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"I have a knack for penises," isn't the kind of confession you'd expect from a memoir penned by Samantha Bee, The Daily Show's Most Senior Correspondent. But then I Know I Am, But What Are You? isn't the kind of book you'd expect her to write. Leaving politics and talk of Jon Stewart & Co. mostly to one side, the collection of humorous essays sheds light on Samantha's unconventional upbringing, which in turn sheds light on why her recipe for success includes a hearty helping of sexually explicit material - ergo her theory that "we need to bring more of a porn sensibility to our financial regulatory mechanisms" (see April 27, 2010 Sex-curities XXXchange Cumission report).

I spoke with the Canadian-born not-news show funnywoman (who is married to fellow Daily Show correspondent Jason Jones) about her Granny juice steeped childhood, her affairs with Jesus and her cat, her rebellious dislike of hot ham, and the repercussions of her exposure to penis-laden literature and videos at an exceedingly young age.

Read my interview with Samantha Bee at SuicideGirls.com.

As someone who was never a huge fan of Leno or Conan (Craig Ferguson and Chelsea Lately are more my style), I still backed Team Coco when the shit hit the fan. When a David is battling a Goliath, I'll support the little guy (or girl) every time. However, now that it looks like Conan has settled his differences with NBC, and Leno is getting some instant Karma for his part in the debacle, it's time to talk about the real victims of late night TV.

In this day and age it's pretty pathetic that there's not a single network late night chat show hosted by a woman. And the sole female late night representative on cable got her gig in-part due to her special relationship with her E! TV boss. Add to that the recent Letterman intern debacle, and the fact that women (who choose not to schtup their bosses) are conspicuous by their absence even behind the scenes on late night TV, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out who the real underdog is.

I live not far from Conan's Universal City home, and as I drive past the body of curbside Conan supporters I've "honked for Coco" multiple times a day to show my support. But now his $40 million payoff is in the mail, can we honk for all the women that don't even get a shot at NBC's 12.05 time slot?

(Thanks to Scott Ian for the YouTube link.)

This past weekend, I drove out to Las Vegas for the parade of plastic toys and silicon playthings that is the AVN Expo and Awards. I was there to support the launch of my friend Carrie Borzillo's book, the Tera Patrick memoir, Sinner Takes All.

After stopping by the main stage at the Sands Expo Center on Saturday afternoon to take a few snaps of the Sinner Takes All co-authors doing their thing, it seemed churlish not to check out what else AVN had to offer. Hence, at around 5.30 PM I headed over to the Palms Casino Resort where the 27th Annual AVN Awards was being held. Above is an image of Female Performer of the Year, Tori Black. You'll find oodles more red carpet images in my AVN Awards photo gallery.

After the awards I hit the Hard Rock where Tera Patrick was hosting a late night soiree at Wasted Space. See separate gallery for more images of Tera's book signing and afterparty events.

In Wonderful World, Matthew Broderick's character Ben Singer may think he's fighting "the man," the soulless god of faceless corporations, but in reality he's his own worst enemy. With his folk music career behind him, having lost his family and his copywriting job, he may be down on his luck, but it's his inability to see the light at the end of the tunnel, even when it's shining right in his eyes, that renders him impotent and leaves him without hope.

Written and directed by Broderick's longtime friend Josh Goldin, Wonderful World is a low budget film on very limited release. Its small price tag however belies its true value. With fully realized characters, a quietly powerful plot, and a solid ensemble cast, the full-of-heart film features one of Broderick's most nuanced performances to date.

I met up with Broderick in a non-descript room at West Hollywood's Standard Hotel, which had been converted into an ad hoc press suite for the day, to talk about this very special movie.

Hit the link to read my exclusive interview with Matthew Broderick at SuicideGirls.

Went to a sexy and elegant little soirée last night at luxury erotic boutique Coco de Mer. The party was thrown to celebrate the release of dance diva Erika Jayne's new album Pretty Mess (her singles "Give You Everything," "Rollercoaster" and "Stars" all reached number one on Billboard's Dance charts and are featured on the album).

Yellow Label Veuve Clicquot was flowing liberally as Erika's buddy Michael Des Barres read some erotic poetry in the store's garden, which set the tone for the intimate evening. Afterwards we chatted with boutique owner Justine Roddick (a like-minded soul when it comes to universal healthcare) and Michael, who's a big fan of SuicideGirls (expect to see him on SG Radio soon!).

Since Melrose Place is coming back to the small screen next month, I took the opportunity to ask Michael if we're likely to see him reprising his role as über villain Arthur Field. Apparently he had a somewhat mixed experience on the show first time around -- he told me he found out about his character's demise when he showed up to his own (fictitious) funeral on set. He holds no grudges though, and is open to a return to the show should the producers come a calling. And death has never been that much of an inconvenience when it comes to bringing soap characters back. "I could come back as a twin brother," said Michael with a glint in his eye.

Click HERE to view full image gallery from the night.

There's nothing half-hearted about the new album from Marilyn Manson, The High End of Low, which explores love, hate, revenge, loss and despair. Off stage, many find Manson's passion disconcerting, but the singer/songwriter considers anything that veers towards apathy to be inherently "worthless." It's therefore not surprising to hear that during the recording process Manson pushed himself and his band to extremes, the resulting album returning him to the kind of form he's not seen in a decade.



Very personal lyrically, and more melodic than past efforts, the album is the result of the much-anticipated reunion of Manson and Twiggy Ramirez -- the pair's last studio collaboration being the concept album Holy Wood, which came out in 2000. The lineup for the album was rounded out by longtime Manson drummer Ginger Fish and producer/drummer/keyboardist Chris Vrenna of Nine Inch Nails and Tweaker (who joined the band in 2004 when Fish was injured and moved from drums to keyboards upon his return to health).

The reunion with Twiggy wasn't the only emotionally charged ingredient in The High End of Low mix however, the period of recording, from November 2008 to January 2009, also coincided with the very public disintegration of Manson's relationship with Evan Rachel Wood, whom he dated following the failure of his marriage to Dita Von Teese. The 15 tracks on the album, which appear on the finished product in the order they were written, therefore chronicle Manson's emotional journey during this gut-wrenching time.



SuicideGirls caught up with Manson on the eve of a European tour to promote the new release. When asked about the album during our interview, it's hard for Manson to separate the music from the emotions and events that lie behind it. He also talks very candidly about the identity crisis that was sparked by this emotional turmoil, and his battle to figure out exactly who Marilyn Manson is.

Click HERE to read the full interview at SuicideGirls.com.

On the surface Kathy Griffin's "reality" show, My Life on the D-List, may be about the comedienne's relentless quest for A-List acclaim. However, in reality (of the real variety), Griffin's Emmy Award-winning Bravo show pokes fun at and undermines the very institution she purports to covet above all else: fame.

Furthermore, while other reality stars make a virtue out of their genuinely mean spirits in a desperate attempt to make the most of their fifteen minutes, Griffin delivers the wickedest lines with the kind of underlying warmth that lets all that "get it" know that no malice is intended.

It's this overwhelming sense of bonhomie that makes the show so watchable. It's also why, despite being the butt of many of her jokes, the gay community chose to honor Griffin with this years Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Vanguard Award, which is given to those who have "increased the visibility and understanding" of the GLBT community. As Grifin says in our interview, "I'm genuinely a fan of most of the people I trash in the act." And "the gays" have no bigger fan than Griffin.

SuicideGirls caught up with Griffin by phone to get the skinny on her headline-grabbing minimal GLAAD outfit (she's the only member of the Hollywood community with the balls to accept a high-profile award in a bright blue bikini -- which revealed a hot SG photoset-ready bod). Griffin also gave us the scoop on the no-so-D-list fifth season of My Life on the D-List, which premieres June 8.

Click HERE to read the interview at SuicideGirls.

Life is all about timing. Especially when you're telling jokes that many might view as not funny, and that even more might find downright offensive. Thus, Lisa Lampanelli, the self-proclaimed Queen of Mean, who stars in her first HBO comedy special which premieres today, picks her moments carefully -- very carefully.

Click HERE for my exclusive SuicideGirls.com interview with Lisa.

"I love the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and I love going to the Nuart and seeing the insanity that takes place inside that theater. I think Rocky Horror Picture Show gave people a shelter to feel safe. If you were a freak, if you were a weirdo, if you were fat, if you were skinny, if you were goth, if you were a transvestite, it was OK, come to Rocky Horror Picture Show, you're fine here. And people went there and they embraced it, and everyone felt comfortable, and everyone kind of acted weird and strange and they were comfortable with that, and I grew up in that environment. That's how I basically learned it was OK to be artistic, it's OK to have weird ideas. And I hope that people continue to understand that about Repo!"


Darren Bouseman, SuicideGirls, October 2008.

By definition, you can't create a counter culture experience without polarizing the mainstream culture you're hoping to be countering. With Repo! The Genetic Opera, director Darren Bouseman has certainly achieved this basic cult criteria. Mainstream outlets unanimously derided the film: The Los Angeles Times said the film was "bloody awful," USA Today referred to it as a "preposterous bloodbath," and it has been called "the worst move of all time" by numerous critics.

But Bouseman did not make this movie to please po-faced pen-pushers (those in the horror genre rarely get into the business to seek critical acclaim), and his film is clearly finding its intended niche. While Rotten Tomatoes' survey of professional film writers gave the film a measly 31% rating, those in the RT community gave it a more than respectable 84%. And it was this community that came out in force on Saturday night for the final sold-out stop on Repo's 13 date Road Tour.

By 8.30 pm the line of those willing to "testify" to the legitimacy of Repo's cult status snaked around the block. Many had seen the film multiple times, and most were dressed up in character for the occasion. Cast members Alexa Vega, Terrance Zdunich, Paris Hilton, and Ogre, mingled with the crowd alongside co-writer Darren Smith (seen above signing a cast) and Bouseman. Particular respect should be given here to Hilton, who, with an unfailingly sweet demeanor, showed support for the film in the face of adversity -- much of the critics ire having been directed at her (it's not like she's short of stuff to do on a Saturday night).

After a brief introduction, in which Bouseman embraced the notoriety his film had been blessed with, the fun really began. The audience showed their dedication by being word -- if not note -- perfect. Their semi-rehearsed cat-calls, dances and zydrate-addicted glo-stick waving adding humor to the movie Darren had warned me during an interview in October 2007 was "not intended to be taken seriously."

Repo is now available on Blue-Ray and DVD.

Click HERE to view larger images.

A lot of wonderful things happened in 1977: punk exploded, Apple was incorporated, Star Wars was released, transatlantic supersonic flights hit commuter airline schedules, smallpox was officially considered to be eradicated -- and John Oliver was born. 2006 wasn't such a good vintage however, one of the few redeeming features being that it was the year the thinking woman's bit of crumpet from The Daily Show first joined Jon Stewart's band of merry not-news men as their Senior British Correspondent, making something that was already truly awesome even more so.

Before washing up on our shores with his freshly minted visa in hand, Oliver apparently spent an inordinate amount of time at school farting (an activity the British have raised to the level of a national sport). He went on to study a language he was already relatively competent in -- English -- at Cambridge University, which afforded him a lot of free time to pursue the hobby that became his career: being funny. He joined the Cambridge Footlights, a hallowed university amateur dramatics/comedy institution which was founded in 1883 and has produced many notable funny people -- both of the peculiar and ha-ha varieties.

Oliver is certainly a funnyman of the ha-ha kind, though he's not without his peculiarities as we found out in this interview, which was conducted via email for his own safety -- did we mention he's the thinking woman's bit of crumpet from The Daily Show?

Click HERE to read our SuicideGirls interview and find our why he's our favorite bit of alright!