This week’s show begins with Dean and Phil discussing one of Dean’s all-time favorite films and filmmakers: My Winnipeg by Guy Maddin. Phil hails it as perhaps the greatest film NOT to be on the Sight and Sound poll of the 250 greatest films ever made. From great movies to great television, your friends in podcasting and broadcasting shift gears to discuss the end of “Succession”, the end of “Barry”, the end of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”, the end of “Ted Lasso”, Season 1 of “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds”, and Season 2 of “Star Trek: Picard”. And speaking of “Picard” the actress who played the Borg Queen will get remembered in Celebrity Deaths, as will a beloved French-Canadian actor, an incredible Mexican character actor, the stunt man who inspired Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” … And the lead character in that film has also died?!

After a cold open in which Dean Haglund and Phil Leirness celebrate the fact that YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour becomes a teen-ager this week, they launch into what they do best, trying to make sense of a (Covid-19) world gone wild with humor, insight, irreverence and inspiration. In the return of “Wingnut of the Week”, Dean and Phil offer a wag of the finger at Covid-19 conspiracy theorists and a doff of the cap to UFO “truthers”. In “Celebrity Deaths”, they pay tribute to a true titan of comedy publishing and filmmaking, an international star who broke big in both Bollywood and Hollywood, a character actor-turned-casting director, an influential folk singer, and the musician who turned Hugh Grant into a pop star! Then, your friends in podcasting tackle how Covid-19 will affect the up-coming television season, and how it will affect the Oscars, before turning their attention to what years in cinema might rival 1962 as the best year ever for movies! 

What is 70 minutes long, was recorded LIVE at BottleRock in downtown Los Angeles and boasts appearances by Lily Holleman, Robbie Consing, Matt Doherty, Erynn Petrulis, Pete Handelman, Alanna Vicente, Shaun Parker, Burt Bulos, Jake Head, Ilana Rein, Marc Hershon of Succotash and both Page Branson and J.D. Jackson of Level 7 Access: A Marvel Agents of Shield Podcast? Why, it’s YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour, of course, also featuring a live appearance from show announcer Garrard Whatley!

We apologize for the occasional (semi-regular?) audio glitches during the show – Phil was playing hurt, Dean was drinking wine, there was a party going on … And we’re sure despite these glitches (because of them?) this episode will help get your week off to a great start!

A day late, but now available on Stitcher (you can get the Stitcher app and rate and review the show!), your friends in podcasting are back at it, battling back the forces of darkness with their lethal wits and their irreverent bon mots!

Dean Haglund and Phil Leirness discuss the snubs in the recent Oscars’ “In Memorium” tribute, Dean’s upcoming live comedy shows, MesoAmerican art, Chris Carter’s new show, their ongoing search for the TRUTH and much, much more …