This week, Dean and Phil will begin to slowly roll out the new era of Chillpak Hollywood, releasing much more content each week. Phil provides details at the outset. Then, he and Dean engage in much show biz “water cooler” discussion. The most famous modernist home in the world is up for sale for the very first time. Dean and Phil talk about the house, its history, and some of the movies that were filmed there. Warner Bros. is also up for sale, apparently (again!), and Dean and Phil both discuss it and sort of lament it! A loyal listener is very upset about the film Bugonia, so Dean and Phil revisit their debate about the film’s director, Yorgos Lanthimos. The lack of box office this year for accomplished and acclaimed films aimed at adults gets discussed broadly, with two of these films (the Channing Tatum vehicle Roofman, and the recent spy thriller Black Bag) going under the microscope. Finally, two classic films get re-appraised and celebrated anew: Rian Johnson’s Brick on its 20th anniversary, and the rollicking 1966 western The Professionals. Finally, one of Phil’s all-time favorite actors, indeed one of the greatest figures in Japanese cinema history, gets remembered in “Celebrity Deaths”.

Phil is hitting the road, but before doing so, he recorded a great deal of material for the next two installments of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour! This week, he and Marc Hershon discuss the following television series: “Your Friends and Neighbors”, “The Studio”, “Alien: Earth”, “Chief of War”, “Peacemaker”, and “Code of Silence”. Dean reveals whether or not he is participating in a Winnipeg-themed art show, and talks about why any nostalgia he has for the city where he grew up is gone. Then, good pal of the show, purveyor of excellent theme songs, and frequent on-air contributor, Jon Lawlor finally weighs in on Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest answering a longtime loyal listener’s question about the movie’s use of music.

In another episode featuring now regular contributor Jon Lawlor (longtime purveyor of excellent Chillpak Hollywood Hour theme songs), Dean tells stories of his ongoing trip back to his hometown of Winnipeg and the workshopping of a theatrical play that was the reason for his trip. He also reveals details of what may, or may not, be a Winnipeg-themed art collection he will be (or might not be) showing at a forthcoming Hamilton, Ontario, art show! Jon and Phil compare notes on the live stage show (“Viva Los Feliz”) in which they both performed last week. Then, the focus turns to Spike Lee’s latest “joint”, a remake of an Akira Kurosawa classic itself based on a novel by Ed McBain (aka Evan Hunter). Particular attention is paid to the cinematography and the music. Finally, it’s time for more Superman discussion, as a longtime, brilliant listener takes Dean and Jon to task for what they “missed” in their scathing reviews of one of this year’s most beloved, and most talked about movies. Oh, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens takes quite a few strays in the process!

This week’s show was recorded several days early because Dean is off to Canada to workshop a new play, to re-visit some of his old, musical stomping grounds, and to prepare for an art show! Phil hosted a live stage show this past week, one that featured such good friends of Chillpak as Lily Holleman and Jon Lawlor. Phil offers a full report in “Live Event of the Week”. An email from a loyal listener about the dangers and responsibility of making historical dramas leads to a fascinating, deeply thoughtful, thorny conversation, one that promises to continue to unfold in the weeks to come. Another friend of the show, Steve Benaquist, drops in to help answer a question from a listener about the current box office smash Weapons before Dean and Phil tackle Marvel’s Thunderbolts* and all of the MCU’s “Phase Five” before turning their attention to the brand small-screen franchise adaptations “Alien: Earth” and “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds”.

Because your friends in podcasting really wanted to take a much-needed week off, they pre-recorded this week’s show in two parts. One part involves Dean and Phil continuing their ongoing reappraisal of the “Mission: Impossible” films, as they debate the merits of the most successful (and critically acclaimed) installment – Mission: Impossible – Fallout. The other part was recorded with good pal Jon Lawlor during their weekly discussion of “The Art Life”. The themes they explore involve the definitions of “courage”, “decorate” and answering the question, “what’s missing?” Music, bravery, intimacy, cancer, dog sweaters, and the “Star Trek” episode “Spectre of the Gun” are just some of the topics discussed. The show ends in a cliffhanger mystery! The show BEGINS with a question to you (yes, YOU!), our dear listeners, about the future form of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour!

Because of Dean’s peculiar living conditions at present, because of Phil’s adventures this week in the nation’s capital, and because of a message from a loyal listener (about plein air painting, about microphones, about Bing Crosby, about the body horror comedy/thriller The Substance), this week’s show will be full of fascinating, inspiring and hilarious conversation. The show will also include one of the saddest “Celebrity Deaths” Dean and Phil have ever discussed AND one of the most mind-blowing biographies of any celebrity they have ever remembered.

Last week, Dean and Phil said hello to 2024 and said goodbye to “Season 3” by welcoming a special guest and discussing their creative intentions for the year. This weekend, Dean and Phil got together in the nation’s capital to get “Season 4” underway by swapping stories about art galleries, historic battlefields, historic D.C. clubs, the James Webb Space Telescope, New Jersey restaurants, Wim Wenders and his 3D documentary about the artist Anselm Kiefer, and a whole lot more. A whole lot of laughs ensue!

Is Dean’s Detroit-adjacent neighborhood of Birmingham, Michigan, a winter wonderland? What are bath bombs? What is conveyor belt sushi? These are just some of the pressing questions answered by your friends in podcasting (and broadcasting) at the outset of this week’s show, before they get down to the business of remembering a founding member of Moody Blues and Wings, an Emmy-winning TV cop, a 1960s TV star-turned-casting director, a big screen star of British cinema, an award-winning Canadian filmmaker, and a wonderful character actor (and friend of Dean’s) in “Celebrity Deaths”. Then, Dean and Phil roll up their sleeves and dig deep into Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, the brand new Wonka, Godzilla Minus One and Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon.

A question about UFO Disclosure from a listener leads to a fascinating, hilarious and inspiring opening to this week’s show. Afterwards, Dean and Phil follow up on their (ongoing) discussion surrounding the Kirk Douglas-starring musical version of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by appreciating the all-too overlooked actress Susan Hampshire and by revealing something Douglas’ co-star Donald Pleasance once revealed about the making of that film. After that, Dean and Phil follow up on last week’s discussion about the silent classic Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans by exploring the fascinating life story of that film’s star, Janet Gaynor. One new film and two Disney classics get appraised, and two Oscar-winning stars get remembered in “Celebrity Deaths”!

A cold open about the horror classic (?) Phantasm gets the ball rolling on a fascinating, funny, free-wheeling conversation between Dean and Phil about such topics as Dean’s forthcoming creative endeavors, Phil’s stressful experience judging a costume competition, the ongoing Los Angeles city council scandal and the difference between “representing” and “reflecting”. A message from someone very close to Dean about the most recent Palme d’Or winner at Cannes leads to a spirited appreciation of the comedy in Jean-Luc Godard’s Weekend and a message from a loyal listener like you (yes, YOU!) leads to hilarious stories about Werner Herzog’s Nosferatu the Vampyre and to a discussion of the very first episode of the new season of “Documentary Now” (a parody about Werner Herzog)! Kanye West’s ridiculous claims about Django Unchained and the onslaught of criticism directed at the new season of “The Crown” get examined before your friends in podcasting (and broadcasting) offer up a very lengthy, (and way too short!) celebration of the “Coal Miner’s Daughter”, Loretta Lynn.