My latest Moment of Clarity rant could easily have been entitled “Distractions Will Be The Death Of Us” because we are allowing the distractions to take us away from the important conversations. Some would argue that this is hypocritical of me, since I myself am a comedian. However, I hope my comedy can act as a gateway drug to the important topics. I try to bridge the deadly canyons between distraction and crucial issues…You can decide if I succeed.
– Lee Camp, July 2012
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Lee Camp is a stand-up comedian, writer, and activist. He’s a contributor to The Onion and has performed stand-up comedy at events featuring Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Al Gore. He was recently on Showtime’s series The Green Room with Paul Provenza. He’s done comedic commentary on Countdown with Keith Olbermann, BBC’s Newsnight, PBS, E! network, SpikeTV, MTV, and ABC’s Good Morning America. He’s featured in the new bestseller Satiristas! with the likes of George Carlin, Bill Maher, and Stephen Colbert. Lee also provided a catharsis for millions of people when he went live on Fox News and called the network a “parade of propaganda and a festival of ignorance.” His first album, Chaos for the Weary, was listed as one of the Top 5 stand-up comedy albums of 2011. His new book, Moment of Clarity, and album, Pepper Spray The Tears Away, are in stores now. Lee will be bringing his comedy show West to the Fake Gallery in Los Angeles this Saturday, July 14. For tickets click HERE. For more information visit LeeCamp.net.
“Bill’s a Libertarian and he’s probably liberal on 60% of the issues and conservative on 40%.”
– Scott Carter
Scott Carter has the very important job of executive producer on one of my favorite television shows, Real Time with Bill Maher. The show has been on HBO ever since Politically Incorrect went off the air. Maher and Carter still take the piss out of all the politicians while having serious discussions with many great guests.
Carter also has a storied career in comedy. He used to do his one-man show, Heavy Breathing all over the world and he’s worked with SuicideGirls favorites Uncabaret. I got a chance to talk to Carter in the off season from Real Time.
“This film is really my way of saying we’ve had enough.”
– Nadine-Labaki
Nadine Labaki is my kind of woman. A Lebanese filmmaker, Labaki has lived life and experienced war and tragedy, so the perspective in her art is perceptive and philosophical. Certainly not superficial. You would think coming from a conflicted region, Labaki’s films would be serious and perhaps difficult to take. She actually makes comedies. Her first film, Caramel, was a romantic comedy. Her second, Where Do We Go Now?, is a comedy about religious conflict between Christians and Muslims.
How can such a subject be funny? Well, Where Do We Go Now? opens with a procession of Muslim women marching and swaying in rhythm, so you know there’s something different here. The men of their unnamed village are always on the brink of fighting. The women do everything they can to distract the men, from drowning out news broadcasts to bussing in a group of bikini models. With a light touch, Labaki gets people thinking and talking about important matters. Speaking with her in person was equally impressive. Though she was from the other side of the world, she spoke my language both literally (English) and spiritually. We had a gentle conversation about the culture and film making of Lebanon.
“Our brains are just in the way all the time.”
– Jay Duplass
When you hear Jason Segal and Ed Helms star in Jeff, Who Lives At Home, you might think of some wacky screwball comedy. It is a comedy, but not like you’d expect. Segal plays Jeff, and he has yet to move out, but he is a philosophical loser. He has embraced the movie Signs for its message that everything happens for a reason, and he looks for signs to guide him through life. Indeed the events of the movie lead him to a spectacular conclusion.
Jeff is the fourth film written and directed by Jay and Mark Duplass. The indie filmmakers let their actors improvise, and they frequently mix tones. Their Puffy Chair and Cyrus also had family drama like Jeff, while Baghead was a horror movie. Besides Jeff’s spiritual awakening, the film also deals with the breakup of his brother (Helms)’ marriage.
Mark Duplass may have a face you recognize too. He appears in many movies and on TV’s The League. He is also a retired musician. When he heard a reporter from Suicide Girls was interviewing him it reminded him of his rock n’ roll days.
This Sunday (March 25) on SuicideGirls Radio we’ll be talking nerdy and getting the skinny on the best ways to find love online. Co-hosts Nicole Powers (SG’s Managing Editor) and Darrah de jour (SG’s Red, White and Femme columnist and resident sensuality expert), will be joined in-studio by lifecaster, SG contributor, and computer dating expert Jen Friel and her co-hort Jenn Hoffman, a writer, blogger, entertainer and entrepreneur. The pair can be seen performing together in The Dirty Truth About Nerdy Girls stage show, which chronicles their hilarious adventures while looking for Mr. Right (and Mr. Right Now) on OKCupid.
Tune in to the world’s leading naked radio show for two hours of totally awesome tunes and extreme conversation – and don’t let yo momma listen in!
Join Jen Friel, Jenn Hoffman and friends for the Talk Nerdy To Me, Lover live stage show, The Dirty Truth About Nerdy Girls, on Friday, March 23 at 9:30 PM at The Little Modern Theater in Hollywood, CA. For more info visit: talknerdytomelover.com/stage-show/
“If people don’t want to let you do what you want to do, go make your own venue to do it.”
– Patton Oswalt
Patton Oswalt has expanded his world from comedian to writer to actor and now he’s producing the movie, The Comedians of Comedy and the Comedy Central show of the same name. This new reality series follows four of the funniest comedians working today, Maria Bamford, Zach Galifianakis, Brian Posehn and Patton Oswalt, on their US tour. Director Michael Blieden has also taped them backstage and preparing before each show.
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.
