Because Dean is “on assignment” in the UK, he and Phil recorded a very special episode for this week! Dean and Phil pay tribute to their friend Mark Bennett, who died at the end of 2021. Mark was a journalist, a filmmaker, a philosopher, a researcher, and a truly gentle, caring man, who features prominently in Dean and Phil’s The Truth Is Out There, and who last appeared on YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour in March of 2021. He has been described as a “spy from the future” and as such, Dean and Phil’s memories of him segue nicely into an email from friend of the show Jon Lawlor all about time travel movies. Keep pen, pencil or keyboard handy, because Dean and Phil hit you with a bunch of really cool movie recommendations!

Because Dean will be traveling to the UK, next week’s episode will be a special, pre-recorded, “theme” show. On this week’s show, Dean previews his trip. Phil shares an email from a loyal listener like you (YES, YOU!) about a rare and hard (impossible?) to find program from 30 years ago. That leads to a tribute to the late, great Robert Morse. Phil then pays tribute to a friend of his, a fixture of The Los Angeles Breakfast Club, who was as old as that 97 year-old club of hospitality and friendship when he died this past month. Phil also previews a speech he is giving this week at the club about Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Phil’s recently-acquired appreciation for the greatness of James Mason takes another turn and leads to an appreciation of the greatness of Paul Newman! Dean’s recent derision for all things Michael Mann gets explored and several of the most beloved AND a couple of the most under-appreciated crime films of the past 40 years get examined. Finally, Dean and Phil discuss the differences between disrespect and irreverence, the necessity of the latter and the unhealthy aspects of the former. Somehow this discussion involves both This is Spinal Tap and Elon Musk! From the heart-tugging to the thought-provoking, from the groan-inducing to the funny-bone tickling, it’s all on the menu!

Year 16 of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour gets underway with a truly mind-blowing episode! It begins with a celebration of Kane Tanaka, who was, at the time of her death, the world’s oldest-living human! Phil then corrects Dean on an urban legend involving John F. Kennedy and a jelly donut. The Zen artistry of Bill Murray leads to an appreciation of The Man Who Knew Too Little. The inappropriate workplace behavior of Bill Murray leads to a discussion of the firing of Fred Savage from the reboot of “The Wonder Years” and the resignation of director Justin Lin from the 10th “Fast and the Furious” movie over “creative differences”. Meanwhile, movies about multi-verses are EVERYWHERE, not just in comic book movies. Dean and Phil have thoughts, including an analysis of both Everything Everywhere All at Once and Memoria. This discussion also inspires Phil to share with Dean some “otherworldly” thoughts about Will Smith’s violent outburst at the Oscars. These thoughts involve both the curse of The Scottish Play AND the briefcase from Pulp Fiction. The bridging of different universes, different realms, will continue in the return of the “Live Event of the Week”, focusing on a great new play at the Boston Court Pasadena – BOTH AND (a play about laughing while black). There is also a brand new exhibit in the Getty Gallery of the L.A. Public Library’s Central Library called “Something in Common” that all Angelenos should check out. And finally, Dean and Phil answer an email from longtime friend and loyal listener Takako Nagumo about a sitcom on Netflix starring the president of the Ukraine. This will lead to an appreciation of wit as a leadership quality, and to an analysis of what ails Netflix, and where the streaming giant will go from here!

This week, YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour turns 15 years old! And Season 3 Episode 13 features several anniversary celebrations, including wisdom from a special guest, a story from Dean about why he is no longer a vegetarian and the return of a classic movie ad from the Vintage Movie Ad Game that saw Dean and Phil through the pandemic! There is also an email from a loyal listener who both asks a question and throws accolades in the direction of longtime friend of the show, Page Branson. Movies and moviemakers get discussed, including the very first big-budget, major studio adaptation of a television series, and the great director of last year’s Oscar-winning Drive My Car. Bill Murray has found himself in a lot of hot water. Dean and Phil will tackle the controversy, Bill Murray’s thoughtful response, and discuss empathy in great detail. Finally, in “Celebrity Deaths”, a rock drummer, a country music legend, a teen idol, and a chart-topping singer all get remembered.

 

 

 

 

In their last episode before they celebrate their 15th Anniversary of “changing the way people listen to the internet”, Dean and Phil have a lot to discuss in a show biz world that seems to be getting ever more back to “normal”. There are TV shows like “Better Call Saul”, “Barry”, “Julia” and “Our Flag Means Death” to weigh in on, and movies like “The Batman”, “Kimi” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once” to analyze. A wide array of classic and contemporary performers will get celebrated, including George Chakiris, John Cassavetes, Michelle Yeoh and Zoe Kravitz. In “Celebrity Deaths”, a great French star, hockey’s “The Flower”, and a Broadway icons who became a fixture on both the big and small screens, will all get remembered. Plus, Dean is auditioning again and Phil is hosting more live events.

Dean is back in the environs of the Motor City, Phil is back in Los Angeles, and they have a lot to discuss on this week’s show … Phil asks Dean about his SoCal travel adventures and about Dean’s grandfather, a truly remarkable man. Dean and Phil preview new seasons from two utterly terrific television series and also discuss a current show you might just want to check out. The box office is, at long last, seemingly revived and there are a lot of movies out! Dean and Phil discuss some of them, but pay particular attention to the return of Ke Huy Quan, a new Chris Pine spy vehicle, a classic 1960s musical from France, an unusually personal 1981 detective film from Peter Bogdanovich, and the movie that features James Stewart’s all-time favorite performance he ever gave. In the return of “Celebrity Deaths”, several sitcom character actors, a beloved stand-up comic and voice actor, and a groundbreaking dancer, all get remembered.

This weekend, Dean and Phil got together in-person on the “American Riviera” for a fascinating discussion inspired by a loyal listener like you (yes, YOU!). The conversation involves the importance of awards not only recognizing and rewarding great work, but also rewarding the great stories surrounding the making of that work! Somehow that inspires Phil to reappraise the entire filmography of James Mason. That great Belgian sleuth, Hercule Poirot, gets more time in the spotlight, as Dean and Phil take a little more time giving both a doff of the cap and a wag of the finger to Kenneth Branagh’s Death on the Nile and Phil, who took the time during the week to unearth the final Peter Ustinov performance as Agatha Christie’s protagonist, has some thoughts about Appointment with Death from the infamous Cannon Film Group. Finally, in a riff on their usual “Celebrity Deaths” section, Dean and Phil discuss three non-celebrity friends who died recently.

This week, Dean and Phil follow up on one of their best episodes ever by discussing the importance of manners as they relate to masks, shoes, and award shows! They have some bracing words about the nature of “safety” in show business. Then, they turn their attention to the Oscar-winning documentary Summer of Soul before discussing Oscar-winner George Chakiris and what he thought made original West Side Story choreographer Jerome Robbins so great. They also discuss the importance of representation, which leads to a discussion of an early Vincente Minnelli film, Cabin in the Sky from 1943, featuring an incredible all-black cast. That leads to a discussion of the version of A Star is Born produced by and starring Minnelli’s one-time wife, Judy Garland. It was a remake, of course, and has been remade twice more. And speaking of remakes, Dean and Phil conclude by analyzing Kenneth Branagh’s Death on the Nile, why it failed as a movie and what is being blamed for its failure at the box office.

Phil (in Hollywood) and Dean (in the environs of Detroit) checked in with each other before, during and after Sunday night’s Oscars and recorded their conversation about the movie industry’s big night. There are insights, there are jokes, there is snark, there are criticisms, and oh, yes, Dean has been drinking!

Phil has been chasing trains all over California and he has stories. St. Patrick’s Day was this past week and Dean and Phil have jokes about that. In “Celebrity Deaths”, Oscar-winning actor William Hurt gets remembered and the controversy surrounding celebrations of his legacy will get examined. Star of the original “Godzilla” and a great story about him get discussed, and before the Chillpak Morgue closes, R&B great Timmy Thomas has his praises sung. This is, of course, the biggest week in Hollywood and Dean and Phil “go to the movies” to discuss Steven Spielberg’s next film (a sequel to a 1960s classic), the brilliance and pain and artistry of Richard Pryor as seen in Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip and the inspiring visual storytelling on display in the works of Paolo Sorrentino, specifically his current Oscar nominee for Best International Film, The Hand of God.