The Empire Film Podcast Bauer Media

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast asks the question: 'what if an interview started off the rails and went from there?' And answers it with a tremendously fun and, at times, utterly chaotic, interview between our Chris Hewitt and John Krasinski, writer/director/star of new fantasy movie IF. To listen to the most expensive interview of all time, go to 23:18 (approx). More fun and chaos can be found in our other interview this week [1:06:32 - 1:21:52 approx), as Chris sits down on Zoom with Ben Schwartz to talk about his improv show, Ben Schwartz And Friends, which is at the Royal Albert Hall this Sunday (May 19). Tickets on sale now at royalalberthall.com and rejactedjokes.com (And this is an excerpt from the 45-minute Ben Schwartz special, which is currently available in your podcast feed) Either side of those, Chris is joined in the podbooth for more fun and chaos by Helen O'Hara and James Dyer, as they discuss Dune: Prophecy, sports that deserve good movies (and yes, we are aware of Billy The Kid & The Green Baize Vampire, we just didn't mention it), the week's movie news, including Downton Abbey 3, Galactus casting, and the sad passing of the legendary Roger Corman, and review IF, Horde, Mother Of The Bride, and Tiger Stripes. Enjoy.

Ben Schwartz isn't just a terrifically funny actor (he's Jean-Ralphio in Parks & Rec, for the love of Pete!), insanely gifted VoiceOver artist (he's the voice of Sonic, for the love of Knuckles!), writer (he helped write dialogue for C-3PO in J.J. Abrams' Star Wars movies, for the love of Babu Frik!) and all-round geek. He's also one of the greatest improvisational comedians on the planet, and he's bringing his incredible improv show, Ben Schwartz And Friends, to the Royal Albert Hall in London on Sunday May 19, for the love of Queen Victoria! And so our Chris Hewitt felt it was a simply capital time to fire up the old Zoom and head straight into an extended, epic, and very funny conversation with Schwartz about improv, about what people can expect from Ben Schwartz And Friends when they buy tickets via rejectedjokes.com or royalalberthall.com, about his IMDb trivia and mini bio, about voicing Sonic, and his time spent working on Star Wars. Oh, and much more, obviously. Enjoy.

Another guestapalooza on this week's Empire Podcast, folks! First up, Chris Hewitt has a lovely chat with Josh O'Connor — not about his talk-of-the-town tennis movie, Challengers, but his new film, Alice Rorhwacher's La Chimera, for which O'Connor learned Italian and, effectively, manifested into his life by way of a letter. [20:12 - 35:25 approx] Then, Dan Jolin, our very own Planet Of The Apes expert, sits down with Owen Teague, Freya Allan, and Kevin Durand, the lead trio of the new movie, Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes, for a chaotic chat about rapping apes, deadly spiders, and bare feet. [58:00 - 1:14.05 approx] And finally, Chris has a heartfelt talk with Michael Lindsay-Hogg, the director of the legendary Beatles documentary Let It Be, which is getting a wide release on Disney+ this week after years of being placed on the shelf. [1:39:45 - 1:53:05 approx] Either side of those is a fun episode in which Chris is joined in the podbooth by Helen O'Hara and James Dyer, as they discuss the best films to be adapted from TV shows, review all three of the aforementioned movies plus Jerry Seinfeld's Unfrosted, and tackle most of the week's movie news, including the announcement of a Lord Of The Rings movie directed by and starring Andy Serkis. They'll talk Ralph Ineson as Galactus next week, fear not. Enjoy!

The St. Andrews International Film Festival — or Sands, for short — is now in its third year, bringing some amazing films and filmmakers to the beautiful Scottish town of St. Andrews. It's already something of a tradition for the Empire Podcast's Chris Hewitt to pop up there and have a natter with some of those filmmakers, including Joe Russo, who is one of the festival's chief benefactors. This year, Joe brought his brother Anthony with him for a special screening of Welcome To Collinwood and a Q&A with that film's producer, and the brothers' mentor, Steven Soderbergh, and in this podcast, Chris sits down with the Russos to talk about their experiences on that film, the advance of A.I., nearly killing Spider-Man, and much, much more. But that's not all – this is a Sands special, folks, and within you'll also find Chris chatting with top casting director Debra Zane, Sands Festival Director Ania Trzebkiatowska, and Alan Silvestri, the legendary composer of Back To The Future, Predator, Forrest Gump, and Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. And yes, they do talk about Portals. With something for everyone, this is a cracking podcast special for a cracking new festival. Enjoy.

It's another cracking episode of the Empire Podcast, folks, as Rose Glass, director of Love Lies Bleeding, becomes the first guest to pop into our brand new studio, as she tells Sophie Butcher all about the brilliant and bizarre thriller that is her follow-up to Saint Maud. And Chris Hewitt has a fun and frank chat with the wonderful Winston Duke, star of The Fall Guy, in which they talk about stunts, sponsorship, and a poignant moment that almost made it into Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Either side of those, Chris is joined in the podbooth by Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Kobi Omenaka to tackle a handful of listener questions about Star Wars (May the Fourth be with you, folks), review The Fall Guy, Love Lies Bleeding, and The Idea Of You, and discuss the week's movie news, with an emphasis on trailers. Warning: several wild Lion King-adjacent claims are made that may see your blood pressure rise. Just repeat after us: hakuna matata. There you go. Sorted. Enjoy.

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast is a smash, folks. First off, Alex Godfrey talks to ace actor Mike Faist, star of Luca Guadagnino's new tennis movie, Challengers [23:12 - 37:33 approx.], and then Chris Hewitt has a Zoom session (apologies if the sound is slightly distorted — tech issues) with Kerry Condon, Oscar-nominated star of The Banshees Of Inisherin, voice of F.R.I.D.A.Y. in the MCU, and star of this week's Liam Neeson thriller, In The Lands Of Saints And Sinners. [57:25 - 1:15:29 approx.] Either side of those, Chris hosts in the podbooth and is joined by Helen O'Hara, James Dyer and, for a spell, Sophie Butcher, to discuss the week's movie news, including the latest Deadpool & Wolverine trailer, review Challengers, In The Land Of Saints And Sinners, Boy Kills World, and Rebel Moon Part 2: The Scargiver, and tackle a listener question that has stuck around from last week, and mutated somehow into a Mount Rushmore of directors' tenth movies. Play along at home, why don't you? Enjoy.