How much longer will your friends in podcasting keep doing YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour? Climb into the backseat as Dean Haglund and Phil Leirness drive from Los Angeles International Airport to a certain “historic building in downtown Los Angeles” to find out the answer to this question as well as to learn about Polar Vortexes, Chief Financial Officers, Phil’s bachelor party plans, the Garry Shandling Learning Studio, the Time’s Up “4 percent challenge” and more!

Your friends in podcasting connected via Skype on Christmas Morning to slide down your virtual chimney and stuff your audio stocking full of podcasty goodness! Topics include comic book cataloging, engagement party advice, the role of the arts in the heart of a nation, travel guardian angels, an all-time great voice, a punk rock pioneer, and two actresses-turned-directors who are big reasons why we don’t need to say “female directors” any more. We can just start calling them “directors”. Happy Holidays! We think you will really enjoy this festive, 68 minute installment of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour!

When does one planned show become TWO shows? When Dean and Phil are recording in person in Los Angeles! Dean stopped by the historic building Phil calls home (where Oscar-nominated filmmaker Adam McKay once resided) and on this episode they discuss such wide-ranging topics as the death and life of U.S. President George H.W. Bush, the forthcoming film Vice (from Adam McKay!) about former vice-president Dick Cheney, some good news coming out of the recent California fires, the live variety stage show Phil produced on his 50th birthday, Dean’s efforts to pack up his L.A. abode and his recent Michigan adventures. All that plus a plug for their dark comedy The Lady Killers in the wake of the #MeToo moment for Neil Degrasse Tyson, and an Oscar-winning filmmaker and a legendary magician turned character actor are remembered in “Celebrity Deaths”.

Seven important notes about this week’s show:

1) It’s our 600th episode!
2) It features a brand new version of the theme song appropriate to Dean’s relocation to the Motor City.
3) A horrible recording problem leads to a few choppy transitions at the start of the show and to an extremely bad electronic hum during the first 25 minutes or so of the show.
4) We have done the best we can to get rid of the hum and to at least make these first 25 minutes listenable, and you will want to bear with us as those minutes contain very personal conversation between Dean and Phil about things they love lost in the current SoCal fires, what they love that is seriously threatened by those fires, and about a great Canadian actor of Dean’s acquaintance who died this month. There is also a great story about baby diapers!
5) Several amazing movies get discussed – including the Sandra Bullock starring post-apocalyptic, action-horror vehicle Bird Box, the Coen Brothers rather amazing Western anthology feature The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Alfonso Cuaron’s seminal black-and-white memory piece Roma and Dean and Phil’s very own The Lady Killers, which Dean has finally seen!
6) The show is 72 minutes long, with about 45 minutes of that boasting clean audio!
7) We wish you all a “Malkovich Hug”!

“From a secret location somewhere in America …” Dean Haglund is in temporary digs somewhere in his new home state of Michigan. So, when he and Phil Leirness recorded this week’s episode, it wasn’t the official start of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour’s Motown Era. Nevertheless, we learn about Dean’s early D-Town and Michigan discoveries, as well as about the road trip he took from D.C. this past week. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles … Celebrations in anticipation of Phil’s upcoming nuptials have begun with an engagement party. Shocking stories and a hangover ensued! The bulk of this week’s show focuses on a handful of fascinating “Celebrity Deaths” and a slew of great movies. As for the former, a Norwegian World War II hero, a terrific filmmaker, one of the greatest character actors, a tech giant and philanthropic billionaire, and perhaps the most mysterious figure of the 20th and early 21st centuries are remembered. In the latter discussion, two classic horror films and a recent, groundbreaking documentary are recommended and four new cinematic releases are analyzed, including The Old Man & the GunBad Times at the El RoyaleGreen Book and your friends in podcasting’s very own The Lady Killers! Dean and Phil’s dark comedy has been described as “exactly the kind of film we need right now” and it’s available on demand across a variety of platforms in the U.S. and Canada. Learn more at http://theladykillersmovie.com and on this very podcast!

Hopefully you enjoyed last week’s bizarre audio walking tour of downtown Los Angeles with your friends in podcasting. On this week’s installment of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour, Dean and Phil treat you to a sequel of sorts. It begins with a skyline view from outside the top floor of the city’s iconic city hall. then moves inside the presentation room, where several films get discussed, a brilliant character actor gets remembered, a rock ‘n roll lawsuit gets analyzed. All that plus a ton of laughs, a preview of Dean’s potential future enterprise in Detroit AND a major update on his long-awaited graphic novel!

Dean Haglund stopped off in Los Angeles for a couple days and while he was there, he recorded a special 2 part installment of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour. Put on your walking shoes and join and Phil Leirness as they take an audio stroll through some of the most historic parts of downtown Los Angeles! The adventure begins in the iconic Union Station, continues through the original location of Chinatown, includes a stop at Olvera Street and ends high atop City Hall. Through it all, your friends in podcasting will discuss Blade Runner, Harvey Houses, It Happened One Night, classic Hollywood dirt, a controversial and long-lost mural, the challenging art of portrait painting, a bizarre piece of Americana, the history of L.A.’s mayors, Phil’s fear of heights and much more on part 1 of this movable feat for the ears, the spirit and the funny bone!

This week’s episode was delayed by half a day because Dean Haglund is spending his final hours Down Under in a hotel, and because Phil hosted a live show in Los Angeles on Sunday night. On our final intercontinental connection, Dean and Phil discuss the last entries in Dean’s Down Under Bucket List and Phil’s love for the great western star Leo Carrillo. In “Live Events of the Week” the Los Angeles Philharmonic at 100, Herbie Hancock, Katy Perry, Kali Uchis, John Williams and more get discussed. In “Lawsuit of the Week” 102 year-old Olivia De Havilland’s forthcoming appearance before the U.S. Supreme Court gets previewed. And speaking of the Supreme Court … Your friends in podcasting offer up some words they hope might be healing. Then, they turn their attention to the small screen to discuss “Stranger Things” and “The Man in the High Castle” before discussing such big screen releases as American AnimalsVenom and A Star is Born. Finally, a legendary animator, and several key figures in the history of modern music are remembered in “Celebrity Deaths”. So, sit back, relax and enjoy that Didgeridoo intro one final time …

This week’s episode of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour is a lot of fun. A hockey great and a beloved 80’s sitcom star get remembered in “Celebrity Deaths”. The news concerning the real-life “Brady Bunch” house in Studio City and major changes to the Oscars telecast get reported and dissected. A recent hit-man thriller, a current, hilarious and suspenseful indie comedy-drama, a classic 1970 comedy war film and a current Lionsgate “digital” release starring Guy Pearce and Pierce Brosnan all get discussed. All that, plus there is on-air planning of Phil’s upcoming bachelor party!

Dean starts off this week’s show with a full report of his Detroit adventures. Then Phil weighs in on all of this weekend’s sad happenings in his beloved City of Angels. Then, your friends in podcasting roll up their sleeves to remember one of the most famous disc jockeys of all time, and to weigh in on the ever-evolving controversy surround Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn. Then it’s back to the big screen as Dean and Phil discuss a silent masterpiece, a black and white musical, another comedy from India, the poster for and the CGI on display in Ant-Man and the Wasp and another sequel, Sicario: Day of the Soldado.

All in all, this week’s episode is 70 minutes of big, globetrotting fun, so buckle up.