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Screenwriter Diablo Cody's greatest achievement with her latest project, Young Adult, is to bring her audience to a point where they sympathize and empathize with the film's in many ways distinctly unlikable central character. Mavis Gary (played by Charlize Theron) is the seemingly successful author of a series of young adult novels, who on the page has everything going for her. Yet, despite being blessed in both the looks and career department, happiness eludes her.

When an invitation arrives in her inbox to the christening of the daughter of her high school sweetheart, Buddy (Patrick Wilson), Mavis decides to return to her hometown to reclaim her former glory - and her former boyfriend. Blinded by her own narcissism, Mavis chooses to ignore the fact that Buddy is now happily married as she obsessively engages in the shameless pursuit of her unavailable ex.

A chance meeting with a former classmate she barely remembers, Matt Freehauf (Patton Oswalt), provides Mavis with a drinking buddy, and a voice of reason. However, despite forming an unlikely bond with Matt, who in the wake of a high school beating is left as physically challenged as she is mentally, Mavis is unwilling and unable to retreat from the comfort of her self-delusions to see her world as it really is.

As with Cody's Academy Award-winning screenplay for Juno, Young Adult combines subtle storytelling with unconventional choices. An exercise in nuance and tone, which sees Cody reunited with her Juno cohort, director Jason Reitman (Up In The Air), the film features award-worthy performances from both Theron and Oswalt that - as with the script - are remarkable for their realness.

I sat down with Cody in New York to talk about the film.

Read my exclusive interview with Diablo Cody on SuicideGirls.com.

The fiercely individual Madonna once observed that "life is a mystery" and "everyone must stand alone." But for some that is tragically not possible. Conjoined twins Evelyn and Evelyn Neville (a.k.a. Evelyn Evelyn) are two such people; their uninvited union - and the uniqueness of their in many ways non-individual state - being both a blessing and a curse.

To say Evelyn Evelyn have had a tough upbringing would be a gross understatement. The pair lost their mother 12 minutes after their traumatic birth, and their early life took a nosedive from there. The girls' father fell victim to an unlikely chainsaw accident shortly after their mother's untimely demise, and thus the orphaned twins were left with only each other to rely on as they made their way in this all too cruel world.

Extended stints trapped in a chicken coup and held hostage by a child pornography ring meant the girls were robbed of anything approaching a normal childhood -- if that was ever a possibility given their Siamese status. However, after joining a circus and meeting some similarly conjoined pachyderms, Evelyn Evelyn got an inkling that their bond -- far from being a burden -- was something truly beautiful and special.

Having experienced relentless teasing and taunts for much of their life, the Neville sisters' world was changed radically by the advent of social media. While in a dead end job filling out sweepstakes applications on behalf of an unappreciative motel proprietor, the duo practiced the songs they once performed with the circus and set up a profile on MySpace to showcase them. Unburdened by physical limitations and prejudices online, their music caught the attention of many, including singer, songwriter, and all round entertainer extraordinaire Amanda Palmer.

Inspired by their songs and by their struggle, Amanda recruited renowned folk musician Jason Webley to help with the project. Produced by Palmer and Webley, Evelyn Evelyn released their debut EP, "Elephant Elephant," in 2007. Their heartfelt rendition of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" -- which served as the B-side of the vinyl edition -- brought them initial success and critical acclaim. A self-titled album followed in 2010, as did numerous sold out live dates.

Having recently returned from a triumphant stint at the prestigious Edinburgh Festival -- and with respect having firmly replaced ridicule -- Evelyn Evelyn embark on the next chapter in their lives with the release of a graphic novel based on their story. Written by Palmer and Webley, and illustrated by Cynthia von Buhler, it's naturally being released in two parts (via Dark Horse Comics Inc.). Having not only redefined beauty, but what it means to be an individual, SuicideGirls caught up with Palmer to talk about Evelyn Evelyn.

For this interview SG's editor, Nicole Powers, recruited her own twin siblings, Brenda Day and Samantha May. Though not conjoined, Brenda and Samantha do everything together and feel as if emotionally they are. They are therefore especially excited that Palmer and Webley are unleashing the power of multiples though their production work, and are exploring what it means to be an individual when you're also one half of a whole. The following is a transcript of their online conversation...

Read our exclusive interview with Amanda Palmer on SuicideGirls.com.

As Dr. Niles Crane on the popular NBC sitcom Frasier, which ran from 1993 to 2004, David Hyde Pierce was a paragon of gentility. However in his latest project, the independent movie The Perfect Host, he gets to embrace a far darker side of his psyche.

At first Warwick Wilson (played by Pierce) appears to be the epitome of civility and the consummate dinner party host. But when an unexpected guest arrives -- John Taylor (played by Clayne Crawford), a bank robber in desperate need of a place to lay low -- the evening's events take a surprising course. Without giving too much away, by the time desert arrives, it's impossible to tell who could -- or should -- die.

I caught up with Pierce by phone to chat about The Perfect Host and his other post-Frasier projects. The topic of dogs also rather unexpectedly, but nonetheless fortuitously, interrupted our conversation.

Read my exclusive interview with David Hyde Pierce on SuicideGirls.com.

"She's a bit of a skank."
- Rufus Dayglo

It's been a couple of years since Tank Girl made her dramatic comeback. Since then she's been kicking a lot of physical and metaphorical butt. After a hiatus of over a decade, the punk rock comic character is making up for lost time, with a slew of new adventures in book and comic form.

Created by anarchist wordsmith Alan Martin and artist Jamie Hewlett, Tankie (as she is affectionately known to those in the know) first made her debut in the pages of UK comic magazine Deadline in 1988. Her "fuck you" attitude instantly resonated with Britain's disenfranchised, Thatcher-abused youth, and it wasn't long before Hollywood came calling. However MGM's 1995 film, which captured the look but not the spirit of the comic strip, pretty much stopped Tank Girl in her tracks.

Having run out of steam, Tank Girl languished in the desert. Her fans moved on, as did Hewlett, who founded the virtual band Gorillaz with Blur's Damon Albarn. With Hewlett entrenched in the music biz, when Martin decided to brush the dust off Tank Girl and recall her into action, another pen pal was needed.

Stepping into the Doc Martin's of Hewlett was a daunting task, but London-based pencil master Rufus Dayglo has proved himself worthy. His authentic yet fresh vision of Tank Girl has won over old and new fans alike. With a veritable avalanche of new material hitting stores, I tracked Dayglo down by phone at his peanut factory-turned-art studio to talk out about the inspirations behind his Tank Girl.

Read my exclusive interview with Tank Girl artist Rufus Dayglo on SuicideGirls.com.

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The new Jackass feature film is spectacularly shitty - in an awesomely gross kind of way. And because it's shot in 3D, the excrement literally comes flying right at you, giving the MTV-rooted franchise the opportunity to connect with its audience in a whole new, and yet familiarly meaningless way.

I don't mean that disrespectfully - it's just that it's important not to overthink things when it comes to Jackass's intentionally lowbrow brand of entertainment. Creators Johnny Knoxville, Spike Jonze and Jeff Tremaine, and cast members Steve-O, Bam Margera, Chris Pontius and Dave England have been doing silly stunts for shits and giggles - and increasingly large amounts of cash - for a decade now, and the interplay between the beloved faces is as important as the feces and flying dildos. It's this timeless male bonding, which appears evident and genuine on screen, that's perhaps the key to Jackass's popularity, longevity and charm. As Steve-o succinctly puts it, "The chemistry definitely makes it work."

I spoke with professional pranksters Johnny Knoxville and Steve-O by phone this past weekend about the secrets of Jackass 3-D's undeniable allure.

Read my exclusive interview with Johnny Knoxville and Steve-O on SuicideGirls.com.

You may not recognize his name, but as the man who figured out how to make online adult entertainment pay, Chris Mallick has had a profound effect on our world. "Third-party billing" is not exactly a sexy phrase, but the concept Mallick masterminded revolutionized the way the invisible masses achieved satisfaction, and gave e-commerce its kick-start.

A rarity in the world of pornography, Mallick didn't focus his attention on making or marketing sexual images, it was a few lines of computer code that excited him more. This revolutionary source code allowed users to pay for stuff - any kind of stuff - remotely via the World Wide Web. Naturally, like many technological breakthroughs, its potential was first exploited by the triple-x rated business community. Mallick's company made its millions by taking a tiny cut of each credit card transaction he facilitated in an industry that would eventually generate fifty-seven billion dollars per year globally. Essentially Mallick and his fellow third-party billers were the ultimate middle men.

Having made "more money than anyone ever imagined," Mallick got out of the business he'd helped invent while he was ahead and now works in Hollywood as a producer. Initially he'd hoped to turn his stranger than fiction experiences working in the backend of the adult entertainment industry into an HBO television series. After teaming up with screenwriter Andy Weiss (of Punk'd), the project morphed into what is now a major motion picture released by Paramount Pictures.

Luke Wilson plays Jack Harris, a character closely based on Mallick in Middle Men, an action packed, smartly written comic caper Mallick claims is eighty-percent based in truth. Given that on screen his story involves the Russian mafia, accidental murder, an affair with a 23-year old porn star, FBI agents, terrorists, and the bribery of an elected official, it's intriguing to speculate exactly which twenty percent is purely fictional.

I called up Mallick and got some surprising answers from the internet pioneer. Read my exclusive interview with Chris Mallick on SuicideGirls.com.

The companion to hope, "change" is perhaps the most over-used and under-executed words in the common vernacular today. With their movie, La MISSION, actor Benjamin Bratt (who is best known for playing Detective Rey Curtis in the NBC drama Law & Order) and his writer/director brother Peter (who previously collaborated with his famous sibling on the 1996 film Follow Me Home) explore the motivations that might transform change from an abstract concept into tangible social movement in the forward direction on an individual level.

Human beings, by their very nature, resist change. This innate intransigence is often only overcome when the consequences of maintaining the status quo are significantly more painful than personal growth and transformation. In La MISSION, the central character finds himself at such a crossroads.

Che is a tough walking and talking Latino man who has secured the position he enjoys within his local community thanks to his testosterone-charged social skills, which are prized among his peers. However, Che is himself a victim of cultural stereotypes which dictate what a man should be, and unless he can reconcile his outdated ideas of masculinity and overcome the homophobia that to this day is a very real part of his culture, he risks losing the one thing that is most important to him - his son, Jes, whom he finds out is homosexual in the film's opening act.

The story was inspired by two characters in the Bratt brothers' life: Che is based on an older schoolmate and natural born leader whom Benjamin and Peter looked up to as kids (though the real-life Che has two sons, neither of which are gay), while Jes' journey echoes that of a family member who experienced a similar struggle for acceptance when his father discovered he was gay. But the family roots in La MISSION go even deeper. The film is set in the San Francisco neighborhood in which the brothers were raised, and its underlying message of hope and transformation is a testament to the convictions of Peter and Benjamin's activist mother, Elda Bratt, who participated in the Native American occupation of Alcatraz in 1969 (with her two young children in tow).

Though the subject matter of La MISSION may seem a little earnest for some, the underlying issues are handled in a sophisticated and subtle manner, which belies the power of the film. Politics take a backseat, as the viewer is immersed in the colorful lowriding culture Che reveres, and the very personal issues which father and son are fighting to overcome. Heartfelt and touching, La MISSION is all that independent filmmaking should be.

I spoke with Peter and Benjamin to find out more about La MISSION, and their wider calling to inspire and enact change through the ancient art of storytelling and their shared passion for film.

Read the full interview with Benjamin and Peter Bratt at SuicideGirls.com.

Transforming a beloved book into a film is always a huge risk. Alice Sebold's tale of tragedy, loss, and renewal is such a novel and Peter Jackson is the brave filmmaker who volunteered for the job.

The task was even more challenging since the book doesn't conform to any standard structure. The story is told from the point of view of Susie Salmon, a teenage girl who is brutally raped and murdered at the outset. Despite coming to such a violent and ugly end, as Susie watches her family from a place beyond death, she sees beauty in the connections and new beginnings the demise of her earthly body creates. It's this juxtaposition, that Sebold somehow made work on paper, which created such a strong reaction in readers. Many took great comfort in the author's vision of the afterlife, though Sebold wrote it from an agnostic perspective, which caused the devout to complain about her seemingly godless (and judgment-less) heaven. Others rejoiced in her ability to subvert the darkness of humanity, and in her capacity for finding light where there should be nothing but night.

There was therefore a difficult balancing act that was intrinsic to the success of the movie. The book was criticized by some for being too saccharin, yet if Jackson departed too far from its strangely uplifting tone he risked alienating its large and loyal following. Conversely, graphically depicting the rape and murder of a teen could easily be perceived as being gratuitous on screen, yet acknowledging that such a cruel and tragic event had happened was essential to the core of the piece.

Jackson worked on the screenplay with Lord of The Rings collaborators Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh (who's also his partner in life). Though the psychedelic dream/afterlife sequences allowed the team to draw on their familiar fantasy filmmaking background, the gritty, true-to-life segments, set in the suburbs of Philadelphia in the 1970s, have overtones from Jackson's earlier work - namely Heavenly Creatures (a period movie released in '94 that Jackson co-wrote with Walsh, which explored the 1954 Parker-Hulme murder).

Thus the movie will not necessarily appeal to Jackson's Lord of The Rings film fans, nor will it sit well with all who loved Sebold's book. Jackson is prepared for a mixed reaction however. Here he talks about The Lovely Bones' journey to the big screen, and his reasons for making the choices he did.

Click through to read SuicideGirls' Q&A with Peter Jackson.

"I didn't quite know what to expect from this interview," confesses Jason Reitman. The multi-award winning 32-year old writer and director may be secure in his ability to produce great movies, but he admits to being "scared" at the prospect of being interrogated by SuicideGirls.

It's taken us over a month to tie Jason down, during which time we've been communicating directly by Twitter and via his film and personal publicists. He's very much in demand right now. His first two movies, Thank You For Smoking, a satire set in the tobacco industry, and Juno, a dark comedy about teen pregnancy written by longtime friend of SG Diablo Cody, left indelible marks on the moviemaking landscape. Both films were unabashedly quirky yet each achieved mainstream critical and commercial acclaim -- and more importantly sparked a dialog about their respective subjects that reached far beyond the confines of the entertainment world. It's perhaps this capacity to make us think and to spark meaningful discussion that is Jason's greatest gift.

Though Jason grew up very much within the Hollywood machine (Jason's dad Ivan Reitman produced and/or directed an impressively long list of titles which includes the beloved Animal House, Ghostbusters and Beethoven franchises), creatively he's always preferred to walk the less traveled path. Intelligent and idiosyncratic, his latest comedy, Up In The Air, is no exception. Starring George Clooney as Ryan Bingham, a corporate downsizer who chooses air-miles over attachment and celebrates his solitary existence, the film (which features real-world characters cast from the ranks of the recently downsized) ultimately takes flight on a path that our Hollywood-trained brains may instinctively resist. However, with a nod to Jason's libertarian leanings, the choice is right for Ryan Bingham, and that's what counts.

Though Up In The Air has just gone on wide release today, it's already been nominated for six Golden Globes, more than any other film in the class of 2009. Consequently Jason's press commitments have just got a whole lot crazier. To compound the pressure on his already over-filled schedule, he's just returned from a trip to his Canadian homeland, where he and his dad (who co-produced Up In The Air) were honored with turns carrying the Winter Olympic flame.

We finally caught up with Jason mid-afternoon on Monday as he was heading over to a satellite studio for a live remote appearance on the Faux News show Happy Hour. Once on the phone Jason was beyond generous with his time, and over the course of two phone calls, one before and one after his TV appearance, we talked about the new movie, his affinity with its leading character, and a few other topics that only SG would dare to bring up.

Hit the following link for SuicideGirls exclusive interview with Jason Reitman.

"I constantly want to feel like I'm in danger," says author and screenwriter Diablo Cody during our interview. This statement reveals a lot when you consider Cody's resume. She punctuated a rather mundane series of office jobs by moonlighting as a stripper, phone sex worker, and a peep show girl. While still working for "the man" she documented her experiences in the sex industry in a very public space -- a popular blog called Pussy Ranch. Subsequently she penned a full-blown memoir, entitled Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper, which was published by Penguin imprint Gotham Books.

Having bared her body, for her next artistic endeavor, Cody bared her decidedly off-beat soul, writing a spec screenplay called Juno based, in part, on her experiences, and that of her friends, while growing up. The non-stereotypical, non-tragic tale of teen pregnancy courted controversy with its optimistic, pro-choice perspective, but ultimately prevailed both at the box office and the Oscars, where Cody won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

After receiving what many consider to be Hollywood's ultimate accolade, Cody took a career risk again, turning to a genre -- horror -- that neither has the respect of the mainstream film community nor favor with The Academy. Horror however is Cody's raison d'être, her latest film, Jennifer's Body, being an homage both to the conventions of the genre and her feminist ideals.

Femme fatale Megan Fox plays the title role of Jennifer, a schoolgirl whose body is more attractive than her soul. The film co-stars Mama Mia actress Amanda Seyfried, who plays the archetypically nerdy Needy, Jennifer's bosom buddy turned frenemy. The blood starts to fly after a gig at the local dive bar when Jennifer and Needy encounter the enigmatic Nikolai (Adam Brody), a singer who's willing to deal with the Devil to facilitate his rock & roll dreams.

On the eve of the film's release, SuicideGirls caught up with Cody by phone to find out if her dreams remain true -- or if they've turned into anything resembling nightmares.

Click HERE to read my interview with Diablo Cody on SuicideGirls.com.