Are Dean and Phil filled with the spirit of the holiday season? This week, we will all find out! They certainly are immersed in the spirit of the Hollywood Awards Season and they discuss the top ten films according to critics, and delve into the top films and performances according to the Golden Globes. They do deep dive analyses of two films – one current award hopeful, and one all-time classic from a true giant of cinema. Then, in the return of “Celebrity Deaths”, a world-famous mentalist, and a big-screen comedy hit-maker get remembered.

We are one week away from our 17th Anniversary and on this week’s show, your friends in broadcasting & podcasting ask for your help in celebrating this milestone! They also discuss a whole lot of movie news and reviews, including the death of a Cannes Palme d’Or winner, the latest on Francis Coppola’s Megalopolis, the return of George Lucas to Star Wars, Steven Spielberg directing a television series based on a script by Stanley Kubrick, the controversy surrounding Taylor Swift’s new album, the meaning of “anti-war” and “anti-violence”, the latest in the Rust on-set shooting prosecutions, the latest terrible twist of fate in the Harvey Weinstein prosecutions, the latest (last?) in Michael Apted’s “Up” documentary series, the cinematic greatness of Jean Cocteau, and a new Japanese classic hitting theaters soon.

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!

In “Live Event of the Week”, Dean previews an interview with a very musical guest coming up on next week’s show, and Phil reviews a stage show he first spoke about in episode #265! After that, they tackle the coronavirus, and how it’s affecting movie-going, film distribution, family travel and handshake lines! A ground-breaking, and little-known trailblazer of the movie industry gets championed 25 years after his death and that leads into “Celebrity Deaths” wherein a chart-topping singer, a beloved TV mom, a jazz great and the creator and longtime host of “Inside the Actors Studio” get remembered. All that, plus we get MUCH better acquainted with Dean (and a little bit better acquainted with Phil)!

From killer bees to climate change to record setting sales prices for Hollywood mansions, it seems like the whole word has gone mad! Fortunately, your friends in podcasting embrace their own madness just enough to help make sense of a world gone wild! This week, Dean and Phil will also discuss this weekend’s big cinematic release, The Call of the Wild, and a 3D musical film from 1953! They will also remember groundbreaking music, stage and screen performers. All that, plus a bunch of laughs.

In the second of two face-to-face episodes recorded this past week while Dean was in Los Angeles, your friends in podcasting discuss two “Celebrity Deaths” and three current cinematic releases. The creator of “SpongeBob SquarePants” and the woman who co-wrote “American Graffiti” and who gave Princess Leia her fighting, courageous spirit are the celebrities remembered by Dean and Phil. The documentary “They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead” (about Orson Welles’ 15 year-long effort to make the unparalleled “The Other Side of the Wind”), the heist thriller “Widows” from director Steve McQueen (“Shame”, “12 Years a Slave”) and “If Beale Street Could Talk” from director Barry Jenkins (“Moonlight”) are the movies Dean and Phil go into great depth discussing. on YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour.

We’re only two episodes away from the end of year 8 and only five episodes away from Dean Haglund’s move to Australia, yet your friends in podcasting have more to discuss than ever before! From a full report on the preview screening of their new dark comedy, to the latest news regarding Sci-Fest, from the latest rumblings about the return of The X-Files to Phil’s heartfelt thank you and farewell to a film critic who played a major role in his development as an artist, this week’s installment is quite personal to Dean and Phil.

There is a ton of talk about current television (like Mad MenDaredevil, and the countdown to David Letterman’s final show) and future television (an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. spin-off, the Twin Peaks reboot, and perhaps the most exciting new show to be announced in AGES!). There is also much attention paid to forthcoming movies, including ill-advised remakes and reboots, and maybe a film or two worthy of optimism!

Dean and Phil follow up on their (enormously popular) discussion of female-driven films (episode #413), with a discussion of two emerging female musical artists. All that, plus the latest dirt Phil has learned about Scientology AND not one, not two, not three, but FOUR emails from listeners like you! Want to learn about IMDb? Want to learn about Dean and Phil’s favorite cookies? Then, stop reading and start enjoying this thrilling installment of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour!

 

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!