Ike Eisenmann starred in the “Witch Mountain” movies for Disney. He acted alongside such giants as George C. Scott. He appeared in award-winning movies like Martin Ritt’s Cross Creek. He worked with William Shatner on numerous occasions. He even “stayed at his post while the trainees ran!” in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Currently, he is the co-host of the excellent “Pop Culture Retro” podcast. He joins Dean and Phil for a fascinating, insightful and frequently hilarious conversation about his career, about his father, who was a pioneering host in live television before becoming a successful commercial actor, about the art and business of working with child actors, and much, much more.

After a cold open that involves a fascinating horror film from the UK in the 1940s (a rarity at the time) and the scientific theories it helped spawn, Phil reveals the horrific travels he undertook since he last convened with Dean on YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour! In “Celebrity Deaths”, the political cinema of Jean-Luc Godard gets analyzed, and the lives and careers of five performers and a jazz master get celebrated. Then, it’s back to the movies, with Dean recommending a current horror film and Phil revealing the two mysteries currently in theaters he is dying to see, before he and Dean sing the praises of several “Stranger Things” cast members and then try to figure out what went so right with one Ryan Reynolds vehicle from director Shawn Levy, and what went so wrong with another Ryan Reynolds vehicle from director Shawn Levy!

This week, Dean and Phil pick up right where they left off … With Dean enjoying the weather in Michigan, Phil in COVID isolation in Los Angeles, and Robert Blake’s Cinefantastique interview about David Lynch’s Lost Highway providing the basis for a “cold open”. The themes of transition, embracing what wants to come forward, emotional intelligence and more get explored deeply in the wake of the death of Queen Elizabeth II. The Royal-themed discussion doesn’t end there, as Pablo Lorrain’s Princess Diana biopic Spencer goes under the microscope. That just starts the movie talk, though, as after raving about Joanna Hogg and her films The Souvenir and The Souvenir: Part II, Phil previews her new film, a mysterious ghost story, The Eternal Daughter, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Praise gets heaped upon filmmaker Steve McQueen and two of the films he made for his “Small Axe” series available on Prime: Mangrove and Lovers Rock. Finally, Dean and Phil wrap things up by analyzing three comic book movies (and the industry built on comic book movies): Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder, Daniel Espinosa’s Morbius, and Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis (NOT a comic book movie, you say? Just listen – you might change your mind!).

 If you’re in the USA, we hope you are having/had a wonderful Labor Day. If you are elsewhere in the world, we wish you a wonderful Monday! Either way, we think this installment of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour will help you get the week off to a good start! Phil is playing hurt, battling COVID, migraines AND the intense L.A. heat wave, yet nevertheless brings his “A” game as he and Dean take their talk of “transitions” to a whole new level, thanks to a beautiful email from a listener like you (yes, YOU!). Dean saw Bullet Train and has a lot of thoughts. Phil weighs in on The Souvenir: Part II and shares a wonderful story about acting based on Robert Blake’s experiences making David Lynch’s Lost Highway.

Dean and Phil start the show by answering a question they posed last week about The NeverEnding Story. A question about Dean’s painting leads into a deep-dive discussion about scheduling, energy management, and the time of transition in which we all find ourselves. In “Celebrity Deaths”, a character actor-turned-acting instructor gets remembered, as does a true renaissance man known primarily for playing gangsters! Olivia Newton-John’s career also gets examined at great length, including her starring role in a 1970 science-fiction film and how history could have been different had that film been a hit. Phil is more than a little bit grumpy about a “Live Event of the Week” and he and Dean wonder if Amadeus might be the most mediocre movie ever to win Best Picture. Mediocrity itself is discussed as a business model, and Netflix is in the crosshairs!

This week’s show begins with a cold open about a … last week’s cold open! Lord Turlock then shows up to explain the unique heat patterns of the town of Turlock. From there, Dean and Phil discuss their pal, David Dean Bottrell’s remembrance of working with Anne Heche. That leads into “Celebrity Deaths” and celebrations of not only Anne Heche, but of filmmakers Wolfgang Petersen and Bob Rafelson, and actor David Warner. Then, Dean and Phil discuss movies, including Jordan Peele’s Nope, David Lynch’s Lost Highway and John Huston’s Reflections in a Golden Eye. Finally, Phil hails the finale of “Better Call Saul” and he and Dean re-visit “The Lone Gunmen” wondering what could have been if show-runner Vince Gilligan had been given the opportunity he was given on the sequel/prequel series to “Breaking Bad”.

A cold open about a … melon festival (?!) … inspires a story about racial hostility in Turlock in the early 20th century. From there, Phil is inspired to pick up on a brilliant observation Dean made last week about Mike Nichols’ Working Girl and apply that observation as a potential thru-line for this celebrated director’s career. Alec Baldwin gets into hot water for tweeting support for Anne Heche and Salman Rushdie gets stabbed on-stage right before hailing the USA as the last bastion of freedom of speech. Dean and Phil try to make sense of both of these events. The return of “What We’re Reading” sees Dean learning how to sketch people’s hands and Phil learning what the next World War will be like! In “Celebrity Deaths”, a good friend and frequent collaborator of Stanley Kubrick, a popular and inspiring painter, a legendary French movie star, and the composer of one of the most indelible theme songs of all time all get remembered. Finally, Dean and Phil discuss the finely-tuned instincts Marlon Brando possessed as a great entertainer, and Phil hails the allegorical storytelling on display in Jordan Peele’s Nope.

On this week’s show, Dean shares with Phil his jury duty “cheat code”, Phil shares with Dean fascinating historic facts and rumored hauntings surrounding the town of Turlock, and they discuss another David Lynch-Mark Frost television collaboration from the late 1980s, and this one was supposed to star Steve Martin and Martin Short! Speaking of those comedy greats, their co-star from “Only Murders in the Building” has a new movie in development, a remake of a 1980s classic. Dean and Phil discuss it and they analyze the ever-shifting landscape in the battle between theatrical movie-going and streaming releases, a battle that movie theaters seem to be winning. A terrible new Netflix movie gets discussed as does the rather spotty track record of its celebrated directors. Other topics covered include “Better Call Saul”, the casting of Bullet Train and Craig Kilborn’s new podcast. Finally, in “Celebrity Deaths”, three trailblazers get remembered: Pat Carroll, Bill Russell and Nichelle Nichols.

Welcome to August 2022! Because Dean and Phil are both on the road, this week’s show is a bit of a pastiche (even more so than usual!). After a brief cold open from Turlock (cue Lord Turlock!), six actors, two musicians, a young comedian, and an iconic pop art sculptor get remembered and hailed in “Celebrity Deaths”. Then, after the break, Dean interviews the “real-life Dana Scully”, longtime FBI agent Kathy Stearman who wrote the book “It’s Not About the Gun: Lessons from My Global Career as a Female FBI Agent”. Oh, yeah, and there are multiple excerpts from David Naughton’s chart-topping disco hit “Makin’ It”. Don’t ask us why, just enjoy!

This week’s show runs the gamut culturally, from a production of “Uncle Vanya” in “Live Event of the Week” and a discussion about whether the play is a comedy, to stories of jury duty prompted by a “Lawsuit of the Week”, from an excellent documentary recommendation by a loyal listener like you (yes, YOU!) to a deep dive analysis of the U.S. box office (including a quiz!). The success of Where the Crawdads Sing gets paid particular attention, as does the “Mission: Impossible” franchise. The once-every-ten years Sight and Sound poll of the greatest films ever made leads to a discussion of the Daniels, Edgar Wright and Roy Andersson. Finally, great stories about the making of David Lynch’s Dune, Blue Velvet and The Straight Story get shared.