Author: Empire

You have to hand it to Godzilla – he doesn’t look 70. The greatest movie monster of all time continues to age oh-so-gracefully. And given the Oscar success of the astonishing Godzilla Minus One, and the gleefully colourful carnage of Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, you could even say the radioactive lizard is at the peak of his powers right now. Since the original Godzilla was released back in 1954, it’s now officially been seven decades since he first stomped his way to big-screen glory – and to celebrate, Japanese studio Toho has released an epic tribute montage to…

The last five years have been transformative for cinema, between the impact of COVID, the streaming revolution, and the rise of AI technology. Which is exactly why Empire decided to poll an array of top filmmakers in Hollywood – and beyond – on what exactly is going on in the industry, and what it all means for the movies. The result is a major new article – available to read in full in our Mickey 17 issue (order here). One of the hottest topics is the encroachment of AI, with the industry still figuring out how it could, should –…

Warning — this article and accompanying trailer definitely contains swearing and peak geezer Danny Dyer Most ordinary movie trailers don’t begin with an introduction in which the lead actor sniffs a line of coke, drops the C-bomb, and punts a passer-by in the nards. But then again, Danny Dyer is no ordinary star. Whether in Human Traffic or The Football Factory, Eastenders or Mr Big Stuff, the proud Londoner has long since proven himself one of the toughest, nuttiest, most unpredictable geezers in British media. And with his latest movie Marching Powder, a hard 18 joint that reunites the protegé…

Spooky season is upon us, folks, and this week’s Empire Podcast is even more of a horror show than usual! First up to send shivers down your spine, Chris Hewitt talks to actor Naomi Scott about her fabulous performance in Parker Finn’s scary sequel Smile 2 [23:26 — 37:26 approx]. Then, the team — this week comprising Chris, James Dyer, Ben Travis and, in a rare appearance, our news editor Beth Webb — tackle two horror-related questions from listeners, including the horror flicks they think should have been nominated for Best Picture, and an impromptu Mount Rushmore of vampire films…

Earlier this year came seismic news from Middle-earth: more Lord Of The Rings films are on the way from Warner Bros, with Peter Jackson and his team producing, and familiar faces expected to return in front of the camera too. Then quickly came the reveal that one such upcoming project is titled The Hunt For Gollum, set shortly before the main events of The Fellowship Of The Ring, and set to be directed by none other than Gollum himself: Andy Serkis. From there, all kinds of rumours and reports have spread – including the notion that The Hunt For Gollum…

With Parasite, Korean auteur Bong Joon Ho stormed into the Hollywood big-leagues – and he has no intention of leaving. Five years after winning Best Picture (and Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature  Film) for his slyly satirical capitalist thriller, Director Bong is back with his third English-language feature, Mickey 17, boasting an A-list lead in none other than Robert Pattinson. But make no mistake: this isn’t Bong going mainstream. Like Snowpiercer and Okja before it, Mickey 17 tilts the filmmaker head-first into bonkers sci-fi territory. It’s a madcap story of mass capitalism, marauding monsters, and…

After making a breakout screen debut in Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘70s hangout movie Licorice Pizza back in 2021, singer-songwriter Alana Haim — one-third of rock band HAIM — is taking The Steps (yes, that’s a reference) to bolster her acting CV in a big way with not one but two new projects in the pipeline. Per THR’s reporting, Haim has landed roles in both Kelly Reichardt art heist drama The Mastermind, in which she’ll star opposite Josh O’Connor, and in Kristoffer Borgli’s Zendaya and Robert Pattinson led The Drama. Cameras are already rolling on The Mastermind, Reichardt’s self-written and directed…

With Todd Phillips’ experimental DC sequel Joker: Folie À Deux going a little bit *wah wah wahhh* at the box office this past fortnight, another killer clown has risen to the top of the pile. After growing a passionate core fanbase with two increasingly shocking, low-budget outings, Art the Clown has been galling and enthralling the masses in Damien Leone’s cut-throat (and hack-off-head) threequel Terrifier 3, cruising to a cool $18 million in its opening weekend on a $2 million budget. Now, in an interview with DiscussingFilm, Leone has revealed his future plans for David Howard Thornton’s jugular-busting jester. When…

DreamWorks’ latest animated effort, The Wild Robot, may not have even made it to British multiplexes just yet, but it’s already whipping up quite the critical and commercial storm stateside. In fact, writer-director Chris Sanders’ take on Peter Brown’s bot-on-an-island book has proven so successful that, after cleaning up at the domestic box office to the tune of over $100 million thus far, more adventures for Lupita Nyong’o’s Roz and her anthropomorphic pals are already in the pipeline. As confirmed by Deadline during their Contenders event in London this weekend, DreamWorks and Sanders will be giving The Wild Robot a…

In recent years, we’ve seen a real resurgence of big ol’ stage-to-screen movie musicals hitting cinemas and streamers. West Side Story, Wicked, In The Heights, Tick, Tick… BOOM!, err… *cough* Dear Evan Hansen and Cats *cough* — you name it, some big wig in Tinseltown’s already figuring out how to turn it into a blockbuster smash. Somewhat rarer however is the (non-Disney) movie musical that gets the screen-to-stage treatment. But now, having made a splash Off-Broadway back in 2019 before the pandemic halted its run, Sing Street: A New Musical — an all-singing, all-dancing stage adaptation of John Carney’s beloved,…