The Empire Film Podcast: Pamela Anderson, Naomi Ackie, And A Farewell To Gene Hackman

The latest episode of the Empire Podcast is brought to you on a challenging week, one in which we have sadly had to bid farewell to some incredibly talented souls — Buffy The Vampire Slayer star Michelle Trachtenberg, Star Trek producer Roberto Orci, and the great Gene Hackman, who passed away at the age of 95 along with his wife, Betsy Arakawa, and their family dog. Chris Hewitt, James Dyer, Alex Godfrey, and Helen O'Hara take a moment to discuss these monumental losses in this week's episode, but will convene to pay more in-depth tribute to Hackman in particular on next week's podcast, as news of his passing broke so quickly and unexpectedly on Thursday morning.

On with the show, and we have a brace of brilliant guests for your pod listening pleasure. First up, Pamela Anderson, star of Baywatch and Barb Wire, sits down with Alex Godfrey to tell him about how Gia Coppola's The Last Showgirl has given her a second chance in Hollywood. [23:46 — 38:29 approx.] Our other interview sees Mickey 17 (out next Friday, fact fans!) star Naomi Ackie talk to Helen O'Hara about working with Bong Joon Ho and multiple Robert Pattinsons, and coming to terms with fame. [1:05:30 — 1:19:50 approx.]

Elsewhere, Chris, James, Alex, and Helen convene in the podbooth for a packed ep in which the team talk about the greatest movie monkeys, take an impromptu Kathleen Kennedy quiz (who is reportedly stepping back from Lucasfilm), dive into the trailers for HAVOC and Andor Season 2, and touch on that Ayo Edebiri Barney movie news, too. All that, and there's reviews of The Last Showgirl and Sky Cinema Original Fight Or Flight, too — you lucky, lucky lot! As ever, please do enjoy.

You can listen to this week's episode (which, if you're counting, is #657) on the pod app of your choice.