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!”

Let’s not kid ourselves … The holidays are never easy. And putting together this week’s episode of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour was particularly trying …

In fact, after an hour-long Skype-based conversation with their trans-Atlantic guest, Alex Lewczuk, your friends in podcasting, Dean Haglund and Phil Leirness, were shocked to discover that almost none of it was recorded!

So, they just kept talking … Without starting over! If it seems a little bit like joining a conversation in the middle, well … that’s EXACTLY what it IS! It’s a fun, free-wheeling conversation, however, about such a wide range of topics as ageism in the media, science-fiction, academia, Roman settlements, ancient cathedrals, Christmas markets … and more!

Those of you familiar with Phil’s extra-curricular activities know that he is a regular contributor to Alex Lewczuk’s Midweek Drive program(me) for Siren FM and Southside Broadcasting in the UK. You also might remember hearing Alex as part of the 28 hour Mayan podcastathon Dean and Phil conducted last year at this time.

Though, it lacks structure, due to the structure not being recorded, this week’s show is sure to stuff your stocking with audio good cheer. The elves at Rational Exuberance have edited together several holiday-themed goodies for inclusion in this week’s show – another way in which its like no other episode you’ve heard!

Happy Holidays, one and all!

This week’s show is over five and a half years in the making.

It starts with your friends in podcasting revealing their all-time Top Ten Films.

Then, they reveal the all-time Top Ten according to all the guests who have appeared on YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour!

What films will make the cut?

We wouldn’t dream of spoiling it. HOWEVER, we CAN let you know that these films did NOT make the top ten, though they came very close, finishing in positions twenty-four through eleven:

24. Vertigo (Director: Alfred Hitchcock, Year: 1958)
23. Apocalypse Now (Francis Coppola, 1979)
22. Amelie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001)
21. A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick, 1971)
19. TIE – Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994), The Big Lebowski (Joel Coen, 1998)
18. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
17. Wings of Desire (Wim Wenders, 1987)
16. the Matrix (The Wachowskis, 1999)
15. The Third Man (Carol Reed, 1949)
14. Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974)
13. Fellini’s 8 1/2 (Federico Fellini, 1963)
12. Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990)
11. Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)

Got your popcorn? Then, let’s go to the movies!