by Daniel Robert Epstein
“I’d rather have people walk out of the theatre going that was so awesome…”
– Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie is really developing into a skilled director. While his first feature film House of 1000 Corpses is really hit or miss for people, The Devils Rejects, is undeniable a better quality film. The Devils Rejects‘ plot of three serial killers who kill and maim while being hunted by rogue sheriff may put some people off their lunch. It shows that Zombie is poised to become a major filmmaker.
Read our exclusive interview with Rob Zombie on SuicideGirls.com.
by Fred Topel
“I’m a fan of cat butt-holes.”
– Stevie Ryan
I first heard of Stevie Ryan when VH1 presented her new show Stevie TV to the Television Critics Association in January. When they showed a clip real of Ryan in impeccable makeup as Kendra, the Kardashians, Lady Gaga and Mob Wives, her point of view cracked me up.
Stevie TV (pronounced like Stevie Tevie) premiered on Sunday, March 4 on VH1. Ryan’s first sketches had Kendra breaking into dance anytime anyone chanted “Go Kendra, Go Kendra” and Justin Bieber (also Ryan) running a Bang Bus. Wait until you see her as Lady Gaga forcing children to explore and reinvent gender definitions.
Ryan got her start making comedy videos on YouTube. If you check out her YouTube channel you can even see her doing a burlesque dance in a sepia tint. Rather than many comedians who have a knack for voices and do impressions, Ryan uses makeup and costume to portray a realistic version of her characters. Perhaps it almost feels like you’re watching the real Kim Kardashian knowing what a fool she acts like.
The week before Stevie TV premiered, I spoke with Ryan by phone. As I’d hoped our talk went off on tangents that expressed her comic voice, rather than the nuts and bolts of making a show. Stevie TV airs Sunday nights at 11 PM with repeats throughout the week on VH1.
Read our exclusive interview with Stevie Ryan on SuicideGirls.com.
by Fred Topel
“I just like to feel that rush of fear.” – Paul Dano
Paul Dano has been one of the most interesting actors to watch in the last 10 years. He’s done several hard hitting indie dramas like L.I.E. and The Ballad of Jack and Rose, and that famous “I’ve abandoned my child” scene in There Will Be Blood. His youthful face has kept him in teen comedies, dramas and dramedies, from The Emperor’s Club to The Girl Next Door.
It was probably Little Miss Sunshine that made viewers learn his name. Stuck in the van with Steve Carell, Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette and little Abigail Breslin, Dano played the older brother who just wanted to join the Air Force. Since then he’s popped up in big studio movies like Knight & Day and Cowboys & Aliens.
Currently, Dano stars in Being Flynn, based on author Nick Flynn’s memoir Another Bullshit Night In Suck City. Dano plays Nick, then an aspiring author volunteering at a homeless shelter. His estranged father Jonathan (Robert DeNiro) comes back into his life and even shows up at the homeless shelter. Jonathan Flynn left before his wife Jody (Julianne Moore) killed herself, a suicide Nick believes he caused with a short story he wrote. Guilt, homelessness and even falling into drugs himself makes Nick a very juicy role for Dano.
Dano gave us some time to speak with him when he visited Los Angeles with the film. Though I’ve been watching him for a decade this was actually the first time I met him in my Hollywood career, although for all this time I’ve been saying his name wrong. I learned the correct pronunciation of Dano after hearing all of the Focus Features staff refer to him all day. Good thing I didn’t make a “Book ‘em, Dano” joke because that’s not how it’s pronounced.
Read our exclusive interview with Paul Dano on SuicideGirls.com.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
“I’m interested in really off-beat people.”
– Bob Levin
If I got busted for killing someone I would definitely hire lawyer Bob Levin. I actually have no idea how good of a lawyer he is or what kind of law he practices but he writes about comic books and that’s enough to base my freedom on.
Anyway, Levin is best known as the author of the book The Pirates and the Mouse about Disney suing a group of underground cartoonists known as the Air Pirates in 1971 about a comic book parody of Disney cartoons in which Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Bucky Bug and others get high, have sex and swear a blue streak.
Now Fantagraphics has compiled a book of essays that Levin wrote for The Comics Journal magazine. These essays include subjects like Chester Brown, S. Clay Wilson, Dori Seda, B.N. Duncan, Justin Green, Maxon Crumb, Crockett Johnson, Roy Lichtenstein, Graham Ingels, Jack Katz, Rory Hayes, and more.
Read our exclusive interview with Bob Levin on SuicideGirls.com.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
“Any business, no matter what youre doing for work, has that cloudy crossover between your personal life and your work life.”
– Matt Damon
Recently Matt Damon has been working with such veteran actors as Jack Nicholson, Robert De Niro and William Hurt. I wonder if Damon has any concept that in 20 years he will become one of these veteran actors who beats the percentages and does more good films than bad. His stellar work over the years has proved that, and he even makes good popcorn flicks such as The Bourne franchise and Oceans 11.
His latest role in Syriana is his most mature performance to date. He plays Bryan Woodman an energy analyst at an energy trading company, living in Geneva with his wife and two children. After a tragedy happens within his family, he uses that as leverage to make a deal with a Middle Eastern Prince.
Read our exclusive interview with Matt Damon on SuicideGirls.com.
by Auren Suicide
“It takes a little bit of time to find a sound youre really happy with…”
– Mira Aroyo, Ladytron
Reuben Wu and (Bulgarian born) Mira Aroyo from the UK band Ladytron have been on a DJ tour in support of their newest album, Witching Hour (2005, Ryko/Universal). I called the very hip Jupiter Hotel in Portland to speak with them before a recent gig. When I asked the operator for Reuben Wu, in true hipster form the hipster operator was like Ladytron! Cool!
Read our exclusive interview with Mira Aroyo of Ladytron on SuicideGirls.com.
by Fred Topel
“Throwing a party in general kind of sucks” – Oliver Cooper, Project X
One great side effect of the “found footage” movie genre is that we get to discover new stars with each one. If they’re trying to pretend this is footage from someone’s camcorder, whether they’re lost in the woods or running from monsters, the actors have to look like people you wouldn’t recognize on the street.
Project X is a huge Warner Brothers movie and we’ve got an exclusive on the three stars. Thomas Mann, Oliver Cooper and Jonathan Daniel Brown play three high schoolers who throw a party to improve their social reputation. The party gets out of hand with naked girls in the pool, people stuffed into ovens, cars driven into the water and a flame thrower.
Mann plays the host of the party, named Thomas after himself. Cooper plays Costa, the bad influence friend who insists the wildest extravagances will guarantee them hot girls, as if he knows. Brown plays JD, sort of the quiet one who goes along with everything, but in real life he did the most talking.
The three actors are working as a set, so I made it a foursome. When they were told a reporter from SuicideGirls was coming, Mann and Brown got excited. Thomas, you’re not old enough for a subscription, you naughty boy, but we appreciate the love.
Read our exclusive interview with Thomas Mann, Oliver Cooper and Jonathan Daniel Brown on SuicideGirls.com.
