Essays, Interviews, Observations, Pop Culture, Stories, and other Dodginess

Should I Be In Love with Ariel Tweto?

Posted on May 21, 2012

She shares the same name as a mermaid princess. She’s a cross-country runner and was on her co-ed high school wrestling team. She’s learning to fly. She eats seal tongue, or flipper, or something like that. She bought a kilt in Scotland. She’s Ariel Tweto, and should I be in love with her? I first took notice of Ariel on the Discovery show Flying Wild Alaska. I saw her take flying lessons. Would I fly the Alaskan skies with her? Eventually, sure. But for now I’d instead share with her an Anchorage hot tub. Last week Ariel was one of Craig Ferguson’s guests during his The Late, Late Show’s journey to Scotland. One of the trip’s highlights was the episode where Ariel and fellow guest Mila Kunis tried on kilts. Ariel was also in a dinner scene with Craig, Rashida Jones and David Sedaris. I’m not sure Ariel knew who the fuck Sedaris was but he certainly admired her neck/back tattoo. Ariel seems to know a lot of stuff you wouldn’t, and at the same time not know things she maybe should. I find that absolutely attractive. And what’s it about her Eskimo/Fargo-ish accent? It’s becoming, that’s what. So should I be in love with Ariel Tweto? Yes. And so should you. By the way is Ferguson not the best late night talk show host? We loved his trip to France last year and Scotland didn’t disappoint. His conversational style is like no others. Perhaps one of his future trips will be to Ireland.

Ariel Tweto

Ariel Tweto, the Alaskan Princess

Ariel Tweto
Flying Wild while rockin’ the cool shades

Mila Kunis and Craig Ferguson

Mila shows what “The Pint Interviews” would look like.

Mila’s kilt and Craig’s…pants.

Talking “Girls” with Alex Karpovsky

Posted on May 14, 2012
Talking Girls with Alex Karpovsky

Alex Karpovsky and Lena Dunham in the HBO series Girls. (Photo credit: JoJo Whilden/HBO)

Girls is halfway through its first season on HBO. The critically acclaimed show began shooting its second season this month. Alex Karpovsky’s “Ray” will be part of that shoot. Yes, he’s in season two, which is great news for those who rate Ray’s brief “McDonald’s monologue” in episode one as one of the show’s many gems. Alex met Girls creator Lena Dunham at SXSW and appeared in her breakthrough 2010 film Tiny Furniture. Alex talked to The Dodgy from his Brooklyn home about Girls, his latest feature Rubberneck, the writing process, and whether or not The Pint Interviews is a damn good idea.

Girls

Alex found out just a few months after Tiny Furniture premiered at SXSW about Lena’s Girls series and admitted his curiosity for it.  He was filming a movie in Brainerd, Minnesota, where his shot his 2006 comedy The Hole Story, when he got Lena’s call and request to be part of the pilot episode. His Ray Ploshansky (what some call “assholery”) character appears in six of the ten episodes. Alex confirmed he’ll be a part of season two.

I can say that Lena did a really extraordinary job of creating a very safe bubble for the actors to feel comfortable. It’s a very big set sometimes, obviously, for HBO, and it’s very easy, especially if you’re young and haven’t done a lot of TV before – which is a lot of people on the show – to get lost, distracted, overwhelmed, and intimidated. I think she did an incredible job of creating a very warm, open-minded, enthusiasm-filled bubble for the actors who hang out, rehearse, and ultimately perform. And I think it’s nurtured a lot of trust, a lot of respect in other people and the freedom to just voice your thoughts if you don’t fully understand “this joke” or “this motivation” or a particular point of conflict in a scene. It’s just a very nice space she’s created. Not only creating but also nurturing it over the course of these episodes. My experience has been positive and warm.

A nice surprise for me in episode one was seeing Chris Eigeman as Lena’s internship boss. I thought it was a nod to his roles in Whit Stillman’s Metropolitan, Barcelona, and The Last Days of Disco. Not to mention his role in Noah Baumbach’s Kicking and Screaming. I feel that Girls is the nearest thing I’ve seen to a serialized version of those kind of movies.

I know Lena is friends with Whit and Noah and their work has made a huge impression on her. The sensibility, the tone, and the characters. The situations those films explore is a huge part of Lena so it’s definitely no accident Chris Eigeman was on the show.

Rubberneck, which Alex directs and stars in, and wrote with Garth Donovan, made its premiere at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.

My hope for the movie is to find a distributor who will make it accessible for the people who are interested in low budget, character-driven, slow-burning, psychosexual thrillers. We’re in negotiations with a few places now, just seeing where the best fit will be and hopefully it will be out there pretty soon.

The Writing Process

The only thing I kind of need is constant variety. Sometimes I want silence, sometimes I want to be in a coffee shop. Sometimes I write without music an sometimes I feel like I need it. I just always need to change it up otherwise things start feeling stale. It all depends on the genre. I feel if I’m writing a comedy it’s better to be in a lively, semi-public space. And with something like Rubberneck (with Garth) – we were usually not in a public space when writing that.

Now comes the part where I recommend a film for Alex to see that he hasn’t and he does the same for me – the only rule is it can’t be one of his own. My choice for him was Brit Marling’s Another Earth.

I’ve been wanting to see that  for awhile so maybe this is the nudge I needed.

Alex’s recommendation for me was something I haven’t seen, The Puffy Chair by the Duplass Brothers.

It’s their first feature. It’s really good.

As far as other filmmakers, Alex said he wouldn’t mind working with Paul Thomas Anderson and thinks it would be fun to do a scene with Vincent Gallo.

I think that would be a good time.

And finally, I asked Alex if he would have been game to be part of The Pint Interviews, where The Dodgy interviews a guest at a pub over their favorite pint of beer. His reply was “sure” so I’m going with that.

In June in Alex will be in Los Angeles for the debut of his latest film, Red Flag.

Alex Karpovsky in the indie film Rubberneck

Alex Karpovsky in Rubberneck.

10-foot rooster odd choice for Chicago late night

Posted on May 13, 2012

File this in the “Are you fecking kidding me?” drawer. Apparently a late night TV talk show will debut in Chicago this September. Supposedly the sidekick to host Michael Essany (remember him?) is a 10-foot animatronic rooster. Because a 10-foot rooster is the obvious choice when it comes to late night television in Chicago, right? I’m all for ridiculous ideas, and whatever stoner came up with this idea in the meeting might be a genius in himself. But is the show in Chicago or Farmville?

The Show

It’s going to on WJYS. I’m in Chicago and I’m not even sure what that is. Although creative has a way of coming out more in these smaller-type stations then the local affiliates of the major networks.

The show is called Seven on Ridge, and I have no idea what that means.

The host is Michael Essany. He got famous for being a kid who interviewed celebrities in his parent’s Northwest Indiana home. That was the bend, the schtick. As an adult, that bend is gone. His “adult” version of a talk show didn’t last too long when it was the E Network years ago.

Supposedly the show will have the atmosphere of a supper club, which was big in the 30s and 40s. So I guess it makes sense for 2012.

There’s a list of potential guests for the show on the website. Mila Kunis is on there. I’ll watch Mila chat with anyone, whether or not there’s a looming 10-foot rooster or black swan nearby.

The announcer for the show’s promo says New York and Los Angeles has held the flags down for too long in late night TV. Now it’s “Chicago’s time.” But a giant fucking rooster, really? In the country’s 3rd largest market? I’m all for crazy. But there’s good crazy and bad crazy.

Michael Essany in Seven On Ridge

Yea, this is a good idea (sevenonridge.com)

I’ll bet my pants this show got the idea for Kaka (that’s the rooster’s name – get it?) from Craig Ferguson’s animatronic robot skeleton-sidekick Geoff.

I was never that crazy about Geoff, but Craig makes it work. At least they could cart Geoff around when they take the show on the road. Don’t think that would work with Kaka, although it would be a good fit if they film the show in an Indiana cornfield.