‘We will not go quietly into the night!' blasts the new issue of Empire. Twenty years after President Whitmore’s stirring oratory, Independence Day: Resurgence sets a fresh lot of psychotic aliens upon the human race and once again, things are looking pretty bleak. Our new cover story explores this long-gestating blockbuster and weighs up our chances of surviving another Roland Emmerich firestorm.
In honour of our alien-infested Independence Day cover, we’ve rounded up the 50 greatest moments in science fiction history for your delectation. Sadly, the scene where the kid in a wheelchair falls off a cliff in Mac And Me didn’t make the cut.
There’s giant-sized coverage of The BFG this month, where we get to know fellas like the Meatdripper, the Childchewer, the Fleshlumpeater and the Gizzardgulper, plus one particular giant of an altogether friendlier disposition. We chat to director Steven Spielberg about adapting the Roald Dahl classic – his “first true fairy tale” – and hear from Spielberg’s big friendly star, Mark Rylance.
There’s also a fascinating look into Roald Dahl’s colourful and sometimes combative relationship with Hollywood over the years, beginning with a 1942 Beverly Hills party hosted by Walt Disney, no less, and over the years taking in James Bond, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the original Willy Wonka adaptation, which he described as “pretentious”.
If that's also a word Nicolas Winding Refn’s fiercest critics have wielded against him in the past, no-one has ever called the Danish auteur boring. His latest, a vampiric LA dreamscape called Neon Demon, sees him take us down a rabbit hole in his “craziest film yet” which, if you’ve seen Only God Forgives, is saying something. We chart his journey from big Hollywood hope to "the Sex Pistols of cinema”.
A couple of months ago, the Empire interview had Don Cheadle in the hot seat, talking about his biopic of a legendary trumpet player. This month, the Empire interview has Ethan Hawke in the hot seat, talking about his biopic of a legendary trumpet player. (If there are any actors with upcoming biopics of trumpet players who would like to be the subject of next month’s Empire interview, please get in touch.)
Another musical great, Prince, is the subject of a dazzling Purple Rain retrospective. If you want to know what it feels like when the doves cry – and you don't have access to John Woo's back catalogue – here's where to head.
The theatrical releases having the rule run over them by our crack team of reviewers this month include Shane Black’s gonzo crime caper The Nice Guys, Wall Street thriller Money Monster, X-Men: Apocalypse, Alice Through The Looking Glass and Elvis & Nixon.
Pick up the July issue of Empire from all good, evil and morally ambivalent newsagents on May 26. To skip the whole shopping dimension altogether, visit the subscription site for all the latest subscription offers.