This week, year 17 gets underway in style with the first part of a special two-part theme show where Dean and Phil discuss the cinematic legacies of two of the biggest stars of all time: Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster. This episode focuses on these famous actor-producers’ careers though the year 1960. And it also involves discussions of many other notable screen artists, from filmmakers like Billy Wilder, to performers like Barbara Stanwyck. So keep those chosen “watchlists” and/or “queues” handy as you will doubtless learn about a title or two (or a dozen) of movies you will want to enjoy or re-visit!

This week’s show opens with a brief interview with one of the stars of a “Live Event of the Week”. Dean is in Washington, D.C. and he gives a full report on one of the most beautiful road trip sights he has seen and an exhibit at the National Gallery focusing on Joseph Singer Sargent. Phil has just returned from his (penultimate?) trip to Turlock to finalize “family business” and he is in an exhausted, tormented, philosophical mood, opining on family, marriage, and alternate universes. The comedy of the Marx Brothers, Billy Wilder, Marilyn Monroe and See How They Run gets dissected, and in “What We’re Reading” the art of Edward Hopper, the comedy of Martin Short and the poetry of Betsy Holleman Burke get discussed. Finally, in “Celebrity Deaths”, the lives and legacies of a Canadian voice actor, a Japanese star of an American miniseries, a blues singer, a sitcom producer and a law student-turned-best selling novelist all get explored.

After another hilarious cold open, Dean and Phil briefly discuss the actors George C. Scott and William Shatner, the time their careers intersected, and how memory might have played a role in their careers. Then, it’s a deep dive into the careers of two of the most accomplished screen stars of the 2nd half of the 20th Century: Marlon Brando and Jack Lemmon! Some of the greatest movies, filmmakers and writers take their turns in the spotlight, as do several overlooked or under-appreciated gems!

This week’s show is a bit of a pastiche, cut together from snippets of different conversations Dean and Phil have had these past couple weeks. So, after a hilarious “audio check” cold open, if you hear references to topics not yet covered, don’t worry, it all weaves together wonderfully by the end in what might just be one of our best shows of the year! Phil discusses the forthcoming Netflix reboot of Beverly Hills Cop and the (unwanted by the producers) role he might play in it, and whether its filming location means he lives closer to Detroit than Dean does! The subject of “soft tissue” and the importance of stretching and yoga get discussed in the wake of Phil learning about what it means to “pop a rib”. The reason firefighters carry axes gets explained. The graphic design creative explosion that was the late 70s and early 80s is the subject of a gallery exhibit at the Pacific Design Center and it leads Dean to reminisce. When he was in London, did Dean experience the magic of the Elizabeth Line? And did he get to England through the worst itinerary ever? And what exactly did he get wrong when describing the Billy Wilder failure Kiss Me Stupid? These questions all get answered and the great improv comic turned successful character actor Mike Hagerty gets remembered in “Celebrity Deaths”. And if that weren’t enough, Phil takes the time to interview Russ Haslage about his career in radio, the “wonder” of Subspace, and the history of the fine works by The Federation (and how YOU can help)!

This week, Dean and Phil discuss a limited television series about the making of “The Godfather”, Season 3 of Amazon’s “The Boys”, the new AMC series “Dark Winds”, and whether Dean was ever in an episode of “Lonesome Dove”. Phil’s travels to Turlock get talked about, as do lava rocks, the recent planetary alignment, Lily’s final week as president of The Los Angeles Breakfast Club, safety (or “warning”) art, and Braille Institute’s Braille Challenge. Your friends also respond to emails, tweets and texts from loyal listeners like you (yes, you!), pertaining to such topics as Kim Novak, the oft-discussed Skidoo, Jean Harlow, whether last week’s episode was a paid advertisement, and “Celebrity Deaths”.

It’s Halloween season, so this week, Dean and Phil will get into the spooky spirit of things by celebrating “All of the Them Witches” – programming a dream film festival of witch-themed double-features! Of course, there is a ton of spooky, unsettling and downright terrifying show biz news for them to cover as well, including the potential resolution of the IATSE conflict with the AMPTP prior to almost all film and television productions getting shut down, the messy publicity slaughterhouse that continues to ensue following Dave Chappelle’s “The Closer” and Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos’ response to it, and a little bit of “inside” info regarding Marvel’s Black Widow. All that, plus really good box office news and a pioneering animator, a chart-topping bassist, and a best-selling YA novelist get remembered in “Celebrity Deaths”.

This week’s brand new show is a whole lot of fun, with a cold open (about Dean’s former website), a special guest appearance (from Siren FM’s Alex Lewczuk), a discussion about why certain movies (especially in the “Star Trek” universe) seem like movies, whereas others seem like TV episodes, a review of Doctor Sleep, a celebration of Stanley Kubrick, an analysis of an all-time great movie monologue delivered by a powerhouse actress (Nicole Kidman), and a remembrance of actor-producer Kirk Douglas, along with a thoughtful conversation about the messy business of appraising legacies.

This week, your friends in podcasting complete their epic 2-part celebration of the all-time greatest comedy movies! Boasting films from (almost?) every decade of feature filmmaking, this week’s installment covers Dean and Phil’s respective Top 5’s! There are bound to be crowd-pleasing favorites, silent classics, independent gems and studio blockbusters. So, keep those Netflix queues handy!

This week’s show is over five and a half years in the making.

It starts with your friends in podcasting revealing their all-time Top Ten Films.

Then, they reveal the all-time Top Ten according to all the guests who have appeared on YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour!

What films will make the cut?

We wouldn’t dream of spoiling it. HOWEVER, we CAN let you know that these films did NOT make the top ten, though they came very close, finishing in positions twenty-four through eleven:

24. Vertigo (Director: Alfred Hitchcock, Year: 1958)
23. Apocalypse Now (Francis Coppola, 1979)
22. Amelie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001)
21. A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick, 1971)
19. TIE – Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994), The Big Lebowski (Joel Coen, 1998)
18. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
17. Wings of Desire (Wim Wenders, 1987)
16. the Matrix (The Wachowskis, 1999)
15. The Third Man (Carol Reed, 1949)
14. Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974)
13. Fellini’s 8 1/2 (Federico Fellini, 1963)
12. Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990)
11. Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)

Got your popcorn? Then, let’s go to the movies!