The Empire Film Podcast

This week's Empire Podcast sees us welcome two of our favourite directors into our podcompany. First up, Joe Wright — hands down one of our favourite English directors called Wright, and maybe even in the top two — talks to Nick de Semlyen about his latest movie, Darkest Hour, which sees Gary Oldman give a barnstorming performance as Winston Churchill, and the career that might have been, as an illusionist. Now that's magic. Then Chris Hewitt sits down for a chat with Martin McDonagh, the writer-director behind the caustic and challenging Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and tries to pass McDonagh's test: do not ask a question that he's heard before. Will he succeed? Find out by listening. And full disclosure: because Chris is an idiot, he forgot to bring microphones to a podcast interview, which is why the sound levels may be a little askew on this one. But it's well worth a listen. Elsewhere, Chris is joined in the podbooth by Helen O'Hara and James Dyer, who discuss thi

The first Empire Podcast of 2018 — Happy New Year, you lot! — boldly goes where no podcast has gone before, as Chris Hewitt discovers Star Trek Discovery with two of its hilarious, eloquent leads, Jason Isaacs and Sonequa Martin-Green. We're going to launch a new catchphrase, right here, right now: Hello to Sonequa Martin-Green! Take that, Kermode! Elsewhere, Chris chats to Andrea Riseborough about her experiences shooting Crocodile, one of the key episodes in the new season of Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror. And then he's joined in the podcast booth by Helen O'Hara and James Dyer, to compare their holiday experiences, talk about The Last Jedi's box office, review All The Money In The World and Hostiles, and launch all-out war on the lovely people at Den Of Geek. Asda car park, 2pm. No touching the face.

2017, eh? What a palaver. But it's been a belter of a year cinematically speaking, and so — in a change from our regular podcast programming — the Empire Podcast team (Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Nick de Semlyen) locked themselves in the podbooth for ages and chewed the fat over the year that's just about to leave us. It's a show of two halves, with the first part dedicated to answering listeners' questions, and the second segment counting down Empire's Top 20 films of the year. And we hope you'll agree that, whether you love Paddington 2, La La Land, or Get Out, it's the best way you can spend 88 minutes this side of Al Pacino. And thanks for listening to the show this year, folks. Happy New Year from all the team at Empire.

Ho-ho-Hugh! We're pretty much finished for Christmas, but before we gorge on mince pies and Die Hard, we decided to pop an pod-treat in your Christmas pod-stocking: a 20-minute chat with the Australian triple-threat and friend-of-the-pod Hugh Jackman. He talks to us about making The Greatest Showman and saying goodbye to Logan.

On the last Empire Podcast of 2017, the podcast team — Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara and James Dyer — are rambling even more than usual as they discuss the Disney takeover of Fox, answer your Christmas movie questions, review Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and have a big old barney over Aaron Sorkin. To paraphrase a great man we used to know in San Diego back in the '70s, that escalated quickly. And we see out the year in style with our wonderful star guest, Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle's Karen Gillan. Find out which accent her Guardians Of The Galaxy character, Nebula, was supposed to have! Gasp, as she reveals the subtitle of the fourth Avengers movie (in jest, before you start writing your thinkpieces)! And ponder her love of Kubrick, ending in a promise we'd love to help her fulfil one day. Do you want to hear an Empire Podcast dedicated solely to Karen Gillan and the Empire team waxing lyrical about Stanley Kubrick? Of course you do. This is the last regular podcast of the year, but

This week's Empire Podcast is really going all in on all things Franco. James and Dave, the brothers who star in (and, in James' case, directs) The Disaster Artist, the story behind the making of legendarily awful movie The Room, drop by for a chat about that with John Nugent. Then James Dyer talks to WWE legend-turned-actor, John Cena, about being strong like cartoon bull in new animated movie Ferdinand — and wouldn't you know it, a Franco of a different kind crops up in conversation there too. We're nothing if not highbrow on the Empire Podcast. Elsewhere, the podcast team — Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara and James Dyer — tackle the week's movie news, including Bryan Singer's departure from Bohemian Rhapsody and Quentin Tarantino's possible Star Trek movie; dissect the week's big releases, including Stronger and Takashi Miike's 100th film, Blade Of The Immortal; and definitively answer the question that's been driving the internet nuts: is Die Hard a Christmas film? The answer may shoc

This week's slightly-shorter-than-usual Empire Podcast sees the return of one of our favourite podguests, as Dan Stevens, our once and future spirit animal, pops back in to talk Dickens with Helen O'Hara. Not randomly, you see — he's playing Charles Dickens in The Man Who Invented Christmas. Elsewhere, with Helen swanning around in Malta, it's double trouble in the podbooth as Chris Hewitt and James Dyer talk about great movie scenes set in laundrettes (that doesn't wash with them), review the week's big releases, and unearth the unsettling revelation that James hasn't seen a single episode of one of the greatest sitcoms of all time. This is total BS. Oh, and there's also a detailed breakdown of the new issue of Empire, which we'd all like you to go out and buy. Once you've listened to the podcast, of course.

Unless you've been hiding out in the middle of Knowhere, you'll have noticed a little teaser trailer dropped today, for an equally little film called Avengers: Infinity War. Filled with plenty of images designed to fuel discussion and speculation — just how does The Vision do that? Where does Steve Rogers get his beard oil? Why didn't Spider-Man have spider-sense in his solo movie? — it prompted us to do just that. So our resident MCU experts, Helen O'Hara and Chris Hewitt, got together and ended up going through the trailer shot by shot, for your listening pleasure. And yes, they managed to talk for half an hour about a trailer that doesn't even last for three minutes. Head this way for hashtag compelling content as they bring their MCU knowledge to bear, speculate wildly, and call Thanos, the big bad of the MCU, a 'bumface'. He won't be happy.

On this week's Empire Podcast, Lee Child — the man behind all 22 Jack Reacher books — drops by for another appearance, and once again drops a hot scoop: the name of the 23rd Reacher book. Thanks, Lee — cheque's in the post. Elsewhere, Red Oaks and Submarine star Craig Roberts challenges Chris Hewitt to a coffee-fuelled Pro Evo-off, while the podcast team — Chris, Helen O'Hara and James Dyer — get to grips with the week's big releases and multiple Shafts. Strap yourselves in, innuendo fans — it's going to be a bumpy ride.

This week, Henry Cavill talks to us about Justice League, which he is definitely not in, no siree. Nope. Plus, we chat to the stars of Mudbound, Garrett Hedlund and Jason Mitchell, about Oscar hopes and birthday buddies.

On this week's podcast, we chat to the Oscar-nominated star of Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool Annette Bening, and the Oscar-winning writer-director behind Manchester By The Sea and the BBC's adaptation of Howard's End, Kenneth Lonergan. More from the Empire Podcast: http://www.empireonline.com/podcast

An extensive, shambolic and hilarious interview with the stars and creators of the cult Brit sci-fi sitcom Red Dwarf – plus, four of Empire's smeggiest smegheads have a long chat about why they love the show. More from the Empire Podcast: http://www.empireonline.com/podcast

For whom the Bells toll! It's an inadvertent Bell Special on the podcast this week, as we welcome Jamie Bell and Tobin Bell (no relation) to ring the chimes of their new films, 6 Days and Jigsaw, respectively. On next week's podcast: Kristen Bell, Lake Bell, Toby Kebbell, Isabelle Huppert, Toby Kebell, and the ghost of Alexander Graham Bell. Maybe. More from the Empire Podcast: http://www.empireonline.com/podcast

Ah…now eventually, you do plan to have Jeff Goldblum on your… on your Jeff Goldblum Interview Special, right? Hello?… Hello? Yes?

Another guest bonanza! Interviews with Vince Vaughn and S. Craig Zahler, the respective star and director of Brawl In Cell Block 99; and Her Majesty Claire Foy, the star of Breathe and The Crown – plus, Sam Bain, the writer/co-creator of Peep Show, joins us in the studio as a guest host. More from the Empire Podcast: http://www.empireonline.com/podcast

A triple-bill of guests! First up, former boy wizard turned proper actor Daniel Radcliffe talks surviving the jungle in Jungle; then, Jason Isaacs talks surviving the death of Stalin in The Death Of Stalin; and finally, Gerard Butler talks surviving a geostorm in – well, you get the idea, Geostorm. More from the Empire Podcast: http://www.empireonline.com/tags/empire-podcast

A 40-minute conversation with one of the world's greatest living filmmakers about his new Netflix series Mindhunter, plus news on his future projects. More from the Empire Podcast: http://www.empireonline.com/tags/empire-podcast

This week, the Scandinavian star of The Snowman drops by talk about knitted jumpers and frosty murders – plus, the director of The Meyerowitz Stories drops by to talk about director t-shirts and Adam Sandler's serious side.

It's a Blade Runner 2049-themed episode this week, as we are joined by directors past and present from the world of replicants, whom we question with the scrutiny of a Voight-Kampff test. Plus, the two-handed pod team ponder which movie John would win in a fight.

On this week's ever-so-slightly late edition of the award-winning-and-losing Empire Podcast, we chain director Mike Flanagan to a metaphorical bed and ask him to tell us all about his Stephen King adaptation, Gerald's Game, which is now available on Netflix. Plus, the podteam - Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara and Terri White - wax lyrical about the week's big movie news, review Goodbye Christopher Robin, Daphne and Gerald's Game, and review their own favourite non-Empire podcasts. That's lot of bangily-bang for your bangily-buck.