CHILLPAK HOLLYWOOD HOUR

It's "Chillpak: New Orleans" as Dean checks in from the Big Easy and reveals details about the top secret performance he's giving in the Bayou before his whirlwind visit to The Los Angeles Breakfast Club this week to perform "Dean Haglund: An Illustrated Tour of Broadway in DTLA". Phil reviews a spectacular and important new play and ties its themes into a challenge faced by a high school student in New York Phil has been mentoring. A discussion about the art, craft and deceptive practices of movie trailers leads into an analysis of two quite buzzed about recent trailers and the promise of a film being released next month and one going into production soon. All that, plus Dean and Phil reveal what they are reading and a man who leaves behind one of the most significant legacies in the modern history of cinema is remembered in "Celebrity Deaths". YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour. Enjoy!

If you've listened to last week's episode, you know that disaster struck Dean Haglund's home in Sydney. Fortunately, he was able to recover JUST IN TIME to record this week's episode ... You long-time listeners know that your friends in podcasting love movies, embrace the need for diversity and celebrate stories about women and those told by women. So, you will understand what we mean when we say that this show is near and dear to their hearts. After discussing the Manny Pacquiao-related controversy one of Phil's former students finds himself embroiled in, Dean and Phil welcome a very special guest. Leah Meyerhoff is a talented filmmaker and the brilliant founder of Film Fatales, a group your friends in podcasting have mentioned a great deal recently, one that might just be redeeming the business of cinema.

Disaster struck Dean Haglund's home this morning, but the show must go on, with or without him. Fortunately, an old favorite stopped by to pick up the slack and guest co-host. Topics include: The death of Oscar-winner Patty Duke , Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice staking its claim as the most hated superhero film of all time (by both critics AND audiences) and how that hatred has the film's distributor, Warner Bros., in full on scramble-mode, the return of "Daredevil" to the small screen, the horror genre, a whole bunch of current cinematic releases, upcoming releases as well as some very interesting news about films in development. PLUS a 1980's indie classic from the UK.

Your friends in podcasting are back together in the same city for the first time since early summer and hilarity ensues! From Tony-winning Broadway shows to traditional seasonal delights to a National Geographic Museum "Indiana Jones" exhibit, this episode of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour covers some serious ground! Dean and Phil discuss breathing life back into rituals and myths, the dangers of nostalgia, and they visit a galaxy, far, far away ...

Happy Holidays, everybody! This week's extra-long "hour" begins with the reprise of a festive seasonal treats brought back by popular demand. Then, after discussing Dean's final "pay-per-laughs" improv show of 2015, Phil finally lets loose with a review of Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight before celebrating two cinematic classics. Then, Dean and Phil get down to the nitty-gritty, analyzing the Writers Guild of America's list of the 101 Funniest Screenplays. Join us for this stroll through some of the greatest comedy films of all time, won't you?

This week's utterly hilarious episode begins with a mea culpa and an explanation surrounding the technical problems that beset the delivery of LAST WEEK'S show. Then, Dean regales us with tales of both his on-stage and on-television performances down under in Sydney. It's then a fast and furious free-for-all into abundance of critics prizes and industry awards that are doled out to handfuls of movies each year. The New York, Los Angeles, Boston and African-American critics groups and the Australian Academy Awards, British Independent Film Awards, the Golden Globes, the SAG Awards and the Spirit Awards are all thrust under Dean and Phil's microscope of insight and irreverence. And the movies themselves? Several new releases an on award-hopeful documentary from earlier this year all get reviewed and a very interesting "Woman-Directed Film Everyone Should See" gets celebrated. All in an hour (plus) of work from your friends in podcasting. Enjoy!

Phil starts things off by remembering the victims of last week's San Bernardino massacre. Then, Dean arrives to remember the great character actor Robert Loggia and Stone Temple Pilots front-man Scott Weiland. Phil asks Dean about the latest developments with his one-man "X-Files" improv stage show. Dean and Phil follow up on their incredible interview of two weeks back with the creator of an anti-bullying app thanks to an email from a listener like you (yes, YOU!). Dean and Phil also follow up on their conversation of weeks past about what would happen in the future when women are allowed to fight side by side as equal warriors with their male counterparts because that future, apparently, has just arrived! Of course, there is also plenty of show biz analysis, insight and irreverence, from Phil's brush with Joss Whedon to Dean's viewing of a female-directed film everyone should see, from the puzzling question of why "Supernatural" is still on the air to Phil offering suggestions as to why Marvel's "Jessica Jones" on Netflix does not have the same heat surrounding it as did "Daredevil" earlier this year. Finally, Phil brings things full circle from his soapbox, calling out those who prevent the gun control debate from becoming an actual debate. With ten percent more "hour", this is YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour. Enjoy!

Dean Haglund shares news of his weekly pay-per-laughs improv show where he performs an expisode of "The X-Files" live on-stage in Sydney. Phil Leirness reports on his visit to the restored, remodeled and re-opened Los Angeles landmark Clifton's Cafeteria. Phil then gets on a soapbox about the true purpose of Thanksgiving and the true meaning of gratitude. A legend of Japanese cinema is remembered. A classic of sci-fi cinema is celebrated ... And then, your friends in podcasting rush headlong into "the season of self-congratulation", a time when award-hopeful movies are released en masse and award nominations and film critic top ten lists are announced almost daily. This week, award hopefuls like "Bridge of Spies", "The Danish Girl" and "The Big Short" and box office blockbusters like "Spectre" are discussed and the Spirit Award nominations (for the best in independent film) are analyzed.

Your friends in podcasting follow up on one of their best shows ever by continuing to discuss several of the key themes they explored last week ... This week's show starts with news of Dean's new, weekly improv stage show. Phil then regales with news of the "live" event he attended, one boasting the talents of Will Smith and Albert Brooks. This leads to another installment in our ongoing celebration of great contemporary character actors. Many new releases are discussed, including Spielberg's latest, the new James Bond film and the final chapter of the "Hunger Games" franchise, all through the prism of Dean Haglund's increasingly prescient remark from several years ago that if an action film is going to be made, it had better feature a female lead, or there's really no point. Increasingly, we are seeing action films boasting female warriors and Dean and Phil will discuss the larger cultural ramifications of this change. All that would be enough for almost any show, but not for Dean and Phil! They also welcome a special guest who is using his creativity to help in the building of a world without violence. If the news of violence all over the world discourages, depresses, saddens, angers or scares you, treat yourself to this VERY nourishing helping of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour.

In this week's fascinating, thought-provoking installment, your friends in podcasting get passionate about comedy, live theatre, books, the need for empathy, The Paris Attacks, the lack of opportunity for women in media and more. We think it's Dean and Phil at their absolute best - irreverent, insightful, inspirational. YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour. Enjoy!

If you love Hollywood History, you've come to the right place! Such luminaries as Maureen O'Hara, Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, and W.C. Fields are celebrated on this week's show. Love "Star Trek"? Lt. Kevin Reilly is remembered and a new CBS episodic series is previewed. How about "Live Events of the Week", "Lawsuits of the Week" and "What We're Reading"? We've got all of them for you. Plus the most expensive Finnish film ever made, boasting one of Samuel L. Jackson's most interesting performances. All that this week AND a letter from a listener about two very cool sounding British crime series. Love YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour? You've come to the right place.

Welcome to our most Fellini-esque episode ever! After all YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour turns 8 1/2 years old with this week's show and trust us when we say it's outstanding. Dean and Phil follow up on last week's hilarious episode by discussing Halloween, Nazis and Celebrity Deaths. Dean continues his advice for women who want to pursue their dreams in the male-dominated field of stand-up comedy. Phil reviews a new film about legendary, Oscar-winning blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo and weighs in on the new seasons of "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.", "The Blacklist" and "Fargo". Then one of the most amazing letters we've ever received inspires one of the most spectacular closing discussions your friends in podcasting have ever offered up. Enjoy!

Any episode that involves both a letter from a listener about how her kids enjoy YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour and a report from a former guest about people having sex while listening to your friends in podcasting has got to be hilarious and that certainly is the case this week! Stand-up comedy, binge-watching, the suffragette movement, the Z Channel, Netflix, misogyny, Nancy Drew and Beth Henley's "Abundance" are just some of the many topics covered on this week's show. Enjoy!

There are many questions to be asked (and hopefully answered) on this week's show: How was Dean's whirlwind trip to Vancouver to film the revival of "The X-Files"? Did that filming require his wearing a wig? Will he (and the other Lone Gunmen) return for more episodes? What to make of yet the latest theater shooting, and the life without parole sentencing of the Aurora, Colorado, shooter? How good is the new "Mission: Impossible" movie? How good OR bad is "Ant-Man"? Are superhero adaptations in general, and the Marvel universe specifically, still relevant? All those questions, and many, many more are discussed. So, naturally, the whole show begins with a discussion about ... reincarnation?! It's YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour. So, enjoy!

Your friends in podcasting follow up on their first official intercontinental L.A. to Australia episode of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour with a full hour (plus) of conversation. Topics range from the death of Rowdy Roddy Piper to the end of Jon Stewart's run on "The Daily Show", from the apology made by the killer of Cecil the Lion to the return of Art Bell, from recent and classic movies directed by women to what foreign governments think of the U.S., from how Dean Haglund celebrated his birthday to what new cinematic releases Phil Leirness highly recommends. All that, plus Phil peppers Dean with questions about his trip to Vancouver this week to participate in the reboot of "The X-Files". What did Dean think of the script? Which episode of the six being filmed is Dean shooting this week? What are the odds The Lone Gunmen will be back for more in this (brief) season? Is the show being written to "resolve" the story, or is it setting up the potential for continuation (depending on ratings)? Where will Dean be filming? Will he be wearing a wig? Dean's answers to these questions are never less than interesting.