by Fred Topel

Chris Crocker was a Britney Spears fan before he made his famous “Leave Britney Alone” video. He grew up following her career and putting her posters on his bedroom wall. He was making YouTube videos in the early days of the video service, but when Spears took heat for a visibly unhealthy “comeback” performance at MTV’s Video Music Awards, Crocker leapt to her defense in a tearful display that made him a celebrity.

Most would think the “Leave Britney Alone” phenomenon would have been the end of it. Everyone gets their 15 minutes. Indeed Crocker is still known largely as the “Leave Britney Alone” Guy nearly five years later, though he’s continued to produce original videos and makes a healthy living from YouTube.

Certainly few would think he’d be the subject of a documentary. Me @ The Zoo is a film about Crocker’s life and career, and it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January. The film illuminates Crocker’s difficult life in the south, avoiding violent homophobia and channeling it into an on screen persona. The film explains the YouTube phenomenon and follows the many changes that have developed since the site took off. It also shows Crocker’s less successful endeavors, including a reality TV show that never aired.

Crocker attended Sundance sporting his new look, which the film shows him adopting. Shedding his long blonde hair, Crocker is now a clean cut brunette, though his voice is still distinct, even when he’s not crying and screaming. Crocker met up with me in the festival’s Bing lounge on Main Street in between film screenings and events for the It Gets Better campaign, which also had a presence at the film festival.

Read our exclusive interview with Chris Crocker on SuicideGirls.com.

SakuraRedd Suicide in High Noon

• INTO: Japan, fetish scene, Japanese rope bondage, red lipstick, seamed stockings, tattoos, piercings, Agent Provocateur, latex, photography, Nobuyoshi Araki, Gilles Berquet, Torture Garden, Hello Kitty, rain, alcohol, and sex!
• MAKES ME HAPPY: Rain, the smell and taste of coffee, traveling on trains, eating cupcakes, music, kissing, love, going out with friends, dancing, getting drunk, staying up all night, spending my mornings with a hangover, and sex!
• MAKES ME SAD: Every time I feel bored:(
• HOBBIES: Drinking beer is on of my favorites;)
• 5 THINGS I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT: My friends, music, coffee, alcohol, and sex.
• I SPEND MOST OF MY FREE TIME: On the internet. I’m a little nerdy :D.

Get to know SakuraRedd better over at SuicideGirls.com!

by David Seaman

RT America asks SG’s Political Contributor David Seaman if he thinks that the embedded GOP reporters have got a little too close for comfort with the candidates they’re supposed to be reporting on. Can journalists working with their subjects in such close quarters ever be truly objective? And what happens when the media gets a little too cosy with the likes of Mitt Romney. Is the GOP frontrunner –– who (accidentally?) admitted on CNN last week that he’s “not concerned about the very poor” and spent more on negative ads in Florida than ‎John McCain did during his entire presidential campaign – able to buy good press by taking them along for the ride? – Nicole Powers, SG Ed.

David Seaman is an independent journalist. He has been a lively guest on CNN Headline News, FOX News, ABC News Digital, among others, and on his humble YouTube channel, DavidSeamanOnline. Some say he was recently censored by a certain large media corporation for posting a little too much truth… For more, find him on G+ and Twitter.

[..]

by Nahp Suicide

Holley is from United Kingdom. She has been with SuicideGirls since 2008, and is both a model and a photographer.




How did you first get involved with SuicideGirls?

My friends had known about it for a while. I looked into it, LOVED the idea, shot myself a set, and the rest is history!



What’s your background photography-wise?

I have a few photography qualifications, including a photography and digital imaging degree. 



What was the first photo you had published?

It was promotional images of a famous drummer for a drum case company a few years ago!



How would you describe your style?

Arty and retro :)



What gear do you use?

I use a Nikon D3, my favorite lenses (50mm and 35mm), and a reflector.

How important is Photoshop in your final images?

It used to be really important, but now I use it a lot less. Mainly now for the colors in the images and blemishes.



What gives you ideas and inspires you to create such amazing sets?

Alissa and Cherry inspire me. I love how cinematic Cherry’s work is and how crisp and amazing Alissa’s work is. Also the model can be great for inspiration!



What is your favorite image?

Image 39 from Leon – “Observations

.” [above]

Tell us why it’s your fave and how you achieved it?

It’s my fave because Leon showcases SG perfectly for me. She’s so full of confidence and looks so happy here! I shot this set with natural light and used my reflector to bounce light back onto her face.



Is there anybody or anything you would love to photograph that you haven’t? (And tell us why)

There’s too many.
I’d love to shoot either Annalee or GoGo. They are fascinating beautiful models.
Non SG wise? One day I’ll have a live shot of Dave Grohl published.

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by Damon Martin

It was all Dave Matthews doing.

As Kevin Smith took the stage at the Scotiabank Theater in Toronto while he was streamed out to hundreds of movie theaters across North America, the Clerks director admitted that it was years ago when he was at a movie, he saw a special announcement about a one night only Dave Matthews Band concert that would show all over world simultaneously in cineplex after cineplex.

The inspiration stayed with Smith for years. He dreamed of being able to go to his audience in a similar way, and this week he finally got his Dave Matthews moment. Kevin Smith: Live from Behind debuted on Thursday night, when the writer/director, along with good friend Jason Mewes, performed live in front of an audience in Canada, while reaching an audience of millions around the globe.

The concept was simple; Smith and Mewes would conduct a live taping of their podcast Jay and Silent Bob Get Old, and then they would move to a question and answer session. The questions would come from the live audience in Toronto and also via Twitter.

The 3-hour plus event showcased Smith and Mewes in their element. From a disturbing story about how Smith got obsessed with taking care of his daughter’s tortoises, including how he stopped turtle rape (you had to see it to understand it) to Mewes waxing intellectual about the first time he penetrated a vagina, and how girls don’t really have bushes anymore.

To look back, there really was no starting point to the show, but Smith and Mewes played brilliantly off of each other, and what was nothing more than a casual conversation between friends, turned into over an hour of entertainment for a live audience.

From there, Smith went into what most believe is his most perfect form of storytelling. His Q&A sessions, which are stuff of legend, including his iconic Hall H performance every year at San Diego Comic Con, and it’s undeniably where he really shines.

For two hours straight, Smith, along with Mewes, answered question after question from the live and internet audience. Smith didn’t shy away from anything. From funny and self-deprecating to serious and uplifting, Smith held the audience in the palm of his hand for over 180 minutes. When it was over, everyone would have gladly stayed for another three hours.

Smith has openly stated that after he makes his next move Hit Somebody, which begins filming later this year, that he is retiring from filmmaking. While many became sad at the prospect of losing such a funny and unconventional filmmaker, Smith’s true talent lies in other areas.

He’s built a podcast empire, with shows that typically rank as some of the most downloaded on all of iTunes, his public speaking gigs routinely sell out, and then he comes up with gems like Live from Behind where the audience can literally be anywhere and enjoy Smith’s own brand of humor and candor.

The film generation may look at names like Tarantino or Scorcese when speaking about the greats of the last 25 years, but when all is said and done, with ideas like Live from Behind, Kevin Smith may be the most creative mind the entertainment world has seen in the last few decades.

If you missed Live From Behind the only thing I can say is the next time Kevin Smith does a live show, podcast or video stream in your town, run don’t walk to see it. Even if you’ve never seen Clerks, Chasing Amy or Mallrats, just sit back and enjoy because it’s really a viewing experience everybody should have at least once.

By Daniel Robert Epstein

When talking about the new generation of horror directors Eli Roth’s name will invariably come up. He has directed two of the most exciting horror films for the new generation, Cabin Fever and Hostel, and is also one of the most visible having appeared in Bravo’’s The 100 Scariest Movie Moments and even gotten Quentin Tarantino to present his new flick.

Hostel is certainly a big change from the disease horror of Cabin Fever. It’s about three backpackers in Amsterdam who are so damn horny they leave the sex capital of the world to travel to a small Slovakian city to find even looser, hotter women. They have some of the best times of their lives until they are kidnapped by a company that specializes in killing stupid backpackers.

Read our exclusive interview with Eli Roth on SuicideGirls.com.

Boom Suicide in Mau5trap

• INTO: Art, illustration, music, video games, road trips, being a homebody most of the time, crossfit, nerds.
• NOT INTO: Cinnamon scented/cinnamon flavored anything, cilantro, small talk.
• MAKES ME HAPPY: Making other people happy, my doggies, beach days, killing people on video games, breakfast in bed, Bonnaroo!
• MAKES ME SAD: Cold weather, being taken advantage of (and yet I continue to let people do it — why?!?!?).
• HOBBIES: Playing video games, drawing.
• 5 THINGS I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT: Boyfriend, my doggies, music, video games, sunshine.
• VICES: Too many.
• I SPEND MOST OF MY FREE TIME: Daydreaming.

Get to know Boom better over at SuicideGirls.com!