Dennis visits the San Fernando Valley home of Ariel Rubin to talk with Ariel and Juliana Patel, the co-creators of "Escape Room in a Box" which is exactly what it sounds like; a home version of an escape room. They talk about how they met playing werewolf, getting the idea, creating the incredibly complicated prototypes, the support they got from the game community, finding a factory to make the game and the red locks that drove them crazy. They also talk about putting together their Kickstarter...
Dec 12, 2018•1 hr 11 min
Dennis visits the West Hollywood office of marketing guru Andrew Miller to talk about the world of startups, how he got into it, the amazing exotic places he's worked remotely from and why founding a startup is kind of like coming out as LGBT. He also talks about why he's pro-online dating and the new dating app he's consulting on Crown, from the people who brought you Tinder. He discusses what it's like when a project he's working on blows up and also how it feels like when one crashes and burn...
Nov 17, 2018•1 hr 4 min
Dennis ventures to beautiful Carpinteria, CA to interview creativity-productivity specialist Sam Bennett about the work she does inspiring people to make their creative ideas happen. She talks about how she got into this line of work, the difference between highly creative people and other people, why she moved on from acting to her current career path, that time her life fell apart and she had to totally reinvent herself and her days as an improv actor with Second City. She also talks about one...
Oct 30, 2018•1 hr 6 min
Dennis heads to Koreatown in L.A. to interview Yen Tan, the writer director of such films as Pit Stop , Ciao and his latest 1985 , which is about a young man who has been diagnosed with HIV visiting his parents in Texas over the Christmas holidays. Yen talks about the insurance job he had in his early 20's that inspired the film, why he chose to shoot in black and white, working with the actors Virginia Madsen, Michael Chiklis, Cory Michael Smith ( Gotham ) and Jamie Chung, the challenge of shoo...
Oct 22, 2018•1 hr 18 min
A bit or a departure with this episode. Dennis gathers four friends to play the new party game he co-created YOU DON'T KNOW MY LIFE! which is currently available for pre-order at the link below. He's joined by the game's co-creator, game designer Jeb Havens as well as three performer pals Rachael Ferrara, Jen Caldwell and Matt Zarley. Topics include: things we did when we were younger that made us feel like grown-ups, our lunchtime routines in school, something we own that was previously owned b...
Oct 20, 2018•1 hr 25 min
Dennis visits the Hollywood home of comedienne Beth Lapides, the host and creatrix of the alternative comedy show The Uncabaret , which celebrates its 25th anniversary with a star-studded show November 18th at the Theater at the Ace Hotel in L.A. She talks about the origins of the show, starting out in comedy in LA in the early 90's and dealing with the Andrew Dice Clay-ness of it all and how her role as host keeps her from sharing too much about what's going on with her. She also discusses how ...
Oct 09, 2018•50 min
Dennis meets up with writer-director-producer Danny Salles, the creator of the musical comedy The Trump Family Special , which is currently playing at the Triad in New York City. He talks about taking the show from LA to NY, landing Gina Gershon at Melania, keeping up with the news cycle and how the experience has impacted his life. He also talks about his TV career, working on shows like Joan and Melissa: Joan Knows Best, Kathy Griffin: My Life in the D-List, Joe Schmoe and The Middle . He talk...
Oct 03, 2018•51 min
Dennis goes to the Music Hall Theater in Beverly Hills for the L.A. premier of the new documentary about the same-sex ballroom dance scene called "Hot to Trot." Before the lights go down, he chats with the film's director Gail Freedman and two of the primary dancers featured in the film, NY-based Ernesto Palma and San Francisco-based Emily Coles. After the film, Dennis talks with dancer David Estrada who also appears in the film and how the mainstream American ballroom world seems to be going ba...
Sep 15, 2018•29 min
Dennis visits the Los Feliz home of Christine Blackburn the host of the long-running podcast Story Worthy, which features all kinds of diverse interesting people telling stories from their lives. She talks about getting the inspiration for the podcast, why she loves comedians, spinning the podcast into a live stage storytelling game show Story Smash. She talks about the stories that made her laugh, made her cry and the one from July that almost made her faint. She talks about how the doing the p...
Sep 11, 2018•57 min
Dennis goes to the office above Revolver video bar in West Hollywood to interview the bar's owner Chris Miller, who is also the President of Drew Barrymore's company Barrymore Brands to talk about his two very big, very different jobs. On the Barrymore brands front, Chris talks about how he first met Drew when she was looking for a personal assistant, the high and low moments of working on movie sets, why his relationship with Drew works, making the transition from film and TV producing to devel...
Aug 30, 2018•1 hr 23 min
Dennis heads to downtown L.A. to the office of Craig Hammill, filmmaker and founder of the Secret Movie Club, a new-ish film screening series at the historic Vista Theater in Los Angeles. Craig talks about why he wanted to do the series, how he picks the movies, why he wears a suit to screenings, how his grandfather's salesmanship rubbed off on him, how to stay up for midnight shows, commissioning original posters for his screenings and the Fellini movie that totally rocked his world. He also an...
Aug 21, 2018•1 hr 24 min
Dennis visits the West Hollywood apartment of actor-singer Haviland Stillwell, one of the stars of the Syfy Channel's new let's-hope-it's-a-franchise film Santa Jaws . She talks about how she came to be in the movie, doing her first real stunt in a film, running around in a bikini and her hopes that the film will be the new Sharknado. She talks about performing on Broadway in Les Miserables and Fiddler on the Roof, shares her peak Broadway moment and recalls the prank her Fiddler costar Harvey F...
Aug 13, 2018•1 hr 4 min
Dennis visits the Eagle Rock home of "Homophilia" podcast host Matt McConkey to talk about how the podcast came to be, his partnership with co-host Dave Holmes, scoring cool guests like Dan Savage, Scott Thompson and Pod Save America's John Lovett and taking the show on the road to places like Montreal and P-Town. He also talks about his writing career, working on shows like Heathers-- which was pulled by the Paramount network in response to Parkland and other school shootings--and selling his o...
Aug 06, 2018•1 hr 27 min
Dennis visits the Glendale home of filmmaker Quentin Lee to talk about his new documentary Gay Hollywood Dad, which is all about his journey to becoming a single father through surrogacy and also touches on other subjects including his relationships with his own parents and friends, Asian-American talent in film and TV...and even includes a horror short film within the film featuring Quentin's baby son Casper. Quentin talks about why he always wanted to become a father, what the process was like...
Jul 30, 2018•1 hr
Dennis visits the Hollywood home of Philip Mershon, the man behind the Felix in Hollywood tour company. Philip guides a 2-hour-ish walking tour of a half-mile stretch of Sunset Boulevard where so much of early Hollywood took place. Philip talks about the big studio opportunity that fell through but ultimately led him to start the tour on his own, his addiction to Hollywood history and research, why he loves the Golden Age character actor Franklin Pangborn, how he deal with sirens and heat and pe...
Jul 16, 2018•1 hr 19 min
Dennis visits the enchanting Highland Park home of Richard Andreoli, author of the new novel Battle at the Comic Expo , which is loosely based on the many years he spent volunteering at Comic-con in San Diego. He talks about the long evolution of the book, the mid-life crisis that motivated him to write it, his affection for the Comic-Con crowd and coming out as gay during the time when he was part of the world. He also talks about his super-serious side-passion; the circus arts and why he loves...
Jul 04, 2018•1 hr 17 min
Dennis visits the Silver Lake apartment of television editor Philip Harrison who recently wrapped Season 2 of the Netflix show 13 Reasons Why and whose previous shows include Glee, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Mr. Robot. Philip talks about what it's like to work day after day on a show like 13 Reasons Why , where the subject matter is very intense and emotional. He also breaks down the step-by-step process of editing a television show, how he was able to break through and move from editing indie proj...
Jun 17, 2018•1 hr 16 min
This episode of Dennis Anyone is divided into two parts. In the first half, Dennis visits the Glendale apartment of professional change strategist and past podcast guest Kristine Oller to get the scoop on her new Cashflow for Creatives program, which Dennis is a part of. For the past 5 months, Dennis has gone to Kristine every two weeks to get coaching for his new businesses Lifecast and the game You Don't Know My Life . Kristine has turned these sessions into a podcast where she uses the real l...
Jun 04, 2018•1 hr 2 min
Dennis goes to the West Hollywood apartment of Mike Roma, the writer director of the new film "Dating My Mother," to chat with Roma and producer Ashley Hillis. Mike talks about the autobiographical origins of the movie, shooting the film in his real mom's condo, getting his dream cast of Patrick Reilly, Kathryn Erbe, Kathy Najimy, James LeGros, Michael Rosen and Paul Iacono and the thrill of playing in the legendary Castro Theater in San Francisco. They also discuss the minefield of online datin...
May 25, 2018•55 min
Dennis heads to West Hollywood to meet up with visiting filmmaker Matt Kugleman, director of the new drag comedy Hurricane Bianca: From Russia with Hate starring RuPaul's Drag Race winner Bianca Del Rio. Matt talks about how he first met Bianca on MySpace (MySpace, people!), being starstruck by Katya from RDR and getting her in the movie, why he loves the Bianca character, helping Bianca with her Drag Race audition tape, how Drag Race changed the game in terms of the film's crowdfunding campaign...
May 18, 2018•1 hr 5 min
Dennis visits the Altadena home of drag superstar Jackie Beat to talk with Jackie and her BFF Mario Diaz about their upcoming stage show Who's Da Boss , a loving tribute to the 80's sitcom Who's the Boss? The pair talk about why they wanted to take on Who's the Boss? tapping into their Judith Light and Tony Danza alter-egos, getting one of the show's original stars Danny Pintauro to play himself and the fun of putting together their character's looks. They recall how they originally met in New Y...
May 11, 2018•1 hr 20 min
Dennis visits the Laurel Canyon home of Christopher Graham, who along with Tod Macofsky, make up the comedic lounge duo Mack and Poppy. Tod and Christopher share Mack and Poppy's origin story, how Mack & Poppy came close to mega-stardom and blew it, when they knew it was going to work, their dream Mack and Poppy gig, the freedom that comes with embodying these campy characters and their new show "Till Death Do Us Part." They also talk about being in the L.A. Gay Mens Chorus, performing with ...
May 03, 2018•1 hr 17 min
Dennis visits the San Fernando Valley home of actor-writer-producer Kevin Spirtas to talk about the new web-series he co-created and stars in After Forever, about two gay men in love who had it all until one day they didn't. Kevin talks about the origins of the project, connecting with co-creator Michael Slade, how they got it made, how they got the money to make it, shooting in NYC, casting actors like Mitchell Anderson and Michael Urie, playing love scenes and doing the ugly cry. He also talks...
Apr 27, 2018•1 hr 19 min
Dennis stops by the Whitefire Theater in Sherman Oaks to talk to Howie Skora, the playwright behind the new comedy hit "Damaged Furniture," a play about a mid-level Hollywood actor who returns to his hometown of Brooklyn when a death happens in the family. Dysfunctional family hilarity ensues. Howie talks about the inspiration for the play, working with director Jim Fall, finding the perfect recliner for a key plot point, casting actors to play characters based on his parents and his favorite sc...
Apr 17, 2018•55 min
Last summer, Dennis had the opportunity to spend a few days in Key West, Florida on a press trip for Man About World magazine and grabbed short interviews with five local businessmen: George Fernandez from the Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory; J.T. Thompson, founder of the One Human Family movement; Dennis Beaver, founder and curator of the Tennessee Williams Key West Exhibit; Paul Menta, Executive Chef at the Stoned Crab restaurant; and Key Lime Bike Tour guide Clint. Topics include...
Apr 02, 2018•24 min
Dennis visits the LA home/studio space of photographer John Ganun whose company, Scenario Photography specializes in high-end photo set ups--they're not booths--for special events. He talks about the company's humble beginnings with ping pong and underwear, what sets Scenario apart, doing Katy Perry's birthday party for seven years in a row, how social media and digital photography came along and changed the game. He talks about his most popular scenario--the Fred Astaire-inspired upside-down ro...
Mar 21, 2018•1 hr 15 min
Dennis sits down at a sidewalk cafe in Studio City, CA with Danny Salles, Tor Hyams, Lisa Rothhauser and Mikalah Gordon four of the brilliant, semi-twisted minds behind the musical review The 1st Annual Trump Family Special which returns to L.A.'s Vitello's restaurant on April 14th for two shows. It's also showing in NYC on April 9th & 10th. Danny talks about writing the show as a way to channel his angst, bringing on choreographer Benji Schwimmer and the challenge of creating comedy out of ...
Mar 13, 2018•1 hr 12 min
At the Westin in New York City, Dennis meets up with artist and writer Dan Parent who has been working for "Archie" comics for over three decades. He talks about getting discovered by "Archie" while still in school, why he connects with Jughead, the challenge of adding his own style to Archie while keeping things consistent, how he comes up with fresh storylines and of course, the Betty and Veronica of it all. Dan also talks about creating and adding the gay character of Kevin to the Riverdale m...
Mar 08, 2018•46 min
Dennis visits his pal since the late 1990's Jim David in the New York apartment he shares with his husband Dan. Jim talks about being a comedian in the Trump Era, cruise ship audiences, his first sets, when and why he decided to be out on stage, getting really scary threats on Twitter, recording his Comedy Central special, bombing at his first open mic and getting laughs when he was a kid. He also shares what it's like to be in a club or on a panel when other comics are doing homophobic material...
Mar 01, 2018•1 hr 5 min
Dennis visits the Highland Park home of one of his favorite playwright Justin Tanner to talk about his first play in seven years "El Nino" about a woman dealing with writers block and chronic pain who moves back in with her parents. He talks about the real-life situations that inspired the play, writing it on an old-fashioned typewriter and without smoking pot and the idea that suffering can lead to something great. He also talks about the social aspect of doing theater in L.A., working on TV sh...
Feb 19, 2018•1 hr 19 min
