The Empire Film Podcast Bauer Media

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.

Phew! After last week's single-guest situation, we're back to our bumper-sized best on this week's Empire Podcast. One of our favourite interviewees, Dan Stevens, returns to the pod after a brief hiatus, to tell Chris Hewitt all about his new film, Abigail, and his all-timer of a character intro in Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire. Warning: Chris and Dan also discuss the origin of Dan's true character name in Abigail, which some might consider a mild spoiler. So be careful! Chris also has a lovely chat this week with Ed Skrein and Fra Fee, the villainous duo from Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon Part 2: The Scargiver. The trio talk about many things — accents, acting, Northern Ireland — but not, repeat, not football. And finally, the two Alex Gs — Godfrey and Garland — get together for a deep dive into Civil War, in an extended excerpt from our forthcoming spoiler special interview. Either side of that little lot, Chris is joined in the podbooth by Alex Godfrey, Sophie Butcher, and the late James Dyer (he's not dead, he just didn't show up on time) for a fun and occasionally deranged episode in which they discuss filmmakers who have made ten films, the week's movie news including Quentin Tarantino reportedly putting The Movie Critic to one side, and review Abigail, Sometimes I Think About Dying, and The Book Of Clarence. Enjoy.

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast is perhaps less jam-packed and bumper-sized than normal, as we only have one guest. But what a guest, as Marisa Abela — terrific as Amy Winehouse in Sam Taylor-Johnson's Back To Black, the biopic of the iconic singer — talks to Chris Hewitt about the role, from the moment she got it to the gift she received at wrap. That can be found from 45:15 - 1:03:23 (approx). Then, in the brand new podbooth, Chris is joined by Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Alex Godfrey to discuss Helen's attempt to murder James on the recent tour, tackle a listener question about what they like to watch on planes, discuss (most of) the week's movie news (as this was recorded before a ton of news came out of CinemaCon in Vegas; that will be tackled next week), and review Alex Garland's Civil War, the McGregorapalooza that is Bleeding Love, and Back To Black. Oh, and Chris makes an early play for this year's British Podcast Awards. We're gonna sweep the board in Categories That Don't Exist. Enjoy.

This week's Empire Podcast has more guests than the Overlook Hotel, all chatting to Chris Hewitt about their new movies. First, producer Jordan Peele tells Chris why he was so taken by Dev Patel's directorial debut, Monkey Man, that he came on board to help it get a theatrical release. Plus, they also talk why Peele is no longer acting. [15:40 - 30:56 approx] Then, Rufus Sewell — who plays Prince Andrew in Scoop, a film based on the infamous 2019 Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis — and director Philip Martin talk about the task of playing one of the most famous men on the planet. [44:28 - 59:38 approx] And finally, while The First Omen — the prequel to The Omen, which shall henceforth be known as The Second Omen — is a terrifying tour de force, Chris' interview with its stars, Nell Tiger Free and Bill Nighy, is anything but as they talk about being dressed by the Vatican, being hit by lightning, and decapitations. [1:19:23 - 1:37:04 approx] Either side of all of those, Chris is joined in the podbooth by Helen O'Hara and, making a rare appearance on the podcast, Empire contributor Neil Alcock, who talks about his new Alfred Hitchcock book, Hitchology, which is out now. The trio also discuss which British sitcom stars should have made it on the big screen, tackle the week's movie news (in which Neil is Galactusplained to by Chris), and review The First Omen, Monkey Man, and Scoop. It's all for you, Empire Podcast listeners! Enjoy.