by Daniel Robert Epstein

I’’m willing to admit right now in print that I smoke a lot of pot. It doesn’’t overwhelm my life so I can safely advocate anyone smoking as much marijuana as they want. That said, please get high and go see The Marijuana-Logues. It is definitely the funniest show I have ever seen in New York City. The show is written and performed by three veteran standup comedians, Arj Barker, Doug Benson and Tony. It originally began as a satire on The Vagina Monologues but it soon developed a life of its own as the three comedians traveled all over America with the show.

Read our exclusive interview with Doug Benson on SuicideGirls.com.

by Daniel Robert Epstein

Keira Knightley is one of the hottest actors in Hollywood. Her most popular roles haven’’t given her much of a chance to prove her talent. When the latest film adaptation of Pride & Prejudice is released, Knightley in the role of Elizabeth Bennet, is going to surprise everyone who saw her as an action star in Pirates of the Caribbean and King Arthur.

Read our exclusive interview with Keira Knightley on SuicideGirls.com.

by Daniel Robert Epstein

At the young age of 18 Evan Rachel Wood already has a resume most actors would die for. Since her breakout role in the movie Thirteen she’’s worked with James Woods, Cate Blanchett and Vanessa Redgrave.

Her latest role is the evil and manipulative Kimberly Joyce in the Heathers-like Pretty Persuasion. Kimberley will stop at nothing to become famous. She convinces her two best friends to join her in a sex scandal campaign against their befuddled teacher, Mr. Anderson. She entangles the entire Beverly Hills community in her carefully woven web of seduction and deceit.

Read our exclusive interview with Evan Rachel Wood on SuicideGirls.com.

by A.J. Focht

The world press premiere of The Avengers was last week, and there’s been nothing but good reviews. While lips have been sealed to avoid leaks and spoilers, all the news that has come out has been positive. Despite many fans raving that Hulk was their favorite character, it doesn’t look like Hulk is getting another solo movie. Seems Hulk’s success in The Avengers was the high note that Marvel producers wanted to end him on, for a while at least.

While The Avengers has been pumping out trailer after trailer and multiple previews from the start, The Dark Knight Rises has been more subtle with their media releases. While many of the photos and previews from The Dark Knight Rises have been unofficial, Entertainment Weekly just published six new official shots from the film and a cover exclusive.

Dylan Sprayberry, who plays young Clark Kent in the upcoming Man of Steel, has revealed a little more about the film. Following in the path of the Batman series, Man of Steel will be edgier and center on making Superman more realistic. The start of the movie focuses on Superman growing up, and how his early life is filled with dilemmas and drama.

A new international trailer was released for The Amazing Spider-Man. The trailer features more of Peter Parker’s past struggles with his parents and his battle against the Lizard. That wasn’t the only Spider-Man news this last week either, Marvel announced that the Spider-Men comics will officially feature the crossover between Spider-Man, Peter Parker, and new Spider-Man, Miles Morales.

One last superhero update, Joss Whedon dropped more information about the upcoming Dr. Horrible sequel during a Reddit question and answer session. All the cast member will be returning for their parts, but Whedon said, “Penny will be… um… I don’t want to say decomposing.” So what does that mean? Will Penny be a zombie? Will Dr. Horrible have her frozen, working on a resurrection method? Only Joss knows, but they are currently working on the script and plan to start filming this summer.

Hunger Games director Gary Ross has officially stepped down from doing the sequel. With Ross out, Lionsgate has started a short list of directors for the sequel. The list currently contains Alfonso Cuaron, David Cronenberg, and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.

Robert Rodriquez and Frank Miller are moving forward with a Sin City sequel entitled Frank Miller’s Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. There isn’t much more information on the project, but we can all rest a little easier knowing it’s at least going to happen.

The popularity brought to the Tron series by Tron: Legacy has spawned a sequel, but probably not the sequel you wanted. Tron: Uprising is a new graphic series that will appear on the Disney Channel.

Finally, the Ghostbusters series has long talked of a third movie, with Bill Murray being the only hold out. But during a recent interview, the funnyman said the project was ‘a possibility’ which is more hope than we have gotten from him previously. So while the project still remains in what actor Dan Aykroyd calls a ‘state of suspended animation,’ there is still hope.

by Fred Topel

The ‘90s were a vital decade for independent film. That’s when unique voices discovered at the Sundance Film Festival started finding their way into movie theaters nationwide. It was the decade of Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith and Ed Burns, filmmakers who emphasized the dialogue their characters would speak. One of the most respected artists of that era was Whit Stillman.

His debut film Metropolitan was a comedy about wealthy New Yorkers discussing their lifestyle with a stranger. His follow-up Barcelona took that sensibility to Spain. But 1998’s The Last Days of Disco was the last we’ve seen of Whit Stillman. He calls the 10 subsequent years his “lost decade,” a more highbrow way of saying “development hell.”

Stillman is back with a new movie. Damsels in Distress still has the unique dialogue found in ‘90s independent cinema, so it may seem even more special in today’s world. The film stars Greta Gerwig as Violet, a college student who leads a suicide prevention center. She and her fellow gals are so committed to helping the student body, she creates a new dance called the Sambola. She thinks if people dance they’ll be too happy to kill themselves.

The film is full of whimsical tangents and concepts. Some of the Seven Oaks college boys practice the Cathar religion, and some of the traffic lights are blue. Stillman took as mellow an approach to discussing the film as his characters seem to have living it. He had some deep thoughts but only in the spirit of having fun and not taking oneself too seriously.

Read our exclusive interview with Whit Stillman on SuicideGirls.com.

by Daniel Robert Epstein

I am so damn jealous of Jason Schwartzman. He’’s gotten to act alongside two of my comedy idols, Bill Murray and now Steve Martin in the film adaptation of Martin’’s own book, Showgirl.

Shopgirl stars Claire Danes as Mirabelle, a plain young girl in the middle of Hollywood who is romanced by two men. One is an older wealthy man played by Steve Martin; Schwartzman plays Jeremy, an awkward schlub who borrows money from her on their dates.

Read our exclusive interview with Jason Schwartzman on SuicideGirls.com.

by Steven-Elliot Altman (SG Member: Steven_Altman)

Our Fiction Friday serialized novel, The Killswitch Review, is a futuristic murder mystery with killer sociopolitical commentary (and some of the best sex scenes we’ve ever read!). Written by bestselling sci-fi author Steven-Elliot Altman (with Diane DeKelb-Rittenhouse), it offers a terrifying postmodern vision in the tradition of Blade Runner and Brave New World…

By the year 2156, stem cell therapy has triumphed over aging and disease, extending the human lifespan indefinitely. But only for those who have achieved Conscientious Citizen Status. To combat overpopulation, the U.S. has sealed its borders, instituted compulsory contraception and a strict one child per couple policy for those who are permitted to breed, and made technology-assisted suicide readily available. But in a world where the old can remain vital forever, America’s youth have little hope of prosperity.

Jason Haggerty is an investigator for Black Buttons Inc, the government agency responsible for dispensing personal handheld Kevorkian devices, which afford the only legal form of suicide. An armed “Killswitch” monitors and records a citizen’s final moments — up to the point where they press a button and peacefully die. Post-press review agents — “button collectors” — are dispatched to review and judge these final recordings to rule out foul play.

When three teens stage an illegal public suicide, Haggerty suspects their deaths may have been murders. Now his race is on to uncover proof and prevent a nationwide epidemic of copycat suicides. Trouble is, for the first time in history, an entire generation might just decide they’re better off dead.

(Catch up with the previous installments of Killswitch – see links below – then continue reading after the jump…)

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