The Empire Film Podcast

It's a question as old as time: who ya gonna call? And an equally aged answer: Ghostbusters! Or, in the case of this week's Empire Podcast, a Ghostbuster. But not just any Ghostbuster — the heart of the Ghostbusters, and co-creator of the franchise, the legendary Dan Aykroyd, who jumps on the blower with Chris Hewitt to talk about the Ghostbusters In Concert show at the Royal Albert Hall, webbed f...

Spooky season is upon us, folks, and this week's Empire Podcast is even more of a horror show than usual, as Chris Hewitt talks to Naomi Scott about her fabulous performance in Parker Finn's scary sequel, Smile 2, [23:26 - 37:26 approx] and the team — Chris, James Dyer, Ben Travis, and Beth Webb — tackle two horror-related questions from listeners, including the horror flicks they think should hav...

With the BFI London Film Festival about to shut up shop for another year after a cracking 2024 offering, it's the perfect time to bring you our annual LFF podcast, in which Chris Hewitt chats to some of the British filmmakers who have films (and a TV show) at this year's festival. They are: Nick Murphy, director of A Thousand Blows; Sasha Nathwani, director of Last Swim; and Sadie Frost, director...

It's another belting week on the Empire Podcast, folks. On the guest front, James White — ol' Jaime Blanco himself — talks to Sarah Paulson, star of new Disney+ thriller Hold Your Breath, about milking both tension and cows [21:33 - 34:08 approx], Chris Hewitt sits down for a fun chat about vampires, changing tyres, and playing people called Bob with Lewis Pullman, star of the Salem's Lot movie wh...

As a special treat for you, our beloved listeners, here's a bonus pod for you... an episode of Pilot TV! Yes, our sister TV pod is elbowing its way unbidden into your playlist and forcing itself into your ears like an unwanted U2 album. But before you go skipping ahead, why not stay a while and have a listen? For one, it will greatly reduce the possibility of James coming over to your house, putti...

Love that Joker? If so, you've come to the right place, folks, as this week's Empire Podcast sees Chris Hewitt, our very own clown prince of crime, dig deep into Joker: Folie à Deux (and pronounce the title roughly ten different ways) with its star, Joaquin Phoenix [18:50 - 41:01 approx], and director, Todd Phillips. [1:02:14 - 1:23:07 approx] With Helen O'Hara having made herself scarce so she ca...

It's another jam-packed banger on the Empire Podcast this week, folks, as Chris Hewitt sits down for a triple whammy of interviews. First, there's Saoirse Ronan, star/producer of affecting drama The Outrun, and her co-star Paapa Essiedu, who talk about bonding, improvisation, and shooting on location. [19:13 - 33:45 approx] Then, there's Josh Greenbaum, director of Will & Harper, the excellent...

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast comes with an air of carefree celebration, as Chris Hewitt marks his birthday by a) not mentioning his birthday that much, b) interviewing Willa Fitzgerald, star of cracking new thriller Strange Darling, while somehow not actually talking about the movie because it's incredibly hard to talk about without getting into spoiler territory, [23:05 - 40:27 appro...

Years after she meddled with Wanda Maximoff, sang her own wonderful earworm of a theme song, and waltzed off with WandaVision tucked under her arm, Agatha Harkness is back back back in Agatha All Along, a new nine-part Disney+ MCU show which sees Kathryn Hahn return as Westview's second most powerful witch. Only now she's on the comeback trail and might need help from a brand-new coven. And in thi...

Is it just us, or has the Empire Podcast got more hat-tricks than Erling Haaland? We have another terrific trio of guests this week, as Alex Godfrey speaks no evil with Speak No Evil, and podcast regular, James McAvoy. [19:49 - 34:40 approx] Then, Amon Warmann has a lovely chat with Kate Winslet, star of Lee (and thanks to Sam Clements for loaning us his podcast mics while Chris was away!). [56:50...

It's another hat-trick of wonderful guests on this week's Empire Podcast. Which is good, as there's only two colleagues of such lethal cunning. Due to a combination of work absences, holidays, and general apathy, only Helen O'Hara and James Dyer are on pod-duty this week and, thanks to Jimbo's unfortunate bout of Covid, they're doing it remotely as well. Never fear, though, they still bring the fi...

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast is — yes, you guessed it — absolutely jam-packed with amazing guests. Alex Godfrey gets to admire Colman Domingo's trophies, and then talk to the great actor about his new movie Sing Sing, which might just add one or two to his shelf. [14:46 - 32:42 approx] Then Beth Webb has a lovely chat with Elliot Page and director Dominic Savage about their new movie,...

One pod to rule them all? This Thursday (August 29) sees the return of Prime Video's epic J.R.R. Tolkien adaptation, The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power, and to mark the occasion we've put together a little preview special, just for you. In it, you'll find an in-depth interview with showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, in which they tease and tantalise John Nugent about what people can...

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast is jampacked with joy, folks. Guest-wise, we have a big old chunk of the Empire VIP Club live Q&A Chris Hewitt did with Jeff Goldblum, star of new Netflix show KAOS, a short while ago. And it's as gloriously Jeff Goldblumy as you could hope for. [24:13 - 42:52 approx] Chris is also joined this week by Rupert Sanders, the director of the brand new versi...

This week's Empire Podcast sees Chris Hewitt sit down on Zoom with Mr. Fitz, aka Paul Feig, the dapper and debonair director of Bridesmaids, Spy, The Heat and new action-comedy Jackpot!, to talk about working with Awkwafina and John Cena, the difficulties of getting an original movie off the ground, and whether Feig could murder somebody for money. (FYI, Feig's microphone wasn't working as it shou...

This week's Empire Podcast is jam-packed full of goodness, including three tremendous interviews well worth your time. First off, Alex Godfrey sits down with M. Night Shyamalan and Josh Hartnett to discuss their first film together, Trap, and talk about why it's taken them so long to work together. [19:49 - 37:12 approx] Then, Dafne Keen pops into the podbooth to tell Chris Hewitt how her appearan...

It's Doomsday on the Empire Podcast, folks. In the wake of the bombshell news that Robert Downey Jr. is going to return to the MCU, not as Tony Stark but as the new big bad, Doctor Doom, many of you asked that we record a special podcast dedicated to the news. Sadly, we were unable to do that, but we make up for it on this week's episode, as Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara and Amon Warmann lock themsel...

Let's effin' go! (We're pretty sure we're not allowed to swear in the blurbs, dagnammit!) This week sees the long-awaited release of Deadpool & Wolverine, in which Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman team up for a swear'n'slash session for the ages, and in this week's episode of the Empire Podcast, Chris Hewitt sits down for a lovely non-spoilerific chat with the film's director, Shawn Levy. -22:04...

It's another guestapalooza on this week's Empire Podcast, as Chris Hewitt has lovely chats with Twisters stars Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, and Phizzy Pigtails aficionado Anthony Ramos [19:46 - 35:02 approx], and their director Lee Isaac Chung [1:39:17 - 1:56:06 approx]; and Beth Webb has a lovely audience with the marvellous June Squibb, star of Thelma (there are sound issues for the first cou...

This week's Empire Podcast has another brace of cracking guests, as Maika Monroe returns to the show to talk about her terrifying new horror film, Longlegs [25:43 - 39:01 approx], and inadvertently inspires Chris Hewitt to launch the Empire Podcast Hall Of Fame for repeat guests. Meanwhile, making his debut on the pod is the great Griffin Dunne, star of An American Werewolf In London and After Hou...

Maxxxine marks the conclusion of Ti West's horror trilogy that began with X, and continued with the prequel Pearl. Co-stars come and co-stars go, in a bloody fashion more often than not, but Mia Goth is at the centre of all three, as porn star-turned-Final Girl Maxine and elderly psycho killer Pearl in X, a younger Pearl in the prequel, and now an older Maxine, who finds herself the target of a sh...

We're back in the multi-guest business with this week's episode of the Empire Podcast, folks. First, Ben Travis has a very hushed Zoom chat with A Quiet Place: Day One director, Michael Sarnoski. [22:46 - 40:44 approx] Then, Sophie Butcher talks to Kinds Of Kindness director and star duo, Yorgos Lanthimos and Jesse Plemons. [1:00:42 - 1:15:24 approx] And, finally, we bring you an excerpt from our...

Vroom vroom! This week's episode of the Empire Podcast is something of a rarity, as we only have one guest. But what a guest it is, as Jeff Nichols, director of Take Shelter, Midnight Special and Mud, tells Helen O'Hara all about working with motorcycles and movie stars on his new movie, The Bikeriders. Then, in the podbooth, Chris Hewitt hosts and is joined by Helen, James Dyer and Amon Warmann f...

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast invites you to settle into a pair of cracking interviews — first, Ben Travis has a sit-down [22:48 - 42:49 approx] with Richard Linklater, director of the excellent Hit Man (now on Netflix), then Chris Hewitt has a bonny time with the wonderfully loquacious Stephen Fry, star of this week's drama, Treasure. [1:06:39 - 1:26:31 approx] By the way, Fry quotes...

It's another bumper, jam-packed edition of the Empire Podcast this week, folks, with four wonderful guests. First, legendary producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who has both Young Woman And The Sea and Bad Boys: Ride Or Die in cinemas right now, shares some of the secrets of his success with Alex Godfrey. [21:13 - 38:36 approx] Then, John Nugent has an audience with the Shyamalans — Ishana Night Shyamalan...