It’s live Empire Pod time tonight! Tickets should be available on the door, should you fancy popping along to Kings Place this evening. For those of you coming: 6.30pm — doors open 7pm — show starts (Helen! James! Tim Key! Tom Basden! Film-related fun!) 8.45pm — Meet & Greet See you there!

- you clean up that banksy? - sure did, your honour, leaving a perfect, permanent outline, imbuing the work with real fuckin gravitas while making its point better than the artist did himself just like you asked

Final tickets here! shop.kingsplace.co.uk/31628/31629

In case you missed it, our guests for the live show on Saturday are the wonderful Tim Key and Tom Basden, stars/writers of my favourite film of the year, THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND. So, if you’re coming on Saturday and you haven’t seen it, now’s your chance to rectify that.

Singing drummers terrify me. Witchcraft. Not saying we should burn them at the stake, but I’m not not saying that.

Any more?

Ditto. I’d have to ask ChatGPT to even know how to open ChatGPT.

Any questions for this week’s Empire Podcast, folks? Fire away!

Any more, folks?

Hit me with your questions and comments on Alien Earth and Fantastic Four/the MCU!

Recording two spoiler special podcasts tomorrow: our first ALIEN EARTH show, covering episodes 1&2, and as promised, the listeners’ questions special for THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS. So have at it. Slide into my DMs with questions for one or both!

FPL? FML, more like. Join me for another season of abject misery: fantasy.premierleague.com/leagues/auto...

I would be very open to a Mount Rushmore question, by the way.

Any questions for this week’s Empire Podcast, folks?

Any more, folks?

Recording the latest Shameless Plug with @NickdeSemlyen later today. We’ll be talking about his incredible Avatar adventure with James Cameron, but I did also say we’d take questions about all things Empire and magazine making. So, fire away.

If someone can show me the logic in declaring that you’re going to ‘boost focus on core areas like Hollywood’ while simultaneously getting rid of some of the best Hollywood writers in the business, I’m all ears. Eejits.

Still some tickets left for our live show on September 13th at Kings Place. I hate writing these pluggin’ posts as much as you hate reading them. So buy all the remaining tickets, and we’ll call it a draw. www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/com...

Going to start eating more healthily, and exercising. But I’m going on holiday in a week, so I’ll probably wait until I’m back. But then there’ll only be a month until my birthday, which might undo all my good work. So I’ll wait until after that. But then it’s only three months until Christmas, so…

BlueSky just verified my age simply by looking at my face. I could have sworn I heard some laughter and a muffled ‘Jesus!’ as well, but perhaps it was just my imagination.

Any questions for this week’s Empire Podcast, folks?

Hey, what are you doing nine Saturdays from now? No, cancel that, it sounds ghastly. Instead, come and see the Empire Podcast live at the London Podcast Festival. It will be a blast. You will enjoy yourself. Tickets are selling fast, so be quick. See you 13/09! www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/com...

Obsessed.

Hey, what are you doing nine Saturdays from now? No, cancel that, it sounds ghastly. Instead, come and see the Empire Podcast live at the London Podcast Festival. It will be a blast. You will enjoy yourself. Tickets are selling fast, so be quick. See you 13/09! www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/com...

Here etc. Ain’t etc.?

Any questions for this week’s Empire Podcast, BSers?

We’re live! Or we will be, on September 13 at Kings Place. Join us for film-related fun — tickets on sale now! www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/com...

We’re live! Or we will be, on September 13 at Kings Place. Join us for film-related fun — tickets on sale now! www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/com...

My annual gatecrashing of the pod is here, joining @chrishewitt.bsky.social @jamescdyer.bsky.social and Sophie Butcher. Talking Brian Eno, James Bond, shark repellent bat spray and more. Everyone should go to a cinema and see M3GAN 2.0 now!

Thanks for the questions, folks. Here, listen to this load of BS.

Any questions for this week’s Empire Podcast, folks? Reply to me or send me a DM. Don’t forget to use the hashtag #TotalBS.

Yes, @chrishewitt.bsky.social and I are shamelessly plugging again, in another episode of The Shameless Plug, talking about the highlights of our new issue - and some tales from various sets. Have a listen. And please check out the issue: it’s - yep - fantastic. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Really loved talking to Kyle MacLachlan for this. What a damn fine gent. And @mikemuncer.bsky.social’s Mark Frost interview is aces!

Here’s a thing I did that might be of some interest to some of you.

Warning: this podcast contains relentless gushing over The Ballad Of Wallis Island, a discussion of the best films that start in media res (but we didn’t mention your favourite film, probably), and Al Pacino yelling in German.

Heads up: John Virgo’s favourite film is on TV this Sunday.

I’m back from holiday/mainly illness, and kicking things off with our THUNDERBOLTS* spoiler special. Any questions/comments for our team of scrappy underdogs? Slide into my DM void…

Amazing stuff. Did anyone else experience The Convergence in a similar way?

Sophie, and Helen, and James are great on this, and the first three episodes of Andor, in our spoiler special, which will be up around noon.

Doing our SINNERS spoiler today. Any questions/comments for the team? Slide into my DMs!

Meanwhile, I’m off to see a man about an asterisk. Crack that cryptic clue!

We will be doing weekly Andor specials too, but recording on Thursdays to allow everyone time to watch three episodes. Send your questions to @jamescdyer.bsky.social, as he’ll be hosting those. Not sure if he has his DMs open. Almost certainly not!

Doing our SINNERS spoiler today. Any questions/comments for the team? Slide into my DMs!

Onto my final season (18) of Taskmaster, which means I’ll have caught up before the new one begins on May 1. Have to confess, the presence of a certain someone is making this series a bit of a grind.

Daredevil me up. Daredevil question me right up.

Down with internet vampires.

Here. Ain’t?