The Empire Podcast

Recorded at the Top Gear track because... she was at the Top Gear track, Focus-er Margot Robbie was our Star In Reasonably Priced Car Who Is Also On The Empire Podcast this week, talking about everything from nearly poking Leonardo DiCaprio in the eye with her shoe to how close she came to buying a miniature pig.

Spoiler: Birdman won Best Director and Best Picture, while Boyhood did not. Neil Patrick Harris, meanwhile, did not win Best Presenter, though perhaps failing to make it a real category was his biggest mistake. Fortunately the Empire Podcast is here to make everything all right with its unique blend of sleep deprivation and sugar-high funtimes. Feel free to play us off at any time, by the way.

It's the Oscars this weekend, which means most of the Empire Podcast team are currently trying to amass as much confectionary and is humanly possible in advance of the all-night onslaught of famous folk in very expensive clothing on Sunday. But before all that happens, here's a great little podcast featuring It Follows' wonderful Maika Monroe and the one and only Bill Nighy. Remember, kids: don't buy drugs!

Spider-Man's free(-ish) transfer - or, if you think about it, loan - from Sony F.C. to Marvel United has dominated the movie news cycle this week, and certainly makes its presence felt in this week's podcast. There's also a detailed discussion of abrupt movie endings, interviews with Peter Strickland and Mark Strong, and no Fifty Shades Of Grey review. No-one had seen it in time. Sorry.

Kingsman: The Secret Service shot to the number one spot in the UK box office on its opening weekend, and now Empire's Kingsman: The Secret Service spoiler special is shooting to the number one spot of your podcast feed. Awaiting you is a joyfully frank 40 minute interview with the director and writer of the film, with all sorts of spoilerific detail in store, as well as titbits on his other projects, from Stardust to Snatch. You'll want to hear about when he met Sean Connery, trust us.

Two of Empire's favourite people star in this week's podcast, with tried-and-true 27 per center Titus Welliver making his debut and old hand Douglas Booth returning for his third visit. Plus: what the what the what is Jupiter Ascending about?

It's a directorial double-header this week, with Ex Machina's Alex Garland and Inherent Vice's Paul Thomas Anderson on the show to talk about their respective movies and a hell of a lot more (think, um, baths). Also, a franchise discussion bonanza - the question being: is anything sacred?

Ethan Hawke drops by the Empire Podcast studio this week to talk about the critically-acclaimed Oscar frontrunner Boyhood, which is now out on Blu-ray and DVD, while director extraordinaire J.C. Chandor was here to explain why the title of his latest, A Most Violent Year, doesn't actually reflect the amount of violence in the actual movie.

The nominations for the 2015 Academy Awards were announced this week, which makes this particular Empire Podcast - featuring interviews from Into The Woods' Meryl Streep and Testament Of Youth's Alicia Vikander - particularly Oscar-themed, with the team taking the time to analyses the snubs and even review a few of the films what got nodded, including the wonderful Whiplash.

It's BAFTA nomination week, so there are gong-worthy nominees aplenty on the latest Empire Podcast, with Birdman's Michael Keaton and The Theory Of Everything's Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones all dropping by to be better at acting than us. Plus, someone says "I'm Batman" in that voice, and it may well be Mr. Keaton...

The final regular podcast of 2014 ends on a high note, with some stellar interview talent in the form of Tim Burton (Big Eyes) and three members of the Dumb And Dumber To team: Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels and one of them there Farrelly Brothers everyone's talking about.

Like The Hobbit itself, Empire's The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies spoiler special podcast has been divided into multiple parts. The first spoiler special, featuring a 30 minute interview with co-writer and co-producer Philippa Boyens, is already up, while this one is a little different: close to an hour with the podcast team waffling on about the film itself in spoilerific detail, capped off with a little bit of Thorin Oakenshield chat from Richard Armitage. If you've watched the film, you know what to do (hint: it's click play).

The final chapter of The Hobbit is finally here, and with it not one but two Empire Podcast spoiler specials, the first being this particular slice of fried audio gold, featuring a lengthy interview with the co-writer of not only the Hobbit trilogy, but The Lord Of The Rings as well. So if you've read the book / watched the film, click play and regret nothing.

The Golden Globes nominations were announced, Star Wars: The Force Awakens revealed some of its names, Jonathan Frakes threw his hat into Star Trek 3's directorial ring - so to speak - and The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies came out. It's been quite a week in movies, so why not listen to the Empire Podcast team talk about it? Wait, don't answer that.

What are the best, the worst, the most disappointing, the most surprising movies of 2014? What is the best soundtrack of the year? Who's the best character of the year? Questions, questions, questions... and maybe some answers, on occasion, all on this very special Empire Podcast.