Dennis Willis (born January 17, 1967, in

Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it ...

, Florida) is an American

film critic Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: Academic criticism by film scholars, who study the composition of film theory and publish their findin ...

, radio and television personality, and

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

and producer of short

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is film production, produced outside the Major film studios, major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independ ...

s. He hosts the weekly program ''Flick Nation Radio'', and his ''At the Movies'' and ''Home Media Guide'' features can be heard on KGO AM in San Francisco. Willis' reviews, features and comments have also been heard on KKSF Newstalk 910 (San Francisco), WGN (Chicago), and WNSW (New York City) and WZHF (Washington DC) on the Voice of Russia network. He is the author of the annual ''Flick Nation Movie Guide'' and ''American Popcorn: Hollywood and the War on Common Sense''; and is a member of the San Francisco Film Critics Circle and the Broadcast Film Critics Association.

Radio and television

Willis originally appeared on radio to promote his TV program ''FilmTrip'', but his radio job long outlasted the TV show. His At the Movies and Home Media Guide features have appeared throughout the week on KGO Radio, since 2005. He currently hosts Flick Nation Radio, a weekly program that features TV and movie reviews, and industry commentary and celebrity guests, with Steven Kirk and Steve Wagner. Willis also produced and co-hosted two film-based shows, ''Reel Life'' (1993) and ''FilmTrip'' (1997–98), with Steve Wagner, which aired on

KGO-TV KGO-TV (channel 7) is a television station licensed to San Francisco, California, United States, serving the San Francisco Bay Area. It has been owned and operated by the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network through its ABC Owne ...

and KCWB (now KCWE) in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

Soundwaves

In 2008, Willis completed the final season as host, producer and editor of '' Soundwaves'', a Bay Area-based music entertainment TV show that left the airwaves after a record-setting 25 years; he began hosting the show at the age of 16. Despite a rotating door of personalities over the years, Willis has primarily shared hosting duties with Steven Kirk and Joe McCaffrey.

Film

Willis and Steven Kirk wrote and directed ''Unwrapped'' (2006), an independently produced short film about exploitation in the Internet age. Their short documentary ''The Life and Legacy of George Reeves'' was released on DVD in 2006. In 2014, Willis directed and edited ''All You Need Is Myth: The Beatles and the Gods of Rock'', based on Steve Wagner and Jade Sylvan's book of the same name. Then, in 2015, he co-wrote, with Norman Kline, and edited ''Changing Boundaries: The History of San Jose''. The documentary was directed by Tricia Creason-Valencia.

Books

Willis is the author of the ''Flick Nation'' movie guides, annual compendiums of current reviews and commentary about the entertainment industry. The 2011 edition was released on June 8, 2011.Flick Nation: 2011 Movie Guide
on

CreateSpace On-Demand Publishing, LLC, doing business as CreateSpace, was a self-publishing service owned by Amazon. The company was founded in 2000 in South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, So ...

Fundraising

Since 1989, Willis and Steven Kirk have produced and hosted the annual ''Soundwaves Christmas'' fundraiser, a food-, clothing- and toy-drive which benefits local

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

neighborhoods and noteworthy national non-profit organizations. The show is broadcast throughout the Bay Area and has raised 35,000 items.

References

Notes

External links

*
Broadcast Film Critics AssociationSan Francisco Film Critics Association

KGO RadioAmerican Popcorn: Hollywood and the War on Common SenseFlick Nation RadioSoundwaves Christmas (fundraiser)Unwrapped Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Dennis American film critics Film directors from Florida American male screenwriters American radio personalities American television personalities Living people 1967 births American male non-fiction writers