Your friends in podcasting have returned from travel adventures and have tales about art galleries in the nation’s capital and jazz clubs in the Big Easy. You will learn more about they year 1874, and more about the Marigny District of New Orleans, than you have ever heard before on this show! Much of this week’s episode involves movie box office news, movie award news, and movie reviews. In fact, two current releases and one recent release get deep-dive analyses: Conclave, Anora, and Longlegs.

Dean is in Tokyo, but before departing the U.S., he recorded a grand conversation with Phil for this week’s show! Jeremy Saulnier’s Netflix original Rebel Ridge, the comedy Thelma starring June Squibb, the sports-based love triangle Challengers, and the Netflix documentary Will & Harper are just some of the new and recent films they discuss. Then, they take the time to celebrate the lives and legacies of Broadway actor-singer-dancer Adrian Bailey, groundbreaking vocalist-turned-actress Cleo Sylvestre, French-Italian singer (who recorded in 11 different languages) Caterina Valente, bossa nova and samba icon Sergio Mendes, musical star Mitzi Gaynor, and beloved actors (and Eddie Murphy co-stars) John Ashton and John Amos in “Celebrity Deaths”. Finally, friend of show Marc Hershon drops by for his now monthly check-in to discus the latest and greatest in streaming episodic programming (you know, what us older folks might still refer to as “TV shows”!).

After a brief cold open where Phil and Dean discuss Dean’s trip to Los Angeles this week, your friends in podcasting get into a spirited and frequently hilarious discussion about the Olympics. Then Phil has notes for the brilliant Jon Batiste about his hot mess of a live show. A legendary agent and a trailblazing actress get remembered in “Celebrity Deaths”. Dean plays “armchair executive” in analyzing the news surrounding the forthcoming George Clooney-Brad Pitt vehicle Wolfs. Phil re-watched Barry Lyndon and he and Dean take a deep dive into that film and analyze the way the film has been so dramatically reappraised in recent years.

This show runs the gamut geographically from the U.K. to Detroit, and from Los Angeles to Laguna Beach. And it features a wide array from topics, including the supposed demise of radio in general, the new hopes for one station’s programming in particular, the death of a great actress, the acquisition of a legendary Hollywood company, and the latest (and final?) news in the prosecution of Alec Baldwin. There are also a slew of TV and movie reviews, including “Tulsa King”, MaXXXine, Remembering Gene Wilder, I Used to Be Funny and Janet Planet. Join Dean Haglund, Phil Leirness and special guests Alex Lewczuk and Lily Holleman as they bring you the insightful, the irreverent, the inspiring and the deeply felt. And if you are so moved, please visit https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/witham-radio/. Donate if you can and share if you will.

The best thing about being podcast-only (again) is that for the first time in years, Dean and Phil can produce shows of whatever length tickles their fancy. Indeed, this week’s Chillpak Hollywood Hour gives you more than 10% more “hour”! The show begins with a cold open, wherein Phil reveals that he is not the only filmmaker who gets upset when other filmmakers don’t follow the rules they themselves have set up for a particular movie. In this instance, it’s Quentin Tarantino taking a much-loved modern horror classic to task. Then, Phil briefly revisits his recent travels to Catalina and Dean’s forthcoming travel plans, revealing that Dean has added a NYC trip to the mix in order to see a little-known, conceptual gem of a gallery. Phil previews where he will be spending Independence Day this year, and how a re-watch of Jim Jarmusch’s early classic Mystery Train has him jazzed to visit Memphis (and Graceland!) again this November. Standing ovations at Cannes, the impending financial train wreck that is Kevin Costner’s multi-part big-screen Horizon: An American Saga, and Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two all get discussed. Phil then reveals the latest news regarding a potential defamation lawsuit against Netflix and “Baby Reindeer” and explains why he is willing to now give the show and its creators the benefit of the doubt. After discussing the brilliance of actor Dabney Colemna and how Phil once ruined a birthday party for the 9 to 5 star, the “Funniest Man in America” and a groundbreaking recording engineer get remembered before “Celebrity Deaths” turns into a quiz testing Dean’s cultural/show biz literacy. Finally, after a brief musical interlude, Dean re-joins the festivities, this time from London, where he files a “boots on the ground” report. Phil concludes by previewing next week’s show, including an extraordinary adventure he took to the Integratron!

Because Phil is traveling, he and Dean pre-recorded this week’s show on Sunday morning BEFORE the Oscars, so there will be scant little Academy Awards conversation on the episode. Instead, Dean and Phil re-visit some of the more troubling aspects of the legacy of “The X-Files” and examine two other television series: The acclaimed “The Bear” and the divisive season 4 of “Star Trek: Discovery” (including friend of show Luke Y. Thompson’s hilarious review of season 4). Last week’s “Live Event of the Week” gets re-visited thanks to an email from the subject of that segment! We will learn more about the great dancer and teacher Fujima Kansuma and Dean and Phil will ponder the possibility of someday taking a “deep dive” into the art of Kabuki on the show! Two fascinating films get discussed: Wim Wenders’ 1993 Wings of Desire sequel, Faraway, So Close! and the 7th greatest film of all time according to the Sight and Sound Poll, Claire Denis’ 1999 masterpiece Beau Travail (which is having a 25th anniversary re-release). “Celebrity Deaths” includes a bit of a quiz for Dean about a legendary Japanese artist and Canada’s First Lady of Jazz, before a great Italian filmmaker, an influential and controversial British playwright, and a beloved “entertainer” all get their turn in the spotlight.

This week’s show will pick up right where last week’s Season 4 Episode 6 left off, with a pre-recorded segment wherein Dean Haglund reveals his top two films of 2023, and Phil Leirness reveals his number one choice. Then, Dean and Phil hook up live on digital audio to discuss a wide array of topics, including: the choreography of Pina Bausch, the German nominee for the Best International Film Oscar, the Mardi Gras jazz of Delfeayo Marsalis (and a real-life backstage mystery!), the Houdini Estate in Hollywood, “Bicycle Thieves”, the French classic “Diva”, and why February 10 was a terrible day for breakfast!

Welcome to a truly great episode and it all starts with an alternately touching and hilarious cold open! In “Celebrity Deaths”, Dean and Phil remember a jazz music pioneer, an actor who was an important influence on Dean, and a versatile, prolific, Oscar-winning filmmaker. Last week’s Oscar nominations get analyzed, as does the ensuing anger surrounding supposed “snubs”. After the break, the great film critic Luke Y. Thompson joins the fun, discussing how critics, like performers, can get “pigeon-holed”. He offers up thoughts on the Oscar-nominated The Zone of Interest and the underrated Beau is Afraid, and hips you to a black and white sci-fi comedy that is well worth your 68 minutes! He even talks about toy reviews and toy photography! And trust us, this episode offers a lot of laughs! Find links to all of Luke’s articles and reviews at https://linktr.ee/lytrules. And learn about his work as a toy collector, photographer and reviewer at https://www.eql.com/media/adult-toy-collecting

 

This week’s show spans three weeks, three cities, and three different time zones. It starts with a conversation about the Detroit Institute of Art and the “Murder She Wrote” board game, recorded in Birmingham, Michigan, during a terrifying storm. It continues with a conversation recorded for last week’s show about a message Dean received from a fan and about Phil’s enjoyment of the FX revival series “Justified: City Primeval”. Then, after the break, Dean checks in from Minneapolis and the PhileFest celebrating the 30th Anniversary of “The X-Files”. He reports on all the goings-on, including the comedy, the fans, the stars and the possibly forthcoming reboot of the show from Ryan Coogler. Finally, Dean and Phil turn their attention to the just-concluded Venice Film Festival, to an award-winning Japanese filmmaker and to movies made in secret.

This weekend, Dean and Phil recorded one VERY LONG conversation that will be edited into the next two installments of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour. The next time they record, they will be together in Dean’s Motor City-adjacent stomping grounds! This week, you will hear your friends in broadcasting and podcasting discussing the new cinematic releases Medusa Deluxe, Afire and Barbie as well as a new Taiwanese film on Netflix (Marry My Dead Body). You will hear the latest developments in the negotiations between the writers and the media companies (and yes, there HAVE BEEN negotiations!). You will hear another in Dean’s suggestions of vintage television shows you might wish to binge while your favorite new shows will be gone for a while. There is an email with a correction from a loyal listener that itself gets corrected! And because everyone loves a sequel, Dean and Phil follow upon last week’s all-music edition of “Celebrity Deaths” with another all-music edition, as they discuss the lives and legacies of many music notables that died over the past weeks.