In a cold open, Phil tells of the “Live Event of the Week”. Then, in the return of “Lawsuit of the Week”, the ongoing saga of Paramount’s desired merger with Warners gets updated, and the recent UK privacy lawsuit involving such notables as Prince Harry, Elton John and Liz Hurley gets analyzed. Two listener emails pertaining to the recent, epic episode of “Deep Dive” exploring 1940s Film Noir get shared. The incredible, just-released episode of “The Wayback Machine” gets discussed and Phil follows up on what was covered in that show by asking Dean about the hit 2009 film District 9 and by quizzing Dean on hit sci-fi television of the past 20 years. Phil has fun discussing the attitudes of fans that have assumed “public ownership” of beloved properties (like “Star Trek”) and Dean makes a plug for his favorite band! Finally, Phil discusses the great Jafar Panahi’s multi-Oscar nominated It Was Just an Accident and this leads to he and Dean comparing notes on their go-to streaming channels or apps.

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!

Dean Haglund and Phil Leirness commemorate this, the one thousandth episode of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour (originally called “From the Heart of Hollywood”), by reminiscing about their first few years of “changing the way people listen to the internet” by examining how the media landscape has changed since they started podcasting, and how that landscape might evolve moving forward. The in-depth topics that get discussed include the podcasting field itself, the ways episodic television programming has changed, the dire need to change facing Netflix, and why binge watching quickly brought an end to the 21st century “golden age” of television. After a shameless (and hilarious) music plug for another podcast in the ever-expanding “Chillpak Hollywood Presents …” universe of shows, the topic turns to AI, the coming revolution revolving around artificial general intelligence, whether humanity can adapt, and whether an economy altering AI “bubble” may be on the horizon. Finally, the latest news in the now-frozen Paramount merger with Warner Bros. gets analyzed. Trust us, even if you only want to listen to one of our one thousand episodes, you can’t do wrong with this one!