The Bottoming Process playwright Nicholas Pilapil & Stars George Salazar & Rick Cosnett: “I Wanted To Write Me As Katherine Heigl”
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Release Date: 05/18/2023
Mortified LA Host & Story Producer Leonard Hyman: "I Am SomebodyThat Wallows"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined via Zoom by Leonard Hyman, the emcee and a story producer for the L.A. stage show Mortified. Mortified is a long running stage show where performers get on the mic and share things they created as kids or teens, like diary entries, poems, home videos, things that were never intended to be shared with a roomful of stranger. Leonard recalls how he first learned about the show then went on to perform on it multiple times. He also talks about how he's kept a diary for most of his life and how he read one passage of it as part of his wedding vows--he reads that part for us,...
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Filmmaker Sav Rodgers (Chasing Chasing Amy): "Every Day Is A School Day"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined via Zoom by filmmaker Sav Rodgers to discuss his documentary Chasing Chasing Amy, a coming-of-age story set again the backdrop of Kevin Smith's controversial 1993 film Chasing Amy, which is about a lesbian (Joey Lauren Adams) who falls in love with a straight guy (Ben Affleck). Sav recalls how the documentary sprung from a Ted Talk he gave called "The Rom-Com That Saved My Life," which was about how his adolescent viewings of Chasing Amy made him feel less alone at a time when he was being bullied for his queerness and battled thoughts of suicide. He also recalls what it...
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Filmmakers Tom Gustafson & Cory Krueckeberg (Glitter and Doom): "The Stems Have Been Delivered"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined via Zoom by Tom Gustafson & Cory Krueckeberg, the men behind the new gay movie-musical, Glitter and Doom. Tom directs, Cory writes and edits and they produce together. The film is a loosely autobiographical love story between two young men, a broody down-on-his luck musician named Doom (Alan Cammish) and a sunny aspiring circus performer named Glitter (Alex Diaz) In the interview, Cory recalls how he wrote the script on his own and then presented it to Tom on their 20th anniversary as a couple. Tom talks about the decision to shoot in Mexico City and recalls the...
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Author Manuel Betancourt (The Male Gazed): I Just Love a Big Dumb Hunk
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined via Zoom by author Manuel Betancourt to discuss his new book The Male Gazed: . In the book, which he describes as a memoir in essays about masculinity and desire, Manuel writes about such subjects as Ricky Martin's thirst traps on Instagram, Mario Lopez's wrestling singlets on Saved By The Bell, Antonio Banderas's tighty-whities in Law of Desire and why flamboyant Puerto Rican TV astrologer Walter Mercado used to make him squirm. Manuel also talks about getting rejected by a number of publishers and nearly giving up before his eventual publisher called to say they were...
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The MisMatch Game: Here Comes The Pride Edition excerpts
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
To promote this Saturday's Hot August Night Edition of The MisMatch Game, here are some clips from June's two Pride-themed shows. The panelists are Dante as Christopher Lloyd, Danny Casillas as Reba Areba, Richard Halpern as Austin Powers, Tom Lenk as M3GAN and Zooey Deschanel, Felix Pire as The Mad Hatter, Rebekah Kochan as Jennifer Coolidge, Jackie Clarke as Ginni Thomas, James Adomian as Elon Musk, Nadya Ginsburg as Cher, Lory Tatoulian as Queen Camilla & Marc Samuel as Morgan Freeman. The questions take on such subjects as Rihanna's missing toe ring, Dorothy's stolen ruby slippers and...
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Actor-Writer-Director Craig Chester (Adam & Steve): "How Does Loni Anderson Live?"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined via Zoom by actor-writer-director Craig Chester to discuss the upcoming 18th Anniversary screening of his gay rom-com Adam and Steve, which is happening on August 31st at the Mary Pickford Theater in Palm Springs. Craig shares memories of making the movie, including how he had to take over as director just a few weeks before filming, how he burst into tears after shooting the film's big, show-stopping western-themed dance number and what it was like to work with Malcolm Gets, Parker Posey and Chris Kattan. He also talks about his career as a TV writer, working on the...
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Author JD Doyle (1981): "I Wanted to See Gay America"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined via Zoom by historian JD Doyle to discuss his new book, "1981: My Gay American Road Trip, A Slice Of Our Pre-AIDS Culture." The book is comprised mostly of diary entries JD kept during a road trip he took in 1981 that spanned 24 states,180 gay bars and lots of hot hookups. In the interview, JD discusses how his father encouraged him to take the trip after he got laid off of his chemical engineering job, the '77 Skylark he took the journey in by himself with no air conditioning, using his background in gay media to network and how the entire experience changed him. He...
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Writer-Performer Alex Alexander (Perception vs. Reality 101): "I Will Not Be Ignored, Los Angeles"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined via Zoom by writer-performer Alex Alexander whose show Perception vs. Reality 101 returns to Los Angeles on August 12th. The show is about how sometimes the stories we tell ourselves about our lives and our pasts aren't actually true. Alex talks about getting inspiration for the show from her high school yearbooks, why she changed her name from Debra to Alex, getting caught up the Fatal Attraction backlash after changing her name to Alex and what her Southern Christian family thought when she decided to move to Los Angeles to pursue a career in entertainment. She also...
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Filmmakers Andy & Danny Vallentine (The Mattachine Family): "Each Day is Vallentine's Day"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined via Zoom by Andy & Danny Vallentine, the husband-and-husband team behind the new movie The Mattachine Family, which is about a gay male couple in L.A. and their multiple attempts to becoming fathers. Screenwriter Danny talks about getting inspiration for the script from his and Andy's real life journey. Andy talks about working with the stellar cast, which includes Nico Tortorella (Younger), Juan Pablo di Pace (Fuller House) and Emily Hampshire (Schitt's Creek). The pair also talk about getting Zach Braff to sign on as Executive Producer, the day on set they'll never...
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Filmmaker Corey Sherman (Big Boys): "I Wanted Him To Be Big Guy Who Likes Big Guys"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined via Zoom by Corey Sherman the writer-director of the film Big Boys, a delightful coming of age movie about a 14 year-old boy named Jamie who goes on a camping trip with his older female cousin and becomes infatuated with her hot bear of a boyfriend. Corey talks about where the idea for the story originated, exploring the theme of coming out to yourself long before you come out to anyone else and why unrequited crushes can be as formative and life-changing as full-blown relationships. Corey also talks about discovering and working with his lead actor Isaac Krasner who gives a...
info_outlineDennis is joined via Zoom by three of the talents behind the new play The Bottoming Process: playwright Nicholas Pilapil and actors George Salazar and Rick Cosnett. The play, which runs through June 12th at the Renberg Theater in Hollywood is a romantic comedy about two writers in different stages of their careers who fall in love and grapple with issues of race, sex and power. Nicholas talks about what inspired him to write the play, where the title comes from, how living all your life in LA effects how you feel about your dreams and how his mother dragging him to see Rent at the Pantages when he was in high school changed his life forever. George talks about the thrill of playing a lead character who is lot like him, performing love and sex scenes on stage, what it was like to play George Conway (Kellyanne Conway’s husband) in Ryan Murphy’s Impeachment and why he’s ready and willing to star in George Santos: The Musical. Rick talks about what drew him to the play, growing up on a farm in Zimbabwe, co-starring in The Flash, which is airing its series finale this month, playing twins in a TV movie and appearing opposite Joel Edgerton in the new Paul Schrader film Master Gardener. Other topics include: Be More Chill Tony night trauma made worse by James Corden, what it’s like to play a Tiny Desk Concert at the NPR offices, Rick’s playing the Succession theme song on the piano, the wit and wisdom of Anne Hathaway and why they do theater.
https://culturalarts.lalgbtcenter.org/the-bottoming-process/