Details about  Empire Magazine # 279 The Hobbit

Issue #279

The Hobbit
You wait ages for a Hobbit movie and then two come along at once. As Peter Jackson's latest Middle-Earth opus inches ever closer, we talked to the two stars at the heart of its pivotal Riddles in the Dark scene, Martin Freeman and Andy Serkis, to get their take on the Unexpected Journey.

Dredd
It's the biggest British indie movie ever made, and it's looking as bloody, violent and uncompromising as one could wish from a Judge Dredd film. We got the skinny from all the filmmakers about what went on, those editing-nightmare rumours and why we can soon expect Three Colours Dredd.

Taken 2
Liam Neeson has a particular set of skills, but as it turns out "being the hardest man in the world" is only secondary to "giving a fascinating interview on his hard-boiled sequel". Which is just as well, really, as our Chris was worried that he'd be hunted down if he asked the wrong question...

Oliver Stone
We take a two-pronged approach to Oliver Stone this month, ahead of his latest film, Savages. First, we sit down with the man himself to get his thoughts on his latest film and his career to date. Then, we quiz his collaborators from four decades to learn what it's like working with one of Hollywood's most mercurial talents.

The Sweeney
Start practicing your Cockney because legendary tough-cop series The Sweeney is headed to the big screen, and Ray Winstone is leading the way. Our Mark Dinning headed down to talk to director Nick Love on why this is a brand new dawn, as well as Winstone and co-star Ben "Plan B" Drew on playing such bad-boy cops.

Frankenweenie & Paranorman
Two animated films about kids dealing with the undead – so sue us, we covered them side-by-side. But there's still much to distinguish Frankenweenie and ParaNorman. One comes from crazy-haired auteur Tim Burton; the other from the stop-motion animation geniuses at Laika. Read all about them, and get excited for both.

Keira Knightley
She burst onto the scene as an almost fully-formed star, but has been working like the dickens ever since to push her boundaries and hone her skills. Ahead of her turn in Anna Karenina, we talk to Blighty's finest about working with Joe Wright again and what's up next...

Clive Barker's Nightbreed
Clive Barker's Nightbreed was an infamous flop on release, a film that alienated both horror fans and critics. But it was a corrupted fragment of the director's original cut, which has only recently emerged thanks to a fan campaign lasting decades. We got the full story on what went wrong – and how a select few have been trying to put it right...

On Location
Wondering what Thor did next? Wonder no longer, because we have an exclusive report from the set of Ron Howard's Rush, the Formula 1 drama starring Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl. Also in On Location this month, we look at Riddick, Ruby Sparks, Les Miserables and Mud. On Location: brought to you by the letters R and M.

Slate
Everyone who's anyone is in Slate this month. We look at Christian Bale's collaboration with Zhang Yimou, the start of filming on Mad Max: Fury Road, get the low-down from John Moore on Die Hard 5, learn more about Argo and 50 Shades Of Grey, investigate how often Matthew McConaughey takes his shirt off and ask Jackie Chan about a Pint of Milk. It's all here!

In Cinemas
Ted kicks things off in cinemas this month, with Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis and, er, a cuddly toy entertaining us mightily. Then we take a good long look at Pixar's Brave, and enjoy a Christian Bale double-bill between our meaty four-page Dark Knight Rises review and a look at The Flowers Of War. These and much more in cinemas this month!

Re-View
The Hunger Games leads Re-View this month as the dystopian teen thriller hits DVD and Blu-ray. But we also take a peek at Marley, Headhunters, the Jaws Blu-ray release and much more. The Masterpiece is Billy Wilder's The Apartment, and Hans Zimmer talks us through the Dark Knight Rises score

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