Chillpak Hollywood Hour – Year 19 Episode 42

Posted on February 23, 2026 by PHIL19

After discussing the latest news regarding Netflix, their attempts to purchase Warner Bros, and what the current President of the U.S.A. is demanding they do, Dean and Phil talk about more of the intriguing movies coming out in 2026 (including period pieces, biopics, and crime films). Hollywood still hasn’t recovered from the dual strikes of a few years back, and with the negotiations for new contracts upcoming, the Writers Guild seems to be imploding. Dean and Phil analyze the latest labor strife. The recent movie Anaconda gets reviewed, and the French classic Amelie gets re-appraised in time for its 25^th anniversary. In the return of “What We’re Reading” the latest by Dan Brown and a work of historical fiction about legendary filmmaker G.W. Pabst get discussed. Finally the murders of two groundbreaking physicists has Phil troubled, so he asks Dean about whether the deaths might be part of a conspiracy. And speaking of conspiracy, Dean and Phil conclude with the latest news surrounding Ryan Coogler’s reboot of “The X-Files”.

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Chillpak Hollywood Hour – Year 19 Episode 17

Posted on September 1, 2025 by PHIL19

It’s the symbolic final weekend of summer 2025 and your friends in podcasting commemorate in style with almost 70 minutes of rich podcasty goodness! They discuss how one of Dean’s all-time least favorite films might become a television series. They discuss how a Todd Haynes period detective film they would have loved to see might just be back from the dead. They discuss how and why Weapons has captured the cultural conversation in a way few movies do any more. They discuss how and why Netflix had the #1 film at the box office, why Netflix didn’t want you to know that, and what it might portend for the future. They discuss the merits of the new Netflix mystery The Thursday Murder Club. They discuss the 1987 classic River’s Edge and the 1949 all-time masterpiece The Third Man. In the return of the “Live Event of the Week”, Pink Martini performs under the stars at the Greek Theatre. In “Celebrity Deaths”, an Oscar-winning composer, a Tejano legend, a chart-topping flugelhorn player, a co-founder of “Derek and the Dominos”, and the jazz singer dubbed “the lady with the million-dollar ears” all get remembered. Finally, Dean and Phil pay tribute to the great Terence Stamp. Happy Labor Day, USA! Happy Monday, everyone else.

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Chillpak Hollywood Hour – Year 19 Episode 11

Posted on July 21, 2025 by PHIL19

It’s been a while since Phil brought out the ol’ Chillpak soapbox, but on this week’s show, it comes in handy as Dean and Phil delve into the huge show biz news in “The Explanation of the Week” involving late night shows, corporate mergers, bribery, evangelical Christianity, and Stephen Colbert. In “What We’re Reading” the teachings of Taoist philosophy go into the spotlight. The first two episodes of “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” season 3 get reviewed and Phil defends the series from some recent criticisms about the show “not being about anything”. Then TV mysteries “The Residence” and “Poker Face” get discussed before the 1965 big-screen Agatha Christie-adapted mystery Ten Little Indians and 2024 Cannes winner for Best Director, Grand Tour, get reviewed.

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Chillpak Hollywood Hour – Year 19 Episode 5

Posted on June 9, 2025 by PHIL19

Dean and Phil have quite the array of topics to discuss, including a recent Marvel film, a Neil Simon comedy from the 1970s, all the big award-winners at the recent Cannes Film Festival, and a director’s cut of Chris Carter’s The X-Files: I Want to Believe. Both the Australian and the American versions of “Laid” get discussed, and art, architecture, history and more get discussed in the return of “What We Are Reading”. Two beloved television stars and a legendary comedian get remembered in “Celebrity Deaths”. Finally, good pal of the show Marc Hershon drops by to offer up two new television show recommendations that both sound awesome!

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Chillpak Hollywood Hour – Year 18 Episode 42

Posted on February 24, 2025 by PHIL19

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.

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Chillpak Hollywood Hour – Year 18 Episode 41

Posted on February 17, 2025February 17, 2025 by PHIL19

Phil is celebrating his 6^th wedding anniversary, the USA is celebrating President’s Day, and the rest of the world, we hope, is going to have a lovely Monday! Certainly Dean and Phil are doing their level best to get your week off to a great start as they discuss anniversaries, bar mitzvahs and bus rides! In the return of “What We’re Reading”, Dean discusses an influential book by Edward Bellamy published in 1888, and Phil discusses a fascinating non-fiction book about Venice written by the author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. In “Celebrity Deaths”, a chart-topping soul singer, an acclaimed novelist, and a beloved character actor of stage and screen all get remembered. Then, your friends in podcasting take aim at some of the 2024 movies that did NOT make their lists of the best films of the year. Finally, Phil turns Dean onto a 1989 experimental Japanese film that is the epitome of “Cyberpunk” and which influenced the likes of David Lynch, David Cronenberg, and the ending of this year’s The Substance.

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Chillpak Hollywood Hour – Year 18 Episode 34

Posted on December 30, 2024 by PHIL19

Your friends in podcasting, Dean Haglund and Phil Leirness, participate in a “side project” called The Art Life with good pal (and creator of many Chillpak Hollywood Hour theme songs) Jon Lawlor. Each week they hold each other’s feet to the fire as they try to free up their creativity, make it manifest in the world AND encourage each other to live more artful, authentic lives. In the first Chillpak episode of 2024 (Season 3, Episode 100), they discussed their intentions for 2024 and how they intended to set their compasses to their true North(s). In this week’s final episode of the year, Dean, Phil and Jon look back at what was said, share how they feel about their artistic year and discuss how their focus is evolving as we journey into 2025. Happy New Year, one and all!

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Chillpak Hollywood Hour – Year 18 Episode 21

Posted on September 30, 2024 by PHIL19

Because of some crazy travel plans (London! New York! Tokyo!), the next three episodes of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour promise to be unusual even by our standards! This week’s topics include a forthcoming Broadway revival of “Glengarry Glen Ross”, the crazy, big screen experience Megalopolis, the lineage of Longlegs director Oz Perkins (and a bit about one of the film’s stars), and a “smart house” thriller from Canada, Red Rooms. The North American tour of (“the Modfather”) Paul Weller becomes “The Live Event of the Week”. The deaths of master stone carver Simon Verity, best-selling mystery novelist Nelson DeMille, beloved actor James Earl Jones, and the utterly peerless legend of the stage and screen Maggie Smith all get discussed. Art, architecture, mythology, philosophy, movies, television, music and more on this week’s show – in other words, something for everyone, right?

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Chillpak Hollywood Hour – Year 18 Episode 18

Posted on September 9, 2024 by PHIL19

This week’s show boasts several great stories, both about your friends in podcasting and about show business notables. Phil shares a touching tale of being reunited with a very famous old friend. He also shares personal memories about the late acting and singing star James Darren, and the NBA great Alvin Attles. And although he died almost two months ago, Dean and Phil finally take the time to offer a heartfelt remembrance of beloved fitness guru Richard Simmons. An email from friend of the show Maurice Terenzio leads to re-visiting the discussion Dean and Phil had a couple weeks back about game show icon Peter Marshall, (the email is a GOOD one!). Another email from a fan who hosts his very own medical show leads to a very thoughtful and interesting conversation as Dean and Phil consider an invitation to appear on this man’s show and discuss Dean’s ongoing interest in the paranormal. Finally, Phil brings back the “vintage movie ad” game, and quizzes Dean about three cinematic releases from September of 1987!

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Chillpak Hollywood Hour – Year 18 Episode 8

Posted on July 1, 2024 by PHIL19

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.

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