DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley

Dennis Zooms with the three men behind the new prison romance "Luz;" writer-director Jon Garcia and actors Ernesto Reyes, who plays prison newbie Ruben and Jesse Tayeh who plays his seen-it-all cellmate Carlos. They talk about shooting in a real prison in Oregon, why they couldn't wear blue during shooting and including actual inmates in the film. Jon discusses the strong chemistry between the act...

Dennis is joined via Zoom by writer-performer-drag legend Jackie Beat to talk about Sunday's Zoom event 'WHO'S DA BOSS? THE LOST TAPES'...a loving homage to the classic sitcom Who's the Boss? Halfway through the chat, Dennis and Jackie are joined by actor Danny Pintauro who played Jonathan Bower on the original Who's the Boss? and reprises his role in this stage / Zoom version. Jackie talks about...

For the fourth year in a row, Dennis is joined my film buffs Glenn Gaylord and Michael Doughtery to look back on the films of 2020 (and early '21) Glenn is the Senior Film Critic at the Queer Review and Michael is the Director of the Reel Abilities Film Festival. Movies discussed include: The Invisible Man, Shirley, Nomadland, The Painter and the Thief, Assassins, A Thousand Cuts, Collective, Neve...

Dennis is joined via Zoom by Ryan J. Haddad the star and writer of the one-man show Hi Are You Single? which is streaming on line all through February (see link below). The show is a funny, smart and moving look his quest for love, connection, or just a decent hookup as a gay man with cerebral palsy. He talks about the origins of the show, why gay men looking for connection can be cruel to each ot...

Dennis is joined via Zoom by filmmaker Mike Mossalam and actor Amin El Gaman two of the men behind the new queer rom-com Breaking Fast, about Mo, a devout Muslim doctor in Los Angeles (Haaz Sleiman) who begins a relationship with a All-American-type actor (Michael Cassidy) during the month of Ramadan. MIke is the writer-director of the film and he talks about what inspired him to write it, the cha...

Dennis connects via Zoom with actor-writer-director Tom DeTrinis to discuss his one-person show Making Friends , which is available to stream at the IAMA Theatre company website through January 11th. Tom talks about the central theme of the play, specifically his anger and where it comes from, how his road rage figures in, and why he chose to mount the show virtually instead of waiting until it's...

Dennis connects via Zoom with Deven Green and Ned Douglas, creators of the new Revry game show Versus, where contestants answer questions about their own social media feeds, play silly games like Roosters vs. Snails and try to make sense of what's coming out of emcee Deven's mouth. Deven and Ned talk about how they came up with the idea for the show, how Revry got involved and how they produced th...

Dennis is joined via Zoom by Hugh Nini & Neal Treadwell, the real-life couple behind the remarkable new book Loving: A Photographic History of Men in Love 1850s to 1950s , a gorgeous collection of vintage photos they've collected of male couples in love. Hugh and Neal talk about the day they discovered their first photo, the rush of discovery that comes with every new find, the way their collectio...

Dennis connects via Zoom with Sean Dwyer, an L.A.-based writer-producer whose Christmas-themed movie Holiday Rush is currently streaming on Netflix. The film is about a successful New York radio personality and father of four who, just a few years after the death of his beloved wife, abruptly loses his job and has to reimagine his whole life. Sean talks about the origins of the story, shooting a h...

Dennis connects via Zoom with his yoga pal and author Paria Hassouri to talk about her new memoir Found In Transition: A Mother's Evolution through Her Child's Gender Change. which documents her journey and her family's journey through the process of her teenage daughter Ava's gender transition. She talks about her initial reaction to her daughter saying she was trans, which was skepticism, and re...

Dennis connects via Zoom with director Jon Lawrence Rivera and producer Jon Imparato, two of the creative forces behind the new play "March." "March" is not a Zoom-happening. It's an actual live theatrical experience presented in the parking garage of the LA LGBT Center to an audience watching safely from their cars. The play is set in a post-Trump, dystopian, anti-queer future and focuses on thre...

While driving cross country, actor and filmmaker Nicol Paone joins Dennis via Zoom to talk about her debut film as writer-director, the ensemble holiday comedy Friendsgiving. She talks about the getting the inspiration for the movie from a real-life experience, how she got the movie made and working with the cast, which includes Malin Akerman, Kat Dennings, AIsha Tyler, Jane Seymour, Christine Tay...

Dennis talks via Zoom with actor-singer-writer David Pevsner about his film "Musical Comedy Whore," which is now available on DVD and streaming. It's a filmed version of his stage show about the period of time when he was working as both a musical comedy performer ( Party, Naked Boys Singing, When Pigs Fly) and an escort. He talks about what it was like to live that double life, what turned him of...

Dennis connects via Zoom with singer-songwriter-actor Levi Kreis from his home in Knoxville, Tennessee to talk about his latest EP Bad Habit and his upcoming series of virtual concerts (October 20th, November 18th and November 15th). He talks about drawing from his experience as a recovering addict in writing the song "Bad Habit" and shooting its accompanying video. He also discusses his cover of...

Dennis connects via Zoom with Neon Trees frontman Tyler Glenn to talk about the band's terrific new album I Can Feel You Forgetting Me . Tyler talks about the inspiration for the record, his songwriting process, the delicious retro sound of the record and what it's like to drop a new album when no one can leave the house. Tyler and Dennis also talk about their shared background in the Mormon churc...

Dennis welcomes to the Zoom room comedian Misha D to talk about his debut comedy album Dolphin of the Land , which has just dropped on streaming services like Spotify and iTunes. Dennis and Misha recall the talking-head pop culture TV show they met on Ultimate Countdown  that never aired in the states. Misha talks about being drawn to standup after the 2016 election, finding humor in dark subjects...

Dennis connects over Zoom with author Byron Lane to talk all about his delicious new novel A Star Is Bored , which is inspired by his 3-year stint as personal assistant to actress-author-intergalactic princess Carrie Fisher. He talks about deciding to write the book in the wake of Fisher's passing, what he thinks Carrie would think of the book and recalls how working with Carrie changed his feelin...

All the way from London, author Matthew Todd joins Dennis via Skype to talk about his beautiful new coffee table book Pride: The Story of the LGBTQ Equality Movement . Matthew talks about how the book came about, some of the unsung heroes he writes about in the book, the similarities between the US and the UK in terms of the movement and how moments in pop culture like gay characters on soap opera...

Dennis chats with author Brent Hartinger via Skype from Port Washington, Washington about his career about his 14th novel The Otto Digmore Decision,  a sweet and funny a gay burn victim trying to make it as an actor in Hollywood. He also talks about his breakout first novel Geography Club, one of the first YA novels to feature gay teens, how it tapped into a market no one knew was there and went o...

Dennis chats via Skype with Jeffrey McHale, the filmmaker behind You Don't Nomi , a film about the afterlife of the 1995 camp classic Showgirls . He talks about what inspired him to make the movie, his choice to have his interviewees appear on audio but not video, how he was able to include so many clips and the thrill of being at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery screening with Elizabeth Berkley sho...

Dennis connects via Skype with filmmaker John Paul Su whose debut feature film Toto , about a hotel worker in the Philippines who dreams of moving to America, is currently screening on Amazon Prime and ITunes. He talks about infusing his own experiences as an immigrant into the story, shooting the film in the Philippines, how he financed the film, how the film was received in the Philippines, shoo...

Dennis chats via Skype with author, actor and activist Maulik Pancholy about his debut novel The Best at It , which tells the story of Rahul Kapoor, an Indian-American sixth grader in suburban Indiana who sets out to become the best at something. He talks about where the idea to write the book came from, the bidding war that erupted when the book went to publishers, the parameters he faced when it...

Dennis connects via Skype with Brian Mahan a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner based in Los Angeles who Dennis saw for treatment back in 2016. Brian explains what exactly Somatic Experiencing is, the difference between stress and trauma and the car wreck on the 10 Freeway that led him to this work. He also talks about the work he's doing around the issue of shame, toxic shame vs. healthy shame, sh...

In this new social distancing era, Dennis connects via Skype with his longtime friend, actor and filmmaker Jack Plotnick, to talk about Dennis's current online obsession; Jack's epic musical short Alien Mini Mall Tetralogy,  in which he plays two different aliens as well as several alien clones who wrestle with life's big themes at a mini-mall on Santa Monica Boulevard. Jack talks about what inspi...

Dennis visits the Hollywood Hills home of Anthony Meindl the writer-director and one of the stars of Where We Go From Here , a new film that just hit Hulu about people in three different places--Orlando, Paris and Binghampton, NY--whose lives are affected by gun violence. Anthony talks about what made him sit down and write the film, putting his own experiences into the film's gay relationship, ap...