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.

With just a few days left to pick up the latest issue of Empire magazine, featuring Spider-Man: Brand New Day on the cover, here's the latest episode of The Shameless Plug, arriving in the nick of time to either entice you to buy the issue if you haven't done so, or bask in the stories behind the stories as Chris Hewitt and Empire editor, Nick de Semlyen, cram into the podbooth to talk you through how the magazine sausage was made. From Minions to Monty Python, it's all here, folks! Enjoy!

It's another jam-packed edition of The Interviews, folks! This episode sees Chris Hewitt sit down on Zoom with Haley Bennett and Jack Whitehall, stars of Virginia Woolf's Night & Day, for a discussion that turns into a thinly-veiled attempt to secure a Nando's Black Card. [1:10 - 14:10 approx] Chris also has a lovely chat with the great Cary Elwes about his one-two punch of Dead Man's Wire, now on Sky Cinema, and the TV show M.I.A., now on Paramount+. [15:54 - 27:57 approx] And finally, you get a chunky excerpt from our brand new spoilerific chat with Curry Barker, the director of the year's hottest movie, the horror movie turned cultural juggernaut, Obsession, as he reflects on his changed circumstances, getting a voicemail from Taron Egerton, and more. [29:34 - 41:35 approx]

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.

It's another packed episode of The Interviews, folks. First off, listener discretion is advised as Chris Hewitt talks to Brett Goldstein, star and co-writer of Office Romance, and his director, Ol Parker, about C-bombs, of which this interview contains plenty, and explicit childbirth scenes. Then, to our great delight, Actual Rock Star Ben Gibbard, frontman of Death Cab For Cutie, pops into the podbooth to have a chat with Beth Webb about his love of movies, working with the late, great Lynn Shelton, and his band's new album, I Built You A Tower. Finally, we bring you a big old chunk of Chris' spoiler special interview with Masters Of The Universe director, Travis Knight, aka He-Director.

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!

The latest episode of The Interviews is all about extravagance, high fashion and big spending. But enough about Chris Hewitt. Instead, we're focused on Savage House and Madfabulous, two costume dramas about upper-class types whose lives spiral out of control. In the first, Richard E. Grant and Claire Foy play a married couple who attempt to mount a lavish dinner party, with disastrous consquences, and they tell Chris all about their approach to acting, their connection to the characters and, in one wild, hilarious segment, how one of them handled a very unusual sex scene. Then Chris has a lovely Zoom chat with Callum Scott Howells, the Welsh actor who stars as Lord Henry Paget, a flamboyant real-life figure who is the subject of Celyn Jones' period piece, Madfabulous. The two of them talk about saying the title of the film, about the film's approach to Paget's sexuality, and Howells' upcoming turn opposite Michael Sheen in Amadeus on the West End stage. Oh, and Chris receives an offer that might just change his life... Enjoy!

It's a packed line-up of directors this week on The Interviews, folks. Directorpalooza? First up, we bring you an extended excerpt from our spoiler special interview with The Mandalorian And Grogu, Jon Favreau, who tells Chris Hewitt about his intentions behind the first big-screen Star Wars film in seven years. Then Chris leaps onto Zoom to have a lovely natter with the great Joe Dante about his beloved (eventually) 1987 sci-fi comedy, InnerSpace, which is out now on 4K UHD, and English director Mike Figgis about his hard-hitting, Oscar-winning drama, Leaving Las Vegas, which has also received the 4K UHD treatment. The Figgis chat is an extended excerpt from an hour-long deep dive into the movie which, like the Favreau interview and Team Empire diving deep into The Mandalorian And Grogu, can be found over on our spoiler special feed. empirespoilerspecials.com, if you haven't already taken the plunge. 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!