LOOK WHO’S WATCHING
by Rocky Caldararo
Dennis Hensley’s first novel, Misadventures
in the (213),
was a hilarious look at modern life in Los Angeles, complete
with pop culture obsessions and brushes with A-list (and
B-list, and C-list) celebrities. Hensley is at it again
with his latest book, Screening Party (Alyson Publications,
$16.95). Several years ago, Hensley was asked by the magazine
British Premiere to write something for the twentieth anniversary
of Jaws. When he admitted that he had never seen the film,
he asked if it would be all right to have a party for a
few friends, and to write about their comments and observations
during the film. The article was a hit, more followed and
the idea for this book was born. With real-life (and close
to real-life) characters like his performer roommate Tony,
lawyer friend Marcus, film buff Ross and the dubiously-credentialed
psychologist Dr. Beaverman, Screening Party is a sharp,
campy commentary on such classics as Jaws and Taxi
Driver,
and even better, commentary on some infamous Hollywood
misses, like Mariah Carey’s nuclear bomb Glitter. It is
also an often moving story of a group of friends, and some
situations are more intimate and touching than one would
expect a in a humor book. Hensley’s group struggles with
illness, alienation and troubled relationships, giving
the reader a sense of the characters as real people, and
not just sarcastic commentators on popular culture. The
result is a funny book with a smart ass wit, but its sarcasm
is always playful and never bitter. Out spoke with writer,
filmmaker and singer Hensley in October before he gave
a reading from his book at the Squirrel Hill Barnes and
Noble. He had shown a short film he co-wrote and appeared
in with his friend, actor Jack Plotnick, at the Pittsburgh
International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival the night before
the interview.
How was the film festival last night? What is the short
film about?
It was fun, and our little movie got a good response.
People laughed and they didn’t seem too offended at how
politically incorrect it is. The film is called Evie
Harris: Shining Star, and it’s about a washed-up show business
chanteuse. I am her biggest fan and I track her down, and
she lets me go with her to Hollywood Boulevard to clean
her star on the Walk of Fame. But the thing is, she doesn’t
have a star on the Walk of Fame, so she just gets drunk
and tells dirty stories about everybody who does have a
star. You can see it on my Web site. It was nominated for
a Planet Out short film award. It’s dirty and nuts. My
friend Jack Plotnick is the star and he made it with me.
And he went to Carnegie-Mellon, so there’s a little Pittsburgh
tie-in.
And did you find that our nightlife is exactly as seen
on Queer As Folk?
Yes, it’s exactly like that. I wanted to go to Babylon
and have sex in the back room with 4,000 beautiful, buff,
crazy studs, and then have this weird tension with my friend
Brian, but it didn’t happen like that. I wanted to go to
the Liberty Diner and have Sharon Gless tell me dirty jokes.
How difficult was it to write Screening
Party? It’s not
just bitchy little pieces about movies; there is actual
cinema knowledge here, and social commentary, and some
surprisingly serious and touching character development
among the friends watching the movies.
I had done some of the columns, so when I pitched the
idea to the publisher, I thought, “This will be a cake
walk.” And it was the hardest thing I ever worked on. My
deadline was really tight, I had to watch the movies over
and over and I had to make it funny, but be accurate and
keep the whole thing in my voice. We actually had the parties
and I would tape record them, and I would go back and transcribe
what we said while watching the movies. Most of the stuff
that is said at the parties was actually said by somebody
there, and a lot of the characters are pretty close to
real people, or they are mixed with things other people
said.
Which chapter are you reading tonight?
I’m going to read the section about Flashdance, since
it’s a hometown movie. I’ve been having the Jennifer Beals
experience while I have been here. I went through a tunnel,
and I just wanted to have a little tantrum, “Stop the goddamn
car!” Then I rode on the incline, like I was going to see
my dead ballerina friend. Then I was by the dancing fountains
over at Station Square, and “Flashdance (What a Feeling)”
starts playing, and the fountains are dancing their asses
off. Man, it was just a moment in time. Then I saw this
kid with his parents, he was probably about seven, just
dancing his ass off and doing cartwheels like he was possessed,
and I was like “Oh, I get it. I know that kid.” The music
was overtaking him. That kid is going to be on the cover
of Out in a few years! He was dancing like he was Kevin
Bacon, only good.
You have traveled a lot for the past few weeks on this
book tour. Do you find that humor changes depending on
where you are in the country?
I think the urban centers where gay people tend to migrate
to from smaller places are different from other parts of
the country. I did a reading in New York, the chapter about
For Ladies Only, the Gregory Harrison stripper movie, and
when I said, “Then he meets Dinah Manoff,” it got a huge
laugh. Just from the words Dinah Manoff. “And then he goes
to the estate of Lee Grant.” Another huge laugh. Things
like that may not get a laugh in a lot of other places.
But there does seem to be a universal gay humor gene.
There are certain pop culture moments that we all seem
to remember.
Lots of people have personal connections to movies, but
I think as gay people, there is even more that we share.
When you are watching things originally, you don’t think
that anyone else is thinking of the things that you are,
and you don’t realize until later that other people are.
I did an article for Genre magazine a few years ago on
teenage TV crushes, and the number one most popular crush,
the “Oh my God, I like guys” moment, was Robert Conrad
in Wild Wild West.
And those blue pants.
By two to one, a landslide!
Do you still do celebrity interviews? Your articles in
Movieline are always the best things in the magazine.
I do. I just got to interview Kelly Clarkson from American
Idol. I was obsessed with American Idol. I was consumed
by how excited I was for her; it was actually out of control.
The hosts sucked, the judges were nutty and everything
around these kids was shitty. But the force of who they
were and their talent made that show. They were so game,
they put smiles on their faces and they got through it.
I think they got a better winner than they deserved.
So you don’t really have guilty TV pleasures?
I don’t separate my campy enjoyment of something from
my regular enjoyment. Like when I saw Showgirls. Of course
it’s ridiculous, but I had such a good time, it was like,
“Yeah, sure it’s a good movie.” I’d rather watch Coyote
Ugly to the end of time than Unforgiven or Braveheart one
more time. There is no guilt, just pleasure.
Do you generally like the celebrities you interview?
I like them more often than not, I have hardly ever had
a bad experience. I’ve become friendly with some, but it
seems like a lot of times, when you are friends with famous
people, it’s like a TV show, and sometimes it just gets
canceled. You don’t know what happened, you just don’t
get renewed.
Misadventures
in the (213) needs to be a movie! What
has been going on with that?
I know, I know! I had two different TV deals, but neither
one went to a series. The rights came back to me, so now
I have to decide how to proceed. I may try to write it
as a movie instead of a series. It’s hard to get people’s
attention, but I think if the right people saw it, it would
get made.
And what about another novel?
I have another novel I have started. It’s not very far
along and it has a lot of work to go. I’m writing about
working on cruise ships, which I did for five years, at
the end of the eighties.
And any more movies?
Yes, I co-wrote a script that is getting made. It’s called
Clean Cut, and I wrote it with my writing partner David
Moreton, who directed The Edge of Seventeen. It’s shooting
in Argentina, and I will be going down there in November.
I think I have a small part in it as a gay tourist. Although,
I prefer “tourist who happens to be gay.” I have two lines,
and I don’t want to be pigeonholed. Antonio Sabato, Jr.
is in it, being all sexy, Sonia Braga is in it. It’s about
a guy whose boyfriend dumps him and goes to Argentina,
so he goes down there to track him down. It’s David’s baby,
but I co-wrote the script with him. I really love it, and
it means a lot to me. It’s really dark, not wacky like
my other writing. It’s funny, but it’s twisted.
And you have a musical CD, and a Web site...
It’s crazy, there is so much going on! But I’m loving
it. I’m having a really good time.
|
