Phil is back from a weekend excursion to Catalina and regales with tales of his trip. Dean previews his forthcoming trips to London, Los Angeles, Japan and Europe. Many different Netflix shows starring comedian John Mulaney get discussed, and his work ranging from stand-up to sketch to performance art gets analyzed. Three recent movies also get analyzed: the “found footage” horror favorite Late Night with the Devil, the Ian McShane-starring indie thriller American Star, and a modern classic from France, The Taste of Things. Finally, Hollywood giant Roger Corman gets remembered in “Celebrity Deaths”.

 

We hope this finds you having enjoyed a happy and healthy New Year. Twelfth Night is a festival that takes place on the last night of the Twelve Days of Christmas, marking the coming of the Epiphany. Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” (or “What You Will”), is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night’s entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. On this week’s brand new Season 2 Episode 109 of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour, Dean and Phil celebrate both the holiday season AND the immortal Bard of Stratford on Avon by counting down each of their 12 all-time favorite cinematic adaptations of Shakespeare! Brevity might be the soul of wit, but your friends in podcasting (and broadcasting) have an hour to fill!

Pop quiz: What do an Oscar-winning writer-editor, four dead actors, the story of how William Shatner became a star, 3 hilarious movie ads from the 1980s, anti-trust lawsuits pitting writers against actors, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the Independent Spirit Awards, a graphic novel, and the brother of presidential assassin James Wilkes Booth have in common? They are all a part of this week’s episode of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour!

A true prodigy, singer-songwriter EmiSunshine earned national attention before she was ten years old. Now, still shy of her sixteenth birthday, EmiSunshine is a skillful and soulful purveyor of the music genre known as Americana. After playing one of her brand new tunes, Dean Haglund interviews her in the first half of this week’s show and she even shares a ghost story! In the second half of the show, Dean reviews Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man and Phil shares with Dean a hilarious story about a mutual friend’s adventures in screenwriting. Finally, Dean and Phil celebrate the peerless cinematic legacy of the great Max Von Sydow. Something for everyone? We like to think so!

We were going to say that after a one-week absence (during which they released a spectacular pre-recorded episode with a special guest), your friends in podcasting come out with guns blazing … And then, as they were getting set to record, ANOTHER mass shooting in the USA occurred. Dean and Phil address the event and get into a seriously fascinating conversation about rage and despair and about how people can obtain the tools necessary to explore these bedrock emotions without being taken by them. Then, in the return of “Live Events of the Week”, Tchaikovsky and a non-binary gender identifying performer are celebrated, and Dean discusses his “Down Under Bucket List”, including scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef (a list item he has checked off, thank you very much!). Romantic comedies and diversity both get discussed in the wake of Crazy Rich Asians‘ box office success (and surprisingly decent reviews) and the documentary profile Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda gets recommended. Finally, the Chillpak Morgue is opened for “Celebrity Deaths” where the lives, accomplishments and lasting impacts of a true American hero, a giant of international diplomacy, the Oscar-nominated actress who founded modern improv, the journalist who coined the phrase “champagne wishes and caviar dreams” and the Queen of Soul are all remembered. All that AND Phil finally learns the usage of modern-day pronouns!

This week’s installment of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour comes at you a little bit later than we like, though it’s definitely worth the wait and boasts almost 15% more “hour”! During their intercontinental connection, your friends in podcasting discuss Dean’s trip to Melbourne, where he hosted Melbourne WebFest, an award show honoring the best in web series. Finally, at long last, Dean also talks about his work (as Iago!) on the award-winning web series “Shakespeare Republic”. After that, it’s time for “Celebrity Deaths” where a noted futurist and a music family patriarch are remembered. There is some more feedback on their “Top Ten Comedies of All Time” episodes, Phil asks Dean about the 1930’s comedy team of Wheeler & Woolsey. Then Phil sings the praises of HBO’s “Westworld”, which leads to he and Dean waxing rhapsodic about the brilliance of Jeffrey Wright, before they turn their attention to movies. Kingsman: The Golden CircleOcean’s 8Won’t You Be My NeighborFirst ReformedUpgrade, and Hereditary all get (spoiler free) reviewed and discussed.

From May 26 through 28, your friends in podcasting converged in Dallas for a Famous Monsters Convention. While there, they filmed interviews and footage for part 2 of their documentary The Truth Is Out There, AND they recorded an entire podcast with special guests Bruce Harwood and Tom Braidwood! It’s a reunion of The Lone Gunmen on YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour!

It’s the first Top Ten show of year 11! After years of celebrating Live Events of the Week, your friends in podcasting count down their Top Ten All-Time Favorite Live Events, starting with a healthy and diverse list of “honorable mentions” … Musical concerts are NOT included. Those must be saved for another show! THIS episode is a fun and fascinating look into what your friends in podcasting find memorable and into what inspires them.