The Empire Film Podcast

"This is my first British podcast," Jane Fonda tells Helen O'Hara towards the end of their funny and candid chat in this week's episode, which just goes to show that even a living legend notches up new experiences all the time. We're proud, and honoured, to be Fonda's first, as she chats about 9 To 5, which is re-released in cinemas this week, Grace & Frankie, political activism and more. Then Helen (with a little help from Chris Hewitt) has a chat with Outlaw King's Aaron Taylor-Johnson, during which the man who once played John Lennon claims he can't play a musical instrument. Didn't stop Ringo, Aaron. Back in the podbooth, Chris and Helen are joined by James Dyer to answer a question about Clint Eastwood, pay tribute to the late Stan Lee in a special section, and review Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald and Luca Guadagnino's Suspiria. Trust us - there's nary a wasted minute.

Ever since she burst onto the scene with a star-making turn in An Education, Carey Mulligan has been one of our favourite actresses. Always interesting to watch, she imbues whatever she does, whether it's working with the Coen Brothers on Inside Llewyn Davis, Baz Luhrmann on The Great Gatsby, or Paul Dano on his directorial debut, this week's Wildlife, with intelligence and an admirable willingness to embrace character flaws. She hasn't won an Oscar yet, but it's surely only a matter of time - and perhaps it will be for Wildlife, in which she is magnificent as a wife and mother who begins to rediscover her more carefree side, which alters her relationship with her teenage son. The movie opened here in the UK on Friday, so we thought it was the perfect time to bring you this small but perfectly formed interview, conducted by our John Nugent, which is perfect for your commute.

Chris Pine goes all Scottish in this week's Outlaw King, the story of Robert The Bruce, and in this week's episode he, and the film's director, David Mackenzie, talk to Helen O'Hara about making their film in the shadow of Braveheart, and more. Also, Tim Blake Nelson talks to John Nugent about working with the Coen Brothers on The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs, almost two decades after first hooking up with them (professionally speaking, of course) on O Brother, Where Art Thou? Then, in the podbooth, Chris Hewitt is joined by Helen and Ben Travis for a jam-packed edition in which they discuss the films of the newly-minted Dame Emma Thompson, tackle the week's news including a spoilerific look at developments in The Walking Dead (00:37:31 - 00:42:49), and review seemingly EVERY FILM EVER MADE, including Steve McQueen's Widows and Peter Jackson's They Shall Not Grow Old. Have at it!

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have starred in a beloved TV show, and an equally beloved series of films, together. They've written films together. They've produced films together, including this week's horror-comedy, Slaughterhouse Rulez. But it's all been leading to this: the pinnacle of their career, the summit of their friendship, the zenith of their journey as human beings: the Empire Podbooth, where they have a very funny but, we will warn you now, very adults-only chat with Chris Hewitt about a wide array of topics including the name of their new company, Stolen Picture, the rigours of producing movies, and who they'd like to see on the face of the new £50 note. The answer will shock you. Meanwhile, back in the podbooth, Chris is joined by Helen O'Hara, fresh off another marathon, and Nick de Semlyen, to go over the week's movie news; review Peterloo and The Nutcracker And The Four Realms; and answer a question about remakes.

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught on a podcast, no escape from reality. Yes, this week sees the release of Queen biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Rami Malek, the man who plays Mr. Fahrenheit, aka Freddie Mercury, pops into the podbooth to talk about that with Chris Hewitt. Then, Panos Cosmatos, the director of Nic Cage fever dream revenge thriller Mandy, has an intense and involved chat with Ben Travis that covers everything from grief to staging a chainsaw battle. NB: the sound quality on the Cosmatos interview isn't what we would ideally want, but it's worth listening to. Then, in the podbooth it's tears all round as Chris, Helen O'Hara and John Nugent are joined by Empire's outgoing Art Editor, Olly Gibbs, for his first and last appearance on the pod. Olly fields listener questions in his Empire exit interview, helps the team dissect the week's movie news and review Bohemian Rhapsody and Matthew Holness' Possum, and is serenaded by our surprise guest, Randy Newman

This week's Empire Podcast is very much a tale of two interviews. First, actual living legend Jamie Lee Curtis talks to Chris Hewitt about returning to the Halloween franchise, and the role of Laurie Strode, for what feels like a fresh start. In a serious, even intense, interview, they touch upon the impact of the #MeToo movement upon the new film, about surviving trauma, and the emotional resonance of returning to the role. Then, podcast favourite Gerard Butler pops by the podbooth to talk about his new film, submarine thriller Hunter Killer, and ends up talking about how Novak Djokovic is perhaps the only person on Earth who can get him to yell, "THIS! IS! SPARTA!" Back in the booth, Chris is joined by Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Dan Jolin for a freewheeling episode in which they talk about classic modern comedies, eviscerate Cats the musical, drop in the odd history lesson, and get the reviews and news sections back-to-front. Oh, and Bob Dylan pops by for a rendition of the pod

Peter Jackson, Academy Award–winning filmmaker behind The Lord of the Rings, talks about They Shall Not Grow Old and his film-restoration methods. He explains testing and automating restoration, colourising archives, reconstructing speech with lip-reading, and applying techniques to his early films. Conversations range from WWI soldiers’ daily lives to guerrilla-making Meet the Feebles.

The Empire Podcast gets serious this week, as the great Paul Greengrass - director of 22 July, a new Netflix film about the horrific mass murder committed by Anders Breivik in Norway in 2011 - talks to Chris Hewitt about the rise of the far right, and the role democracy has to play in combating it. [22:15 - 43:46] Then Ben Travis talks to First Man director Damien Chazelle about the challenges of making a film about the attempt to get Neil Armstrong and his fellow astronauts on the moon back in 1969. [01:05:46 - 01:27:25] Back in the podbooth, it's a two-person job as Chris is joined by Helen O'Hara to answer a bunch of listener questions, tackle the week's movie news (James Gunn causing tongues to wag), review Bad Times At The El Royale, 22 July, and First Man, sing Memories, and talk at length about Chris' metallic abs. OK, so maybe the Empire Podcast doesn't get completely serious this week...

This week's longer-and-let's-face-it-probably-more-incoherent-than-usual episode of the Empire Podcast sees that lovable rascal and former Hobbit, Dominic Monaghan, sit in with Chris Hewitt, Ben Travis, and James Dyer for most of the episode. During which time they talk about movie cliffhangers, discuss the week's film news, talk about Jose Mourinho, his love of Star Wars, tattoos, Lord Of The Rings, Wagon Wheels, The Beatles, and much, much more. It's a lot of fun. Our door is always open, Dom. The podcast proper, which also sees a dwindling podteam review A Star Is Born and Venom, begins at 00:43:23, in case Wagon Wheels aren't your jam. Even the jammy ones. Then, Chris talks to Henry Thomas, former child actor (he was in some film about an extra-terrestrial, we think) turned star of Mike Flanagan's terrifying Netflix series, The Haunting Of Hill House, and a good time was had by both. We hope you'll join us. AND NEVER LEAVE. (01:39:35 - 01:57:52)

We've got witchcraft of all kinds on our mind in the Empire podbooth this week. Our guests, Teresa Palmer and Matthew Goode, are the stars of Sky's A Discovery Of Witches, and they're a ruddy delight as they have a natter with Ben Travis. Either side of that, Chris Hewitt hosts Ben, Helen O'Hara, and James Dyer as they talk a ton of trailers, review Skate Kitchen, Black 47 and Night School, go off on more tangents than a Rube Goldberg machine, and discuss the thorniest subject of them all: which Hogwarts house would they belong to? And that's magic. You'll like it. Not a lot, but you'll like it.