Empire Podcast #295: Joe Wright, Martin McDonagh

Joe Wright, Martin McDonagh

by Chris Hewitt |
Published on

This week's Empire Podcast sees us welcome two of our favourite directors into our podcompany. First up, Joe Wright — hands down one of our favourite English directors called Wright, and maybe even in the top two — talks to Nick de Semlyen about his latest movie, Darkest Hour, which sees Gary Oldman give a barnstorming performance as Winston Churchill, and the career that might have been, as an illusionist. Now that's magic.

Then Chris Hewitt sits down for a chat with Martin McDonagh, the writer-director behind the caustic and challenging Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and tries to pass McDonagh's test: do not ask a question that he's heard before. Will he succeed? Find out by listening. And full disclosure: because Chris is an idiot, he forgot to bring microphones to a podcast interview, which is why the sound levels may be a little askew on this one. But it's well worth a listen.

Elsewhere, Chris is joined in the podbooth by Helen O'Hara and James Dyer, who discuss this week's reader question (about bar scenes in movies), digest the latest movie news, from the Golden Globes to the BAFTA nominations (but not, of course, the late-breaking news about the X-Men movies, which broke too late for us to tackle), and then cast their eye over the week's big releases. Namely, Three Billboards and Darkest Hour.

Oh, and the podcast begins as it's never begun before. You have been warned. Enjoy...?

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