DEan Bonzani shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
DEan, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: Are you walking a path—or wandering?
I’m wandering a path. The goal is certain, and the route obvious, but I’m keeping my focus adjustable, so that I can explore as I go.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m the president of Inner Sanctum, Inc., currently doing business as Pint Sized Riot Productions, a film production company, and Flup Lab, a recording studio. The primary project of Pint Sized Riot Productions is our YouTube show, Stinkytime Theater. It’s the story of a family of dogs who live with their cowboy graphic designer owner in a small town in Colorado, told mostly with hand puppets. “These Ol’ Boots: An Americana Story,” a stand alone short film, using the main characters along with several well-known local personalities, won “Best Comedy Film” in the 2024 Grand Mesa Short Film Festival. Our entry in the 2025 festival, “Dollar Store Poop Scoop,” garnered a “Best Actor In A Comedy” award for Dale Russell Smith’s portrayal of “Popcorn Guy.” My creative partner and wife, Elizabeth, and I handle all production tasks, produce everything in-house, and keep the budget manageable. She went to Rochester Institute of Technology for photography, and I was in college on a theater scholarship, which naturally leads us to making a puppet show.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
My forty year relationship with my wife and co-creator has shaped how I see myself, as we’ve always spent an incredible amount of time together, and she holds a mirror up to me constantly.
What’s something you changed your mind about after failing hard?
Back when Elizabeth and I had our futon store, and opened a second store that sold high end mattresses, we closed it just a few months after putting in all the grinding work to open it. While the concept was a fail, the experience was a success, as it taught us that we’re just not the schwanky types. We’re brainy and blue collar, and happy to live in that zone.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Where are smart people getting it totally wrong today?
Supposedly smart people, with a few notable exceptions, are totally wrong about the immanent dangers of artificial intelligence. That, or even worse, they know and are charging ahead anyway. It’s already too late to turn back, and once again, we can thank highly intelligent people who have allowed greed and ambition to cloud whatever shards of conscience that they may still have, for the extinction of humanity as we presently know it. On a side note, creatives are going to be hit the hardest and soonest, as we’re seeing right now. The Singularity is at hand.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
If I absolutely knew that I’d drop dead ten years from now, I’d immediately stop saying “yes” when I want to say “no” to requests. I’m actually working on honing that skill right now. Practice is key.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.deanbonzani.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pintsizedriotproductions/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pint-sized-riot-productions
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MusicianDEanBonzani/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@pintsizedriotproductions
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/zenmonkey9
- Other: https://filmfreeway.com/DEanBonzani
Image Credits
Photos by DEan Bonzani, Elizabeth Bonzani, and Jo Carole Haxel.
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