Hollywoodland is a podcast that takes place at the intersection of Hollywood and True Crime. It's where you'll hear the stories about our most beloved actors, directors, and other icons of movie history through the lens of the crimes that have impacted them. The mysterious death of Brittany Murphy. The obsessive murder of Dorothy Stratten. Woody Harrelson's father's connection to the JFK assassination. The three conspiracies surrounding Marilyn Monroe's death. Steve McQueen's brush with Charles Manson. The indecent arrest of John Waters. Dennis Hopper's easy riding and raging '70s Hollywood. The shocking small town murder that inspired David Lynch's...
Latest episodes
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34 min
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 se…
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34 min
Bonus Episode: The Screening Room – A Ghost Story
This week in the Screening Room, Zeth is talking about bedsheets with the eyes cut out, time and eternity, and the 2017 David Lowery film ‘A Ghost Story.’ Plus we make a mixtape in…
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1 h 00
Bonus Episode: Comfort Horror and Cursed Films
In this week’s Wrap Party, Zeth is talking about the “comfort horror” subgenre that he may or may not have just made up, as well as ‘Rosemary’s Baby,’ ‘Poltergeist,’ and other so-c…
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38 min
Poltergeist Curse: Paranormal Activity, a Plane Crash, and Murder
Four different actors from the 1980s horror franchise Poltergeist died within a 6-year span. Dominique Dunne was murdered. Julian Beck succumbed to stomach cancer. Will Sampson suf…
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41 min
Bonus Episode: The Screening Room – 25th Hour
This week in the Screening Room, Zeth is talking about 9/11 in cinema, the life that came so close to never happening, and Spike Lee’s 2002 film ‘25th Hour’ starring Edward Norton,…
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54 min
Bonus Episode: From Cocaine Cowboy to Toolman
In this week’s Wrap Party, Zeth is talking 1991, ‘Home Improvement,’ ‘Twin Peaks,’ and the chasm between Tim Allen’s public persona and his criminal past. And Jake Brennan of Disgr…
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36 min
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 l…
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42 min
Bonus Episode: The Screening Room – Mulholland Drive
This week in the Screening Room, Zeth is talking about dreams, doubles, mysteries, and the 2001 David Lynch film ‘Mulholland Drive.’ Plus we make a mixtape inspired by the film wit…
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55 min
Bonus Episode: We Are the Dreamer Who Dreams and Then Lives Inside the Dream
In this week’s Wrap Party, Zeth is talking about movies as dreams, movies as mystery, and the mystery of the dreamlike David Lynch. And Jake Brennan of Disgraceland joins to give d…
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35 min
David Lynch: A Brutal Murder, a Corrupt Small Town, and the Secret Origins of Twin Peaks
In 1908, a girl was brutally murdered in a small town in upstate New York. The town was seemingly idyllic, but beneath the surface, it was crawling with prostitution, orgies, decei…
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41 min
Bonus Episode: The Screening Room – So I Married an Axe Murderer
This week in the Screening Room, Zeth is talking about beat poetry, Alcatraz, noggins so big they’re virtual planetoids, and the 1993 romantic comedy ‘So I Married an Axe Murderer”…
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57 min
Bonus Episode: Tony Soprano Would Not Approve
In this week’s Wrap Party, Zeth is talking about the glaring omission of ‘The Sopranos’ from the New York Times’ 100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century, Phil Hartman’s legendary unp…
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38 min
Phil Hartman: Blackmail, an Attempted Presidential Assassination, and a Murder-Suicide
Before he was deemed “the Glue” by his castmates at Saturday Night Live, Phil Hartman worked as a rock ‘n roll roadie and a graphic designer. He created album covers for the bands…
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41 min
Bonus Episode: The Screening Room – Enemy of the State
This week in the Screening Room, Zeth is talking about bugs, wiretaps, hidden cameras, and the 1998 Tony Scott film ‘Enemy of the State’ starring Will Smith and Gene Hackman. Plus…
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1 h 04
Bonus: They Want You to Believe Art Isn’t Important
In this week’s Wrap Party, Zeth is talking about George Lucas, Guillermo del Toro, and the use of AI in film. Plus, dirty recs with Disgraceland’s Jake Brennan about musicians and…
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33 min
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 l…
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45 min
Bonus Episode: The Screening Room – Casino
This week in the Screening Room, Zeth is talking about pit bosses, shift bosses, floor men, box men, the eye in the sky, and Martin Scorsese’s 1995 film ‘Casino.’ Plus we make a mi…
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57 min
Bonus Episode: So Bad They’re Good
In this week’s Wrap Party, Zeth is fed up with award shows and discusses Sharon Stone’s dual nominations for a Golden Globe and a Razzie Award – for the same performance. Plus, dir…
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36 min
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…
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42 min
Bonus Episode: The Screening Room – The Player
This week in the Screening Room, Zeth is talking about deplorable studio executives, vindictive screenwriters, Hollywood satire, and Robert Altman’s 1992 comeback film ‘The Player.…