This week’s episode finds Phil in the “DMV” (DC-Maryland-Virginia) area and Dean safely ensconced back in Michgan. Phil quizzes Dean about Renaissance man Martin Mull, iconic Winnipeg musician and broadcaster Ray St. Germain, two Oscar-winning composers, and an Oscar-nominated documentarian. Dean and Phil also sing the praises of perhaps the greatest actor to NEVER get nominated for an Oscar! Such streaming fare as “Tulsa King”, Season 4 of “The Boys”, “Ripley”, Season 2 of “Tokyo Vice”, and Richard Linklater’s Hit Man all get reviewed as well.

Three weeks shy of their 17th Anniversary show, your friends in broadcasting & podcasting bring you this action-packed installment. A Tony-winning playwright whose work revealed genuine comedy brilliance, a football player-turned movie star-turned (alleged) murderer, a Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist, a groundbreaking drummer, an iconic news journalist, the director who helped launch many of the most beloved T.V. shows of all time, and the matriarch of a great filmmaking dynasty (an award-winning filmmaker herself), all get remembered in “Celebrity Deaths”. Then, the movie talk continues with two great, internationally hailed documentaries and two recent releases from (once) great filmmakers now available for streaming: Matthew Vaugn’s Argylle and Ethan Coen’s Drive-Away Dolls. Finally, Dean has thoughts about the current theatrical release Wicked Little Letters. All that, plus the return of “What We’re Reading”.

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”!

Your friends in podcasting and broadcasting start the show with a “cold open” about some greats of Italian cinema and the genius of Jennifer Coolidge and the cinematographer of “The White Lotus”. Then, after Phil regales with tales of a one-day, 650 mile road trip to Turlock and back, Dean and Phil spend the bulk of the show doing a deep dive into analyzing the year in movies 2022. They take the 10 nominees for the Best Picture Oscar and compare/contrast that list with both the critics’ choices for the top dozen or so films of the year and the top ten box office releases of the year. What emerges is an analysis of the present, and perhaps the near future of moviemaking and movie-going.

Because he’s been driving all over California, Phil tackles the insane, apocalyptic weather racking the Golden State, and Dean updates on the building of his steam room and his graphic novel (both of which are long-awaited) on this week’s installment of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour. The madness of America is addressed through the oddly appropriate lens of Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ and speaking of Scorsese, his mentor, John Cassavetes is very much a subject of discussion, from his directing of the under-seen classic The Killing of a Chinese Bookie to his acting in such crowd-pleasers as the 1964 version of The Killers and The Dirty Dozen. And one of the “Dozen”, the great music star-turned-actor Trini Lopez gets remembered in “Celebrity Deaths”. Robert Altman’s penultimate film, The Company, receives some fascinating analysis. And speaking of fascinating analysis, somehow a discussion of TV’s “Columbo” and “Law and Order: Criminal Intent” allow Dean and Phil to figure out once and for all why the Back to the Future sequels are so bad! At the close, your friends in podcasting preview next week’s show when they will be discussing the series nominated for the Emmy in the “Best Comedy” category and the dire circumstances threatening SAG-Aftra in the wake of the union’s health plan implosion.

Dean Haglund spent part of his birthday recording this episode of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour and it turns out to be a very special, very personal installment for your friends in podcasting. Sure, they talk about a whole bunch of movies, including Mission: Impossible – FalloutHotel ArtemisSorry to Bother YouEat Me and The Breaker Upperers, and they celebrate John Waters’ Hairspray at 30. Of course, they also discuss the latest news regarding the James Gunn and Chris Hardwick controversies and weigh in on the ramifications surrounding the accusations leveled at longtime CBS head honcho Les Moonves. All that plus disturbing news surrounding two L.A. icons and the show biz disruptor that is (was?) MoviePass. What makes the episode truly unforgettable and personal, however, will have to remain a secret to all but those who listen to this week’s show. Which you can do NOW wherever good podcasts can be found!

On his way to Detroit, Dean stopped by a certain historic building in Los Angeles to record this week’s episode, He and Phil preview Dean’s trip this week to Motor City as well as talk about Dean’s permanent move there taking place later this year. They also re-visit an idea Dean floated back during their days making The Truth Is Out There, that in this day and age, the conspiracy theory IS the conspiracy … They celebrate the lives of a legendary choreographer, an all-time great documentary filmmaker and a matinee idol in “Celebrity Deaths” before discussing a wide range of recent cinematic releases including “Thor: Ragnarok“, “Ant-Man and the Wasp“, “Blade Runner 2049“, “Three Identical Strangers“, “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom“, and a Bollywood comedy about … defecating in the woods?! YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour. Wherever good podcasts can be found.

 

Before taking off on their holiday travels, your friends in podcasting, Dean Haglund and Phil Leirness are doing what they do best: Making sense of a (show business) world gone wild …

They weigh in on the cyber terrorist attack against Sony. They celebrate a milestone achieved by one of their favorite shows. They discuss live events starring the likes of Angela Lansbury and Jeff Goldblum. They dish on an animation price-fixing lawsuit, the decades-long Roman Polanski judicial drama and the idea of actors owning a copyright interest in their performances. They discuss casting news that has them hopeful and casting news that gives them pause. They champion three outstanding films from earlier this year that you probably missed that are available now on home video and they warn you against an award-hopeful Christmas Day opener that is without a doubt one of the worst films of the year. All that PLUS much more as they wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

All together now (singing): “We need a little Chillpak, right this very minute!”