Great theaters and great comedy are on the minds of your friends in podcasting. First, Dean and Phil pat themselves on the backs for taking the time at the beginning of the year to preview the film that ended up winning the Palme d’Or at the just-completed Cannes Film Festival. Then, they finally, after a break of months, return to the Time Out list of the “100 Greatest Movie Theaters in the World”, and share their connections to some of the very top selections. From great movie theaters to one of the most historic live television stages in the world, the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City, Stephen Colbert’s farewell to the “Late Show” gets analyzed and his return to late night television the very next night in Monroe, Michigan (on Public Access television) gets celebrated. Finally, two of the most legendary comedy filmmakers of all time get compared: Mel Brooks and Ernst Lubitsch. The “Lubitsch Touch” gets explained and the all-time great comedy film To Be or Not to Be gets discussed in fascinating detail.

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.