HOLLYWOODLAND
The mysterious death of Brittany Murphy. David Lynch and the real-life brutal murder that inspired Twin Peaks. Steve McQueen’s brush with Charles Manson. The three conspiracies surrounding Marilyn Monroe’s death. The indecent arrest of John Waters. Dennis Hopper’s easy riding and excessive 70s Hollywood. Woody Harrelson’s Dad’s connection to the JFK assassination. The obsessive murder of Dorothy Stratten. Bill Murray’s bust. Chris Farley burning out too soon. Al Pacino’s armed robbery. The serial killer and Gianni Versace. Heath Ledger’s overdose. If it’s a story that meets up at the corner of Hollywood and True...
Episodes
Bonus Episode - Robert Mitchum Sings, European Screen Beauties, and Punk and Disco Collide in One Battle After Another
On this week’s Wrap Party, Zeth is talking about Robert Mitchum’s eternal attitude, swagger, defiance, and his unexpected singing career. Plus RIP Claudia Cardinale, Herbie Hancock film scores, and ranking Paul Thomas Anderson movies. Join …
Robert Mitchum: Reefer Madness, a Daring Escape from a Chain Gang, and Not Giving a Damn
Robert Mitchum was famously busted for marijuana in the 1940s before his career had really taken off. Not so famous is how he managed to save his legacy, and his life: with the unlikely help of one of the most powerful men in the world. To…
Bonus Episode: Paul Newman’s Best Films, Erotic Thrillers, and Would You Do THAT for a Million Bucks?
On this week’s Wrap Party, Zeth is talking about the legacy of Paul Newman, erotic thrillers from the ‘90s, strange burials, Netflix’s Black Rabbit, and more. Join the party and get in touch with your recs, your reviews, and any insane stor…
Paul Newman: Fast Cars, Cold Beers, and Forgotten Memories
Paul Newman didn’t race cars to outrun his demons. His past was easily kept at bay, like the World War II memories he didn’t want to think about. But like many actors of his generation, the Brando generation, Paul Newman wanted to act like …
Bonus Episode: R.I.P. Robert Redford, Sophisticated Cinema, and Johnny Depp’s Best Oddball Outlaw
On this week’s Wrap Party, Zeth is talking about the passing of Robert Redford and how movies inform our memories, and also crazy director resumes and iconic onscreen duos. Join the party and get in touch with your recs, your reviews, and a…
Johnny Depp: Homemade Bombs, Bootleg Quaaludes, and Unsolved Disappearances
Johnny Depp prefers the shadows to the limelight, whether he’s building a bomb with Hunter S. Thompson in the Rocky Mountains, or downing bootleg quaaludes laced with arsenic. After emerging as the leading art flick actor of the 1990s, prod…
Bonus Episode: Script Doctors, Car Chase Movies, and the Badass Carrie Fisher
On this week’s Wrap Party, Zeth is talking about Hollywood icon Carrie Fisher and her little-known side hustle as an uncredited script doctor. Also lots of talk about best car chase movies, Michael Jackson’s “Bad” video, Spike Lee’s latest,…
Carrie Fisher: Acid in the Desert, Snakes in the Amazon, and More Postcards from the Edge
Carrie Fisher once dropped acid in the desert with Paul Simon. She did ayahuasca in the Amazon jungle, where she was attacked by a giant snake that may or may not have been real. She did so much cocaine that legendary partyman John Belushi …
Bonus Episode: A Labor Day Emergency, Robert Altman, Scorsese Top 5 Revisited, and ABBA
On this week’s Wrap Party, Zeth is talking about a Robert Altman retrospective, controversial Martin Scorsese Top 5 lists, Jack Nicholson, ABBA, and much more. Join the party and get in touch with your recs, your reviews, and any insane sto…
Charlie Chaplin: Japanese Assassins, Murder on a Yacht, and a Stolen Corpse
Charlie Chaplin was a wanted man. Not just by moviegoing audiences that made him one of the biggest stars of the silent and talkie eras. And not just by governments who questioned his politics. He was nearly murdered by a jealous lover, and…
Bonus Episode: Devo, Music Documentaries, Child Actors, and Herbie Hancock
This week, Zeth and Jake are talking about the new Devo documentary on Netflix, which begs the question: is Devo the greatest punk rock band of all time? Plus, movie and music recommendations inspired by this week’s Lindsay Lohan episode. J…
Lindsay Lohan: Morgues, Ankle Bracelets, and an Addiction to Chaos
Lindsay Lohan’s arrest record is overcrowded with charges involving theft, cocaine, and the transportation of narcotics. The one-time Disney queen bee shattered her Mercedes and her good girl reputation with back-to-back DUIs when her caree…
Bonus Episode: Continued Confusion over Moe Greene, Mo Rocca, and Alex Rocco
This week in the Wrap Party, Jake and Zeth are discussing the differences between Moe Greene, Mo Rocca, and Alex Rocco. Plus ‘70s crime films, Sinatra at the Sands, and what if Old Blue Eyes sang songs by Helmet? Join the party and get in t…
Alex Rocco: A Mob Murder, a Boston Gang War, and Leaving Winter Hill for the Corleones
Organized crime. A brutal assault that kicked off a gang war. Car bombs. The brazen assassination of a mob boss in broad daylight. These things all happened in Francis Ford Coppola’s groundbreaking film The Godfather – but first they happen…
Bonus Episode: Harrison Ford, Weapons, and Top 10 Westerns
This week in the Wrap Party, Zeth and Jake talk about music and movie recommendations related to Harrison Ford, plus Zach Cregger’s new movie Weapons, great Westerns, stacks of books to be read, and more. Join the party and get in touch wit…
Harrison Ford: Smashing Bottles, Slinging Weed, and Partying with the Stones
If someone had told Harrison Ford the odds early on, about his chances of making it as an actor in Hollywood, he may have given up. But he wasn’t an odds kinda guy. He was a guy who did what he had to do to make it. Sometimes that meant swi…
Dark Horse Westerns, Bad Moms, and Joan Crawford
This week in the Wrap Party, Zeth and Jake are talking about digging up some crazy, unexpected stories about Joan Crawford, plus music and movie recommendations inspired by the Hollywood icon, and suggest starting a support group for those …
Joan Crawford: Stag Films, Dead Presidents, and No Wire Hangers
Joan Crawford once threatened the director of the FBI when she wanted an old stag film destroyed. She accepted an Oscar that wasn’t hers for the sole purpose to get revenge on her co-star. She wrote her daughter out of her will, before she …
Bonus Episode: The Greatest Movies of the 21st Century and the Greatest Comeback Stories
This week in the Wrap Party, Zeth and Jake are talking about the New York Times’ list of the 100 greatest movies of the 21st century (so far), the greatest Hollywood comeback stories, and recommendations for music and movies inspired by thi…
Robert Downey Jr.: Running on Empty, Rock Bottom, and Ironclad Resolve
The man who would be Iron Man was once an unreliable and uninsurable actor who lived many years at the bottom in a haze of drugs and alcohol. His transformation into the highest-paid actor in Hollywood is truly one of the most remarkable st…
Bonus Episode: Jayne Mansfield, Robert Downey Jr., Myth Busting, and Dates with the Devil
This week in the Wrap Party, Zeth and Jake are talking about the kinds of roles that Robert Downey Jr. doesn’t take on anymore, plus they share some of their music and movie recommendations inspired by this week’s episode subject, Jayne Man…
Jayne Mansfield: Nude Scenes, Satan’s Slave, and a Gruesome Death
Whether she was filming Hollywood’s first major nude scenes, or posing against a backdrop of Satanic skulls and pentagrams, Jayne Mansfield lived for exhibitionism. As a leading sexpot of the 1950s, Jayne was a genius, a bombshell, and a mo…
Bonus Episode: The Next Brando, Hearts of Darkness, and Memories of Madonna
This week in the Wrap Party, Zeth and Jake are talking about the legacy of Marlon Brando, cinematic descents into the jungle, and your recommendations for sweaty summer movies and classic movie soundtracks. Next week, get ready for our epi…
Marlon Brando: A Fake Kidnapping Gone Wrong, Jungle Madness, and a Dead Boyfriend
Marlon Brando once broke a paparazzo’s jaw with one punch. He hired private investigators to find his son when a fake kidnapping went horribly wrong. He nearly sank an already doomed film shoot all by himself when he arrived in the Philippi…
Bonus Episode - RIP Michael Madsen, Written out of Hollywood History, and the Greatest Movie Soundtracks
This week in the Wrap Party, Zeth and Jake are talking about the great Michael Madsen, who recently passed away at the age of 67, as well as debating what is the greatest movie soundtrack of all time, and their music and movie recommendatio…
Sharon Stone: Basic Instincts, Baring It All, and the Butcher of Montreal
In a single year, Sharon Stone was nominated for awards for both Best Actress and Worst Actress – for the same role. She launched a million sexual awakenings with one quick display in Basic Instinct. Her performance in that film was so vivi…
Bonus Episode - Separating the Art from the Artist, Heist Movies, and Directors in Exile
This week in the Wrap Party, Zeth and Jake are talking about Roman Polanski and separating the art from the artist, handing out fresh music and movie recommendations, and responding to your voicemails, texts, emails, and DMs. Next week, get…
Roman Polanski: Nazis, Murder, and Life on the Lam
As a child, Roman Polanski escaped from a Krakow ghetto on the day the Nazis took his father to a concentration camp. As a new filmmaker, he became the toast of young Hollywood with his 1968 horror masterpiece, Rosemary’s Baby. But after th…
Bonus Episode - Gnarly L.A. Stories, Gnarly L.A. Gangsters, Porn Stars, and Washed-Up Protagonists
This week in the Wrap Party, Zeth and Jake are talking about John Holmes, Boogie Nights, commercials from the ‘80s and ‘90s, Gen X, the difference between Eddie and the Hot Rods and Eddie and the Cruisers, summer playlists, and washed-up pr…
John Holmes: Big Units, Freebase Briefcases, Four on the Floor, and the Wonderland Murders
John Holmes unexpectedly found fame in the 1970s with a freakishly large appendage that proved a gateway into the burgeoning adult entertainment industry. He appeared in over 2,000 porn films and is alleged to have slept with over 14,000 wo…
Bonus Episode - Immortality and Invincibility at the Movies, and Posthumous Performances
On this week in the Wrap Party, Zeth and Jake are talking about becoming immortal on the big screen, discussing music and movie recommendations inspired by the late, great Bruce Lee, and responding to your messages about everything from Wil…
Bruce Lee: Fists of Fury, the Death Touch, Murder Suspect #1, and Hollywood’s Ultimate Outsider
Bruce Lee got into so much trouble as a kid in Hong Kong that his parents banished him to the place of his birth: America. There he found all kinds of new trouble to get into. He upset kung fu traditionalists with his revolutionary style of…
Bonus Episode – Triple Threats, Mobbed Up Producers, and Post Prison Movies
On this week in the Wrap Party, Zeth and Jake are talking about entertainers who simultaneously dominate the small screen, the big screen, and the airwaves, as well as responding to your messages about everything from Jack Nicholson’s wild …
John Belushi: Punk Rock Riots, Chicago Street Brawls, and Missions from God
John Belushi may have been one of the funniest comedians of his generation, but he wasn’t just a funny guy. He was a rock star. He partied with the Stones, fronted a world-class band of R&B legends, and was responsible for a punk rock riot …
Bonus Episode – Join Us in the Wrap Party
Welcome to the Wrap Party, the weekly bonus episode of the HOLLYWOODLAND podcast hosted by longtime Double Elvis writer and editor Zeth Lundy, along with HOLLYWOODLAND's host, Jake Brennan. This week we're talking about crimes of the centur…
Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle: Underground Brothels, Hush Money, Bootlegged Booze, and the Making of Hollywood’s Greatest Scandal
A century ago, at the birth of movie superstardom, silent film star Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle was at the center of a scandal that rocked Hollywood to its core. He was accused of a murderous sex crime so depraved that it turned the nation not …
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson: A Teenage Jewel Thief, a Heel Turn Betrayal, and Raising the People’s Eyebrow
Long before he raised the People’s Eyebrow, dropped the People’s Elbow, and laid the smackdown on the candyass world of Hollywood, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson ran a jewelry theft ring in Waikiki. He and his peers worked the posh shopping dist…
Jack Nicholson: Hidden Drugs, Road Rage, and a Shocking Crime
In some of Hollywood’s best-loved movies, Jack Nicholson played jokers, sailors, inmates – even the Devil himself. But he never played by the rules. He allegedly mooned a crowd of thousands at a basketball game. His bedroom kinks were laid …
Will Smith: Fist Fights, Jail Cells, and the Slap Heard Round the World
In 1989, shortly after winning his first Grammy Award at just 20 years old, Will Smith was arrested and charged with assault after a brawl at a popular Philadelphia radio station left one man nearly blind. It almost ended his career just as…
Tim Allen: Cocaine in Kalamazoo, Life in Prison, and Flipping for the Feds
Before he was headed to infinity and beyond, Tim Allen was headed to life in prison for a low-level drug deal in Michigan. This is the story about how his first career ended in a life-changing bust, and what he had to do in order to survive…