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 international casting process, the duo's commitment to casting two openly queer leads and reveals that there were  a few straight actors who claimed to be gay in the hopes it would get them cast. The pair also describe their interactions with the Indigo Girls who lent 25 songs to the film and also appear in it. Other topics include: shooting a sex scene in a tent, casting bad-ass women like Tig Notaro, Missi Pyle and Kate Pierson from the B-52s in supporting roles and the time a festival rejected the movie because the programmer felt that it "appropriated lesbian culture." 

Dennis is joined via Zoom by author Manuel Betancourt to discuss his new book The Male Gazed:  On Hunks, Heartthrobs, and What Pop Culture Taught Me About (Desiring) Men. 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 interested. He also discusses watching American TV when he was growing up in Columbia, writing a thesis on queer fandom for his doctorate and whether straight actors should play gay characters. Other topics include: the difference between a hunk and heartthrob, his childhood obsession with Maleficent, the joy of wearing crop tops, the power of "phantom nostalgia," Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall and why we'd both let Jonathan Groff spit on us whenever he wants.

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 what happened when homophobic televangelist Pat Robertson arrived at the pearly gates.

Tickets for Saturday's MisMatch Game: 

https://ci.ovationtix.com/36684/production/1173193?performanceId=11333330

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 series True Blood--where an episode he wrote pissed off both Ted Cruz and Sarah Palin--and he also shares his thoughts on the current writers strike. Dennis and Craig also share memories of working together on Logo's The Big Gay Sketch Show in 2009. Craig also opens up about his journey to sobriety last year after losing virtually everything to crystal meth addiction. Other topics include: the power of dream boarding, the wisdom of Wilson Phillips, living in a 55+ community in Palm Springs, oversharing on Facebook, how getting Monkey Pox saved his life, getting help when he really needed it from folks like Stephen King, Jackie Beat, Illeana Douglas and Kate McKinnon, what it was like to be a 90's indie darling in films like Swoon, Grief and Frisk, and how he sometimes feels like a gay Forrest Gump.

 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 also talks about the matter-of-fact way gay men would hook up back then, his attraction to clones and how you could send a message that you were DTF by unbuttoning the bottom button of your Levis 501s. He also talks about his work as a historian and the founder of the Queer Music Heritage radio show, which is how Dennis first met JD in 2000. Other topics include: how the specter of AIDS hangs over the book, staying at the Coral Sands hotel in LA, encountering icons like Vito Russo, Armistead Maupin, Liza Minelli and Sylvester while on his journey, falling in love with and in Houston, Texas and his obsession with sassy T-shirts.

www.jddoylearchives.org

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 talks about how her 17-year marriage ended when her husband came out as gay and then later transitioned and how they both managed to navigate those changes and remain best friends. Other topics include: Alex's book The Line At Which I Stopped Reading The Online Dating Profile, dating montages in movies, her first impression of L.A., the worst costume she had to wear for work, working in the art department at Movieline magazine where Dennis got his start as a writer and the importance of setting boundaries. 

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 forget, why there's no blatant homophobia in their film and how they both turn to art when they need answers to life's big questions. Other topics include: what it's like to be named Vallentine, the shirtless kissing on MTV's Undressed, meeting each other in the Michigan State marching band, the timeless rumpled sex appeal of Billy Crystal in When Harry Met Sally and what it was like to become fathers in real life just one month after wrapping their film.

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 breakout performance as Jamie, bumbling and hilarious one moment, articulate and heroic the next. Other topics include: why camping is fun, why he makes movies, the filmmakers who inspired him and the moment around the campfire involving a game of Taboo and a dance break that he'll never forget.

Dennis is joined via Zoom by Marc Saltarelli, the director of the new documentary Studio One Forever, about the legendary Weho disco Studio One. Dennis is also joined by writer-performer Bruce Vilanch, who appears in the film and was a regular at the club back in the day. The pair discuss the colorful and sometimes controversial history of the club, the club's treacherous back stairs, and how Studio One is often thought of as a rip-off of Studio 54 but it's actually the other way around. They also talk about the club's founder Scott Forbes whose vision didn't always include people who didn't look like him, like women and people of color. They also talk about the early AIDS benefits that happened in the Backlot cabaret space. One of these was headlined by Joan Rivers and caused such controversy at the time that her family received death threats. But the show went on! Other topics include: the treasure trove of Studio One photos that was discovered in a most unlikely place, the courage it took gay men of the era to line up on Robertson Boulevard to get in and the songs that always remind Bruce and Marc of Studio One.

https://www.facebook.com/studiooneforever/

Dennis is joined via Zoom by Rich Burns, the creator & star of the webseries The Disappointments, which is about three gay men in their late 50's who are dealing with the fact that their lives are not what they dreamed they would be, not even close. Rich talks about where the idea for the series first came from, the fun of writing Hollywood asshole characters, what fans can expect in Season 2 and how he came to act in the project after never having acting before in his life. Rich also talks about the thrill of winning a Humanitas Prize for the series, the importance of fitness in his--and his character Ray's--life and that time he scoped out actor Trevor LaPaglia at the bar that he worked at in Weho before offering him the role of his younger love interest. Other topics include: talking vintage cars with Jay Leno at Marix Tex Mex, creating fake vomit and fake cocaine for the shoot, Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now, how going gray changed the kind of attention he got from men, dreamboards, his most surprising fans and why there's no shame in cater-waitering. 

https://www.youtube.com/@thedisappointmentsseries