Your friends in podcasting get November off to a swinging start by sharing a whole bunch of stories before delving into many fascinating films, both legendary and notorious, both short subjects and features. The stories involve Halloween, the WNBA champion Golden State Valkyries, the late, great Sir Patrick Stewart, and the making of a behind-the-scenes documentary Phil once directed about the making of a fascinating film. The short subjects discussed are the 1983 DIY experimental video horror musical Possibly in Michigan from artist Cecilia Condit and the seminal work of surrealist cinema Un Chien Andalou, the first film from all-time master Luis Buñuel which he co-wrote with none other than Salvador Dali. Three controversial horror feature films that continue to delight and disturb more than forty years after each of them were initially released get thoroughly celebrated: The current 4K restoration of Ken Russell’s The Devils, the 1981 Possession and David Lynch’s first film, Eraserhead.

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!