DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley

Dennis Hensley
  • 4.8 (96)
  • Arts
  • Updated Weekly

"A podcast about making things up and making things happen." L.A.-based writer-performer Dennis Hensley believes that art and creativity make the world go around and make life worth living. Each week, he interviews a different creative person each about what they do, why they do it, and how they manage the ups and downs of a creative life. Some guests are famous, some are less so...all are what Dennis describes as "beautiful strugglers." Past guests have included authors, actors, photographers, musicians, screenwriters, acrobats and one visual artist who makes cartoons centered around dead houseflies.

  1. Filmmaker Jeffrey Schwarz (Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders): "Half The Audience Was In Leather"

    1d ago

    Filmmaker Jeffrey Schwarz (Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders): "Half The Audience Was In Leather"

    Dennis is join via Zoom by documentary filmmaker Jeffrey Schwarz to discuss his newest film Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders, which is about the making of the controversial William Friedkin film Cruising, the real life murders it was inspired by and the gay activist movement it inspired. Jeffrey talks about the first time he saw the film, why he was inspired to make the doc, star Al Pacino's feelings about the film, the surprising discoveries he made along the way that changed the direction of the film and how the film, shot in 1979, is also a visual documentation of a time of sexual freedom that was soon to be decimated by AIDS. He also talks about his exploration into the murder of Addison Verrill, a Variety reporter in NYC, who was killed by a man he picked up in a bar named Paul Bateson. Other topics include: which of his docs has been the most widely seen, how he gets reluctant subjects to agree to be interviewed, the current landscape for docs in general, his mission to preserve queer stories while the people involved in them are still alive, and the building anticipation for his next film Goddess: The Fall and Rise of Showgirls. www.automatpictures.com

    1h 12m
  2. You Might Also Like: The Next Five

    1d ago ·  Bonus

    You Might Also Like: The Next Five

    Introducing AI Returns: Separating Value from Hype from The Next Five. Follow the show: The Next Five For the past few years, the corporate world has been boldly surfing the initial wave of AI excitement. Boardrooms worldwide have poured hundreds of billions of dollars into Artificial Intelligence, fueled by grand promises of economic revolution. We were told productivity would skyrocket, costs would vanish, and businesses would effortlessly scale. But as the fiscal years roll over, executives are searching for the next wave of provable returns and exploring what they will need to do to catch it and surf it to the beach of productivity gains. The challenge for this next generation of technology, specifically autonomous Agentic AI, is to prove it can deliver measurable, repeatable business value at scale. But unlocking that value requires a total architectural overhaul. It means completely re-engineering the internal human workforce, and ultimately, altering how the customer experiences an organisation from the outside. Giles Bryan, General Manager CX, NiCE, alongside Chris Herbert, Customer Service Director at Openreach and Zack Kass, Author, Podcaster, and former OpenAI Executive, join host Tom Parker. Sources: FT Resources, McKinsey, MIT, Gartner, Guardian This content is paid for by NiCE and is produced in partnership with the Financial Times' Commercial Department. The views and claims expressed are those of the guests alone and have not been independently verified by The Financial Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. DISCLAIMER: Please note, this is an independent podcast episode not affiliated with, endorsed by, or produced in conjunction with the host podcast feed or any of its media entities. The views and opinions expressed in this episode are solely those of the creators and guests. For any concerns, please reach out to team@podroll.fm.

  3. Grangeville actor Tim Cummings: "I Wanted To Do It For All The Arnies"

    Jul 2

    Grangeville actor Tim Cummings: "I Wanted To Do It For All The Arnies"

    Dennis is joined via Zoom by actor Tim Cummings who is currently starring as Arnie in the hit play Grangeville by Samuel D. Hunter (The Whale) at the Rustin Group Theatre in Santa Monica, CA. The play is about two estranged half-brothers, one in Idaho, one in Holland, who connect to discuss the care and finances of their ailing mother but end up reckoning with a whole lot more. Tim talks about seeing the play in New York in 2025 and experiencing a rush through his body that told him he had to bring the play to L.A. and star in it. He also talks about his character Arnie and how, though he's justified in all his resentments for how his family treated him as a gay boy growing up, those same resentments might be holding him back as a adult. Tim also talks about appearing in the 9-11 firefighter play The Guys in New York and what it was like when his firefighter father came to see it. Other topics include: the difference between doing theater in NY vs. LA, his love for spiders and octopi, taking a seven year break from acting to study creative writing and publish two books, understudying Stanley Tucci in Frankie and Johnny on Broadway, his goth kid teen years and his belief that, "if something comes across your field, you better go after it." www.RuskinGroupTheatre.com

    1h 14m

  4. Jun 25

    Feral Fatale Star & Writer Nadya Ginsburg: "Thanks For Coming."

    Dennis is joined via Zoom by his friend Nadya Ginsburg to talk about her latest one-person show Feral Fatal, which is hitting LA, New York and the Berkshires in July. The show features her genius imitations of Cher and Madonna but also has plenty of surprises, including a lovely Tom Waits song as well as some thoughtful musings about how we're all just primates.  She also talks about getting sober and how it's changed her attitude about her work, caretaking for her elderly parents and waiting tables in NYC. Nadya and Dennis also talk about the recent three-show run of Dennis's first play The Point of Pinecones, which Nadya played multiple roles in, and explore the topic of creativity and inspiration, generally. And yes, Dennis cries.

    1h 6m

  5. Jun 18

    Actor-Writer-Producer Paul Witten (You Are Here): "My Pinky Is So Extended And I'm Guzzling"

    Actor-Writer-Producer Paul Witten (You Are Here): "My Pinky Is So Extended And I'm Guzzling"   Dennis is joined via Zoom by Paul Witten, the creator and star of a new TV pilot called You Are Here, which is having its world premier on June 20th at the Dances With Films festival in Los Angeles. The story centers on a 50-something gay man in Los Angeles and three of his friends who all feel like they're still unfinished in a way. Maybe their lives haven't turned out the way they expected but they have much to be thankful for and, as the title says, they are here. Paul talks about what inspired him to create the show and then make it happen, the joy of working with friends and managing expectations when you put something big out in to the world. He also talks about his work on shows like Brooklyn 99, The Residence and The Morning Show. Other topics include: being single and being okay with it except at certain times, why working on a Shondaland show is magical, why cater-waiters deserve to not be punchlines, the significance of the title You Are Here and which is better, Diet Coke or Coke Zero. https://danceswithfilms.com/2026-you-are-here/

    56 min

  6. Jun 11

    Filmmaker Elliot Tuttle (Blue Film): "I Wanted The Film To Feel Like An Echo Chamber of Perversion"

    Dennis is joined via Zoom by writer-director Elliot Tuttle to talk about his debut feature Blue Film, which is about a 20-something camboy who takes a lot of money to spend the night with an anonymous client, who ends up being a former school teacher and convicted sex offender from his small hometown. Elliot talks about why he wanted to tell this story, the knockout performances he got from his two actors, Reed Birney and Keiron Moore, keeping the budget low so he could total creative freedom and why he chose to use old camcorder footage as a visual motif in the film. Other topics include: Elliot working at Dennis's favorite L.A. revival house Vidiots, the role an intimacy coordinator played in the project, how he got to know and become mentored by indie film icon Mark Duplass and the movie review website he launched when he was ten.

    43 min

  7. Jun 4

    Filmmaker Linus O'Brien (Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror): "It's Been The Great Joy Of My Life"

    Dennis is join via Zoom by Linus O'Brien to discuss his new documentary Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror, a joyful and inspiring recounting of the journey of the cultural juggernaut that is The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Linus's father Richard O'Brien created the original show and played Riff Raff both on stage and in the movie and watching father and son interact in the film and try to make sense of what Rocky means to the world is fascinating, funny and quite moving. Linus talks about getting the whole gang back together to talk about the movie (pretty much everyone's still alive but Meat Loaf), the undeniable star quality of Tim Curry as Frank-N-Furter, Susan Sarandon wise and wonderful sound bytes and why he thinks the film never really courted much controversy, even though its themes of sexual and gender liberation are right there front and center. Other topics include: the emotional reactions he's gotten from fans and shadowcast members, the movie theater owner in Portland who played the movie every Friday night during the pandemic so its record as the longest-running movie wouldn't end, his favorite moments in the film, the one souvenir from the movie his father kept from Rocky and what it's like to have the name Linus (Spoiler alert: he loves it).

    1h 3m
  8. Chico's Angels stars Oscar Quintero, Danny Casillas & Kurt Koehler: "Oh, That Chita, She Never Learns."

    May 28

    Chico's Angels stars Oscar Quintero, Danny Casillas & Kurt Koehler: "Oh, That Chita, She Never Learns."

    Dennis connects via Zoom with his friends Oscar Quintero, Danny Casillas & Kurt Koehler to talk about the return of their long-running drag comedy-musical Chico's Angels 2: Love Boat Chicas, which returns to the Cavern Club Theater this June. The trio talk about what audiences can expect from this installment--Disco music! Forbidden love! Charo!--how drag has changed since they started doing the show over 20 years ago, why the Angels never curse and their favorite moments in the show. They also talk about what doing the show means to them now, the fans who come back again and again and that time an audience member threw up...but the show continued on. Other topics include: Kurt telling his A-list co-stars in the Oppenheimer green room about Chico's, the trouble with drag and shoes, sharing an actor (Sebastian Dino) with Dennis's Fringe play The Point of Pinecones and the Charlie's Angels 50th Anniversary Paley Center event they attended recently. They also all take part in a Love Boat trivia quiz Dennis prepared especially for them and do, well, okay. www.kaysedia.com

    47 min
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4.8
out of 5
96 Ratings

About

"A podcast about making things up and making things happen." L.A.-based writer-performer Dennis Hensley believes that art and creativity make the world go around and make life worth living. Each week, he interviews a different creative person each about what they do, why they do it, and how they manage the ups and downs of a creative life. Some guests are famous, some are less so...all are what Dennis describes as "beautiful strugglers." Past guests have included authors, actors, photographers, musicians, screenwriters, acrobats and one visual artist who makes cartoons centered around dead houseflies.

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