The Empire Film Podcast

Aubrey Plaza, arguably the owner of the best deadpan delivery in the business, gets to put her skills to the test on this week's episode of the Empire Podcast, talking to Chris Hewitt about her new film Black Bear, about being interviewed by Adam Sandler, life after Parks And Recreation, and much, much more. Then, in the virtual podbooth, Chris is joined by Helen O'Hara, James Dyer and -- occupying the revolving fourth chair for the first time -- Vanity Fair's Joanna Robinson for a fun episode in which The Three Fact Structure throws up some surprises. They also discuss the greatest spoilers they ever saw whilst visiting the set of a movie, talk about the week's movie news including the trailer for Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings, and review Black Bear, Run, and Antebellum. Enjoy.

This week's Empire Podcast is a) the right file, after last week's mix-up (if you still haven't heard last week's show, it's up now for your listening pleasure) and b) jam-packed with poddy goodness. John Nugent returns to the podfold after an extended absence, and has a brief chat with Wolfwalkers directors Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart about life on the awards circuit and more. Our second guest this week is 80s movie legend, Steve Guttenberg, who can be found in new movie Original Gangster. He chats to Chris Hewitt about dogs, Police Academy, and being a Beatle. And the Fab Four also dominate the rest of this week's pod, as Chris is joined by John, Helen O'Hara and James Dyer for a particularly shambolic episode of The Three Fact Structure, discuss the greatest dream sequences in movies, review Promising Young Woman, Thunder Force (complete with spoilers, so be careful), and Love And Monsters. They also talk about the week's movie news, and come up with a brand new title for the fifth (or fourth, depending on where you stand) Indiana Jones movie. Enjoy.

On an episode of the Empire Podcast so uncharacteristically short it could qualify for inclusion in Sam Clements' 90 Minutes Or Less Film Fest, Chris Hewitt sits down with Riz Ahmed and Darius Marder, the star and director of the phenomenal Sound Of Metal, to talk about how they pulled off one of the year's best dramas (and, because it's about a drummer, drumas). And then Chris is joined by Helen O'Hara and James Dyer to talk about more Easter egg shenanigans, discuss which movie monsters could do with a hug (which then segues into a chat about the best movie hugs), take a look at the week's movie news including a boatload of trailers, and review Sound Of Metal, Chaos Walking, and time loop comedy Palm Springs, which may just be the pod's film of the year so far. Oh, and because James had a hard out (steady), The Three Fact Structure has gone AWOL this week. Will it return again? Who knows? Either way, blame James. It's what we do. Enjoy.

The Falcon And The Winter Soldier may be flying high on Disney+ right now, but there's still a lot of love and affection for its immediate MCU predecessor, WandaVision, at Empire Towers. And so we asked the show's head writer, Jac Schaeffer, to sit down with Chris Hewitt and talk about the creative process behind some of the show's best and brightest bits. And that's not all — Chris is also joined by Helen O'Hara, Ben Travis, and Amon Warmann to look back on the show now that it's completed its run, and discuss their favourite moments, from //that// ending to Drunk Vision. But what is a podcast, if not geek love persevering? Flourish!

It's been a while since we've had a bumper, jam-packed, three-guest edition of the Empire Podcast. But, what with the long weekend coming up, we figured now would be the time to give you something to really delve into. Also, we booked loads of guests by accident. Oops! Will happen again. Those guests are: Kemp Powers, the co-director of Soul and Oscar-nominated writer of One Night In Miami; Francis Lee, director of Ammonite; and some guy called Orlando Bloom, star of Retaliation. They talk to Chris Hewitt, Terri White, and then Chris again about their latest projects, and much, much more. Then, in the virtual podbooth, Chris is joined by Helen O'Hara and Ben Travis for huge revelations about their Easter egg consumption methods, discussion of the greatest character resurrections in the movies, much chat about the week's news, including Knives Out 2 and 3, the Obi-Wan Kenobi cast announcement, and The Suicide Squad trailer, and reviews of Minari, Godzilla Vs Kong, The Mauritanian, and Bad Trip. Phew. So, open an Easter egg however you want to, sit back, relax, and enjoy.

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast is going all out for awards. Yes, with voting about to commence on this year's British Podcast Awards entries, Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, and James Dyer turn on the waterworks and get to grips with some of the big issues that awards judges like to hear being debated on shows like this. You know, big questions like, 'what's your perfect Sunday?', 'how many Game Of Thrones spin-off shows are there?' and 'how many stars does Orlando Bloom's new movie, Retaliation, warrant?' Give it up, other movie podcasts. The award is in the bag. Also on this week's show, our fearless leader Terri White has a lovely chat with yer actual Kate Winslet about her new movie, Ammonite, and Chris natters away with Eddie Izzard, star and co-writer of the eve-of-WWII thriller, Six Minutes To Midnight. Both are worthy of your time. And, indeed, awards. Oh, and at long last, a mere year after it was first introduced to the podcast, The Three Fact Structure justifies its existence with a fact that will blow your mind and destroy your ears. And if that's not worthy of a big old gong, we don't know what is. Enjoy.

Now that Sam 'Falcon' Wilson and Bucky 'Winter Soldier' Barnes have ditched that do-gooder Steve Rogers and struck out on their own (well, together, but you get the gist) in the new MCU series, The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, on Disney+, we decided that it was time to give Steve's two BFFs their day in the podcast sun. So, in this very special episode, Chris Hewitt chats to Kari Skogland, director of all six episodes of the show, and Malcolm Spellman, the show's head writer and executive producer, about the reaction to the first episode, and what we might expect to see, not just ahead of the second episode on Friday, but the rest of the series to come. And then Chris is joined in the virtual podbooth by Helen O'Hara and Amon Warmann to talk all things Sam and Buck past, present, and future. Do be warned, though — while this isn't a spoiler special, we do talk about the events of the first episode (and all of Sam and Bucky's previous appearances in the MCU), so you might want to familiarise yourself first. All you have to do is watch all three Captain America movies, Avengers: Age Of Ultron, Ant-Man, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, before checking out the first episode of the show we're calling FAWS. The work of a jiffy. Enjoy.

This week's Empire Podcast sees father-son duo Liam Neeson and Micheal Richardson, stars of next week's Made In Italy, sit down with Chris Hewitt for a soul-searching interview about how close to home that film hit for them. But, because it's us, there's some nonsense about accents and football too. Chris also has a chat with writer-director John Lee Hancock about his new thriller, The Little Things, which brings together acting powerhouses Denzel Washington, Jared Leto, and Rami Malek. Then, in the virtual podbooth, Chris is joined by Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Ben Travis to exchange nuggets of film information in The Three Fact Structure, talk about the longest films that they love and their strategies for sitting through bum-numbing behemoths, discuss the week's movie news including the Oscar nominations and the sad passing of Yaphet Kotto, and review Zack Snyder's Justice League, The Little Things, and Infinitum: Subject Unknown. Enjoy.

On this week's episode of the Empire Podcast, we're virtually visited by the true Nerb Emperor, Joe Manganiello, who tells Chris Hewitt all about his new movie, Archenemy, gives us a little tour of his geeked-out office, talks Dungeons & Dragons, and his plans to play Galactus. OK, the last one was maybe not so serious. Chris also chats this week with Shaka King, director of the hard-hitting drama, Judas And The Black Messiah, which tells the story of the murder of Black Panther leader, Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya), and his betrayal at the hands of fellow Panther, William O'Neal (Lakeith Stanfield). Then, in the virtual podbooth, Chris is joined by Helen O'Hara and James Dyer for a quick burst of The Three Fact Structure, a chat about the best examples of recasting in movies, discussion of the week's movie news including the BAFTA nominations, and reviews of Judas And The Black Messiah, the Russo Brothers' first post-MCU movie, Cherry, and Yes Day. It's all happening, folks! Enjoy.

It's a good time to be Eddie Murphy right now. After taking a few years off, he returned in style with 2019's Dolemite Is My Name, and this week reprises one of his most famous roles, as Prince (now King) Akeem in Coming 2 America, the long-awaited sequel to Coming To America. And now the man who is, quite simply, one of the biggest movie stars of all time, is a guest on this week's Empire Podcast, chatting to Chris Hewitt about returning to Zamunda, prosthetics, how the pandemic affected his plans to return to stand-up, visiting the set of Do The Right Thing, and much, much more. It's all been leading to this moment, Eddie. You're welcome. Ahem. This week, Chris also visits the set of Matthew Modine's new movie (virtually, of course) to talk to the actor about all manner of things, including rocking up as an action hero of sorts in Wrong Turn, the reboot of the Wrong Turn franchise. It's a gas. And then, in the virtual podbooth, Chris is joined by Helen O'Hara, James Dyer and Amon Warmann for a fun (no, really) and fairly short (no, really really) edition of The Three Fact Structure. They also take a walk down memory lane as they recall their very first interviews, discuss the week's movie news, and review Coming 2 America, Raya And The Last Dragon, and Moxie. Enjoy.