Podcast appearances and mentions of James Dyer

Today saw the launch of Empire+, folks, for subscribers. We know you have questions. What is Empire+? What is happening? Why are we seeing the faces of three giggling idiots on the logos? WHAT IS REALITY? We answer those questions and more in this special announcement, in which Chris Hewitt and James Dyer talk you through the concept of Empire+ (what a groundbreaking name), and how you can sign up and subscribe, if you don't already. Also, Chris recommends the greatest crisps in all of crispendom. You're welcome.

This week's Empire Podcast might see Chris Hewitt and Helen O'Hara write their own ticket, folks, as they come up with an idea for Toy Story 6 that should, if there's any justice, be in production by the end of the weekend. Pixar, call us! That comes in the movie news section, where there is also much discussion of trailers and the prospect of a new Jim Carrey Grinch sequel. Either side of those, the gang — Chris, Helen, Amon Warmann, James Dyer, and this week's workie, Juliet Duff, who pops in for a cameo from time to time — talk about the most hellishly hot places in movies, review Supergirl, Jackass: Best And Last, A Private Life, and 500 Miles, and Chris has a lovely natter with Jackass supremos, Johnny Knoxville and Jeff Tremaine, about saying goodbye to the franchise, poop, and catheters. Enjoy!

If this week's Empire Podcast doesn't give you a Buzz, it might at least give you a... wonderful sense of warmth and well-being, as all-round acting legends Tom Hanks and Tim Allen chat to Chris Hewitt about returning as Woody and Buzz Lightyear for Toy Story 5, and their surprising plans to keep working together. [47:02 — 1:01:44 approx] Either side of that, Chris is joined in the podbooth by Helen O'Hara and James Dyer to discuss the strange phenomenon of minor celebrities being asked to lend their voices to animated movies; movies that could have a sequel if you added an 'S' to their title, a la Aliens; look at the week's movie news, including a discussion of the final Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer; discover Helen's hatred for a major Hollywood star; and review Toy Story 5 and Virginia Woolf's Night & Day. To podfinity and beyond!

This week's Empire Podcast sees Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, and James Dyer pack the sunscreen, flip-flops, and oversized hats into a tiny bag as they discuss some of the movie holidays they'd like to take. And yes, they somehow manage to do this without mentioning Roman Holiday, The Holiday, M. Hulot's Holiday, or Mr Bean's Holiday. Any film with the word 'holiday' in it, basically, the colossal eejits. They've been placed on gardening leave as a result. But before that, they also discuss the week's movie news, including 24 Jump Street (with a special cameo), and review Steven Spielberg's latest movie, Disclosure Day, plus Jorma Taccone's Over Your Dead Body, and Peter Mullan drama, The Fall Of Sir Douglas Weatherford. Speaking of Spielberg, Disclosure Day writer David Koepp returns to the podbooth to tell Chris all about how this latest slice of sci-fi came to life. [46:26 - 1:06:00] Enjoy.

This week sees the release of Travis Knight's live-action adaptation of 80s cartoon (and toy line), Masters Of The Universe, so our very own He-Man, Chris Hewitt, sits down on Zoom for a fun chat about films and football with the actual He-Man, Nicholas Galitzine, and Teela, Camila Mendes. [46:56 — 59:46 approx] Then, Chris is joined in the podbooth by Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and He-Dan, Dan Jolin, for a fun episode in which they discuss their favourite movie swords, take a look at the week's movie news including the trailer for Adam Wingard's Onslaught (aka The Guest 2?), and the sensational box office for Backrooms and Obsession. Finally, they review Masters Of The Universe, Brett Goldstein and J-Lo rom-com, Office Romance, Savage House, Madfabulous, and Scary Movie. Enjoy!

Things get awkward on this week's Empire Podcast, folks. Not just because Chris Hewitt seems to be wearing a Skeletor mask for some of it, nor because he's so heat-addled that he forgets to introduce James Dyer properly. No, things get awkward because the team – Chris, James, Helen O'Hara, and Ben Travis – discuss whether it ever gets awkward for them when visiting film sets. Then, our intrepid quartet also discuss the week's movie news, including the shocking news of Paddington 4's potty-mouthed writers, and review Daniel Roher's Tuner, John Carney's Power Ballad, Kane Parsons' Backrooms, and Kristin Scott Thomas' directorial debut, My Mother's Wedding. Oh, and Chris sits down for a lovely chat with Leo Woodall, star of the excellent Tuner, and discovers that Woodall has some hidden talents. Enjoy!

All hail the Alien Queen! For the legendary Sigourney Weaver, star of some of the finest sci-fi films of all time, is our esteemed guest on this week's episode of the Empire Podcast, as she tells Chris Hewitt all about starring in her first Star War, The Mandalorian & Grogu. [44:47 - 58:17 approx] Then, Chris is joined in the podbooth by Helen O'Hara and James Dyer to discuss their predictions for the biggest movies of the year, cast their eye over the week's movie news, including a shocking development in the hunt for the new James Bond, and review The Mandalorian & Grogu, Jack Ryan: Ghost War, and Finding Emily. Oh, and the team eat some burgers, but thankfully they don't bang on about it. Enjoy.

This time it's more. Yes, folks, The Shameless Plug — the show in which Chris Hewitt and Empire editor, Nick de Semlyen, chat about the stories behind the current issue of Empire — is usually a two-hander (well, four hands), but for reasons unknown this month we've also invited James Dyer into the podbooth to add a third pair of hands, and one more mouth. Well, not for reasons unknown, as Jimbo is here to talk about his favourite film, Aliens, which just happens to be the cover film of this month's issue, which is still on sale in all good, evil, and virtual newsagents. So we decided to turn this month's Shameless Plug into an Aliens appreciation special, as well as getting the full story on how we managed to get James Cameron, Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn and Jenette Goldstein to come together on Zoom and natter about Aliens as it hits 40. Elsewhere, our intrepid trio also talk about the rest of the issue, and how it came together, but really, this one is fully focused on Ripley, believe it or not. Enjoy!

Fly, you fools! Yes, that's right, Ian McKellen — the legendary English actor who is Gandalf and Magneto, get over it — is our guest on this week's Empire Podcast, as John Nugent pops over to McKellen's own pub, The Grapes in Limehouse, for a lovely chat about his new film, Steven Soderbergh's The Christophers. [46:32 - 1:00:02 approx] Speaking of Christophers, back in the podbooth Chris Hewitt is joined by Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Harry Stainer for a fun episode in which they discuss the greatest characters who joined franchises after the first film, and whether event cinema is making a comeback. They also run their eye over the week's movie news, including news of a possible Tintin 2, and review Curry Barker's Obsession, The Christophers, The Punisher: One Last Kill, and Ben Wheatley's Bob Odenkirk action fest, Normal. Enjoy!

This week's Empire Podcast sees Alex Godfrey sit down for an audience with music superstar Billie Eilish and her co-director on her new concert movie, Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard And Soft: The Tour Live In 3D, one James Cameron. Blimey! Then Alex slides into the podbooth to join Helen O'Hara, James Dyer and host Chris Hewitt for a fun-filled episode in which they discuss Karl Urban's killiest characters, the best movie farmers, a whole bunch of trailers (including The Odyssey, Evil Dead Burn, and Resident Evil), and review the aforementioned Billie Eilish movie, The Sheep Detectives, Remarkably Bright Creatures, and Mortal Kombat II, a Helen-led review that may be more fun than the film. Oh, and what the hell is Thrawnhub? Enjoy!

This week's Empire Podcast is the kind of episode that could leave other film podcasts in its wake. Mainly because there's a lot of discussion of ships, boats, the high seas and the like. First off, our guests this week are Callum Turner and George Mackay, the British actors who star in Mark Jenkin's latest movie, the fisherman-themed Rose Of Nevada, which is out now, and in a cracking chat with Alex Godfrey, they talk about how they first met, working with the unique Jenkin, and more. Either side of that, Chris Hewitt returns to the host chair after two weeks away, some of which was spent on a cruise ship, and he scrapes the barnacles off long enough to welcome Helen O'Hara (or is it?) and James Dyer into the podbooth to discuss the best ship-related scenes, have a look at the week's movie news, try to convince James of the merits of the Jackass movies, and review the likes of The Devil Wears Prada 2, Rose Of Nevada (with help from an unexpected quarter), Greenland 2: Migration, and new Adam Scott horror, Hokum. You best start believing in Empire Podcasts, Ms Swann... YER IN ONE! Enjoy.

If we told you that this week's episode of the Empire Podcast featured not one but two people banging on about Taylor Swift, odds are you'd reckon one of them was James Dyer. And you'd be wrong. For those people are Ben Travis and David Lowery, director of the new poptastic psychodrama, Mother Mary. Lowery is this week's guest, and he popped into the podbooth to sit down with Ben to talk all about how Taylor Swift influenced part of his approach to the Anne Hathaway-Michael Coel flick, and much, much more, including an ultra-geeky exchange about Star Wars action figures. [36:32 - 58:21 approx] Either side of that, Helen O'Hara welcomes James Dyer and Amon Warmann into the podbooth as they discuss great movie prison breaks and what makes for a good biopic; the week's movie news (at least, the stuff that broke before the pod was recorded... thanks a bunch, Miami Vice '85 casting news and Clayface trailer!); and review Mother Mary, Charlize Theron-Taron Egerton thriller Apex, and Antoine Fuqua's Michael Jackson biopic, Michael. Enjoy.

This month's episode of The Shameless Plug sees Chris Hewitt away and James Dyer stepping in to sit down once more with Empire editor/podcast hostage Nick De Semlyen for a look at the new issue. In a complete upending of the entire format, Nick goes rogue and decides to inject a little drama into the mix by listing his ten favourite things from the new issue (without telling James what they are). Are all of them James' Dunesplaining breakdown of the new Dune: Part 3 trailer? No, no they're not. It's unclear why.

Welcome back to the Wilderness Medic Podcast- after some time away it is great to be back talking to exciting people from the world of expedition medicine, adventure and travel.Opening season 4 is a super interesting chat with James Dyer. James and I were in Zambia together a few years ago and during this episode we discuss his journey, expedition skills and what expedition leaders look for in medics- essential listening!Note to listeners: this podcast was recorded in March 2025

Ok, first things first. Let's get it out of the way. Yes, the Empire Podcast team — Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and John Nugent — spend a great deal of this week's podcast answering a listener question about great movie quartets. They also spend a great deal of time, in the Movie News section, talking about The Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum. And yes, despite all that, they spectacularly fail to mention Bilbo, Samwise, Merry and Pippin in the former category. So, just letting you know that now lest you wish to shout at your podcast device of choice. Forewarned is forearmed and all that. Or maybe fourwarned is more apt in this case. Anyway, it's a fun episode in which our own quartet also talk Taskmaster series 21, discuss other nuggets of movie news, and review James McAvoy's directorial debut, California Schemin', Francois Ozon's The Stranger, rom-com You, Me & Tuscany, and podcasting horror, Undertone. And Chris has a lovely chat with James McAvoy, who pops into the podbooth to talk about directing for the first time. [41:45 - 1:00:32 approx] Oh, and the group make tentative and fun plans with this week's work experience person. Enjoy.

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast is an Easter bonanza, folks, that sees Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, and James Dyer (with new honorific firmly in place, at least for now) discuss the best resurrections in movies, wax lyrical about Richard Kind in The Producers, and cast their learned eyes over a glut of movie trailers, including the new one for Supergirl, and review Fuze, The Drama, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice. Speaking of Fuze, Chris has a lovely chat with that film's star and director, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and David Mackenzie, about their heist thriller, accents, working on a building site, and more. Pop this pod in the fridge, smash it from a great height, and feast on the shards of film-related fun. Enjoy!

This week's Empire Podcast sees us clamber into the Magic Faraway Tree to talk with the writer and director, respectively, of the brand new Enid Blyton adaptation, Simon Farnaby and Ben Gregor, who tell Alex Godfrey all about how they branched out. Ahem. Either side of that, Chris Hewitt hosts Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Kobi Omenaka to discuss their favourite movie trees and competence porn; run their eye over the week's movie news, including the revelation that Stephen Colbert is co-writing a new Lord Of The Rings movie; and review Splitsville, They Will Kill You, and The Magic Faraway Tree. Enjoy!

Snakes! Why did it have to be snakes? Because St. Patrick's Day was earlier this week, and to celebrate the man who drove all the snakes out of Ireland ("you alright in the back there, lads?") this week's Empire Podcast sees Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Beth Webb discuss some of their favourite snake moments in films. Or fillums. Then, our intrepid quartet get their parseltongues into the week's deluge of movie news, including the Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Dune Part 3 trailers, and they look back at the Oscars as well. Reviews-wise, Phil Lord & Chris Miller's Project Hail Mary, Radio Silence's Ready Or Not: Here I Come, Ugo Bienvenu's Arco, and Gus Van Sant's Dead Man's Wire are given the once-over, while the wonderful Lord and Miller are this week's guests, sitting down for a lovely natter about puppets, space, and much more with Chris. [55:48 - 1:10:19 approx] Oh, and James edges closer to a new nickname. Enjoy!

This week's Empire Podcast is the second of the year to fall on a Friday the 13th (November will complete the hat-trick), and so the podteam — Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Ben Travis — discuss the life and work of one Jason Voorhees, and head off in a rather unexpected direction. Speaking of unexpected directions, they also pop off to space to discuss their favourite movie astronauts (SPOILERS for some space films, including Gravity), run their collective eye over the week's movie news, including the new Disclosure Day trailer, Quentin Tarantino's newly-announced play, and Arnie's perhaps premature announcement of King Conan. They also review War Machine (again, with a SPOILER WARNING attached), Reminders Of Him, and How To Make A Killing. And guest-wise, Chris sits down with the great Tim Roth, star of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, from 44:40 - 1:01:50 to talk about improvising the movie's opening line, not watching his own movies, and his love of Would I Lie To You? Which is, in fact, true. Enjoy!

This week's Empire Podcast sees Chris Hewitt sit down with The Bride! herself, Jessie Buckley, and her writer/director, Maggie Gyllenhaal, for a lovely chat about their wildly ambitious new movie, The Bride!, which daringly reframes the story of the Bride Of Frankenstein. [22:21 - 40:21 approx] Either side of that, Chris is joined in the podbooth by Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Alex Godfrey to cast their eye over the week's movie news, including the latest developments in the Warner Bros takeover, and news of a Ghosts movie; review The Bride!, Pixar's Hoppers, and Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man; and discuss the movie mums they wish they'd been raised by. Oh, and Chris tries and fails to do a Birmingham accent. We can only apologise to the whole of the Midlands. Enjoy.

This week's Empire Podcast sees Chris Hewitt sit down in a London hotel room with Amanda Seyfried and Mona Fastvold, star and director respectively of the audacious new musical biopic, The Testament Of Ann Lee. It's a conversation that takes in everything from wearing T-shirts with your face on it to the trick of choreographing incredibly complex dance numbers, and is a ton of fun. That starts around 42:18 and finishes around 1:02:50. Elsewhere, Chris is joined in the podbooth by Helen O'Hara, James Dyer and, for the first time on the regular pod, Evolution Of Horror host Mike Muncer, as they discuss movie news including the BAFTAs and the latest Toy Story 5 trailer, answer questions on what movie-related thing they'd give up for Lent, the movie juries they'd like to be on (or not), and run their critical eye over Scream 7, The Testament Of Ann Lee, Sirat, and The Bluff. Oh, and Chris finally gets round to explaining how, and why, he nearly stepped on Florence Pugh's dress. Enjoy.

Want to know the story of how Chris Hewitt almost stepped on Florence Pugh's dress? Well, this isn't the podcast for you, as it features Chris and Helen O'Hara trying to tell that tale, from the press night of Cynthia Erivo's Dracula (sorry, Draclier), only to get sidetracked by a dozen different things and forget to finish it. But if you want to hear Chris, Helen, James Dyer, and John Nugent talk about movie characters falling from great heights, pay tribute to the great Robert Duvall, discuss the latest The Mandalorian And Grogu trailer, and review The Secret Agent, Good Luck Have Fun Don't Die, Wasteman and If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, this is the podcast for you. Oh, and Chris and Helen launch new careers as theatre reviewers too. Guest-wise, Harry Stainer talks to the Oscar-nominated star of the Brazilian thriller, The Secret Agent, one Wagner Moura, and his director, Kleber Mendonça Filho. It's a cracking episode, even if we're still nowhere nearer to finding a nickname for Tin Jim. Enjoy.

Love is very much in the air on the Empire Podcast this week, as Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Becky Darke cram themselves into the podbooth and get all misty-eyed over Jason Voorhees, the masked maniac from the Friday The 13th movies, just in time for his birthday. But Valentine's Day also looms large this weekend, so the podteam answer a listener question about the worst choices made in rom-coms. The answers will shock you. Elsewhere, our intrepid quartet discuss the week's movie news, including the shock news that Mike Flanagan has decided to adapt a Stephen King story, and review Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights, Bart Layton's Crime 101, Corin Hardy's Whistle, and Hasan Hadi's The President's Cake. And Helen sits down on Zoom with Emerald Fennell to ask her all about her adaptation of the classic novel. [45:29 - 1:02:11 approx] Enjoy!

This week's Empire Podcast sees Chris Hewitt sit down for a delightfully dotty chat with Send Help stars, Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien, who talk about being directed by Sam Raimi with a paper bag over his head, pretending to know how to play golf, and delivering the greatest line reading of all time. There are no spoilers here, but maybe wait until you've seen Send Help before listening. Either side of that, Chris is joined in the podbooth by Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Amon Warmann as they use Steven Spielberg's elevation to EGOT status to Mount Rushmore the greatest EGOTs of them all. They also bid a sad farewell to Catherine O'Hara and pore over the pictures of Sam Mendes' Beatles in the news section, while a packed reviews section sees them run their collective critical eye over Send Help, Riz Ahmed's Hamlet, My Father's Shadow, The Chronology Of Water, another Dylan O'Brien movie in Twinless, and 100 Nights Of Hero. Oh, and James may have got a new nickname at last. Enjoy.

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast sees Chris Hewitt sit down with Bradley Cooper and Will Arnett, director, co-writers, and stars of the new dramedy, Is This Thing On?, which takes inspiration from the real-life story of British comedian, John Bishop. It's an in-depth chat that we bring to you in full (although we did cut out a bit where someone poured a glass of water. Sorry to all you water completists out there), and it's well worth your time. It starts at 55:50 approx and runs until 1:20:14 approx. Either side of that, Chris is joined in the podbooth by Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Alex Godfrey for a fun episode in which they discuss the movie moments guaranteed to make them cry no matter how many times they've seen them; run their eyes over what passes for movie news (it was quite a slow week); review Is This Thing On?, action-comedy The Wrecking Crew, Jason Statham's Shelter, mad monkey movie Primate; and Richard Linklater's love letter to the French New Wave, Nouvelle Vague. Oh, and we make good on last week's promise, and bring you James, Helen, and Chris tackling their specialist subjects in a round that pays homage to classic BBC quiz show, Mastermind. It's pure chaos. Thanks to Magneto Magnetosson, for stepping in at short notice to host. Enjoy.

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast sees Chris Hewitt sit down with two wonderful guests — first, we strap Chris Pratt to a chair (metaphorically speaking, that is) and ask him about his new thriller, Mercy, in which he does battle with an A.I. judge played by Rebecca Ferguson; [25:50 - 40:14 approx] and then Claire Foy, star of this week's moving drama, H Is For Hawk, drops by the office to talk about working with goshawks and Gleeson, Brendan. [1:13:07 - 1:32:55 approx] Both are delights, we're sure you'll agree. Either side of those, Chris is joined in the podbooth by Helen O'Hara, James Dyer and, briefly, Beth Webb for a fun episode in which they reveal their specialist subject on Mastermind, discuss great movie doctors, review No Other Choice, Saipan, Mercy, The History Of Sound, and H Is For Hawk, and go all-in on Oscar nominations discussion in a bumper-sized movie news section. It's all here, apart from the bits we cut out. Enjoy!

The first in-studio Empire Podcast of the year, following hot on the heels of our triumphant live episode at Kings Place, sees Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and John Nugent get together to discuss their New Year's resolutions and define what 'cinema' means for them in 2026; review 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, The Rip, and Rental Family, and discuss the week's movie news. Guest-wise, Chris has lovely chats with two twosomes — Ralph Fiennes and Chi Lewis-Parry (yes, back for more after the live show, even if this was recorded months before the live show) from 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, and Rental Family's star/director duo, Brendan Fraser and Hikari. Oh, and James tells a joke. Enjoy!

It's been delayed by lurgy, but at last it's here, folks: the latest landmark in the Empire Podcast's epic journey, as we reach our 700th episode (not counting all the interview specials, spoiler specials, and sundry other specials). Recorded live, as is tradition, at Kings Place, London, on Friday January 9, it's a near three-hour odyssey of film-related fun, as Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Ben Travis talk about movie news (Avengers Doomsday trailers! Avatar box office! Tangled casting!), review Hamnet, Giant, and Song Sung Blue, and then take questions from our capacity crowd. And we have more guests than you could shake an Infinity Stone at, as Corin Hardy and Dafne Keen, director and star of new horror movie Whistle, drop by and try to kill our audience; director Bart Layton tells Alex Godfrey all about his new movie, Crime 101; Ben Wheatley returns to the live pod to chat with Beth Webb about his new mind-melting movie, Bulk; 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple stars Alfie Williams, Erin Kellyman, and Chi Lewis-Parry drop by to talk with Ben Travis about their infected follow-up; and the Russo Brothers themselves, Joe and Anthony, stop by (Joe on Zoom from Los Angeles) to say as much as they can about Avengers Doomsday without giving anything away. The guest interviews section runs from 50:22 - 2:22:36 [approx]. Thanks, as ever, to our guests for being so gracious with their time, everyone who made it happen, Kings Place, DNA for the great spot prizes, and you guys for supporting us through 700 episodes. We're only just getting warmed up. Enjoy!

With the Empire Podcast team still in hibernation until the first show of 2026 (our live show at Kings Place, London, on Jan 9 — check kingsplace.co.uk for last-minute tickets), we're plugging the gap where the regular podcast would usually be with something a little different: a look ahead to the films of 2026, in which Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, and James Dyer sit down in the podbooth and, armed with nothing but a calendar, scant research, and some terrible opinions, talk about the films they're excited to see in the year ahead. It's all here, from the unexpected proliferation of sheep-based movies to the biggest box office double date since Barbenheimer: Dunesday. Enjoy — and Happy New Year to all our listeners!

And so, as 2025 disappears off into the distance, it's the most wonderful time of what's left of the year, as the Empire Podcast team get together in the podbooth for their marathon deep dive/look back at the cinematic year that was. Join Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, and James Dyer for this near-three-hour behemoth in which they go through the year month by month, tackle a couple of listener questions, run their eye over Empire's top 20 films of the year, and trot out enough film-related fun, absolute nonsense, and hot takes to keep you warm throughout January and beyond. Oh, and even though they were all very tired when recording this podcast, they barely mention it. Happy New Year to all our listeners, except that one guy. He knows what he did. Enjoy!

The final Empire Podcast of the year is here, folks, and it's a bumper-sized jamboree, longer than usual and hopefully fit to tide you over until we return with Episode 700 (live from Kings Place) on January 11th. For the first time ever, the revolving fourth chair revolves wildly during the pod itself, so Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, and James Dyer are joined by John Nugent, to answer listeners' questions; Beth Webb, to review Avatar: Fire And Ash, Sentimental Value, Marty Supreme, and The Housemaid; and Alex Godfrey, who joins the team for the News section to pay an extended tribute to the great Rob Reiner, who was so senselessly and shockingly slain, along with his wife Michelle Singer Reiner, this week. Guest-wise, our stocking is truly stuffed, as Chris has lovely chats with Wake Up Dead Man star, and all-round legend, Glenn Close, and Avatar antagonist, Colonel Miles Quaritch himself, Stephen Lang; while Beth has a joyous sit-down with Marty Supreme director, Josh Safdie. We hope you enjoy it. Thanks so much for listening to and supporting the pod this year — Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and we'll see you in 2026.

They all float down here. Now that It: Welcome To Derry, the prequel to Andy Muschietti's It Chapter One and It Chapter Two, has finished its eight-episode run, the Empire Podcast has teamed up with Warner Bros. to bring you a special episode in which Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, and James Dyer conquer their fears of clowns, spiders, and spider-clowns just long enough to talk about the Andy Muschietti/Barbara Muschietti/Jason Fuchs-created show, its Stephen King connections, its brand new characters, its setting (1962 Derry, Maine), and, of course, Bill Skarsgård's Pennywise, The Dancing Clown, who's back for another bout of bloody mayhem. While not a spoiler special, our very own Losers Club do delve into the show's major twists and turns, so if you haven't seen all eight episodes, they're available to buy now on digital platforms, or you can pre-order them on DVD, Blu-ray, 4K UHD or steelbook from warnerbros.co.uk

They all float down here. Now that It: Welcome To Derry, the prequel to Andy Muschietti's It Chapter One and It Chapter Two, has finished its eight-episode run, the Empire Podcast has teamed up with Warner Bros. to bring you a special episode in which Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, and James Dyer conquer their fears of clowns, spiders, and spider-clowns just long enough to talk about the Andy Muschietti/Barbara Muschietti/Jason Fuchs-created show, its Stephen King connections, its brand new characters, its setting (1962 Derry, Maine), and, of course, Bill Skarsgård's Pennywise, The Dancing Clown, who's back for another bout of bloody mayhem. While not a spoiler special, our very own Losers Club do delve into the show's major twists and turns, so if you haven't seen all eight episodes, they're available to buy now on digital platforms, or you can pre-order them on DVD, Blu-ray, 4K UHD or steelbook from warnerbros.co.uk

Boogie Nights wasn't Paul Thomas Anderson's first movie (that was Hard Eight), but it's the film that put him firmly on the map, and served notice that here was a serious filmmaking force. And with the release of a remastered 4K UHD version of Boogie Nights on Monday, December 15, it's the perfect time for the Empire Podcast team — Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Alex Godfrey — to sit down, in association with Warner Bros., and discuss Boogie Nights and PTA's career in general. It's a real podcast, Jack. Enjoy.

The penultimate regular Empire Podcast of the year is here, folks (don't worry, there are specials galore on the way), and it's a belter. Guest-wise, we have more goodies under the tree, as Jamie Graham talks to longtime collaborators Shih-Ching Tsou and Sean Baker (the director of Anora) about Tsou's directorial debut, Left-Handed Girl, which can be seen on Netflix; [25:27 - 41:51 approx] and Chris Hewitt has lovely chats with Wake Up Dead Man suspects, Daryl McCormack and Cailee Spaeny, [1:04:42 - 1:19:44 approx] and the legendary James L. Brooks, who returns to directing this week with Ella McCay. [1:40:42 - 1:54:01 approx] Either side of that little lot, Chris is joined in the podbooth by Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Beth Webb for more Christmas movie shenanigans, including a discussion of their favourite Christmas movie songs, and where they'd like to spend Christmas if they were in a movie. You'll be staggered to know that a certain plaza in LA gets a mention. The team also talk about the Golden Globe nominations and the potential Netflix acquisition of Warner Bros. (this episode was recorded before the Supergirl trailer launched, sadly), and they review Wake Up Dead Man (again), Eleanor The Great, Goodbye June, and Fackham Hall, which sees an Empire Podcast first. You'll have to listen to find out what that is. Enjoy!

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast sees Christmas on our mind as we enter December, and accordingly we deliver a sackful of great guests to you, our loyal and loving listeners. First off, Chris Hewitt goes to Taron Egerton's actual flat (smells divine... and the flat wasn't bad either) to sit down with him for a candid chat about his career, his new film She Rides Shotgun, and whether or not he knows his lines. [21:05 - 38:44 approx] Then, Chris sits down with two of his absolute faves, George Clooney and Adam Sandler, for a riotous conversation about their new movie, Jay Kelly, basketball, and accents. [1:03:17 - 1:22:31 approx] And finally Chris talks to Wicked: For Good director, Jon M. Chu, in an excerpt from our upcoming spoiler special for that movie. [1:43:57 - 1:55:17 approx] Either side of those, Chris is joined in the podbooth by Helen O'Hara and James Dyer to review Jay Kelly, She Rides Shotgun, It Was Just An Accident, and Eternity; discuss the week's movie news (a ton of which broke after we had finished recording, as ever); and answer the first Christmas-related questions of the year, which leads to an unexpected Die Hard/Love Actually mash-up, and the team trying to figure out how to take down an Infinity Gauntlet-wielding Santa Claus. Oh, and our intrepid trio also dig into Quentin Tarantino's recently revealed list of his 20 favourite films of the 21st Century, and his accompanying comments about Paul Dano. Enjoy!

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast sees Chris Hewitt sit down with two actors who star in animated movies (and ask them both about their favourite things to do in London). First, Simu Liu Zooms in to talk about new Netflix family flick, In Your Dreams, plus his own dreams, and the return of Shang-Chi to the MCU. [21:38 - 38:30 approx] Then, Ke Huy Quan, star of Zootropolis 2, drops by to share his memories of working on Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom, and his theories about snakes. [57:06 - 1:10:54 approx] And, finally, Ben Travis has a lovely natter with Richard Linklater and Ethan Hawke, who have teamed up once again on Blue Moon. [1:36:55 - 1:49:54 approx] Either side of that little lot, Chris is joined in the podbooth by Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Alex Godfrey to chat about what passes for movie news in a week featuring the Thanksgiving break; review Zootropolis 2, Wake Up Dead Man, Pillion, Christy, and Blue Moon; and discuss the best movies set in Scotland. Does that mean Scottish accents abound? Jings! As ever, our apologies to the people of Scotland. Oh, and a famous detective drops by for a cameo. Enjoy!

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast sees the podteam — Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, and James Dyer — play themselves as they discuss great 'as themselves' performances in the movies. They also run their collective eye over the week's movie news, including heartening Star Trek developments, review Train Dreams, Wicked: For Good, Playdate, and Sisu: Road To Revenge, and talk about Black Friday bargains into the bargain. Interview-wise, our cup runneth over as ever, as Chris has interesting chats with The Thing With Feathers star/director, Benedict Cumberbatch and Dylan Southern; [20:57 - 36:22 approx] Train Dreams star/director, Joel Edgerton and Clint Bentley; [59:10 - 1:15:34 approx] and Now You See Me: Now You Don't star/not director, Ariana Greenblatt. [1:39:14 - 1:53:45 approx] And if anyone wants the Empire Podcast made available as a sleep story, please do get in touch. Enjoy!

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast would surely deserve to get a full fat five points from Greg Davies, the Taskmaster himself, as Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and John Nugent apply themselves wholeheartedly (some more wholeheartedly than others, it must be said) to deciding which Taskmaster contestant has appeared in the best film. Then, the podteam take a look at the week's movie news and, in a bumper reviews section, cast their eyes over Edgar Wright's The Running Man, Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein, Ruben Fleischer's Now You See Me: Now You Don't, Julia Ducournau's Alpha, Gurinder Chadha's Christmas Karma, and James Vanderbilt's Nuremberg. Three of those movies provide this week's guests, as Edgar Wright drops by the podbooth to natter with Chris about The Running Man, and meeting Stephen King; [21:43 - 33:05 approx] Now You Three Me's Isla Fisher and Rosamund Pike talk magic and manky accents, again with Chris; [56:16 - 1:09:05 approx] and Michael Shannon talks Nuremberg and (mostly) R.E.M., also with Chris. [1:42:53 - 1:55:38 approx] Oh, and there's a huge revelation about the pod itself lurking within there somewhere. Forget what you think you know... and enjoy.

Blimey, this week's episode of the Empire Podcast is star-studded, and then some. First, Chris Hewitt chats with Die, My Love star, Jennifer Lawrence, and director Lynne Ramsay, about unpredictability on set and receiving an email from Martin Scorsese; then, he has a crash course in Yautja from Predator: Badlands stars Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi and Elle Fanning; and then Alex Godfrey pops up to have a lovely natter with the stars of new drama, Anemone, Sean Bean and Daniel Day-Lewis, returning to acting after a long hiatus. Then, Chris is joined in the podbooth by Alex, James Dyer and, dialling in (hence the odd glitch here and there), Helen O'Hara to discuss just how much they want to see a Steven Soderbergh-directed Star Wars movie, which Ghostface they could take in a fight, the week's movie news (including resurrections for The Mummy, Gremlins, and Miss Piggy), and their thoughts on Predator: Badlands, The Choral, Anemone, and Die, My Love. Enjoy!

Blimey, this week's episode of the Empire Podcast is star-studded, and then some. First, Chris Hewitt chats with Die, My Love star, Jennifer Lawrence, and director Lynne Ramsay, about unpredictability on set and receiving an email from Martin Scorsese; then, he has a crash course in Yautja from Predator: Badlands stars Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi and Elle Fanning; and then Alex Godfrey pops up to have a lovely natter with the stars of new drama, Anemone, Sean Bean and Daniel Day-Lewis, returning to acting after a long hiatus. Then, Chris is joined in the podbooth by Alex, James Dyer and, dialling in (hence the odd glitch here and there), Helen O'Hara to discuss just how much they want to see a Steven Soderbergh-directed Star Wars movie, which Ghostface they could take in a fight, the week's movie news (including resurrections for The Mummy, Gremlins, and Miss Piggy), and their thoughts on Predator: Badlands, The Choral, Anemone, and Die, My Love. Enjoy!

It's Halloween, folks, so this week's episode of the Empire Podcast is extra-spooky, with Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Beth Webb get way too invested in a listener question about the horror movie death that they would want for themselves. Just keep repeating: it's only a podcast, it's only a podcast, it's only a podcast. Elsewhere, our Core Four talk about the new Scream 7 trailer, the Hello Kitty movie and more in the news section, and they review A House Of Dynamite, Ballad Of A Small Player, Bugonia, and Relay. Guest-wise, we're loaded to the gills, as Chris chats with Ballad Of A Small Player director Edward Berger [24:30 - 38:01 approx] and The Hand That Rocks The Cradle stars, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Maika Monroe [1:38:05 - 1:52:44 approx], while Harry Stainer talks Bugonia with that film's director, Yorgos Lanthimos. [56:00 - 1:09:18 approx] Oh, and Chris sings that song. No, not that one. The other one. Just in time for All Hallow's Eve. Enjoy...

This week's Empire Podcast sees Chris Hewitt struggle with the enunciation of one word in particular (you'll have to listen to find out which). Incredibly, it's not 'Howl-o-ween', which is just one of the many things discussed by Chris and his three colleagues of such lethal cunning, Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Ben Travis. They get their teeth into movies in which a main character is ill, talk about the shock revelation that Adam Driver and Steven Soderbergh had developed a literal Solo movie for Kylo Ren, and review Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, Nia DaCosta's Hedda, and Kelly Reichardt's The Mastermind. Guest-wise, we have a veritable bounty as Helen has a lovely chat with Nia DaCosta, and Chris talks to Jeremy Strong, star of the Springsteen flick; and has a joyous natter about the end of the world with Rebecca Ferguson and Kathryn Bigelow, star and director respectively of A House Of Dynamite, which is now out on Netflix. No timecodes yet, as the guy who writes this blurb has to leg it to a screening. But they're roughly 23 minutes, one hour and three minutes in, and one hour and 38 minutes in. Enjoy!

This week's Empire Podcast sees Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara and James Dyer pay tribute to two cinematic greats who left us this week: the legendary Oscar-winning actress, Diane Keaton, and Drew Struzan, the artist who defined posters, and people's walls, for decades. Struzan's work inspires this week's question, which asks our trio to identify the greatest poster of all time. Elsewhere in the show, they discuss the week's movie news, including the return of Sam Raimi, and review Roofman, After The Hunt, Black Phone 2, and briefly discuss Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein and Edward Berger's Ballad Of A Small Player. Guest-wise, our cup overfloweth yet again, as Chris sits down on Zoom (sorry about his audio track, he didn't have access to his microphone) with Rebecca Miller, director of the excellent Apple documentary about Martin Scorese, Mr. Scorsese, [25:26 - 40:19 approx] and in person with the delightful stars of Roofman, Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst. [1:04:01 - 1:19:13 approx] And Sophie Butcher has a lovely chat with Black Phone 2 stars, Mason Thames (who, contrary to what Chris thinks, does not pronounce his name like the river) and Madeleine McGraw. [1:43:07 - 1:58:08 approx] Enjoy!

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast sees Alex Godfrey display his versatility as an interviewer, going from utter chaos with Tron Ares stars Greta Lee & Jodie Turner-Smith [22:46 - 34:31 approx] and Gillian Anderson [1:33:01 - 1:43:53 approx] to a heartfelt and passionate chat with Robert Aramayo, star of this week's excellent drama, I Swear, about a man who finds himself dealing with Tourette's [54:06 - 1:13:25 approx]. Either side of those, Chris Hewitt returns to the podbooth after his bout with The Cove, and is joined by Helen O'Hara and James Dyer for a discussion of their picks at this year's London Film Festival, and the film they think might be the best American effort produced this century. They also talk about Ocean's 14, Linda McCartney, and Heat 2 in the news section, and run their eyes over Tron Ares, I Swear, and the dog vs demon horror movie, Good Boy. Oh, and Chris wishes Helen well. Enjoy.

This week's Empire Podcast sees us welcome another hat-trick of wonderful guests, as Chris Hewitt has lovely chats with The Smashing Machine writer-director (and Happy Gilmore 2 villain), Benny Safdie, [24:13 - 40:39 approx] and bona fide acting legend, Malcolm McDowell, star of new WWII drama, The Partisan (please excuse the sound quality of Chris' mic); [59:42 - 1:13:48 approx] while John Nugent sits down with Urchin director, Harris Dickinson, about making his directorial debut with the acclaimed drama. [1:37:05 - 1:52:43 approx] Either side of those, Chris doesn't let a little thing like Covid-19 stop him from hosting this week, dialling in to the podbooth (again, please do forgive the odd attendant audio glitch) to have all kinds of film-related fun with Helen O'Hara and James Dyer. The trio discuss some of the best final films from acting greats, run their eyes over Urchin, Play Dirty, The Smashing Machine, and Him, and find the week's movie news to be so lacking that they wind up doing an impromptu Simpsons quiz. Oh, and James is all giddy this week, after a close encounter with none other than Taylor Swift. To find out how close she came to being on this show, or a Cats retro spoiler special, you're going to have to listen. Enjoy.

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast is one of those jam-packed ones in which we specialise. Guest-wise, Chris Hewitt is blessed with the presence of our old chum, Brett Goldstein, who talks beards, bums, and baring his soul in new romantic drama, All Of You; [18:37 - 36:33 approx] and Chris also has a lovely chat with Emma Thompson as she enters her action hero era in Dead Of Winter. [1:01:07 - 1:16:03 approx] And if that weren't enough, Alex Godfrey talks Leonardo DiCaprio and car chases with One Battle After Another director, Paul Thomas Anderson. [1:40:45 - 1:57:06 approx] Then, in the podbooth, Chris is joined, after a week away, by Helen O'Hara and James Dyer to discuss which dystopian gameshow they would do best in, cast their eyes over the week's movie news, including a bunch of trailers, and review all three of the films listed above (with a little help from Alex). Enjoy.

With Chris off on the fairway, taking his first proper holiday in approximately 20 years, its up to Helen O'Hara and James Dyer — the newly appointed Archbishop of Nerdbury — to hold down the fort, ably assisted by Empire news editor and former Pilot TV stalwart Beth Webb. Between the three of them, they do their level best not to refer to Cillian Murphy and Tim Mielants' latest film as Steeeeeeeeeeeeeeeve, which is for the best as both actor and director join us on this week's show, as does Sean Penn who chats to Alex about One Battle After Another. As well as Steve, we also review A Big Bold Beautiful Journey and The Lost Bus, but all all film chat is summarily derailed by this week's listener question, which opens the floodgates for an outpouring of nostalgia as we worship at the altar of ‘80s children's TV, including a certain pink and white stuffed cat.

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast might just go ahead, make your day, as Chris Hewitt (having recovered from a colleague-inflicted mischief) invites Helen O'Hara and James Dyer into the podbooth for a discussion of the best films directed by Clint Eastwood. Amazingly, The Rookie is given short shrift. Then, our intrepid trio take a look at the week's movie news, including the surprising return of Michael Caine, and review The Long Walk, Spinal Tap II: The Grand Finale, and Downton Abbey: The End Continues. Or is it Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, and Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale? Either way, it's a big episode for Downton fans, as Hugh Bonneville and Allen Leech bid farewell to the cultural juggernaut in the best way possible, by talking to Boyd Hilton. [1:04:33 - 1:16:31 approx] And Chris has a wonderful time talking tennis and more with Islands star Sam Riley, making a triumphant return to the podcast. [27:44 - 43:45 approx] Oh, and Noel Coward pops in for a little song, which is nice. Enjoy.

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast asks perhaps the biggest question ever tackled on this show: who would win in a fight between the Gleesons and the Skarsgårds? Join Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Amon Warmann, as they tackle that scenario and more. Is the world truly ready for the Coppola clan kicking bottom? Elsewhere, our intrepid quartet discuss the week's movie news (Star Wars! Superman! Lara Croft!), including a discussion of the trailer for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple that discusses spoilers for 28 Years Later. So, if you wish to skip, that runs from 53:44 - 58:00 approx. Oh, and they also review Spike Lee's reunion with Denzel Washington, Highest 2 Lowest, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, Ethan Coen's Honey Don't, and Orlando Bloom's searing boxing drama, The Cut. In fact, Orlando is one of our guests this week, joining The Cut's director Sean Ellis to chat with Chris on Zoom about the extreme lengths, physical and otherwise, he went to for the film. [1:08:37 - 1:25:12 approx] And Chris also sits down in the podbooth with MJ Bassett, director of the brand new version of Red Sonja, for a candid conversation about MJ's long-held determination to make a Red Sonja movie, her recent decision to leave the United States to return to Britain, and much, much more. [22:22 - 40:22 approx] Enjoy.