The Empire Film Podcast

Because (four of) you demanded it, and because we finally found some free time to record it, and because we didn't want to bang on for ages about Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe on this week's regular podcast, here is a relatively short podcast in which Team Empire - Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Ben Travis - react to and mull over all the big news from the Marvel Studios panel at last week's San Diego Comic-Con. It's all here: discussion of Black Widow, The Eternals, Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings, Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, Thor: Love And Thunder, the Disney+ shows, the casting of Mahershala Ali as Blade, bad impressions of Dara O Briain and much, much more. Enjoy.

This week's Empire Podcast is all about cats, jellicle and otherwise. Chris Hewitt has a lovely in-depth chat with the wonderful Jon 'Favs' Favreau, who's a cool cat, about his new movie as director, the live-action adaptation of The Lion King, which is about big cats, and there's a little of MCU business thrown in for good measure as well. Because Chris. Then, in the podbooth, Chris is joined by Helen O'Hara and James Dyer to answer a slew of listeners' questions, review The Lion King, Varda By Agnes, and Tell It To The Bees, and discuss the week's movie news, including a Comic-Con preview, speculation about the future of 007, and some trailers. Including the trailer for Tom Hooper's Cats, which they talk about. For a bit. And then a bit more. Because... well. Remember - Jellicles can and Jellicles do! Enjoy.

He's a good egg, that Corin Hardy. He wrapped filming on Gangs Of London, the Gareth Evans-created TV show for which he's directed several episodes, on Thursday, and still found the time and energy to pop into the podbooth for a chat with Chris Hewitt about his... well, actually, Corin doesn't have anything to plug. So, instead, he and Chris talk about life for Corin post-Nun, working on Gangs, and do an impromptu John Carpenter episode of The Ranking. [0:50:33 - 01:20:03] Then, in the podbooth, Chris is joined by Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Ben Travis to talk the Harry Potter studio tour, tie-in novelisations, the new issue of Empire, the week's movie news [0:23:50 - 0:48:46], and review Pavarotti, The Dead Don't Die, Annabelle Come Home, and Stuber [01:20:03]. Enjoy.

We've been big fans of Will Poulter at the Empire Podcast, especially since he agreed to be one of the guests on our very first live show back in 2014. So we're delighted to welcome him back for this week's episode, which sees Ben Travis chat to Will about his new film, Midsommar, and much more besides. Then, back in the podbooth, Chris Hewitt is joined by Ben and Helen O'Hara for an episode that takes in The Play That Goes Wrong, great movie weddings, the week's movie news (and there's a lot of it), and reviews of Midsommar, Don't Look Now, and Spider-Man: Far From Home. Again. We might review it next week as well. We see this as an absolute win. Enjoy.

This week's Empire Podcast sees Chris Hewitt sit down with Himesh Patel, the former Eastender (as in, he was on Eastenders) who stars in this week's Beatle-centric rom-com, Yesterday, and they discover a shared connection. Plus, John Nugent has a chat with the wonderful director, Peter Strickland, about his new movie, In Fabric, in which fashion is, literally, killer. Then, back in the podbooth, Chris is joined by James Dyer and Ian Freer to discuss production companies that changed their lives, the re-release of Avengers: Endgame, the week's movie news, and review Spider-Man: Far From Home, Yesterday, and In Fabric. It's all happening on the movie podcast that couldn't cope without The Beatles' songs. Well, maybe Don't Pass Me By. Enjoy.

This week's episode sees Chris Hewitt welcome Swedish actress Noomi Rapace - the original Lisbeth Salander - into the Empire Podbooth for a fun, frank, and often filthy chat about her new movie, The Captor, her surprising taste in music, life as a Londoner, and much more. Also in this episode, John Nugent chats to Josh Cooley, director of Toy Story 4, about giving audiences a huge Buzz. Then, in the podbooth, Chris is joined by Helen O'Hara and James Dyer to talk about their favourite condiments, discuss the week's movie news, review Toy Story 4, Child's Play and Brightburn, and - in a segment already being hailed as 'too long' - imagine every single film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Keanu Reeves in a starring role. Excellent. Madness, and much talk of big ding-dongs, lies within. Enjoy.

Here it is - the full and unexpurgated (well, a little expurgated) recording of the time a couple of weeks ago when Kevin Smith chose to spend his morning off in London, following a successful live Hollywood Babble-On show at The O2, by coming into the Empire Podbooth to have a good old natter with Chris Hewitt and Ben Travis. The first thirteen minutes of this ran on the Empire Podcast a couple of weeks ago, so if you want to get to the new stuff, skip past that. Otherwise, this is nearly 47 minutes of no-holds-barred chat, and typically sweary chat, with Smith, in which he discusses his life, career, his upcoming movie, Jay & Silent Bob Reboot, that Stan Lee cameo in Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame and, of course, the heart attack that so nearly killed him last year. We're glad it didn't. Not just because we had a blast with him as he popped his Empire podcherry, but because the world's a better place for having Kevin Smith in it. We hope you enjoy.

This week's Empire Podcast sees the wonderful Asif Kapadia pop by the podbooth to have an in-depth natter with Chris Hewitt about his new documentary, Diego Maradona. No prizes for guessing what it's about - a tumultuous period in the life of one of the most brilliant, but controversial, figures modern sport has ever seen. And if you're wondering if Chris and Asif, two massive Liverpool fans, end up talking about a certain recent Champions League final win, well... yes. But it's early, so non-Reds can skip that bit. Then, in the podbooth, Chris is joined by Terri White, James Dyer, and Helen O'Hara for an unexpectedly sexy episode that sees them review Diego Maradona and Men In Black International, discuss the week's movie news, reveal Chris' username on Marvel Puzzle Quest, and ask the biggest question of them all: just who the hell is Bic Pentameter? Enjoy.

James McAvoy is always welcome on the Empire Podcast, and this week he returns to talk to Chris Hewitt about the role he's played most often in his illustrious career: Professor Charles Xavier. It's a role McAvoy is playing for the last time in X-Men: Dark Phoenix, and he runs through his Charley X Hall Of Fame in a fun interview. Then, in the podbooth, Chris is joined by Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Nick de Semlyen to talk about watching versions originale in France, discuss the week's movie news, from the Le Mans '66 trailer to further R-Battziness, and review Dark Phoenix and Late Night. Oh, and they have a chat with Nick about his first book, the 80s comedy-centric Wild And Crazy Guys. Enjoy!

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters may feature all kinds of mammoth monsters, but none are as impressive or towering as the great Charles Dance, who has a nice chat with Ben Travis about his new movie, working with Arnie on Last Action Hero, and more. [00.14.50 - 00.32.00] Our second guest this week, Thunder Road star/writer/director Jim Cummings, has a fun and frank chat with Chris Hewitt about working on a bargain budget, recording his script as a podcast (top hint), and sending a cheque to Bruce Springsteen. [00.48.47 - 01.16.47] Then, in the podbooth, Chris is joined by Helen O'Hara and James Dyer to discuss their ideal musical biopic, pore over the week's movie news, and review Booksmart, Thunder Road, and Godzilla: King Of The Monsters in a bumper-sized reviews that takes in all sorts, from toxic fandom to indie box office woes. Oh, and Chris tries to persuade us that Joel Kinnaman is NOT his nemesis. Enjoy!