We are one week away from Dean Haglund and Phil Leirness celebrating 19 years of “changing the way people listen to the internet” through YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour (now the flagship of the “Chillpak Hollywood Presents” expanded universe of podcasts on Substack). On this week’s show, Dean and Phil come to humorous grips with just how long they have been doing this show through discussions of celebrity deaths and conspiracy theories surrounding dead and missing scientists. They also go deep on the, perhaps unfortunate, legacy of “The X-Files” inspiring people to “trust no one”, especially when it comes to journalists. Two great Vietnam War films get discussed briefly before an in-depth discussion about all that is wrong AND right with the recent blockbuster Project Hail Mary, as well as the most recent installments in both the Predator and John Wick cinematic universes.

After a cold open wherein Phil gives everyone the lay of the land, outtakes from last week’s show are picked up off the cutting room floor, dusted off and used, revealing an obviously drunken Dean and (a perhaps tipsy) Phil continuing their discussion of commuter trains before delving into Project Hail Mary and a couple of vintage James Bond films. Then, after a midpoint musical interlude that allows Dean and Phil to become sober as judges, good pal Jon Lawlor joins the conversation for analysis of the Live Nation and Ticketmaster court case and the pending Warner Bros.-Paramount merger. During the show, Phil learns the difference between a Japanese bathhouse and the Alamo Drafthouse, and the difference between the words “vacillate” and “oscillate”.

This week, Dean and Phil will begin to slowly roll out the new era of Chillpak Hollywood, releasing much more content each week. Phil provides details at the outset. Then, he and Dean engage in much show biz “water cooler” discussion. The most famous modernist home in the world is up for sale for the very first time. Dean and Phil talk about the house, its history, and some of the movies that were filmed there. Warner Bros. is also up for sale, apparently (again!), and Dean and Phil both discuss it and sort of lament it! A loyal listener is very upset about the film Bugonia, so Dean and Phil revisit their debate about the film’s director, Yorgos Lanthimos. The lack of box office this year for accomplished and acclaimed films aimed at adults gets discussed broadly, with two of these films (the Channing Tatum vehicle Roofman, and the recent spy thriller Black Bag) going under the microscope. Finally, two classic films get re-appraised and celebrated anew: Rian Johnson’s Brick on its 20th anniversary, and the rollicking 1966 western The Professionals. Finally, one of Phil’s all-time favorite actors, indeed one of the greatest figures in Japanese cinema history, gets remembered in “Celebrity Deaths”.

This was not the show we expected to be bringing you this week, but all of a sudden, during their “side project” (“The Art Life” with friend of show Jon Lawlor), Dean started holding court about the current box office smash Superman. Suffice it to say, Dean had THOUGHTS! So, we bring you what ensued, a free-wheeling discussion not only of the James Gunn-directed blockbuster, but a discussion of DC comics’ history, of the character’s history, and of the lost art of behind-the-scenes documentary looks at the making of movies as promotional materials. Somehow, the conversation turns to Rob Zombie and his House of 1000 Corpses, to a “holy grail” of cinema for Phil that proved to be a guilty non-pleasure, Ashanti, and to Noah Hawley’s new Alien: Earth television series. All that, plus the Stallone film Dean walked out of, the horrible movie Nic Cage’s son starred in, why Iron Man turned out to be so good, the problem with reboots, and more!

Because your friends in podcasting really wanted to take a much-needed week off, they pre-recorded this week’s show in two parts. One part involves Dean and Phil continuing their ongoing reappraisal of the “Mission: Impossible” films, as they debate the merits of the most successful (and critically acclaimed) installment – Mission: Impossible – Fallout. The other part was recorded with good pal Jon Lawlor during their weekly discussion of “The Art Life”. The themes they explore involve the definitions of “courage”, “decorate” and answering the question, “what’s missing?” Music, bravery, intimacy, cancer, dog sweaters, and the “Star Trek” episode “Spectre of the Gun” are just some of the topics discussed. The show ends in a cliffhanger mystery! The show BEGINS with a question to you (yes, YOU!), our dear listeners, about the future form of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour!

This week, you will hear your friends in podcasting discussing an ill-fated screening of Spaceballs, the 4th of July, patriotism, fireworks and the seminal band, Earth, Wind and Fire. In “Celebrity Deaths”, actor-singer Aki Aleong, journalist Bill Moyers, televangelist Jimmy Swaggert, actor Michael Madsen, and actor Julian McMahon all get remembered. Dean and Phil go back and forth singing the praises of the Netflix comedy-mystery limited series “The Residence” and take a deep dive into the 4th “Mission: Impossible” movie (“Ghost Protocol”). YOUR mission, should you choose to accept it …

Phil is in Montecito, California. Dean is ALMOST back into his house in Birmingham, Michigan. They got together via the magic of podcasting (and zoom) to discuss: The week that was for “Cobra Kai” star Martin Kove, the latest company splits for “Legacy Media” conglomerates, and California’s now official increase in the annual Film & TV Tax Credit funding. Wes Anderson and The Phoenician Scheme, Apple and their F1 and Fountain of Youth, the Indiana Jones films, Bong Joon Ho and Mickey 17, and the “Mission: Impossible” films all get deep dive analyses as well.

If you are interested in movies, movie making, or the movie business, you are going to find this week’s show fascinating. Dean and Phil do deep dives into the cinematic delights brought to us by the Marx Brothers, the Canadian films produced under that country’s 100-percent Capital Cost Allowance tax shield for investors, Jon Voight’s plan to save Hollywood and the wildly different reactions to that plan within the industry, the ways the smash hit Sinners might change the economics of the biz, and the just-commenced 78th Cannes Film Festival (including one apparent all-time masterpiece that made its debut as well as a “secret” documentary about the Red Hot Chili Peppers). As if that weren’t enough, your friends in podcasting go overtime to remember two impactful filmmakers, an Oscar-winning makeup artist, a beloved big screen “tough guy”, and a prolific child star of the 1930s and 40s.

One month from their 18th Anniversary (of changing the way you listen to the internet!), your friends in podcasting are still recovering from their European Adventures and during this week’s installment they start by discussing the Marx Brothers, and end by revealing architecture and fine art discoveries they made while overseas. In between, they discuss the Netflix CEO declaring war on movie theaters, a movie soon leaving Netflix, and a quite lovely, moving film just released to theaters. And in “Celebrity Deaths” character actor Bruce Glover, king of the miniseries Richard Chamberlin, and movie star Val Kilmer all get remembered.