Dean Haglund turned 60 this past week and on the occasion, Phil Leirness and (friend of show and composer of numerous themes songs) Jon Lawlor met up with Dean via Zoom to discuss the importance of celebrating birthdays. They also celebrated the incredible life and hilarious artistry of the great Tom Lehrer. This led into a discussion of the gents’ all time biggest comedy influences. Finally, they discussed the fact that two of the films hailed as the best of 2025 both deal with recovery from sexual trauma and why that might make sense for where we are as a culture right now. Afterwards, Lily Holleman joined the festivities to go in-depth with Phil about one of those two films.

From a secret location somewhere in America (actually a rooftop high atop the historic village neighborhood where Phil resides): Dean and Phil got together IN PERSON, and Phil’s better half, Lily Holleman, joined them, first to see an experimental film from 1990 (All the Vermeers in New York) at the American Cinematheque, and then to discuss it (over cocktails). You have probably NOT seen the movie, but the discussion is both interesting AND sets up many later conversation strands that prove hilarious! In fact, if this is not the funniest episode of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour, it will do until the funniest episode gets here! Partway through, Steve the Turk (who last joined the festivities at a bar in Helsingør, Denmark, when Year 18 Episode 45 was recorded during Dean’s bachelor party) joins the trio. Steve regales with information about Turkey, Denmark and Hamburg, Germany. Personalized license plates, the “No Kings” protests and who Steve the Turk’s “best friend” might be are just some of the hard-hitting topics the team delve into before opening the Chillpak morgue and getting down to the brass tacks of a VERY competitive round of “Celebrity Deaths”!

Dean and Phil commence the proceedings with a cold open wherein they address a fantastic voice message they received from a loyal listener in Germany. Then, after finding out when Dean expects to no longer be living in his one-room art studio above the garage, Phil dedicates the rest of the show to celebrating movies from around the world and from across the decades! The recent blockbuster Sinners, the current blockbuster Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, and the current limited release A Vanishing Fog from Columbia (the country, not the studio) all get reviewed. One of the great films of the 21st century, a 2000 masterpiece from Taiwan entitled Yi Yi, and the legendary capper to the “Apu” trilogy – Apur Sansar (aka The World of Apu) – from the great Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray both get celebrated. Finally, Phil shares stories of Alexander Payne, and regales with the history of perhaps the single greatest influence on Payne’s work, Preston Sturges, both in light of re-watching the hilarious and surprisingly rousing 1944 wartime comedy Hail the Conquering Hero. So, butter up that popcorn, epic Year 19 Episode 4 of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour is going to the movies!

If you are interested in movies, movie making, or the movie business, you are going to find this week’s show fascinating. Dean and Phil do deep dives into the cinematic delights brought to us by the Marx Brothers, the Canadian films produced under that country’s 100-percent Capital Cost Allowance tax shield for investors, Jon Voight’s plan to save Hollywood and the wildly different reactions to that plan within the industry, the ways the smash hit Sinners might change the economics of the biz, and the just-commenced 78th Cannes Film Festival (including one apparent all-time masterpiece that made its debut as well as a “secret” documentary about the Red Hot Chili Peppers). As if that weren’t enough, your friends in podcasting go overtime to remember two impactful filmmakers, an Oscar-winning makeup artist, a beloved big screen “tough guy”, and a prolific child star of the 1930s and 40s.

Welcome to a very freewheeling episode! It begins with Dean Haglund revealing what he’s watching these days. The action then shifts to a rooftop roundtable discussion with two special guests all about television. “Baby Reindeer”, “The White Lotus”, “Severance”, “Hacks”, “Slow Horses”, “Poker Face”, “The Residence”, the Marvel Studios shows, the “Star Wars” shows and two special recommendations all get discussed. Then, it’s back to Dean as he and Phil reveal what they are reading! Art, essays, liberty, Edgar Allan Poe, AI and Philadelphia all get discussed!

Due to the ridiculous travel itineraries of your friends in podcasting, this week’s show is coming at you one day late, but is jumbo-sized to make up for its tardiness! The festivities get started on a midnight train ride through Denmark two Saturdays back as Phil Leirness and Jon Lawlor discussed sandwiches, the English language, the honor system of Copenhagen and swapped tales of the magnificent Copenhagen City Hall. Then, back in Los Angeles, Phil quizzes Lily Holleman (Leirness) about the terrors of London Heathrow Airport, the joys of steam-punk weddings, the incredible history of the Koronborg Slot (aka “Hamlet’s Castle”), the delights of Copenhagen breakfasts, and the inspiring art of Edvard Munch. Finally, Phil connects with Dean Haglund, who is enjoying his honeymoon in Portugal. They discuss Dean’s nuptials, their respective Nordic ancestry, Dean’s visit to Paris, the delights of Lisbon, Guy Maddin’s most recent film, the television miniseries “A Gentleman in Moscow” and much more!

Today is not only St. Patrick’s Day, it’s also Dean Haglund’s wedding day! Therefore, this week’s installment of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour is an absolute travel adventure. First, Lily Holleman joins Phil at the Hotel Kong Arthur in Copenhagen to share her thoughts about their trip to Venice. Then, we switch locations to a pub in Helsingør near the Kronborg Slot aka Hamlet’s Castle and the spot where Dean will be entering into the bonds of matrimony. At the pub, while Dean’s bachelor party is getting started, Dean reveals his most recent travel nightmares regales with tales of Turkish Airlines, in-flight movies from Turkey, and robots at the Istanbul Airport. There is a special cameo appearance from a surprise guest, and quite a bit of drinking, plus a lot of fascinating talk about the Copenhagen City Hall, ancient Constantinople and mermaids.

Coming at you from Venice, Italy, Los Angeles of the 1980s and everywhere in between, this week’s show is a wild pastiche. First, Phil gets the ball rolling from Venice, as he welcomes frequent contributor over the years, Lily Holleman (Leirness), who shares some thoughts about the ancient world capital. Phil issues a warning to anyone who is listening to the show from Los Angeles of the 1980s. Then, after Christopher Walken leads us into the show’s traditional opening, Marc Hershon drops by to discuss both recent television awards, the SNL50 special, and current shows of which you might be well advised to avail yourselves. Then, in the back half, Dean shows up to find out what Phil’s reading, and to share with Phil his advice of the must-see sights and much-do events Venice has to offer.

Your friends in podcasting have two more shows before they make their way (separately) to Europe and reconvene in Denmark! So, understandably, they have a full discussion agenda for this week’s show. They discuss the theft of thousands of art works from Venice and how a 1954 cinematic masterpiece helped in the reconstruction of one of the landmark buildings of that city. They discuss TWO “Live Events of the Week” and in so doing, discuss Shakespeare, Armin Shimmerman, and two of the most legendary Los Angeles stage actors. In “Celebrity Deaths” a chart-topping singer-turned-elected official gets remembered, as does a prolific character actor, a groundbreaking African filmmaker, and an influential poet and multimedia artist of the Beat era. The “SNL50” special gets discussed, as does an excellent new sports documentary series on Netflix. Finally, this weekend’s Spirit Awards (honoring the best in independent cinema) gets analyzed, and one of the most acclaimed animated films of 2024, one of the most acclaimed international films of 2024, and one of the most acclaimed documentaries of 2024 all get reviewed.