ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED? Well, you will be when you listen to this week's Empire Podcast, because we have a veritable guestapalooza in store for you, folks. On our 643rd episode, Chris Hewitt sits down with Gladiator II star and living legend Denzel Washington to talk about reuniting with Ridley Scott — and to clarify Denzel's recent hint that he might be winding down as an actor (*SPOILER* — he ain't.) Oh, and Chris quotes *that* Equalizer 2 line to Denzel's face, because he's utterly without shame [20:15 — 39:40 approx]. Elsewhere, Amon Warmann has a lovely chat with Emilia Pérez star, Zoe Saldaña, about working with Jacques Audiard, James Cameron, and more [1:03:14 — 1:16:13 approx], whilst Alex Godfrey catches up with director Sean Baker to talk about the excellent Anora, which is still in cinemas now [1:35:53 - 1:52:19 approx].
Between all the guest related goodness, Chris is joined in the podbooth by Helen O'Hara, James Dyer and, for the first time, Jamie Graham. Together, the team tackle a listener more-of-a-comment-than-a-question which leads to a wide-ranging discussion of the ups and downs of Ridley Scott's career; they cast their eye over the week's movie news, including word of a Simon Kinberg Star Wars trilogy, new trailers for Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, Thunderbolts*, and Captain America: Brave New World, and Christopher Nolan's next movie (which is definitely not Dracula — or Draclier); and, over on the reviews front, verdicts are delivered on Gladiator II, Joy, and Emilia Pérez. It's a banger, folks, and the only disappointment in it for us is that we only get to do it once. Enjoy.
You can listen to this week's episode (and over 600 more) on the pod app of your choice.