Justin Tipping's Him is a Jordan Peele-produced horror film in which a young quarterback discovers the kind of sacrifices it takes to become the GOAT of American Football. That young quarterback is played by Tyriq Withers, who is taken under the wing of a legendary quarterback played by Marlon Wayans, and in this Empire Podcast interview special Jamie Graham sits down with the duo for a fun chat about the film's themes, getting pumped in the gym, their favourite horror movies, and more. Jamie also sits down with Tipping for a deep dive into his thematic preoccupations, his reaction to some of the film's reviews, and his realisation that he may just have remade one of his favourite films. But with an American Football bent, of course. It's a cracking pair of interviews — as ever, the choice of whether you should see Him before listening is yours. But if you haven't seen Him yet, it's out now in cinemas across the UK.

Paul Greengrass' The Lost Bus stars Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrera as a bus driver and teacher, respectively, who have to navigate a deadly Californian wildfire while stuck on a school bus with a group of terrified children, very little water, and fire and flames closing in on all sides. Based on a true story (the 2018 Camp Fire is one of the deadliest wildfires in US history), it's Greengrass at his intense best, conjuring a cinematic experience that's among the best depictions of the intensity of fire, heat and flames ever put on film. And in this interview special, Chris Hewitt sits down with Greengrass (on Zoom), and McConaughey and Ferrera (in person) to talk about the experience of making it. The film is out now on AppleTV+ and, while this isn't a spoiler special, reference is made throughout to key moments from the movie, so it might be best for you to have watched it beforehand. Either way, enjoy.

This week's Empire Podcast sees us welcome another hat-trick of wonderful guests, as Chris Hewitt has lovely chats with The Smashing Machine writer-director (and Happy Gilmore 2 villain), Benny Safdie, [24:13 - 40:39 approx] and bona fide acting legend, Malcolm McDowell, star of new WWII drama, The Partisan (please excuse the sound quality of Chris' mic); [59:42 - 1:13:48 approx] while John Nugent sits down with Urchin director, Harris Dickinson, about making his directorial debut with the acclaimed drama. [1:37:05 - 1:52:43 approx] Either side of those, Chris doesn't let a little thing like Covid-19 stop him from hosting this week, dialling in to the podbooth (again, please do forgive the odd attendant audio glitch) to have all kinds of film-related fun with Helen O'Hara and James Dyer. The trio discuss some of the best final films from acting greats, run their eyes over Urchin, Play Dirty, The Smashing Machine, and Him, and find the week's movie news to be so lacking that they wind up doing an impromptu Simpsons quiz. Oh, and James is all giddy this week, after a close encounter with none other than Taylor Swift. To find out how close she came to being on this show, or a Cats retro spoiler special, you're going to have to listen. Enjoy.