Empire: Magazine

Your sneak preview of what you'll find in the July 2009 issue of Empire magazine.

1. Public Enemies
Johnny Depp. Michael Mann. Christian Bale. The question is why you’re still here reading this instead of booking tickets for Public Enemies, the Mann film that casts Depp as legendary 1930s gangster John Dillinger and Bale as Melvin Purvis, the FBI agent assigned to track him down. We talked to the filmmakers (including Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard) to get the full story on the film’s history – which goes back to a script Mann wrote in the 1970s) and see what we can expect from this latest Mann opus. Also, Kim Newman lays out the 20 Greatest Gangster Movies You’ve Probably Never Seen.

2. Heroes of 2010
Iron Man returns! Conan muscles in! Scott Pilgrim sidles in, grins, spills something, apologises and then unleashes a storm of martial arts moves! Yes, it’s our preview of the films expected to rock our world next year, the big (Clash of the Titans), the beautiful (Toy Story 3) and the ugly (the scarred Jonah Hex). With exclusive pictures, interviews and more, this is your first port of call for all the upcoming news.

3. The Wolfman
It may have been delayed a time or two, but The Wolfman is still a thriller/horror that promises a fascinating take on the monster movie, with Benicio del Toro as the man bitten by a beastie who finds himself experiencing extreme mood swings come the full moon. Emily Blunt’s his damsel in distress, Anthony Hopkins is his “mad as a bag of snakes” father, and Joe Johnston oversees the whole thing. We bring you the full story from the film’s set.

4. Year One
We sent our Chris on set with Jack Black, Michael Cera, Bill Hader and Harold Ramis to get a taste of a comedy that travels from Stone Age to New Age(ish) Bible study of the Old Testament, taking a comical look at the characters along the way. Ramis explained to us what effect 9/11 had on the film, why it’s not just a knockabout comedy, and tells us what he thinks about the current comedy generation.

5. Looking For Eric
When you think of football, you naturally think of Ken Loach, who’s been angling to make a football movie for ages. And when you think of deep thinkers with an idiosyncratic approach to life and a distinctive political outlook, you naturally think of Eric Cantona. Which is why we’re so excited to see the two working together on Looking For Eric, Loach’s new film about a down-at-heel postal worker who has visions of Eric to keep his life on track. The pair talked us through their collaboration.

6. Funny People
It’s been scientifically demonstrated by men in white coats that if you distil all the funny from the cast of Funny People and drink it, you will actually die laughing. So we asked writer/director/producer/comedy hub Judd Apatow to talk us through his all-comedy cast and explain who does what, and how much work they had to do to prep their stand-up routines for the film.

7. District 9
By now you may have seen the teaser trailer but it’s likely that you still don’t know much about District 9, the Peter Jackson-produced, South Africa-set aliens-among-us story. Well, we’ve got the lowdown for you in this month’s news section, explaining just what’s going on and showcasing some new images from the film. Also in news: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Soderbergh does porn, the future of Ghostbusters and this summer’s comedy hit-in-waiting, The Hangover.

8. Tony Scott
He’s rarely been accused of being subtle, but Tony Scott sure knows how to set up a striking image, whether that’s billowing curtains, fighter pilots playing volleyball, Denzel Washington negotiating a fireball or Keira Knightley gun-toting. This month he talks us through his entire filmography to date, giving us the lowdown on his latest, The Taking Of Pelham 123, as a bonus.

9. Highlander
There can be only one. Well, five, if we’re talking films. Plus two live-action TV shows, a cartoon and an anime series. So there can be only nine, plus books and merchandising. We bring you the full story of the Highlander saga: how they came to cast a French dude as a Scot, what the heck was going on in Highlander II and why Mario Van Peebles outweighs Guns ‘n’ Roses.

10. Winona Ryder
From Beetlejuice, Mermaids and Heather as a teenager, via Scorsese, Coppola and Arthur Miller, Winona Ryder’s had a hell of a career to date. We went to her home in LA recently to ask her about two recent roles – in Star Trek and The Private Lives of Pippa Lee – and discuss the highlights of her career to date, as well as talking Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie and why she doesn’t really dislike John Hughes movies.

EXCLUSIVE SNEAK PREVIEW
Flick the pages below to take your exclusive look inside Issue 241 of Empire.