One episode shy of their 1,000 installment of this show, Dean and Phil jokingly compare notes on the tolls reaching such a milestone have taken. Phil hints at some of his weekend 40th high school reunion adventures, Dean updates the prognosis of his beloved Doberman, Leloo, and previews his own birthday celebrations. Of course, Dean and Phil now produce several different podcasts each week through the “Chillpak Hollywood Presents …” Substack. And last week’s episode of “Celebrity Deaths” resulted in the need to begin with some corrections and/or clarifications! After those, it’s nothing but good news from the world of show biz, including the continued astonishing success of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, the halt (til at least next year) of the Parmount-Warners merger, and the announcement that an iconic Hollywood locale will be reopening in 2028. Finally, Phil sings the praises of the one of the all-time best debut features for any director ever, the heartbreaking and hilarious, sexually explicit, gay biker BDSM film, Pillion, and Dean reveals his early reaction to the new spin-off of “The Big Bang Theory”.

Dean and Phil got together high atop a certain “historic building” in downtown Los Angeles to watch the sunset on the winter solstice, to enjoy a lovely bottle of Malbec, and to record this week’s show! They discuss Dean’s holiday travels, the big forthcoming change to the annual Oscars telecast, and the changes in the beaks on songbirds at UCLA! After that, they discuss the unique legacy of actor-turned-filmmaker Rob Reiner, and take the time to analyze several of his films. Then, two film noirs (Tension and Where Danger Lives), a fairly bizarre war film (36 Hours) and the biggest box office hit of Brad Pitt’s career all get reviewed!

Big changes are on the horizon for YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour! This week’s show begins with Dean and Phil discussing them. Then, they shift gears into a wide array of topics including: Unexpected events at local screenings of One Battle After Another, the variable frame rates of the silent era, a movie that had wildly different endings depending on in what country you saw it, a documentary about the making of The Night of the Hunter, the fragility of darkness in the Atacama Desert, the lack of planning or funding for the forthcoming Cultural Olympiad (the arts programming that is supposed to be part of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles), the death of R&B great D’Angelo, and the story of the fictional band Eddie and the Cruisers.