Fire up the Ecto-1 – the Ghostbusters are back, and returning to the Big Apple. The latest outing for the paranormal horror-comedy series sees multiple generations unite to face a sub-zero threat to New York – continuing the story from 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife with Paul Rudd, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace and Carrie Coon, while bringing the legendary original cast (Bill Murray! Dan Aykroyd! Ernie Hudson! Annie Potts!) back in major roles too. And both are featured across the two collectible covers for Empire’s world-exclusive Frozen Empire issue.
It doesn’t hit shelves until Thursday 18 January – but for now, here’s a sneak peek inside the mag.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
New York’s greatest paranormal pest-controllers return to face a blood-chilling spectre that’ll require multiple generations of Ghostbusters to tackle. Empire gets the full story on the gang’s return to NYC – speaking to director Gil Kenan, producer and co-writer Jason Reitman, and the Ghostbusters themselves, including Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Paul Rudd, Annie Potts, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace and more. Plus: never-before-seen images from the film, and Jason Reitman writes on the genius of Bill Murray.
Bob Marley: One Love
The story of the reggae icon comes to the screen from King Richard director Reinaldo Marcus Green. The filmmaker and his cast – including Bob himself Kingsley Ben-Adir, and Lashana Lynch – talk about the process of bringing the soul of a music legend to cinemas.
American Fiction
With his debut feature, Cord Jefferson presents a searing and seriously witty satire of storytelling and the Black experience – with Jeffrey Wright’s author Monk Ellison receiving huge success after writing a purposefully stereotyped ‘Black’ novel. The filmmaker breaks down his journey of bringing the story to the screen.
Diablo Cody
From Juno to Jennifer’s Body, via Young Adult and Tully, there are few screenwriting voices as distinctive as Diablo Cody. As she returns to horror-comedy territory with Lisa Frankenstein, she reflects on her tumultuous journey in Hollywood in a major new career-spanning interview.
Drive-Away Dolls
Ethan Coen is back – without brother Joel, but joined by wife Tricia Cooke – for a lesbian crime-caper road movie. The filmmakers (along with their stars Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan) talk going low-brow, the art of arranging penises on-screen, and the thrill of working with Miley Cyrus.
Mae West
The legendary Hollywood star was an expert at playing the fame game – and always came out on top. Empire explores how she reshaped the industry around her, paving the way for decades of stars to come.
First Word
In this month’s news section, we head down into the vault with the Fallout series; get the first word on Alice Lowe’s ambitious new film Timestalker; talk samurai swords and philosophy with the cast of Shōgun; turn the air blue in a spectacularly sweary interview with Wicked Little Letters’ Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley; shine the spotlight on The Holdovers’ breakout Dominic Sessa; take early peeks at Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen series and Julianne Moore’s unconventional period Mary & George; and much, much more.
Final Cut
In the home entertainment section, we talk the end of an era with Ken Loach as he prepares to retire; break down the biggest moments from The Creator with Gareth Edwards; rank the films of Danny Boyle; go role-by-role with George MacKay; scrutinise the suspects of A Haunting In Venice with writer Michael Green; and much more.
Reviews
Reviewed in this issue, you’ll find A24 wrestling drama The Iron Claw; Andrew Haigh’s supremely emotional All Of Us Strangers; Ava DuVernay’s ambitious Origin; the all-singing-all-dancing new takes on The Color Purple and Mean Girls; the return of True Detective with the Jodie Foster-starring Night Country; and plenty more.
