The Empire Film Podcast

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.