The Empire Film Podcast

Epizódy

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  The Shameless Plug: Digging Deep On Digger 16.09.2026 30min

  With the latest issue of Empire magazine in shops for just another week or so, it's time for Chris Hewitt and Empire editor Nick de Semlyen to slide into the podbooth and dig deep in the latest episode of The Shameless Plug. Join our dynamic duo as they talk about Chris' adventures writing this month's cover feature on the Tom Cruise/Alejandro G. Iñárritu collaboration, Digger; plus his in-depth chat about The Frighteners with that movie's director, Peter Jackson. They also talk about the other goodies to be found within the issue, including features on VisionQuest, Paul Greengrass' The Uprising, Whalefall; a packed First Word section; and the story of a Hunt For The Wilderpeople reunion that, sadly, proved to be one of Sam Neill's final interviews. If you haven't picked up the new issue yet, it's still available now in all good, evil, and virtual newsagents and other magazine stockists until September 23. And if you have got a copy of the issue, why not read along with Chris and Nick? Enjoy.
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  Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Next Generation (ft. guests Stockard Channing & Dianne Wiest) 11.09.2026 1h 28min

  Happy birthday, Star Trek! Gene Roddenberry's groundbreaking sci-fi show turned 60 this week, and the Empire Podcast is celebrating in style this week. Helen O'Hara broke a world record, which she tells Chris Hewitt and James Dyer about, before our intrepid trio (our very own Kirk-Spock-Bones?) tackle a listener question about recasting The Next Generation crew. Their solutions may seem illogical. Elsewhere, Chris, Helen and James look at the week's movie news, review Practical Magic 2, Runner and The Runner (or maybe it's the other way around), Pressure, and Oasis: Don't Look Back In Anger, while Helen comes face-to-face with two legends, in the form of Practical Magic 2 stars, Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest. We hope you enjoy this episode and — hey! — live long and prosper, why don't you?
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  The Interviews (ft. Steven Knight, Camille Cottin, Corin Hardy) 11.09.2026 54min

  It's another jam-packed edition of The Interviews this week, folks. First, Chris Hewitt sits down with Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight as he tackles another project about complicated brothers, the documentary Oasis: Don't Look Back In Anger, which chronicles the return and reconciliation of Liam & Noel Gallagher. We hear Damon Albarn loves it. Then Alex Godfrey has a lovely chat on Zoom with Camille Cottin, the star of Call My Agent!: The Movie, the feature-length continuation of the hit French Netflix series. And finally we bring you an excerpt from our live show at Kings Place last week, as Corin Hardy drops by to shamelessly plug an intriguing Shawshank Redemption experience. Enjoy!
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  The Interviews (ft. Willem Dafoe; Jujubee & Ginger Minj; Jane Schoenbrun) 07.09.2026 48min

  The latest episode of The Interviews is a barnstormer, folks, in which the legendary Willem Dafoe talks to Alex Godfrey about his new movie, Late Fame, running a farm, and not celebrating birthdays; Chris Hewitt has a wild chat with Stop! That! Train! stars, Jujubee and Ginger Minj; and we bring you an excerpt from Harry Stainer's spoilerific chat with Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma director, Jane Schoenbrun (the rest, along with Team Empire's deep dive, is over at Empire+). Don't listen to that one until you've seen the film, for obvious reasons. Three very different interviews for you to enjoy. So please do enjoy!
• 
  Our Favourite Curry (ft. guests Jodie Comer & Michael Sarnoski) 04.09.2026 1h 32min

  This week's Empire Podcast sees Chris Hewitt have a lovely natter with The Death Of Robin Hood star, Jodie Comer, and her director, Michael Sarnoski. Everything we do (we do it for them). Then Chris is joined in the podbooth by Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Alex Godfrey, to discuss their favourite Tim Curry moments, look at the week's movie news, and review a whole bunch of films including The Death Of Robin Hood, Mayday, and Gail Daughtry & The Celebrity Sex Pass. Enjoy!
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  Helen Vs Peter Lorre: Dawn Of Justice (ft. guest, Dave Green) 28.08.2026 1h 37min

  This week's episode of the Empire Podcast sees Dave Green's Coyote Vs Acme finally reach cinema screens after a long and perilous journey which saw the film face actual deletion at one point, before common sense prevailed. Green is our guest this week, and he tells Helen O'Hara about the arduous experience he went through, and the film itself, which is a joyous affair. Either side of that, Chris Hewitt returns to the host's chair and is joined by Helen, James Dyer and Amon Warmann to talk about their favourite movies and how often they see them; discuss 'vs' movies; look at the week's movie news, including the sad passing of Dolly Parton (however, this episode was recorded before the news that Tim Curry and Peter Cullen had also left us; we will pay tribute to them next week), and a perplexing move from Ryan Gosling; and review Coyote Vs Acme, Ridley Scott's The Dog Stars, Pedro Almodovar's Bitter Christmas, Gregg Araki's I Want Your Sex, and Will Gluck's One Night Only, which sparks a Helen rant for the ages. Oh, and an old friend of the pod makes an unexpected return, much to Helen's delight. Enjoy.
• 
  The Empire Podcast On Mars Attacks! In association with Warner Home Video 26.08.2026 49min

  Ack ack ack! Can Tim Burton's gleefully anarchic Mars Attacks! really be 30 years old? It seems so, for those lovely folks at Warner Home Video have released a 30th Anniversary Collector's Edition across a number of formats, and we've teamed up with them to celebrate this most delightfully Burton of movies by cramming Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, and James Dyer into the podbooth and getting them to talk about Burton's all-star alien invasion caper. Well, it's not unusual. Enjoy.
• 
  The Interviews (ft. Mason Thames & Lee Kirk; Adam Shankman; Sam Spruell) 23.08.2026 1h

  The Interviews returns this week with a jam-packed show, as Chris Hewitt sits down at Comic-Con in San Diego with, after a delayed start, Mason Thames (and yes, we have learned how to pronounce his surname) and Lee Kirk (ditto), star and director respectively of Nimrods: A Green Day Comedy about music, movies, and heart. Then Chris pops onto Zoom to have a natter with Adam Shankman, director of ZAZ-style spoof, Stop! That! Train!, and wind up talking about the time Shankman officiated Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr's wedding, and directors' God complexes. And finally Becky Darke makes his Empire Podcast interview debut by talking on Zoom to Sam Spruell, who's terrifying audiences worldwide right now as the villain of the latest Insidious movie, Out Of The Further. Enjoy!
• 
  Middle-Aged Sex And Death At Camp Empire 21.08.2026 1h 31min

  This week's episode of the Empire Podcast sees Jane Schoenbrun, director of Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma, chat to Harry Stainer on Zoom about their new movie, creating a new horror icon, and their own filmmaking journey. Either side of that, Helen O'Hara is joined in the podbooth by James Dyer and Jamie Graham to take a bunch of listener questions, discuss the week's movie news including their takes on the X-Men casting from D23, and review the aforementioned Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma, The Stath's latest movie, Mutiny, & Sons, and Stop! That! Train! Enjoy.
• 
  Jurassic Street: Cull De Sac (ft. guest, Matt Johnson) 14.08.2026 1h 29min

  This week's episode of the Empire Podcast sees director Matt Johnson return, just a few weeks after he was talking up Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie. This time, he's talking to Amon Warmann about his new movie, Tony, which is a snapshot of a period in the life of a young Anthony Bourdain (played by Dominic Sessa). Either side of that, Chris Hewitt is joined in the podbooth by Helen O'Hara and James Dyer to talk about movie news (Barbie 2 developments, or lack thereof; and rumours of the X-Men cast announcement), review Tony, The End Of Oak Street, Sunny Dancer and Lady; lament the apparent passing of one of their favourite food haunts; and see whether any director has a 13th movie on their CV that can go toe-to-toe with Chris Nolan's The Odyssey. This is a podcast that's not afraid to ask the big questions. Questions like, 'is Octopussy better than The Odyssey?' The answer lies within. Enjoy.
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  The Greig Fraser Key Light Challenge (ft. guest, Taika Waititi) 07.08.2026 1h 24min

  This week's episode of the Empire Podcast sees Taika Waititi, director of Hunt For The Wilderpeople, Zoom in for a cracking chat with Chris Hewitt about that movie's tenth anniversary re-release, his feelings about the loss of the great Sam Neill, the status of his What We Do In The Shadows sequel, New Zealand PSAs, and more. Either side of that, Chris is joined in the podbooth by Helen O'Hara and John Nugent to answer a listener question about the implications of Spider-Man: Brand New Day's record-breaking box office; discuss the week's movie news, including the Violent Night 2 trailer, Mummy 4 casting and the potential of Samara Weaving in the MCU; and review The Last House, Love Me Tender, and Nimrods: A Green Day Comedy. Oh, and Chris re-ignites his bitter feud (that totally exists, honest) with genius cinematographer, Greig Fraser. Your move, Fraser!
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  No Sex Scenes! (ft. guest, Destin Daniel Cretton) 31.07.2026 1h 34min

  This week's episode of the Empire Podcast sees Chris Hewitt — freshly returned from Comic-Con and San Diego — sit down for a lovely chat with Spider-Man: Brand New Day director, Destin Daniel Cretton. Either side of that, Chris is joined in the podbooth by Helen O'Hara, Amon Warmann, and Ben Travis to discuss their favourite Spider-movies, look back at Comic-Con and a whole bunch of trailers, and review Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Ish. They also get into Emily Wilson's scathing criticism of Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey and discuss authors and writers who dislike movies based on their works. We've yet to hear from Homer, but we do have an ask in with his publicist. Enjoy.
• 
  Comic-Con 2026: The Reaction Pod (recorded in San Diego) 27.07.2026 1h 14min

  And so Empire has said goodbye to Comic-Con 2026, after an absolutely jam-packed few days that saw our Chris Hewitt race around the San Diego Convention Centre, taking in panels and press lines galore, speaking to some of the biggest and brightest around, and eating horrifically. Like, it's a wonder he's still alive horrifically. But he made it to the end and, in this reaction show recorded on a terrace at the Hilton Bayfront mere minutes after the Avengers: Doomsday/Marvel Studios presentation and press line, Chris sits down with Empire colleague Dan Jolin to talk about Dan's unusual reason for being at Comic-Con, Chris' reaction to the Marvel panel and other panels he saw this year, and much, much more, including an interview with Masters Of The Universe and Wildwood writer, Chris Butler. Are you ready to meet your pod-doom? Enjoy.
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  Dogg Day Afternoon (ft. Mary Steenburgen; and Tom Hiddleston) 24.07.2026 1h 37min

  On this week's Empire Podcast, Helen O'Hara slides into the host's chair in the Comic-Con-related absence of Chris Hewitt, and together, she, James Dyer and Amon Warmann come up with some of the greatest dog movies, suggest classic myths that could be turned into movies, swap outlandish theories about Avengers: Doomsday, talk about the movie news that broke before Comic-Con, and review The Dink, 72 Hours, and Deep Water. Guest-wise, for the first time in a while we have two in one episode, with Chris talking (via AirPods, thanks to technical difficulties) to The Dink star and all-round legend, Mary Steenburgen [26:54 - 44:27 approx], and then to old podcast stalwart, Tom Hiddleston, who whisks Chris away to actual Pompeii to talk about Hiddleston's new Disney+ docu-drama, Pompeii: Out Of Time, and display dazzling proficiency in Latin. [1:02:35 - 1:20:01 approx] Enjoy.
• 
  Scott Aukerman on Comedy Bang! Bang! — An Empire Podcast Interview Special 21.07.2026 1h 8min

  Here's a fun treat for anyone interested in comedy, movies, improv and more: when Chris Hewitt was in LA the other week, not only did he talk to John Woo for a one-hour special that can be found in this very podcast feed, but he also sat down with Scott Aukerman, host of his favourite podcast, Comedy Bang! Bang! With Aukerman, Paul F. Tompkins and Andy Daly coming to the UK and Ireland this week for the latest leg of their Groundbeefing Tour, that was all the excuse Chris needed to talk to Scott for an hour-plus deep dive into the podcast's origins, Scott's favourite guests, life on the road and, because this is a film podcast last time we checked, Aukerman's experiences in front of and behind the camera on the likes of Austin Powers In Goldmember and Between Two Ferns: The Movie. Frank, funny and fascinating, this will be well worth your time even if you aren't into CBB. And if you are, you've just hit paydirt. Enjoy.
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  The Shameless Plug: Another Odyssey Odyssey 20.07.2026 43min

  With Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey finally in cinemas, and the current issue of Empire (with The Odyssey on the cover!) still on sale for just over a week or so, now is the perfect time for Chris Hewitt and Nick de Semlyen, who wrote Empire's Odyssey coverage, to get together and do a deep dive into this epic of epic epicness. Whether you've read the issue cover-to-cover, or are planning to pick it up at some point, you'll find much to enjoy here.
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  The Interviews: The Odyssey Special (ft. Matt Damon & Tom Holland; Himesh Patel & John Leguizamo) 17.07.2026 30min

  Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey has finally landed in cinemas around the world, and to mark the occasion, we've turned the latest episode of The Interviews into an Odyssey special, as Chris Hewitt talks to two of the key pairings from Nolan's epic adaptation of the Homer poem. First up, you'll hear from Himesh Patel and John Leguizamo, who play Eurylochus and Eumaeus, two characters who are close to Odysseus, the warrior whose journey home after The Trojan War is beset by the kind of bad luck that would have you begging for a bus replacement service. And then you'll hear from Odysseus himself, aka Matt Damon, and Tom Holland, who plays Odysseus' son, Telemachus, as they talk about their toughest days on set, the worst smells, and forging a father-son bond between two characters who are apart for much of the film. These aren't spoiler interviews, but references are made to certain scenes, so perhaps wait until you've seen The Odyssey before listening, just in case. But both pairings were on cracking form, and we hope you'll enjoy.
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  Do You See? (ft. Christopher Nolan) 17.07.2026 1h 37min

  This week's episode of The Empire Podcast sees one of the most revered Chrises in the movie business finally sit down with the director of The Dark Knight, Inception, Interstellar, Oppenheimer and now The Odyssey. Yes, our Chris Hewitt has a lovely chat with Christopher Nolan, as the latter's Odyssey odyssey finally comes to an end. [47:24 - 1:09:28] Either side of that, Chris (Hewitt) is joined in the podbooth by Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Alex Godfrey to pay a heartfelt tribute to the great Sam Neill, who passed away this week at the age of 78; make their selections for the Mount Rushmore of Neill films (by popular public demand); discuss the week's movie news, including the trailer for Tom Cruise's Digger; and review Heartstopper Forever, Couples Weekend and, yes, The Odyssey. With the latter review, in particular, proving so epic it might take you ten years to recover. Enjoy.
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  John Woo: An Empire Podcast Interview Special 16.07.2026 1h 16min

  Here's a hard boiled treat that will feel like a bullet in the head initially. It may even make you want to take your face off. But hold tight, for there will always be a better tomorrow. Yes, it's a very special interview with the legendary action director, John Woo, who invited our Chris Hewitt, a lifelong fan of Woo's movies, into his LA offices last week for an hour-long talk, principally about Woo's groundbreaking, exhilarating work in Hong Kong on the likes of Hard Boiled, The Killer, Bullet In The Head, and A Better Tomorrow and its sequel. The two of them talk about Woo's humble beginnings, his discovery of action as an outlet and Chow Yun-Fat as his alter ego/leading man, his approach to staging action, his travails on Hard Boiled's greatest action sequence, and much, much more. We hope you enjoy.
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  The Interviews (ft. Auli'i Cravalho, Robert Mark Kamen, Matt Spicer) 13.07.2026 56min

  Another jam-packed episode of The Interviews this week sees Chris Hewitt sit down in person with Auli'i Cravalho, the actress who originated the role of Moana in the animated films, and is now handing over the live-action torch to Catherine Laga'aia; [2:00 - 15:46 approx] and on Zoom with Robert Mark Kamen, writer of the original The Karate Kid and now also the book for The Karate Kid: The Musical, which is currently on tour in the UK; [17:05 - 38:26 approx] and finally Matt Spicer, who makes his return to directing movies with the Netflix comedy Little Brother, some nine years after he burst onto the scene with Ingrid Goes West. [39:20 - 56:14 approx] Enjoy.