Interview with Jerry Dennis

by Stephanie Stebbins

Recently, I was able to chat with Jerry Dennis who co-hosts Movie Geeks United on BlogTalkRadio . I have been a fan of the show for a few years now and truly enjoy it, so I was ecstatic when he agreed to an interview. It turned out to be incredibly interesting and entertaining, to say the least!

How did the idea for the show come about?

I had called into The Dead Air show because fellow movie blogger, Jamey DuVall was a guest on the show before the Oscar telecast in February of 2007. He wanted me to call in. We had gotten to know each other on MySpace the year before. We hit it off immediately according to John Esquivel, one of the show’s hosts. He had emailed both of us and thought we had great chemistry on the air. John, who is a great humorist in
his own right, is really responsible for the genesis of Movie Geeks United. To be honest, I had been burning to do something, to find an outlet for all this aggression that blogging and writing were not producing over the last decade. The show would not work without Jamey. He has a wholehearted instinct and relentless drive; I doubt the show would have lasted several months with someone else at the helm.

Both of your passion for film is truly evident on the show. It’s definitely great! What have you learned about the film industry since doing the show?

There is a common theme in many of the interviews we have done in our two and half years. People miss the days when the people who controlled the shots were passionate about the movies. It seems that since the early 1980’s, ever since the MBA’s took over the studios, that it is more profit driven then ever. It was always profit driven, but the people writing the checks do not have the passion needed for making movies and rarely do they know about the art form’s history. Sadly, that includes some of the people on the creative side of the industry as well. Have I learned anything new though, not really. I saw firsthand what this industry can do to a person; in 1987, my older brother was burned. I know it is the hardest business in the world to break into and you need to have the toughest skin to survive in it, but when we interview many people, I am reminded why I have devoted my life to the shadows on the wall.

Interesting. I can definitely see where you are coming from! Who has been your favorite guest on the show?

That is not fair. I will say that I have interviewed plenty of guests on this show that we really enjoyed talking to; many of whom it was a lifelong dream. I will say that my favorite guests have been all the people who make film memorable. The show has introduced me to some of the most important online film related websites. I am really grateful to all of the new film writers I have discovered online. We have interviewed a number of authors on the show. I have purchased their books after the interview because I enjoyed the talks so much. If I had to pick a favorite, I would have to say that the late Blake Snyder was a rare treasure. His knowledge and passion for screenwriting and film itself was intoxicating. He was always eager to help out writers in various stages of their careers. He will be missed. My favorite guests on the show have always been the ones where I have felt the most relaxed and the most engaged.

With as many fascinating people you have spoken with on the show, I guess it really wouldn’t be fair to ask that! We’ll go to an even better question: what are some of your favorite films?

There are hundreds of films on that list. I do not believe in the desert island approach! Give me a break! Our brains are the original iPods and we have access to an infinite supply of cinematic memories. But for the sake of good will, I will give the Top Five that I have never grown tired of watching since college: Lawrence Of Arabia, Apocalypse Now, The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, Once Upon A Time In The West and The Wild Bunch. Each of these films I have managed to see in re-release or a restored version at some point. These films are larger than life to me. The films are epic in scope. In college, my best friend told me, you truly love epic films. He was not kidding. And there are plenty of other films that should be here, but these five films mean the most to me. I discover something new each time I watch them. Each is a reminder of the hypnotic power of cinema. Yes, I worship the filmmaker as a god: Sergio Leone, David Lean, Sam Peckinpah and Francis Ford Coppola directed these films. Two of them are directed by Sergio Leone. I used to say every generation deserves its Kelly’s Heroes, but I was wrong. Every generation deserves it’s The Good, The Bad And The Ugly. These films were meant to be seen in a theater. There is no greater place to watch a film than the theater. These films are proof of that for me. It is my obsession, I am not about to change horses midstream for anything else at this point. Cinema is my religion.

What are the future plans for the show?

To keep doing it! To bring you the freshest and hopefully rawest film related podcast out there. In the process I hope we never bore our listeners. I would also like to have on more local filmmakers from my area: Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC. I
can only speak for myself, but I have to stop betraying my convictions whenever I am on the air. My major goal is to do the show without a net. For me, the show and any creative outlet is a cathartic release of emotional, raw intensity. Sadly, this has been missing from me for most of the show. I know I can do better. While I have gotten better in the interview process over the last year, I feel I need to do a better job standing up for my opinions because they differ greatly from my co-hosts. Films are my life; I need to do a better job of demonstrating that on the air as well as on the page. I am very lucky to write for such editors as Wil Keiper and Molly Celaschi at Horroryearbook.com and 2Snaps.tv, Dave and Eve Seligman at Geeks Of Doom and Tony DeFrancisco at Filmarcade.net. I need to write more for each of them. To be honest, Wil Keiper is the closest thing I have to a guidance counselor these days. Well,
he is the guidance counselor you always wanted in high school. His support and
encouragement has always been a huge boost.

Thanks, again Jerry for taking the time to speak with me. I can’t wait to see what you guys will have in store for us in the future!

Movie Geeks United airs live every Sunday at 6pm ET/ 3pm PT and Wednesdays at 10pm ET/ 7pm PT on BlogTalkRadio.com, or you can listen anytime to any show in the archives. You can also visit their website, follow the show on Twitter, or be their friends on MySpace.