The Empire Film Podcast

This week's episode of The Interviews sees two dynamic duos drop in for lovely cinema-connected chats. First, Chris Hewitt comes face-to-face with Austin Abrams and Josh Brolin, the actors who play out a fractious father-son relationship in Brian Duffield's Whalefall, in which Abrams gets trapped inside the stomach of a sperm whale, and they talk about what scares them as actors, filming inside a giant stomach, and more. Then, Alex Godfrey has a lovely chat, some of it concerning pick & mix, with Kitao Sakurai and Andrew Koji, the director and star respectively of Street Fighter, the film which adapts the classic fighting video game. Hadoukens at the ready!

"Suddenly Empire is standing beside you/talking about Frank Oz for hours on end/Suddenly Empire is here to provide you/Sweet understanding..." of Oz' classic 1986 movie musical Little Shop Of Horrors, which has been given the 40th Anniversary Collectors' Edition treatment (in stores and available online from Monday October 19, fact fans). In this special podcast, in association with Warner Home Video, Chris Hewitt is joined by James Dyer and Little Shop superfan, Helen O'Hara, to talk about the film's long road to cult classic status, its famous original ending, which can now be seen on the Director's Cut edition of the movie, the terrific performances from the likes of Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene and Steve Martin, the Alan Menken/Howard Ashman songs (earworms galore!) and, of course, that mean green mother from outer space, Audrey II. Enjoy.

VisionQuest, the latest MCU show to hit Disney+, launches tomorrow with a two-episode salvo which reintroduces us to Paul Bettany's Vision, or the latest version thereof. Last seen inhabiting a new (old) body in WandaVision, VisionQuest is partially concerned with Vision's attempts to emotionally connect with the memories of the android Avenger who once occupied that same body. Oh, and he also has to contend with a mysterious young man who may be his son, somehow, and also the return of James Spader's deliciously dapper and deadly Ultron, who's skulking around somewhere in Vision's mind palace. And for this preview interview special, Chris Hewitt sat down with both Bettany and Spader to talk about their MCU journeys, hats, an unexpected swear word, and the pronunciation of 'Edinburgh'. Enjoy.

Blimey, do we have a bumper edition of The Interviews for you, folks, as Chris Hewitt sits down in person with Aaron Sorkin to talk about the writer-director's return to the world of Facebook with The Social Reckoning; on Zoom with Paul Greengrass, the writer-director of period (but oh-so-timely) thriller The Uprising, about the Peasant Revolt of 1381 (and not, as it turns out, a Robin Hood movie); and in person again with Matchbox The Movie stars John Cena and Jessica Biel, who drop by the podbooth to talk about first impressions, firm handshakes, and leaps of faith. Three cracking conversations, all in one handy place. Enjoy!

Today — October 10 — is a pretty special day for S.S. Rajamouli, the groundbreaking Indian director behind epics like the Baahubali films, Eega, and 2022's Oscar-winning breakout hit, RRR, whose astonishing, vibrant, endlessly inventive action sequences won the hearts of audiences the world over. Why is today special? Well, it's Rajamouli's 53rd birthday. Happy birthday, sir. And why is this year special? Because he's also celebrating an anniversary as a movie director, what with it being 25 years since he first stepped behind the camera on Student No: 1. And we thought we'd celebrate, not by sending him a cake, but John Nugent, who travelled earlier this year to Ramoji Film City, just outside of Hyderabad, to not only visit Rajamouli on the set of his latest and most ambitious film yet, Varanasi, but also sit down with him for an epic conversation about the director's career. Thanks to S.S. Rajamouli for being so generous with his time, and to Team Rajamouli for making this happen. Enjoy!