The Empire Film Podcast

It's another big old bumper Empire Podcast this week. For reasons that are beyond our control (maybe have a word with S.P.E.C.T.R.E.), we're back on Squadcast, with Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara and James Dyer getting up very early (for them) to talk about the strangest places they've ever conducted interviews, discuss the week's 'fantastic' movie news, and review Sopranos spin-off The Many Saints Of Newark, David Lowery's long-awaited The Green Knight, and Everybody's Talking About Jamie. And, on the interview front, Chris has a good old natter with our favourite Variant, Sophia Di Martino, about her new movie, Sweetheart; Amon Warmann sits down for a chat with Alessandro Nivola about starring in The Many Saints Of Newark; and, in what's fast becoming a regular feature, we bring you brief excerpts from our spoiler special interviews with Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings director, Destin Daniel Cretton, and writer Dave Callaham. And if you still haven't seen it and wish to remain spoiler-free, they're right at the end of the show. But whatever you're listening to on this week's show, enjoy.

Where was this week's Empire Podcast recorded? *very Phil Collins voice* Stu-stu-studio! That's right, folks. After a year and a half of SquadCasting and podcasting remotely, this week's pod sees Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara and James Dyer gather in the same studio for some film-related fun. Join them as they natter on about the great reunion moments in movie history, discuss the week's movie news (Chris Nolan leaving WB? Hawkeye looks fun?), and review Gunpowder Milkshake, Kate, and Malignant. A film, it's fair to say, that has divided the pod. But it's not all studio-bound shenanigans. Chris logs onto Zoom not once, but twice, this week to talk to Karen Gillan, star of Gunpowder Milkshake, and Mark Cousins, former Moviedrome maestro and now the director of documentary The Story Of Looking. And, somewhere along the way, he explains to Helen what orange chicken is. This podcast contains multitudes, folks. Dive in. And sorry for the delirium; we were very happy to see each other. (Not in a sex way.) Enjoy.

This week's Empire Podcast sees Phyllida Lloyd, director of the excellent drama Herself, sit down with her star and writer, Clare Dunne, for an interview with Chris Hewitt about how they pulled off one of the year's best films. And when we say she sits down, we mean it. They were sitting beside each other in Phyllida's kitchen. A sign that nature is healing, folks. Actual physical proximity! Elsewhere, Chris is joined this week by Nick de Semlyen and Beth Webb for a fun episode in which they discuss pond-swimming, the best eyebrows in movies, take a peek at the week's big movie news (including some discussion of a certain trailer... yes, we're talking Moonfall), and pay tribute to some of the incredible talent which sadly left us this week, including Jean-Paul Belmondo and Michael K. Williams. They also review Herself, Copshop, and Respect (James Wan's Malignant wasn't screened for critics, and will be reviewed on next week's show). Finally, we also hear from Candyman director Nia DaCosta in a spoilerific excerpt from our Candyman spoiler special. Enjoy.

Ever since Groundhog Day burst onto the scene in 1993 with all the force of Bill Murray decking Stephen Tobolowsky, we’ve fallen in love with timeloop films; those movies that trap their protagonists in an endless cycle and challenge them to improve themselves or get lost forever. And in this very special episode of the Empire Podcast, Chris Hewitt, Helen O’Hara and James Dyer discuss the greatest timeloop movies of all time, ask why it took so long for a serious contender to escape from Groundhog Day’s shadow, and come up with their own perfect timeloop movie playlist for those stuck in their never ending loop. From Edge Of Tomorrow (or whatever it’s called this week) to the Happy Death Day movies, this is one pod that will knock you for a loop. Enjoy.

Celebrate Our Cinemas is a brand-new, limited-edition podcast series, brought to you by Empire in association with Meerkat Movies from Compare The Market. Each week, Chris Hewitt sits down with a notable guest from the world of film and digs deep into their cinema-going history. In this, the sixth and final episode of the series, Chris chats with Elijah Wood, star of a little trilogy of films called The Lord Of The Rings and upcoming drama No Man Of God, which launches digitally on September 13, about the cinemas that helped shape his viewing habits. There is much talk of horror movies, of Raisinets, of seeing movies in Austin, Texas, and Wellington, New Zealand, and of the challenges of bringing a baby to the pictures. And, as predicted on last week's episode, the Alamo Drafthouse gets a lot of love. Enjoy.