationship with a new young staff member, played by Margaret Qualley, her experiences on the forthcoming Avatar sequels, and what it was that compelled her to visit Greenwich back in the day. Meantime, Chris is joined in the virtual booth by Helen O'Hara (@HelenLOHara), James Dyer (@jamescdyer), and Ben Travis (@benstravis) for an episode that takes in a fun bout of The Three Fact Structure, sees them discuss the greatest characters to join a franchise after the first instalment, talk about the week's movie news, from Attack The Block 2 to the latest Knives Out 2 casting announcements, and review Zack Snyder's Army Of The Dead, Spiral: From The Book Of Saw, Billie Piper's Rare Beasts, and My New York Year. They also apologise profusely to Michael Palin. Enjoy. And if you do enjoy, do try to leave us a lovely review and five star rating. Thanks!

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast is one of those jam-packed, bumper-sized affairs. Largely because we have three incredible directors guesting on the show. First up is Mike Rianda, whose animated marvel The Mitchells Vs The Machines, is one of our favourite movies of the year thus far. He talks to Chris Hewitt and Ben Travis about his experiences making the movie, providing a few voices along the way, and even reveals that he listens to the pod. We're so sorry, Mike. Then, Chris has a chat with the French filmmaker Alexandre Aja about his new sci-fi thriller, Oxygen, a high-concept flick in which Melanie Laurent wakes up in a futuristic pod with no memory of how she got there. And last but not least, Chris has a slightly spoilerific chat with Sound Of Metal's brilliant director, Darius Marder, ahead of that film's release into UK cinemas next week. This is also a preview of their spoiler special interview, which will soon be available to subscribers. Then, in the virtual podbooth, Chris is joined by Helen O'Hara and James Dyer for a fun episode in which they discuss the week's movie news, from an unrecognisable Leonardo DiCaprio to the latest casting news for Knives Out 2; review Oxygen, Those Who Wish Me Dead, and Fried Barry; and in a listener question inspired by The Mitchells Vs The Machines, discuss which directors would become giant faces on their own personal Mount Rushmore. Enjoy.

Doug Liman's Locked Down, the romantic comedy/heist thriller he shot in London during lockdown last year, hits digital download on May 10, so that gave us the excuse we've been looking for to finally post the interview Chris Hewitt did with Liman a few months ago. In it, they talk about how Doug flew himself to England, the challenges of shooting in lockdown, and Steven Knight's incredible, never-ending script. Our second guest this week is the wonderful Emily Mortimer, returning for the second time in a few months, to tell Chris all about how she handled making the move to directing with the excellent new BBC One series, The Pursuit Of Love, based on the novel by Nancy Mitford. This also features a cameo from Emily's new puppy, Etta. You can't see her, but trust us: maximum cuteness was reached. Then, in the virtual podbooth, Chris is joined by Helen O'Hara, Beth Webb, and James Dyer for a surprising round of The Three Fact Structure, a discussion of the week's movie news, and they review Mortal Kombat, Cowboys, and Things Heard And Seen. And in the listener question section, they talk about how excited they are to finally be returning to cinemas. May 17 looms ever larger, folks. Can't wait. Enjoy.

Wild Mountain Thyme, the Ireland-set rom-com that stars Emily Blunt and Jamie Dornan, finally arrives on these shores this week, several months after the trailer first set the interwebs ablaze with much speculation and spoofing of the pair's Irish accents. And on this week's show, Chris Hewitt talks to Blunt and Dornan about the movie, about their accents, about working with Christopher Walken, and more in a fun interview that -- full disclosure -- has some sound issues. Still, we hope you'll have a blast. Then, in the virtual podbooth, Chris is joined by Helen O'Hara and James Dyer for a fun episode in which they talk about the greatest movie nerbs (or nerds, if you will) and, philosophically, the very nature of nerbery (or nerdery) itself. They also take a look at the Oscar results, talk about a potential Captain America 4, and then review the newly-minted Best Picture winner, Nomadland, next year's Best Animated Feature winner The Mitchells Vs The Machines, Wild Mountain Thyme, and Michael B. Jordan actioner, Without Remorse. Meanwhile, Chris is wildly inconsistent in his views on pooping into buckets. Baffled? You won't be. Probably. Enjoy.

Alan Silvestri is one of the finest composers working in Hollywood today. We could fill up this little box of blurb just by listing the movies he's worked on. Films like The Avengers, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. Films like Predator and Ready Player One and Captain America: The First Avenger. And almost every single Robert Zemeckis film, from Romancing The Stone to The Witches. Naturally, that includes Back To The Future, and Silvestri is deeply involved in Back To The Future: The Musical, which is due to come to the London stage in August. So, just ahead of an event called Back To The Future: From Screen To Stage, which is going to be on the BFI YouTube page at 7pm on April 29th, we jumped at the chance to get him onto the pod and talk about writing new songs and score for that musical, and his illustrious career. So sit back, relax, and dive into 90 minutes of pure joy as Silvestri tells Chris Hewitt and Amon Warmann all about working with Robert Zemeckis, Steven Spielberg, Marvel, and more. And yes, we talked about Portals. For quite a bit, actually. Enjoy.