Dean and Phil have quite the array of topics to discuss, including a recent Marvel film, a Neil Simon comedy from the 1970s, all the big award-winners at the recent Cannes Film Festival, and a director’s cut of Chris Carter’s The X-Files: I Want to Believe. Both the Australian and the American versions of “Laid” get discussed, and art, architecture, history and more get discussed in the return of “What We Are Reading”. Two beloved television stars and a legendary comedian get remembered in “Celebrity Deaths”. Finally, good pal of the show Marc Hershon drops by to offer up two new television show recommendations that both sound awesome!

Later this week, your friends in podcasting depart for Europe. Last night, the Oscars were held. Last week, one of their dear friends celebrated his 81st birthday, another friend had a brain tumor removed, and another friend died. So, you will forgive Dean and Phil if this isn’t the most polished installment of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour. It IS epic in length, and it is full of the heartfelt, the insightful, the irreverent and even the inspiring. Dean reveals that planning a home renovation a few months before getting married might have been a mistake. The winners of last night’s awards get analyzed both for their historical context and for what they say about the art and commerce of motion pictures right now. Actors Gene Hackman and Michelle Trachtenberg, screenwriter and producer Roberto Orci, singers Robert John and David Johansen, and chess champion Boris Spassky get remembered in “Celebrity Deaths”.

This week’s show runs the gamut culturally, from a production of “Uncle Vanya” in “Live Event of the Week” and a discussion about whether the play is a comedy, to stories of jury duty prompted by a “Lawsuit of the Week”, from an excellent documentary recommendation by a loyal listener like you (yes, YOU!) to a deep dive analysis of the U.S. box office (including a quiz!). The success of Where the Crawdads Sing gets paid particular attention, as does the “Mission: Impossible” franchise. The once-every-ten years Sight and Sound poll of the greatest films ever made leads to a discussion of the Daniels, Edgar Wright and Roy Andersson. Finally, great stories about the making of David Lynch’s Dune, Blue Velvet and The Straight Story get shared.

Phil was out late imbibing. Dean has been battling a bad late summer cold. Yet, somehow, they both come out guns blazing! This week’s show begins with several “Live Events of the Week”, ranging from immersive theatre to a Halloween X-Files improv show, from Leif Erikson Day to the first mixed cocktail! Then, it’s time for “Celebrity Deaths” wherein legendary journalists Cokie Roberts and Sander Vanocur, and performers Suzanne Whang, Aron Eisenberg and Sid Haig are remembered. From there, it’s on to the silver screen, where one of the all-time greats gets discussed in relationship to how we consume movies now, and a legendary “failure” gets re-appraised. In fact, the importance of “failuring” (Dean’s term) gets championed! Finally, the Emmy Awards were this weekend, and your friends in podcasting discuss “Fleabag”, Kirsten Dunst, “On Becoming a God in Central Florida”, and season 2 of “Big Little Lies” and the behind-the-scenes chicanery that may have been responsible for the season’s lack of focus.   

Because Dean Haglund is packing up for Galaxy Fest in Colorado Springs, Colorado (to perform comedy and show The Truth Is Out There), and Phil Leirness is hitting the road for the 2012 International UFO Congress in Fountain Hills, Arizona (where the TRUTH is also screening), this week’s installment of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour is coming to you a few hours later than we like.

It is, however, one of our very best shows!

That it’s President’s Day in the U.S. leads to a discussion of presidential UFO lore, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, JFK, Marilyn Monroe, Lucille Ball and Merv Griffin. The special friendship between The UK’s “The Midweek Drive” and YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour, leads to a discussion of Phil’s pajamas and his forthcoming tour of the UK. The book The Wayfinders leads to a discussion of cultural relativism, the biosphere, the ethnosphere, the living history of Los Angeles, and Dreamtime and The Dream Factory. An Albert Einstein quote leads to a discussion of the intuitive mind and the rational mind and the way we might move beyond divisiveness in an effort to address the common challenges facing us all. The Chillpak Hollywood Live Event of the Week leads to a discussion of Phil’s admiration for an actress he had never before seen, the best director working in theatre today, and the way storytellers’ strengths in one medium can serve as weakness in another.

All that, plus TWO Chillpak Hollywood Lawsuits of the Week (the one involving Chris Pine, “Captain Kirk” from JJ Abrams’ re-boot of Star Trek is a particular hoot.

Your friends in podcasting definitely brought their “A” game. We hope you will enjoy it enough to share it with others …