In a cold open, Dean and Phil share how impressed they are with an animated short made by the college student son of one of Phil’s high school classmates. In the return of “Lawsuit of the Week”, the most recent threats and developments surrounding Paramount’s desired merger with Warners get fully explained and analyzed. Phil shares sadness surrounding the impending departure of longtime favorite son of Los Angeles, Gustavo Dudamel, who is leaving the L.A. Phil to take over the New York Philharmonic. A great story about Lily (Holleman) Leirness’ encounter with Dudamel gets shared. Dean has started watching “Diarra from Detroit” at Phil’s urging and loves it! A loyal listener has a slight correction to something Dean said on the recent, epic episode of “Deep Dive” exploring 1940s Film Noir. Phil follows up on a couple of films discussed in that show, offering greater context to the writing of The Stranger (1946) and Sidney Greenstreet’s performance in The Maltese Falcon (1941). Chris Carter’s “director’s cut” of the 2nd “X-Files” movie has been released and … Dean and Phil have thoughts. Phil re-watched Citizen Kane, which inspires in-depth discussion of that film’s continued greatness and resonance, and which inspired his watching the recent Japanese psychological suspense film Exit 8, a film Dean is now ready to reappraise!

In some ways, Dean Haglund and Phil Leirness pick up where last week’s show (the one thousandth episode of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour) left off, by reminiscing about a couple of their early years spent “changing the way people listen to the internet” and by examining more in the shifting release strategies for television and the viewing habits of television viewers. They also go deeper still into the issues surround the soon-to-be-litigated proposed Paramount merger with Warners. They continue their ongoing analysis of the potential benefits, and current costs, of our evolving relation to Artificial Intelligence. They also discuss one video game movie, one sci-fi comedy from the 1980s, and one current samurai era “whodunit”. They share their love of a raft of different contemporary television series and reveal which streamers they enjoy the most and which shows keep them excited between seasons. Also, they preview this week’s release of an R-rate “director’s cut” of the second “The X-Files” feature film!

In his final show from his current trip to the East Coast, Phil regales with thoughts of Easter and tales of cherry blossoms. Dean explains why he did not see Project Hail Mary. An email from a friend of the show leads to further discussion of the 1978 sci-fi cheese-fest Starcrash and to the entire concept of “guilty pleasures” getting analyzed. An email from another good friend of the show causes Phil and Dean to go deep into dead actors taking roles away from living ones and into the exact role Doja Cat played in denying Timothee Chalamet a Best Actor Oscar. Then, Dean and Phil turn their attention to the big show biz news of the weekend: the Writers Guild of America striking an unexpected deal with the AMPTP, and the latest headlines to come out of the Justin Baldoni-Blake Lively lawsuit. Finally, the proceedings wrap up with your friends in podcasting sharing personal recollections of the 31st greatest movie theatre in the world right now according to Time Out.

After comparing notes on their forthcoming respective travel plans, Dean and Phil roll up their sleeves and discuss the 25th anniversary of “The Lone Gunmen” series. Then, in what will be a multi-week exploration, they begin to delve into Time Out’s list of the 100 Greatest Movie Theaters in the World that are still in operation. The movie business is foremost on their minds these days, and they pose some of the big, perplexing questions regarding the possibly sinister and definitely nonsensical merger of Paramount with Warner Bros. Then, because it’s STILL awards season, they tackle the really odd, almost desperate nature of the recent SAG-AFTRA “Actor Awards” on Netflix. As a bonus, you will learn what the following phrases uttered by Dean Haglund in this episode actually mean: “We made the Ramones cry!” and “funky, artisanal whatever”.

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!

This week’s show spans three weeks, three cities, and three different time zones. It starts with a conversation about the Detroit Institute of Art and the “Murder She Wrote” board game, recorded in Birmingham, Michigan, during a terrifying storm. It continues with a conversation recorded for last week’s show about a message Dean received from a fan and about Phil’s enjoyment of the FX revival series “Justified: City Primeval”. Then, after the break, Dean checks in from Minneapolis and the PhileFest celebrating the 30th Anniversary of “The X-Files”. He reports on all the goings-on, including the comedy, the fans, the stars and the possibly forthcoming reboot of the show from Ryan Coogler. Finally, Dean and Phil turn their attention to the just-concluded Venice Film Festival, to an award-winning Japanese filmmaker and to movies made in secret.

Saturday was International Ghost Hunting Day and Dean was at the forefront of it. Phil has been thinking a great deal about Buster Keaton, his influence, and other films and filmmakers that might have influenced the making of his beloved Wings of Desire. Phil asks Dean about legendary actress Ruta Lee, and an episode of “The Twilight Zone” in which she starred. One of the greatest banjo players of all time, a giant of reggae, and a founding member of a chart-topping UK pop band all get remembered in “Celebrity Deaths”. In the return of “What We’re Reading”, Dean discusses an artist who was once the most popular in Amsterdam and who has fallen into obscurity. This leads into a fascinating discussion about communicating with the future. Phil is reading a novel that explores two different timelines in the marshes and on the coastline of North Carolina in the 1950s and 60s. Dean and Phil then re-visit last week’s Emmy Awards and do an analytical deep dive into the furor surrounding “Ted Lasso” season 2 and the concept of “public ownership” before reviewing season 1 of “Hacks”. Finally, we want to wish our sponsor, Empire State Gas, Many Happy Returns! Thanks for sponsoring us all these years. You’ve got great gas!

On this week’s episode, the Queen of Technicolor, a World War II hero, an iconic magician and a couple of musical legends get remembered in “Celebrity Deaths”. Dean and Phil will follow up on last week’s discussion of their favorite bookstores with a couple more favorites, including one New York landmark facing a crisis. Phil will ask Dean his thoughts about recent comments made by Chris Carter about Gillian Anderson that have not been sitting well with fans. Phil and Dean will also try to make sense of the spectacular (and spectacularly expensive) failure that was Quibi. All that, plus your friends in podcasting will be weighing in on season 3 of “Star Trek: Discovery”, HBO’s exploration of the NXIVM cult, “The Vow”, and Spike Lee’s joint of “David Byrne’s Utopia”.

Although this show is 85 minutes long, there’s no truth to the rumor that we will be changing our name to YOUR “Chillpak Hollywood Hour AND A HALF!” Celebrities just keep on dying and your friends in podcasting keep right on remembering them! On this week’s show, music legend João Gilberto, Disney star Cameron Boyce, “Laugh-In” comic Arte Johnson, and automotive icon Lee Iacocca have their lives and accomplishments celebrated. Then, Dean and Phil dig into the archives to sample what they were talking about 12 years ago this week. Roswell, UFOs and an ill-fated “sister” podcast all get discussed. After that, Dean and Phil share an email from a loyal listener like you (yes, YOU!) involving the best ways to ensure a television series’ quality during its entire run. This leads to a conversation about the best TV finales, the worst TV finales and how lucky we are when some awesome shows don’t even GET finales! Oh, yeah, and Phil has eye surgery and post-op procedure stories to share!