Happy Birthday to our friend in podcasting, Phil Leirness, who is celebrating many returns of the day in New Orleans today! Before departing Los Angeles, and before Dean Haglund departed the environs of Detroit to head to the nation’s capital for Thanksgiving, they convened via zoom to record this week’s show. In it, they discuss their travel plans, before Dean regales with tales of his recent improv performance (with Gary Jones) in San Jose. Then, a discussion of Dean’s forthcoming European wedding leads to Phil revealing his new plans for Arctic Circle adventures and a follow up to last week’s discussion of the Aurora Borealis. Several new or recent movies get reviewed, including My Old Ass, Deadpool & Wolverine, and His Three Daughters, as well as the 2020 Oscar winner for Best Documentary (My Octopus Teacher) and a horror film from 1988 that was one of the first starring roles for both Hugh Grant and Peter Capaldi (The Lair of the White Worm). Finally, in an almost-all-jazz edition of “Celebrity Deaths”, four jazz greats and two Bee Gees drummers get remembered!

Awards season is finally behind us and Phil is finally back in Los Angeles, and normalcy is restored on this week’s episode, or at least as much as “normal” is ever on our audio menu! Dean and Phil will reveal any thoughts they have about last week’s Oscars as well as if or how they celebrated St. Patrick’s Day this weekend. In a “Live Event of the Week”, Phil will regale with stories about seeing the great indie rocker Hamilton Leithauser at the legendary Cafe Carlyle. Five movies get discussed: the current smash hit Dune 2, a possible future cult favorite Argylle, the recent Marvel flop The Marvels, the interesting Nicolas Cage vehicle Dream Scenario, and the brand new, utterly brilliant performance documentary Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus. All that, plus a groundbreaking stunt performer and a British actor of stage and screen get remembered in “Celebrity Deaths”.

This week’s epic, 80 minute long show begins with an hilarious update about Phil’s medical adventures before the return of “Live Event of the Week”, where classical music, Dean’s forthcoming live comedy show, and a sordid chapter of the Los Angeles Breakfast Club’s history get discussed. Then, the Chillpak Morgue is opened as character actress Sylvia Miles, heiress Gloria Vanderbilt and Jim Pike, lead singer of famed 60’s vocal group The Lettermen, are remembered in “Celebrity Deaths”. And speaking of “Lettermen”, David Letterman has returned to Netflix with season 2 of his series “My Next Guest …” Phil raves about an episode featuring Ellen DeGeneres, on that boasts a cameo by Clint Eastwood, which gets Phil thinking about Clint’s acting career. HIs films Where Eagles Dare and The Bridges of Madison County get discussed. And those are far from the only movies Dean and Phil discuss. They re-examine the classic Hong Kong actioner The Killer on its 30th anniversary. They also analyze the recent box office failures of several previously unassailable cinematic franchises and offer suggestions of what franchise producers and studios can learn from the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as from the John Wick and James Bond series of films. 

If you caught last week’s installment of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour, you know that Dean Haglund was attending a convention in Rhode Island this weekend and that Phil Leirness was NOT attending in order that he could get to the bottom of what has become almost total day and light blindness. Your friends in podcasting will regale you with many tales of these adventures on this week’s show. They will also weigh in on all the news surrounding “Avengers: Endgame”, they will discuss M. Night Shyamalan’s rumination on comic books, “Glass”, and they will play a lightning round of “Celebrity Deaths”, including one that hit very close to home for Dean and Phil. A very personal, funny and touching episode. We hope you enjoy!

Do you know what Stan Lee’s real name was and why he changed it? Did you know that during the 1940’s and 50’s conservatives weren’t just on a witch hunt against suspected communists but against superhero comic books as well? Join your friends in podcasting as they remember the comic book giant in “Celebrity Deaths” and discuss his cultural impact, his legacy and the controversies in which he found himself. Then, Phil sits down in the woods with filmmaker Ilana Rein, to discuss her narrative feature debut Perception. Long-time listeners might recall that Ilana served as Dean and Phil’s co-host during their 26 hour Mayan podcastathon, back in 2012. So, it’s great to finally have her back to discuss her work. Then, Dean and Phil get into a fascinating discussion about how much films can change from script to screen, using the upcoming Netflix post-apocalyptic action epic Bird Box movie as a case in point. Finally, the joy of still having so many amazing movies from the past to discover and enjoy gets celebrated, with an awesome little mystery film from the late 1970’s taking center stage. YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour. Enjoy!

This week’s episode spans some serious ground both thematically and geographically. In the USA’s capital, Phil Leirness recorded a very special (and hilarious) opening, before traveling to Baltimore to interview great friend of the show Page Branson, an artist, illustrator and podcast host. Then, it’s off to Brooklyn for a chat with the writer/performer of more than one Chillpak Hollywood Hour theme song, Mr. Jon Lawlor. Then, it’s back to Dallas for some improv comedy courtesy of your friend in podcasting, Mr. Dean Haglund.