Tag: drama

Chillpak Hollywood Hour – Year 18 Episode 13

Posted on by PHIL19

Dean is back from his birthday break and reveals just how he celebrated. Phil went to Montecito to prepare for a big show and has tales of a spectacular venue on the water. Have Dean and Phil been watching the Olympics? We find out. Last week, one special guest, Marc Hershon spoke about all that is excellent in television right now and Phil follows up on that by singing the praises of Season 3 of HBO’s “Hacks”. The other guest last week was archivist and global cinema expert Jeff Briggs, and Phil follows up on their discussion of the legendary “Queen of Swords”, Cheng Pei-Pei, by describing two films of hers that he really wants to see. Dean reveals the film HAS seen, the current horror thriller Longlegs, while revealing all his thoughts about the top ten films at the box office. Phil discusses the new documentary starring Martin Scorsese about the greatest filmmaking team of all time, while also singing the praises of one of that team’s most romantic works. The show Phil hosted this past week serves as the “Live Event of the Week” and Dean and Phil end the show by remembering a French movie star, a brilliant sketch comedy and sitcom performer, and a British blues legend in “Celebrity Deaths”. And if you want to check out Phil’s “other” podcast – “The Voice of Los Feliz” – we hope you will! It’s part of his new free Substack that you can find HERE!

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Chillpak Hollywood Hour – Year 18 Episode 12

Posted on by PHIL19

Birthday boy Dean Haglund has the week off, so Phil Leirness welcomes Marc Hershon to discuss the recent Emmy Awards nominations and all that is excellent right now in what we used to call “television”. Marc is a screenwriter, author, improv professor, comedy impresario, columnist, editorial cartoonist, and corporate branding expert. He is also responsible for Dean and Phil seeing many of the shows they have discussed over the past several years. Phil also welcomes Jeff Briggs to discuss China’s first female action star, “The Queen of Swords”, Cheng Pei-Pei, who died recently at the age of 78. Jeff is a lifelong archivist, a former magazine writer, and an expert on Asian Cinema. He is also Phil’s former college roommate! All in all, this week’s show is a globetrotting 73-minute epic!

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Chillpak Hollywood Hour – Season 3 Episode 24

Posted on by PHIL19

Because Phil had to travel to Turlock, that means two things for this week’s show: 1) It features a cameo by Dean’s “Lord Turlock” character, and 2) The show was pre-recorded. And it’s a good one, wherein Dean and Phil drill down into the improv form known as “deconstruction” in “Live Event of the Week” and while posing the question “Why can’t we have nice things?” the bombing and destruction of the Georgia Guidestones gets discussed. In a “What We’re Reading” all about the FBI, the influence of “The X-Files” and misogyny, Dean provides a full book report on a terrific work in anticipation of its author being a guest on a future episode of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour! Instead of “Celebrity Deaths”, your friends in podcasting (and broadcasting) celebrate the 100th birthday of Hollywood’s greatest icon, which leads to favorite stories about Kenny Rogers and Steve Martin. Finally, the Emmy Award nominations get unpacked, with Phil wagging a finger at the omissions of “Reservation Dogs” and Selena Gomez, and particular attention gets paid to “Abbott Elementary” and to the horse race for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

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Chillpak Hollywood Hour – Season 2 Episode 26

Posted on by PHIL19

Longtime listeners know that Dean Haglund and Phil Leirness are often at their best when things in the world seem their worst. If an hour of insightful, inspiring, heartfelt and humorous conversation is something your soul could use at present, give a listen as your friends in podcasting try to make sense of a world torn apart by pandemic, shaken to the core by violence, and held spellbound by explorers slipping the surly bonds of earth, as for the first time in a decade, America sent astronauts into space. Dean and Phil discuss all of it and share an essay by a good friend of the show about a passage in history more than 50 years old that seems more relevant than ever. They also tackle the important question, “Can a puppet show provide healing?” And that leads to Dean’s detailed analysis of a particular song. In “Celebrity Deaths”, Dean and Phil remember one of Phil’s very favorite character actors, a man who began and concluded his acting career with Best Picture Oscar winners. They also remember a groundbreaking playwright, screenwriter and activist, as well as an Asian-American pioneer for civil rights and social justice. Finally, they commend Netflix for their social stance and for a brand new comedy series.

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Chillpak Hollywood Hour – Season 2, Episode 20

Posted on by PHIL19

From the inner space of quiet, self-quarantine lockdowns, to the outer space of “Star Trek: Picard”, Dean Haglund and Phil Leirness take you on quite the journey this week! It starts with their latest observations about themselves and others in the wake of another week of isolation. Sadness, quiet and dehumanization are on the thematic menu! They then compare notes on their respective Easter celebrations, which leads to a discussion of a couple of classic musicals: 1934’s Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers vehicle The Gay Divorcee and 1948’s seasonal staple Easter Parade, starring Astaire and Judy Garland. The recent, modern classic, Uncut Gems gets championed by Phil, who tries to get Dean to overcome his trepidation surrounding Adam Sandler performances (and yet, Dean once championed You Don’t Mess With the Zohan, so go figure!). The second half of the show consists of Dean and Phil comparing the years in cinema 1973 and 1974, discussing all the notable films from those two halcyon years, in hopes of determining which year might challenge 1962 as the greatest year in cinema. Finally, your friends in podcasting beam up to the La Sirena to discuss and debate what went right and what went wrong in season one of “Star Trek: Picard”, a show so successful that a big-screen movie version is already in the planning stages.

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Chillpak Hollywood Hour #456

Posted on by PHIL19

If you haven’t listened to last week’s episode #455, make sure to do so BEFORE you check out this week’s brand new show. Your friends in podcasting pick up where they left off as both Dean and Phil will reveal their Top Four favorite television series of 2015 (10 thru 5 were counted down last week). After that, Phil explains why he is so thrilled about the sequel to Blade Runner that is finally going before the cameras this summer, and in “Celebrity Deaths” one of the most important entertainment figures in Asia and a beloved American character actor are both remembered. Dean and Phil then tackle Hollywood’s award season, including analysis of the Producers Guild and Screen Actors Guild Awards, before launching into the LATEST controversy over the Oscars’ lack of diversity (#‎oscarsowhite). Boycotts generate headlines, membership changes … change the membership. Real change, however, might involve actually changing the awards themselves and your friends in podcasting have some serious ideas in this regard, changes that will reward those unsung in the business for too long, refocus the purpose of the awards AND might just lead to greater diversity. That’s all this week on YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour.

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Chillpak Hollywood Hour #292

Posted on by PHIL19

This week’s show is over five and a half years in the making.

It starts with your friends in podcasting revealing their all-time Top Ten Films.

Then, they reveal the all-time Top Ten according to all the guests who have appeared on YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour!

What films will make the cut?

We wouldn’t dream of spoiling it. HOWEVER, we CAN let you know that these films did NOT make the top ten, though they came very close, finishing in positions twenty-four through eleven:

24. Vertigo (Director: Alfred Hitchcock, Year: 1958)
23. Apocalypse Now (Francis Coppola, 1979)
22. Amelie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001)
21. A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick, 1971)
19. TIE – Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994), The Big Lebowski (Joel Coen, 1998)
18. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
17. Wings of Desire (Wim Wenders, 1987)
16. the Matrix (The Wachowskis, 1999)
15. The Third Man (Carol Reed, 1949)
14. Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974)
13. Fellini’s 8 1/2 (Federico Fellini, 1963)
12. Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990)
11. Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)

Got your popcorn? Then, let’s go to the movies!

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Chillpak Hollywood Hour #56

Posted on by PHIL19

Dean and Phil count down their Top 10 favorite television programs of all time. Remember, it’s not what they consider the “best” television of all time. It’s their favorites … and who knew they were both such big fans of “Small Wonder”?!?

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