In an exclusive interview, Flickering Myth sat down with Alan Dennis, who boasts more than 15 years of dynamic experience in the film and television industry. Since his humble beginnings growing up in Virginia, Alan has established himself as a versatile director, writer, and producer with an extensive reach from Hollywood to international markets. His career boasts collaborations with GRAMMY-winning musicians, Hall of Fame sports icons, and Hollywood royalty.
Alan took a break to chat with Flickering Myth about award-winning filmmaking and his latest docuseries A Study on Beauty with business partner Gabbi Pascua.
Hi Alan Dennis, welcome to Flickering Myth! What got you into filmmaking and made you realize that it was your chosen path?
I first took interest in making movies when I saw a behind the scenes show about the making of Jurassic Park. I would’ve been 7 or 8 probably. That was the first time I learned that there were actually people who make movies, and you could do it as a profession.
But I thought I was going to be either a musician or a doctor. I loved music and was good at it, but I learned that most professional drummers don’t make money and have to end up teaching music, which I had no interest in. I considered becoming a doctor because it was considered a good, safe career, but also because I was a big fan of the TV show House.
At a certain point, I realized I was more interested in the role of a doctor as I had seen on TV and not actually in the profession itself. That realization coincided with me seeing Kill Bill for the first time, which blew me away. I had never seen anything like it, and I really felt Tarantino’s love of cinema come across the screen. I decided right then and there that I wanted to try and see if this could be what I wanted to do with my life.
That was in my senior year of high school which was also the year that the school put on the very first schoolwide film festival. I had never held a camera before or edited or anything, but I borrowed a friend’s camera, borrowed a CD that had editing software on it, wrote a very crude outline of a script (it was a silent film), and got a few friends to act and help out. It had a car chase and a sword fight at the end, with a real machete and katana that I borrowed from friends because I couldn’t afford to buy fake ones.
I worked so hard on the edit, teaching myself as I was doing it (I even composed and performed the score myself), and worked well into the night every night until it was complete. Finally, I finished the film and submitted it a few minutes before the deadline. The school actually disqualified me because of the swordfight at the end, but I had worked too hard on it to give up. A bunch of my friends started a petition and even got the principal to sign. A few friends even marched into the school office to demand they accept the film.
Finally, they allowed the film to get in on the condition that I put a disclaimer at the end, as a condemnation about school violence or something, which I did in a tongue in cheek way. The film was played at the festival and won both the grand prize and audience choice award.
After this whole experience, I was 100% on the filmmaking path and haven’t looked back since.
Who would you say are your influences growing up that helped to mold you into who you are today?
I grew up on Spielberg. He was really my cinematic parent. I think he’s the greatest communicator of emotional information I’ve ever seen. It’s movie magic, yes, but there’s an underlying sincerity in his work that I admire.
Some other filmmakers I’ve really admired through different stages of my career have included David Lean, Jean Luc Godard, Quentin Tarantino, Richard Linklater, Edgar Wright, Milos Forman, Stanley Kubrick, and Wes Anderson.
More recently, I’ve enjoyed the work of Robert Eggers and Yorgos Lanthimos.
I’ve also really been drawn to Asian cinema. Filmmakers such as Akira Kurasawa, Wong Kar Wai, Nobuhiko Obayashi, Yimou Zhang, Hayao Miyazaki, and Bong Joon Ho really expanded my cinematic vocabulary, and I find great and terrible beauty in their work.
Also, cinematographers have influenced me greatly such as Roger Deakins, Robert Richardson, Jack Cardiff, Vittorio Storaro, and Christopher Doyle.
Quite the list. Has there been one moment in your career that you’re particulary proud of?
It’s a work in progress, but I’m most proud of A Study On Beauty. It’s required a lot of perseverance and I’ve never grown more from a project.
Can you tell us a bit about the project?
Yes, so the project, A Study On Beauty is an international docuseries that I have partnered with 2-time EMMY-winner Gabbi Pascua. The first in the series, A Study On Beauty: Through Smoke, took us from Los Angeles to the small town of Grasse in the Côte-d’Azur in France, where we uncover the true history of perfume.
We also explored Japan for A Study On Beauty: Onsen and ventured to the Philippines. More on those to follow!
Can you share any fun facts from the experience?
This is an interesting story from the experience in France. Before we set out for production, I knew I wanted a rabbi to read this scripture. I didn’t know where to find a Rabbi or where to place this in the film or even if it would make sense once we pieced the film together in post-production, but sitting back now and seeing how beautifully and perfectly this came about, how we were introduced to a wonderful rabbi in Tel Aviv on a brief layover between France and Japan – the entire making of this project was a beautiful confirmation that there is an openness and a hunger for people to embrace and celebrate beauty in a world full of uncertainty and chaos.
Pure serendipity! If you had one message to give someone aspiring to do what you do, what would it be?
You don’t have to wait for permission to do what you want in the industry. The barrier to entry has never been lower to create great content and there is an abundance of money out there in the world if you’re creative enough to find it. Also, a lot of veterans want to mentor bright young people, so don’t be afraid to ask for advice.
Perfect advice! Do you have any upcoming projects outside of A Study On Beauty?
I have another feature documentary that’s in post-production. I also have a couple screenplays for pilots I’ve written that I’d love to make when the time is right.
How can people find and follow your journey?
Thank you so much. My work can be found on IMDb and I share my work on Instagram.
Our thanks to Alan Dennis for taking the time for this interview, and to Liz Rodriguez from EMR Media for helping us with the interview.
