The best thing about being podcast-only (again) is that for the first time in years, Dean and Phil can produce shows of whatever length tickles their fancy. Indeed, this week’s Chillpak Hollywood Hour gives you more than 10% more “hour”! The show begins with a cold open, wherein Phil reveals that he is not the only filmmaker who gets upset when other filmmakers don’t follow the rules they themselves have set up for a particular movie. In this instance, it’s Quentin Tarantino taking a much-loved modern horror classic to task. Then, Phil briefly revisits his recent travels to Catalina and Dean’s forthcoming travel plans, revealing that Dean has added a NYC trip to the mix in order to see a little-known, conceptual gem of a gallery. Phil previews where he will be spending Independence Day this year, and how a re-watch of Jim Jarmusch’s early classic Mystery Train has him jazzed to visit Memphis (and Graceland!) again this November. Standing ovations at Cannes, the impending financial train wreck that is Kevin Costner’s multi-part big-screen Horizon: An American Saga, and Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two all get discussed. Phil then reveals the latest news regarding a potential defamation lawsuit against Netflix and “Baby Reindeer” and explains why he is willing to now give the show and its creators the benefit of the doubt. After discussing the brilliance of actor Dabney Colemna and how Phil once ruined a birthday party for the 9 to 5 star, the “Funniest Man in America” and a groundbreaking recording engineer get remembered before “Celebrity Deaths” turns into a quiz testing Dean’s cultural/show biz literacy. Finally, after a brief musical interlude, Dean re-joins the festivities, this time from London, where he files a “boots on the ground” report. Phil concludes by previewing next week’s show, including an extraordinary adventure he took to the Integratron!

Their cross-country holiday travels behind them, Dean is back in Michigan, Phil is back in Los Angeles, and they will regale you with stories of Hollywood parties, catch you up on awards season news, analyze the merits of two award hopefuls (the disastrous Babylon and the controversial The Whale) and one indie horror film franchise. They will also remember an award-winning cinematographer, an iconic journalist, a revolutionary fashion designer, and one of the most famous athletes of all time in “Celebrity Deaths”.

Somehow, through almost 15 years of bringing you YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour free every week, Dean and Phil have never dedicated an entire show to the career, artistry and genius of Bill Murray. This week, that oversight gets remedied, as your friends in podcasting march right into the holidays by programming a film festival they are entitling “A Very Murray Christmas”. Featuring seven double features, discussion of numerous other titles, analysis of Murray’s zen approach to life, art, career and business, and an appreciation of some of his key collaborators through the year, we think this will be a particularly fun and festive hour!

It’s all classic comedy, classic television and classic movies on this week’s show! The truly legendary Carl Reiner gets celebrated. Then, Dean and Phil compare the years in film 1982 and 1974 with 1962 to see which year they think was the best year ever for movies!

After a cold open in which Dean Haglund and Phil Leirness celebrate the fact that YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour becomes a teen-ager this week, they launch into what they do best, trying to make sense of a (Covid-19) world gone wild with humor, insight, irreverence and inspiration. In the return of “Wingnut of the Week”, Dean and Phil offer a wag of the finger at Covid-19 conspiracy theorists and a doff of the cap to UFO “truthers”. In “Celebrity Deaths”, they pay tribute to a true titan of comedy publishing and filmmaking, an international star who broke big in both Bollywood and Hollywood, a character actor-turned-casting director, an influential folk singer, and the musician who turned Hugh Grant into a pop star! Then, your friends in podcasting tackle how Covid-19 will affect the up-coming television season, and how it will affect the Oscars, before turning their attention to what years in cinema might rival 1962 as the best year ever for movies! 

We were going to say that after a one-week absence (during which they released a spectacular pre-recorded episode with a special guest), your friends in podcasting come out with guns blazing … And then, as they were getting set to record, ANOTHER mass shooting in the USA occurred. Dean and Phil address the event and get into a seriously fascinating conversation about rage and despair and about how people can obtain the tools necessary to explore these bedrock emotions without being taken by them. Then, in the return of “Live Events of the Week”, Tchaikovsky and a non-binary gender identifying performer are celebrated, and Dean discusses his “Down Under Bucket List”, including scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef (a list item he has checked off, thank you very much!). Romantic comedies and diversity both get discussed in the wake of Crazy Rich Asians‘ box office success (and surprisingly decent reviews) and the documentary profile Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda gets recommended. Finally, the Chillpak Morgue is opened for “Celebrity Deaths” where the lives, accomplishments and lasting impacts of a true American hero, a giant of international diplomacy, the Oscar-nominated actress who founded modern improv, the journalist who coined the phrase “champagne wishes and caviar dreams” and the Queen of Soul are all remembered. All that AND Phil finally learns the usage of modern-day pronouns!