Cinqué Lee, despite the unique name he has, is probably someone who has a body of work more recognizable to you than his name. Lee, brother of acclaimed director Spike Lee, has worked in the film industry since the late 80′s wearing a wide variety of hats. From director to producer to actor and even wardrobe, the man has done it all.

Lee’s most notable works include co-writing the screenplay for Crooklyn and acting roles in Mystery Train and Coffee & Cigarettes, both films from director Jim Jarmusch. Lee’s most recent film is a sci-fi fantasy piece entitled Window On Your  Present. The film was actually Lee’s first, being shot in the late 80′s and just released on DVD from BrinkDVD.

Recently I was fortunate enough to catch up with Cinqué to discuss his latest release as well as the film industry in general.

Chris Coffel: What was your inspiration for Window On Your Present?

Cinqué Lee: I was in a public art high school in the early ’80s, Art & Design, making B&W super 8 shorts and had been scribbling these silhouettes of characters in bombed out churches with shafts of light and a couple arguing in a graveyard. I had squatted a couple of times with my skate punk friends and did see stuff like that. The funny thing is I knew I had these clothes,my deceased mothers clothes, I was putting in these sketches. My Mom’s fur coat, 1940′s leather pilot hat and googles and stuff…. I was also, and still am, into decaying abandoned buildings and back then there were tons of them that were beautiful. I didn’t know at the time that my sketches were my conceptual design for Window On Your Present.

This character and also one of my teachers turned me on to Roman Polanski’s B&W short films and some other silent films. So I really started obsessing over B&W and my sister’s boyfriend turned me on to Andrei Tarkovsky and his films flipped me the fuck out.

CC: Was the style and look of the film something that was done based on the budget, or was that your initial vision?

CL: I was already strung out on B&W and maintaining my fix by shooting B&W super8 shorts with the same style and look before I had to up it a notch to 16mm.

CC: The movie was shot in the 80′s but was just recently released, was there a specific reason for this? And if it were shot today, would it have been done differently?

CL: The movie took forever to make because I would change what I wanted or didn’t know what I wanted so I would put it away and come back to it years later here and years there. Having all the time I had to finish, I got what I wanted and so know I wouldn’t change anything.

CC: You’ve worked on many different aspects of the filmmaking process from composer to producer to director to actor and so on, is there a different mindset you have to get in for each one or do you just prepare the same way? Do you have a preference?

CL: Acting is the most difficult for me and that’s the only thing that feels like I have to separate my brain from what ever I’m doing. It’s like something triggers in my head like ‘oh crap, I gotta get in front of the camera now? I don’t want to go there, please don’t make me.’ So yeah acting has it’s own mindset. I can’t just switch over to as easily. As a matter of fact, I don’t feel anything sort of switch at all when I have to wear different hats. It’s that damned acting.

CC: Are there any specific filmmakers that have been a big influence on not only Window On Your Present but your career in general?

CL: Andrei Tarkovsky is the guy who rules my world when it comes to any influence as far as filmmakers go. But I also get inspired by music too. The Cocteau Twins are my favorite band.

CC: As somone that’s worked in the industry for a while now, you’ve seen lots of changes in filmmaking. The biggest change over the years seems to be the shift from using traditional film to the use of digital. Have you worked with digital at all and if so do you prefer one versus the other?

CL: I have worked with digital and it’s a pain in my ass. I worked on my brother’s film recently and I operated two cameras. A Canon 5D and a super 8 camera. Any time I had to use the Canon I dreaded it but when the Super 8 was called on I was like ‘I got this!’ I don’t like cards but I do love shooting on mini dv tape. I feel safer with tape, too many buttons and options on the Canon 5D for me. Hell I still cut on the old old version of iMovie. I just wanna pick up a camera and shoot.

CC: Any current projects you’re working on that you’d like plugged?

CL: I’m not a pluggy kind of person but I will say that I’m all over the place as usual. Been chiseling away on a graphic novel for years and also trying to bust out a whacked out kids show.

CC: And lastly, who is the better director, Spike Lee or Jim Jarmusch?

CL: Ha! That’s a good one.

To purchase Lee’s newest film, Window On Your Present, click here.

Visit Cinqué Lee’s IMDB page.

Attack The Block thrilled crowds at Comic Con, and it’s not hard to see why. A film produced by Edgar Wright, who directed Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, about aliens attacking a council estate in the hood in South London is an instant draw for geeks looking for a witty turn to alien invasion movies. But it’s not just for geeks. ATB also boasts an impressive cast of young actors on the level of Super 8 and a fast-paced script filled with comedy, suspense and heart.

Trashwire had the chance to sit down with writer/director Joe Cornish and star John Boyega at Comic Con to talk about the film.

The performances from the kids are so impressive and they have such natural chemistry. Can you tell us about the casting process? 

Cornish: We saw about 1,500 kids and there was a huge amount of talent to choose from. We have 11 kids in this film from the ages of 10 to 17 and almost none of them had ever had any on-camera acting experience before. I was really excited to put new faces on the screen. The wonderful thing about pop culture is there’s a new generation coming all the time and they want their own generation of stars. I wanted to give an opportunity to young actors who hadn’t had much experience and also, because the film was set where it was, it seemed like a great opportunity to give kids a break who maybe wouldn’t necessarily find themselves with the support and background to do this. I was the least experienced guy on the set, so to have this group of kids who were as naive, passionate and enthusiastic as I was was really comforting. Whenever I felt insecure or doubted it, I could just feed off their passion for the idea.

Boyega: It was amazing and it was great hanging out with the boys. We had amazing energy, I don’t know where that energy came from. I’m a guy that likes his sleep, but at 5am, you’d be rapping and singing songs and having a Pokemon competition. It was fun-filled, kidish energy and we just had fun. We drove the crew crazy.

John Boyega (center) stars as Moses in Attack the Block

Having a first-time feature film director and so many first-time actors, were Wright and the studio heavily involved in every aspect?

Cornish: There was a lot of faith required for this movie. We had monsters, we had explosions, we had stunts, we had effects, there were night shoots, we even had a dog in it! Edgar said to me, “Joe, you’re doing everything you’re not supposed to do. You’re making this hard for yourself.” But I thought I would only have one shot at making a movie, so why not aim high. Edgar was busy working on Scott Pilgrim, so had had no choice but to have faith in me. He couldn’t get involved too deeply, and that was quite useful because he could step into the process with complete objectivity. He’s been a friend for 12 years or something crazy like that and I’m amazingly loyal to him. It’s a testament to sticking with your friends.

How was it for you transitioning from being a theatre actor to being in your first movie?

Boyega: With stage, the audience is right in front of you, so it was hard to imagine how people were going to react when you’re on the set with just the camera in front of you. I have so much respect for actors that do film because sometimes you may be shooting a scene and they call cut, but you still have to stay in it. I have huge respect for the crew. The amount of work that goes into films is amazing and that’s what took me back. I have no right to be a diva in the future. Not only would my mom knock me off the block, but the amount of work these guys do is amazing. I just love cinema and the way it works.

When you go to screenings, are you pleased by the audience reaction?

Boyega: I’ve watched various screenings back in the UK and it’s been very lovely, but in the USA, you guys are very proactive when you’re watching a film, you’re very much involved. The audience makes you feel like you’re watching something, like it’s real. I remember watching a screening at the ArcLight and [my character] Moses is talking about how he’s going to go out and face the aliens and how it’s his fault and the audience was like, “You tell ‘em, Moses! You tell ‘em!” There was cheering when I walked into the Q&A. I get tweets about it. I love that! I love being in a verbal audience and that surprised me entirely.

What was the most exciting new experience for you?

Boyega: It went down to little things like having a sausage on the set and everything being technically marked. I’ve always been a movie buff, the guy that buys the two-disc special edition and watches the second disc more than the first. I’ve always wanted to be that guy–like Shia LaBeouf sitting there with a scratched up hoodie and blood on his face talking about the film in an interview–and when I got that opportunity, it felt like “Yes! This is going to be great!”

The tough kids of Attack the Block find out just how tough they really are when aliens invade their South London estate.

The dialogue is really authentic, did the kids help shape that part of the script?

Boyega: There were certain parts where I was like, “no, kids don’t say that,” but I have to say, being a British actor, I’ve read a lot of urban scripts in my time and this is the closest to reality, the closest point blank. I liked it because I’ve been in those situations where you see kids being scared–it’s not an alien, maybe it’s a dog or something–and the fear just makes them say something like “it’s too much madness to explain in one text” or “I feel like going home and playing FIFA.” That felt really, really natural to me.

The creature design was different from most alien invasion movies. How did you come up with the concept of how you wanted these aliens to look?

Cornish: When I first came up with the concept for the film, the response was, “well, it’s a good idea, but you can’t do it for less than $30 million because you have to have CGI creatures and you can’t afford CGI creatures.” But I had an idea of how to do it without that. Basically, the core idea is using a rotoscope technique to actually removed detail and flatten the creature because I had this crazy theory that rotoscope is almost like primitive motion capture, because it’s based on human movement. I figured it would blend better with action than CGI does because, however brilliantly CGI is done, it’s animation and animation never really sits realistically. It works in Mary Poppins or Roger Rabbit where it’s heightened and stylized, but the physics aren’t there. Ralph Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings was very big to me as a kid an I thought, “hmmm, there could be something here.” We had no idea how audiences would respond. We knew we were trying to appeal to audiences who were used to CGI stuff who had learned to be satisfied with that aesthetic.

Was it easier to perform with the rotoscope method instead of a CGI monster that isn’t really there?

Boyega: It was fantastic because Attack the Block is an homage to 80s movies where it would be a practical effect and the alien would be on set. Joe is a big John Carpenter fan and Steven Spielberg fan, so we had the aliens on set.

What were some of the biggest inspirations for the movie?

Cornish: All these 80s monster movies: Gremlins, Critters, Tremors, Predator. In Predator, you think it’s a war movie and then it reverses itself. And then the other big influences were gang movies. I’m a huge fan of The Warriors, Rumble Fish and The Outsiders. That links to the whole Carpenter thing with Assault on Precinct 13 and Halloween. I’ve wanted to make a movie since I was 13, I’m 42 now, so there’s a lot of stuff inside me waiting to come out.

Attack the Block is out now in limited release, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed it comes to more cities soon. Everybody deserves a chance to see this awesome film! Boyega and Cornish may have been first-timers, but we’re looking forward to seeing a lot of great films from both of them in the future.

Rock of Ages made a huge splash on Broadway and is already being adapted into a film with a star-studded cast including Tom Cruise, Paul Giamatti, Russell Brand, Mary J. Blige, Malin Akerman, Bryan Cranston, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Alec Baldwin. The musical recently kicked off its run at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, wowing crowds with its rock songs and fun vibe. Trashwire recently got the chance to chat with producer Matt Weaver about bringing Whitesnake to Broadway, adapting the show to film and man-love set to REO Speedwagon.

Rock of Ages is certainly not your traditional Broadway musical. Instead of show tunes, it uses the music of bands and artists like Journey, Pat Benatar, Poison, Twisted Sister, Styx, Bon Jovi and other huge ‘80s rock stars to tell the story of aspiring-rocker Drew (played to perfection by American Idol’s Constantine Maroulis) as he falls in love with small-town-girl Sherrie (Elicia MacKenzie in the Denver run) on the Sunset Strip in 1987 Los Angeles. Audiences are encouraged to sing along and are given LED lighters to wave during the ballads—definitely not what you’d think of when you think of Broadway.

“We came into Broadway wanting to be in the club—we didn’t want to come in and be rebels and mix things up,” Weaver says. “We were developing what we thought was a traditional musical, it just happened to have Whitesnake and Poison.” He jokes, “There’s Kander and Ebb, there’s Sondheim and now there’s Whitesnake.”

That kind of pop culture savvy, combined with funny dialogue and some spot-on costumes, is what makes ROA so appealing to a whole new crowd of theatre-goers. “We’re getting people who don’t like theatre coming in and going ‘Wow! This is a Broadway show?’ and we’re getting the theatre-goers who came in begrudgingly with their arms folded and ended up really respecting what we did.  The theater people are coming in kicking and screaming, but end up loving it,” Weaver says. “If you hate musicals, you’re going to love Rock of Ages and if you love musicals, you’re going to love Rock of Ages.”

Even the bands themselves were surprised to have their music in a production playing on the same block as classics like Phantom of the Opera. “Do you think Bret Michaels ever thought his song was going to be on Broadway?” Weaver jokes. In one amusing scene, REO Speedwagon’s ‘Can’t Fight This Feeling’ is used as a love ballad between two rock dudes. “Kevin Cronin from REO Speedwagon came to the show and saw the man-love number and he could not believe it,” Weaver says proudly. “He said every time he sings that song at a concert now, he stops and laughs and tells the audience ‘This song has a whole different meaning for me now.’”

The live experience is what really sets ROA apart. At the opening night show in Denver, people in the audience were fist-pumping and singing along in their seats like they were at a concert instead of musical theatre event.  “That was all very calculated,” Weaver says. “I always love compliments about what’s up on stage, but when people talk about the vibe in the theater, I love that too.” That vibe is cultivated in every aspect of the show all the way down to the staff in the venue. “I worked at Disney for a long time,” Weaver explains, “and I share the motto that ‘you guys are cast members, you’re part of the show’, so we throw a dinner party for the ushers before we open up the production.”

Weaver is sure that the live experience will translate well to film. “It could turn into this Rocky Horror thing where there are midnight shows and people are coming dresses as the characters,” he says. “I think it’s going to be a movie that you’re going to want to get up and dance and sing to.” Weaver attributes most of that to Hairspray’s Adam Shankman, who is directing the film. “He’s the best in the game,” Weaver says, “so I can’t imagine that’s it’s not going to have the same feel. I don’t know that people will be drinking Jack and Cokes in the movie theater, but it’ll be fun.”

The film is loaded with megastars, but the musical didn’t start out that way. “When we opened on Broadway,” Weaver explains, “everybody told us we needed a star or we wouldn’t last, but we just said ‘our songs are our stars.’” Now that he has a group of huge stars, he said the experience is surreal. “It’s Bizarro World!” He says. “We’re sitting here with Alec and Tom and Russell and it’s like ‘Woah! I don’t feel worthy!’” Even stars that aren’t in the show are fans. “We had a surprise appearance from Def Leppard today,” Weaver recalls. “We don’t even have their music in the show, we have it in the movie, so we just had this surreal Tom Cruise/Def Leppard moment on the set.”

The story of the production parallels the rags-to-riches story of its main character. From underdog to rock star, the entire journey has been loaded with well-deserved success for the cast and crew. “I’m really proud of my group,” Weaver says. We were 4 or 5 people who had never done it before, blinded by passion for the music and naïveté and we created an international brand.”

Scott Pilgrim vs the World was getting a lot of buzz long before it screened at Comic Con in July. Adapted from Brian Lee O’Malley’s hugely popular comic, the film is about Scott (Michael Cera), a Toronto native who’s dating a high school girl (Ellen Wong as Knives Chau) when he falls for a cool new girl (Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Ramona) and must defeat her “seven evil exes” in order to date her.

The cast of this geek masterpiece stopped by Denver on their press tour and I got a chance to sit down with Winstead, Brandon Routh, who is Ramona’s vegan rocker ex boyfriend, Todd Ingram, and Kieran Culkin, who plays Scott’s hilarious gay roommate Wallace Wells.

Though none of the three had read the comic prior to hearing about the film, they knew they were stepping into pretty big shoes as far as fans were concerned. “It has such a following. It’s grown with every book that has come out. The last one was number five on Amazon.” Winstead said.

Because the comic was such a hit, everyone involved with the film didn’t want to disappoint the devoted fans. Thankfully, says Winstead, director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) was just the man to tackle the challenge.

“We really trusted Edgar Wright,” she explained. “Everyone involved in the cast were big fans of his and all of his movies–Spaced, everything we had seen of his. For me, when I read the books, I knew he was the only person that could bring it to life in a way that is cool, unique and fun. So we all, from the second we stepped foot on the set, were just like, ‘ok, you tell us what to do. You guide us and we’ll do exactly like you want and we know that’s gonna end up the best it’s gonna be.’”

While it’s impossible to exactly recreate the comic, Culkin assured us that nothing major was left out. “Fans of the book didn’t seem to miss anything. They really like the adaptation, but, some will say they missed Kim Pines making out with Knives Chau,” he joked.

Outside of the world of comics, Scott Pilgrim vs the World also has tons of video game references spread throughout the movie. At times it’s almost as if you are watching a cut scene pulled directly from a video game. Because of that, I had to know if these guys were actually into video games.

Culkin was eager to talk about games and named Zelda: Ocarina of Time for Nintendo 64 as his favorite. “This game Virtual Pro 2, which is a Japanese wrestling game for the 64, I translated it into English so I can play it, but I didn’t need to. It was just for anybody else who wanted to play,” he added. He rounded off his top five with Mike Tyson’s Punch Out, Castlevania and Contra.

Routh chimed in to list his faves. “Dragon Warrior was one of the first RPGs. Shining Force, the Sega game, Shining Force 2, the sequel. Joe Montana Football, Sim City, and Warcraft.”

With video games as inspiration, the movie has a lot of really fun fight scenes. The cast talked about the training they went through to prepare.

“It was tough. We trained together for a long time, and we were really well prepared by the stunt guys who worked with us. They were fantastic teachers. Ellen had some prior experience with Taikwando, and I had prior experience with dance, so the two of us kind of combined our abilities. Ellen was so dedicated to Knives, that character, and so it was almost scary fighting with her sometimes, because she got so into character. It felt really real when I fought with her.” Culkin then asked her who would win a real fight between her and Ellen Wong. “We got that question a few times when we were interviewing together, and we always just said that would team up because, I’m like a giant, and she’s little and scrappy and fast.”

And, of course, with all that fighting comes a few injuries. “I pulled my shoulder out a bunch. Lots of tendonitis and stuff. Went to physical therapy for that. In that scene with Ellen, I got stabbed in the eye with one of her knives and was bleeding, and had to have a paramedic help. So yeah, there were lots of little things like that that happened, but it was kinda like battle scars, like we all felt really proud of our injuries,” Winstead said.

Though Wallace doesn’t do any fighting in the movie, Culkin said he trained along with everyone else. “It was more for fun, when everyone was getting together for weeks. We got together early in the morning for training, so I went along for that. Plus, I think also, when I got the part I hadn’t seen Edgar for months, so I showed up to set the first day with long green hair and thirty pounds of extra weight that he wasn’t expecting and I was like, ‘Are you sure? Are you sure you want me? Just try to picture my hair shorter, and I’ll lose thirty pounds, I swear.’ I got to go home for a while and lose that weight for him.”

Scott Pilgrim isn’t only filled with video game references, it’s also got the perfect feeling of an underground indie rock movie. Music is one of the main themes in the movie, with the main characters all competing in a giant battle of the bands, and a huge soundtrack filled with underground music.

Winstead may not be an expert on video games, but she did list her music favorites. “I listen to a lot of oldies and stuff. But, I like a lot of indie rock. Gosh, where do I start?” Suddenly, Culkin jumped in and told her to start by plugging the soundtrack and she replied, “That’s actually genuine, I love the soundtrack. Right now I really love The XX, a lot of Mike Patton stuff, Mr. Bungle, just kind of all over the map, but I love anything from the 60s and 50s, David Bowie, and I also like Buddy Holly, and girl groups. The Shangri Las are kinda my ultimate favorite.”

In the last question of the day, I asked Winstead who her favorite evil ex was in the film. She said she loved them all, but Routh quickly told us that wasn’t true at all, so she had to change her answer. “No, the fight with Roxy, Mae Whitman, will always be special to me because I actually got to fight with her, and we got train together for months and months. So, that was just an awesome experience, and she’s so badass, and wonderful. So, I have to say that one.” Routh also added that Roxy rocks.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World opens everywhere on August 13^th, so make sure you go see it! The soundtrack is available now on cd and red vinyl, and it is awesome, so check it out. You can also check out the Scott Pilgrim 8-bit style video game that’s available for download on the PS3 now, and August 25^th for the Xbox Arcade version

Arj Barker is best known in the USA for his role as Dave on the HBO series Flight of the Conchords, but he has also been doing stand up for over a decade and has a huge following in Australia. He has an animated online series called “Arj and Poopy” that has been described as, “Short and classic. Just what you expect from Arj and Poopy. This one might not be suitable for small children or cops.”

Barker performed at Comedy Works in Downtown Denver to an enthusiastic crowd on Friday night. It’s practically impossible for any comedian to do a stand up act and not reference the recent death of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Barker didn’t take the standard pot shot at Jackson, instead he found humor in the massive amounts of text messages, emails, instant messages and tweets that filled cyber space when the story broke. He joked about how people he hadn’t heard from in years sent him text messages saying, “Michael Jackson died!” He compared it to a race as to who would be the first one to get the breaking news to the largest number of their acquaintances. He went on to deliver more insightful humor on everything from not having kids to global warming, questioning the true source of the problem saying, “It’s the sun’s fault, after all you don’t blame the bread for burnt toast!”

He gave Trashwire a few minutes before the first show and was funny, friendly, and laid back.

Read a transcript of the interview here:

I know you played Red Rocks, what did you think of that venue?
Oh it’s beautiful, definitely the coolest looking venue I have ever seen. I have never seen anything like that. The crowd was super pumped. That was the biggest audience that I played to and I think it was their [Flight of the Conchords] biggest audience. I think it was their biggest dedicated show they had ever done, but you might want to confirm that though.

There is a lot of history up at Red Rocks.
Yeah, we were back stage looking at all the pictures, all the cool bands that had played there, Radio Head, forget about it.

You’re a big Radio Head Fan?
Favorite, yeah.

Did the altitude bother you when you were up there?
No, not really, they all said, “Oh here’s the oxygen, don’t worry!” but not really, you could feel a little more winded, but you know when you’re moderately young and healthy, I mean you know, I don’t smoke.

I understand you had the record for number of people flipping the bird at one time up at Red Rocks?
I did and I can actually send you a picture of that, it was pretty cool.

You have a series on line, Arj and Poopy?
Yeah it’s an animated series. Kids love it. Parents love it. There’s a little swearing, so it’s better really young, I mean you don’t want to teach your kids words, maybe you do.

Do you have a cat named Poopy?
I have a beautiful cat named Ringo. (Shows us a picture on his iPhone). Just about the cutest cat I’ve ever seen.

Do you have any rituals you do before a show?
I like to do an interview with trashwire.com and hang out. I might look at my notebook a few times, but then I look at it, see what is in there, look at it for half an hour, then (holds up a drawing of a guy with spiral circle eyes and holds it to the camera). I don’t think it will help the show, but there is something mesmerizing about it.

Have you ever performed at the Comedy Works before?
Yeah, a few years ago we did a show called Marijuana-Logues here. It’s all about pot. All pot jokes really.

You had Tommy Chong in it right?
Yeah he did it for a while. He did it a few times.

So we have a Twitter following and we asked what questions they would want us to ask you and they want to know who makes you laugh more Bret McKenzie or Jemaine Clement?
I spend more time one on one with Jemaine, not because I like him better or anything, but they’re both great guys. They are both such awesome guys—both super talented and funny—so I’d have to say it’s pretty dead on, pretty close.

One last question, how did you get the role on the show (Flight of the Conchords)?  Were you just friends with those guys from way back?
Yeah I was just friends with them since the early 2000s, and they just had me in mind somehow. It was like a miracle, I don’t even know why, because they knew a ton of comedians and they are real friendly with everyone they meet. I worked with them in New Zealand, in the same venue originally in 2003. I think it was 2003, I’m not good with years, I’m better with decades. I can tell you generally what decade something happened, spot on, and nail it! The more smaller increments of time you go, the more dodgier it gets. But anyway, they were like, “Hey we’re thinking we might have a part for you in our show.” It wasn’t like I had to audition and compete against others. They called it the “Arj part”, supposedly when they were developing it, but then they named the character Dave. But like how bad of an actor would I have to be if I was like, I didn’t get the “Arj part”?

Arj Barker performed a stellar set on Friday night and he will be at Comedy Works Downtown Denver throughout the weekend, so try to get down there, you won’t be disappointed.

Bradley Cooper has fittingly described his new film The Hangover as “Bachelor Party meets Memento” because the comedy takes the familiar storyline of inebriated pre-matrimony adventures and flips it around with the complexity of Christopher Nolan’s acclaimed mystery. Instead of showing the drunken debauchery, the story focuses on the three main characters waking up to a trashed hotel suite and trying to remember what happened the night before. Straight-laced Stu (Ed Helms) discovers that he’s missing a tooth and bubble-off-center Alan (Zach Galifianakis) soon finds a tiger in the bathroom. Neither of them can seem to locate their best friend and groom-to-be Doug (Justin Bartha) so Phil (Cooper) gets them organized to retrace their steps in hopes of piecing together the puzzle.

Similar to successful recent comedies like Superbad, this film gives audiences humor that rises beyond the generic gross-out gag. Cooper explained in an interview with Trashwire that modern comedy has changed because “the audience has evolved and become more verbally-minded. Comedy is all about pushing the envelope and doing something people haven’t seen before, except for certain standards like physical comedy. But the ‘set up, set up, punchilne’ rhythm mathematics of comedy start to run dry a little bit. You don’t want the audience to know where you’re going before you get there.” Some of the best laughs come from less obvious jokes. As Cooper phrased it, “ Jokes started to come from within the spaces in the scenes. I think it’s messing around with the comedic rhythm of the scenes and just being verbally minded. Even if you look at rap today, and how much more sophisticated it is than something like Run DMC, everything’s getting more sophisticated and more complicated and the same thing’s happened with comedy.”

On their investigation, the characters make a journey to Mike Tyson’s house in a scene that will surely stick with audiences. Cooper praised Tyson’s comedic skills saying, “It’s hard to come on to a movie set for three days in a comedy and work your way in and he did it seamlessly and improvised.”

Tyson aside, the film contains many appearances from familiar faces in the comedy landscape. Jeffrey Tambor, who earns hall-of-fame-level respect for being George Bluth in Arrested Development, makes an appearance as the bride’s father, Rachel Harris knocks it out of the park as Stu’s epically emasculating girlfriend, The Daily Show’s Rob Riggle has a hilarious turn as a cop and Heather Graham is fantastic as a free-spirited stripper/escort. Even director Todd Phillips makes an appearance.

Phillips may be known for his film Old School but Cooper insists the month and a half the cast spent living at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas wasn’t just one long party. “It kinda felt like we did a war movie,” he said. “We were doing 16 hour days six days a week, so it was a tough shoot. Plus, it’s a very physically minded shoot. It’s not like we just sit around a room and tell jokes. A lot of the humor comes from the outrageous situations that you put archetypal characters in.” But Cooper insisted that despite the hard work, shooting the film was definitely fun. “Of course we laughed a lot. Todd has this thing where he laughs during a take. I don’t know how the sound managed to deal with him. He laughs constantly during the scenes and that became the barometer by which we would see if we were achieving something. So as we did a scene we’d be thinking, ‘I hope I hear his little giggle throughout the whole scene.’”

Certainly one of the driving forces behind the best comedies of today has to be improvisation. Often the DVD outtakes and extended takes can be just as funny as the scenes themselves. According to Cooper, Ken Jeong was the king of improv jokes on the set of The Hangover. “The DVD will probably have a separate disc just for Ken’s takes! He would go on these 15-minute rants and you’d hear Todd going, ‘Alright, alright, alright!’ But then he would keep going for 20 minutes.” Anyone who has seen Jeong’s outtakes from Judd Apatow’s Knocked Up would be chomping at the bit for this potential bonus footage.

With so many comedy cliques in the entertainment industry these days, it’s not always easy to be the new kid in school. Cooper has worked with members of The State, Upright Citizens Brigade, the Frat Pack and comedy superstars like Jim Carrey and even he admits that it can be intimidating for an outsider. “The most anxiety I’ve ever had was Wet Hot American Summer because I was still in school and everybody had known each other.” He confessed. “Amy Poehler was from Upright Citizens Brigade and I didn’t even know what any of these things meant. Upright Citizens Brigade? The State? It sounded like they were all military. I just had no idea at all, so the lunch tables were intimidating. But I soaked it in and loved it.” With his stellar turn in Wedding Crashers as well as his comedic chemistry with Comedians of Comedy legend Galifianakis and The Office‘s Helms, Cooper has proved that he can easily fit it with some of the best comedy groups making films today.

The camaraderie between the three leads is one of The Hangover’s biggest strengths. While vastly different, there is the sense that these guys really are best friends. Cooper explained that much of this was from the actors spending time together. “Zack and I drove to Vegas together before we shot the movie and it was a great experience. We’ve all become really close. Ed and I went to Zack’s farm for New Years. I love those guys. It makes it easier because this movie lives or dies by the chemistry between these three guys and I think that we just got lucky” That friendship makes it all the way to the screen and definitely elevates the film.

The Hangover opens tomorow and is definitely gets a thumbs up from Trashwire with the fantastic cast and original story structure. (Hint: be sure to stay to see the snapshots in the credits)

Check out the Trashwire Blog for full-size versions and additional pics.

The annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington D.C. can be one of the most bizarre and surreal events of the year. Where else are you going to be able to chat with Henry Kissinger and Heidi Montag in the same room?

This year’s event marked the fourth time Trashwire has covered the pre-party scene and, as usual, it didn’t disappoint.

The list of celebrity attendees was across the board, ranging from frequent guest like the beautiful Morgan Fairchild (who has attended more than 10 times) to WHCAD newbies like Dennis Hof, owner of Nevada’s Moonlight Bunny Ranch.

To my pleasant surprise, the guest list seemed to favor humor with comedy stars like Joel McHale (host of The Soup on E!), Harold and Kumar‘s Kal Penn, B.J. Novak of The Office, SNL star Will Forte, and comedienne Tracey Ullman packing into the various ballrooms in the basement of the Washington Hilton. The dinner was even hosted by late night show host Craig Ferguson, who recently became a US citizen and joked about his new right to complain.

The star-studded event also included movie stars like Aaron Eckhart of Thank You For Smoking and The Dark Knight, British actors Rupert Everett and Colin Firth, moguls like Martha Stewart, journalists from Katie Couric to Charlie Rose, hot blondes Jenny McCarthy and Pam Anderson, everyone’s favorite blogger Perez Hilton, teen music superstars The Jonas Brothers and even an appearance from a possibly pregnant Ashlee Simpson and fiance Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy.

Instead of doing a play-by-play of the pre-event parties, I’ve decided to change it up and give yearbook-style superlatives for some of my most memorable interactions of the evening.

The Derek Zoolander award for most “really, really, ridiculously good looking”: Aaron Eckhart
There are celebrities who are hotter on screen than they are in real life, and then there are guys like Aaron Eckhart. Spotting Eckhart was easy because he was so handsome amongst the crowd that it was kind of like the infrared vision in Predator. Thankfully, he wasn’t just a pretty face, he was also really friendly. When I mentioned that I absolutely loved him in Thank You For Smoking and that I had seen and reviewed the film at a pre-screening in DC, he rolled up the sleeve of his jacket and said, “Check this out.” before pointing to a cufflink that was engraved with “TYFS”. As we talked a bit more about the pre-screening, he sang the praises of TYFS director Jason Reitman saying that Reitman was “a real talent”. Eckhart’s chiseled features and classic Hollywood smile make him a shoe-in for this year’s Prom King.

The “BFF” award for friendliest celebrity: Tie – Joel McHale and Will Forte
Both McHale and Forte were approachable, engaging and genuinely friendly. I was able to chat with McHale about how much I love The Soup (and I really do watch it religiously) and even take a picture with him while he patiently waited for me to dig my business card out from the depths of my purse. Forte was equally warm when I spoke to him, giving him my business card and telling him a little about Trashwire. He even remarked, “Well then Trashwire.com is my new favorite website.”

Most likely to succeed: B.J. Novak
Perhaps the name of the award should be “most likely to keep on succeeding” because B.J. Novak is not only one of the stars of The Office, but is also a writer and producer on the show. Novak spent most of the night in a well-deserved spot in the VIP section of one of the pre-parties, but I was able to snap a quick picture with him and tell him about Trashwire. He was personable and definitely an over-all cool guy.

Best dressed: Donatella Versace
Although each year there are beautiful designer gowns, this year’s best dressed guest has got to be Donatella Versace because… well, she’s Donatella Versace. Despite the infamously over-the-top portrayal of Versace by SNL‘s Maya Rudolph, she was actually kind of quiet and almost shy, standing towards the back of the VIP section. When Pat Sue and I approached her to get a picture, I half expected her to scream “Gheeet ouuuuuuut!”, but instead she smiled and posed for the shot.

Six degrees of Trashwire: Kal Penn
This category is for people we probably should have met years ago because we have posted items about them or about their friends on the site in the past. If you go back through our blog archives, you can see that we posted a YouTube video from The Lonely Island starring Penn as a potential murder victim with OCD. Not only that, but Most Trashwire readers love Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle and I even studied the story structure of the film for screenwriting class in college. It’s worth noting that Penn is way hot in person and was the runner up for the “really, really, ridiculously good looking” category.

The most unexpected guest at a White House-related event: Dennis Hof of HBO’s Cathouse
There are always unusual appearances from celebrities who seem to have little connection to politics or journalism. The first year I ever braved the DC humidity and made my way to the hotel, it was to see South Park co-creator Trey Parker, who was a guest of one of the publications. While a guy from Colorado with a foul-mouthed cartoon might have seemed like the weirdest guest, that record was shattered this year when legal pimp Dennis Hof appeared on the red carpet. You would think that, in this post-Spitzer world, politics would be trying to distance itself from prostitution, but the publication that invited Hof must have a wonderful sense of humor. And speaking of a sense of humor, Hof had a great one himself when my buxom mother joked that she could put world-famous working girl Air Force Amy out of business. Hof was extremely friendly and quite the gentleman, which may come as a surprise given his profession. Still, I can’t help but wonder, if superstars of the sex industry are invited, maybe there’s hope that next year I’ll see Jenna Jameson.

It seems like the entire country is breathing a sigh of relief as we near the end of the Bush administration and the laid back vibe could be felt through out the crowd. Everyone was more approachable and personable than in years past and it was easy to feel comfortable in such a lighthearted environment. The celebrity guests seemed to be plucked from all ends of the pop culture universe in Trashwire’s fourth year of attending the parties and, like the contestants in Big Brother, we can no doubt “expect the unexpected” for year number five.

Check out the Trashwire Blog for full-size versions and additional pics.

A special screening of the new film 21 took place at the Paramount Theater in Austin, TX as part of the SXSW Film Festival. The film is about a group of MIT students who travel to Las Vegas on weekends to count cards and win big. The team is schooled in card counting by their professor, played by Kevin Spacey, and under his guidance they set out to take down the Las Vegas casinos. This story is based on actual events and the screenplay is adapted from the bestselling book Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich. The main character, Ben Campbell, is based on the original MIT card counter Jeff Ma, who has a cameo in the film as a dealer.The story revolves around Campbell, played by Jim Strugess of Across the Universe fame, and his financial struggle as a bright student who has to pay for Harvard Medical school. His professor Mickey Rosa (Spacey) leads a private group of blackjack players (Aaron Yoo, Liza Lapirra, Jacob Pitts, and Kate Bosworth) and attempts to add Campbell to his roster.

This movie is definitely targeted towards a younger audience and didn’t always deliver because it was very predictable. The punchlines were well delivered, but not well written and, at times, it felt like there was one cheesy joke too many. The only somewhat surprising moment was the the big twist in the movie.
It seemed like the major tactic to get the young audience in the door was definitely enhanced audio and sound effects. A dealer flipping a card sounds more like an engine revving up and exploding than the actual sound of flipping a card. It felt like taking audio effects from the Fast and the Furious and combining them with the CSI camera effects to try to make every moment of the card game a major event.

The movie as a whole was just a fun ride. Nothing really bad can be said except that Sturgess’ attempt to minimize his accent didn’t really work. Also, Spacey still speaks in a monotone voice, something that apparently makes him a bad guy. Still, he showed a range in character during the beginning of the movie.

The story from Bringing Down the House was re-created as a Hollywood date movie, but it turned out to be pretty decent.

On a scale of 1-10…7

After the screening, Sturgess, Mezrich and Ma did a Q&A with the audience and here are some highlights:
Question: How did you prepare to play Ben/Jeff Ma?
Ma: I think he wants to ask how did you get ready to play me. We wanna know, we really wanna know how did you get ready.(Laughs) Tell them the cigar story, that’s a great story.
Sturgess: Yeah I just came back from Cuba and I brought a little bit of cigars with me.
Ma: Little does he knows it is illegal.
Mezrich: I happen to find out is highly illegal…I thought it would be pretty cool if I bought these Cuban cigars for the first time I met him. I had a million questions and Jeff had a million stories. We had dinner with friends and then we went out drinking, gambling, indulging ourselves. Jeff comes over to ask lets go smoke these cigars. I was trying to play it cool, look like I was the real deal.
Ma: We both pretended they were lit for 25 minutes.

Question: Who is the best blackjack player in the cast?
Ma: I don’t thinks it’s Sturgess.
Sturgess: I was one of the only people out of the cast and crew that left Vegas with money up and I am very proud of that.
Ma: What do you do when you get a 15 against an 8? Huh. This is a chance to redeem yourself.
Sturgess: Someone asked me this at a red carpet and I got it wrong and I was so embarrassed. I let Jeff down.
Ma: Because he got that wrong I made him sing in a hotel.

Question: Where you intimidated to act with Kevin Spacey?
Mezrich: Oh yes. I remember when I first got the part and Kevin knew I got the part my phone kinda rang and it was a number I didn’t recognize. I picked it up and I said hello. “Hello.” I said, “Who is this?” and he said, “It’s Kevin Spacey.” I just picked up and I said, “Oh hey, Kev!” He invited me to his play in London and we got to know each other before the movie. But I thought he hated me.

Pablo Francisco has been doing stand-up since he was 17 when he entered his first comedy contest in Tucson, Arizona. His comedy has been readily available through the internet with recent remakes of his “preview man” voice jokes. Francisco encourages the remakes and embraces his internet fame saying, “I want them to do more. More of the Chinese animation is hilarious with the preview jokes”.

Francisco wants to do this forever. He states “I will find anywhere to do this; I will play coffee houses, churches, anywhere”. Even though he is willing and able to play those locations, he has been featured everywhere from Mad TV to The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and recently at the Houston Improv, where he sat down with Trashwire.

Wil: Who were some of your early influences?
Pablo: Steve Martin, Richard Pryor, and Benny Hill who is an English comedian, go to any video store and rent Benny Hill.

Wil: So having your DVD on the internet is so you can hopefully influence millions?
Pablo: Umm, it’s just cause they have it on there, because we always change up the material a little bit. There is nothing you can do right now, you can get paid for and get letter of assists and stuff like that. We just let it rock and roll, if it’s on the internet it’s on the internet, there is nothing I can do but there is always little extras that people can’t see.

Wil: How did your parents take news about your career decision of being a comedian?
Pablo: They didn’t too well, they thought I was dealing drugs and that I was hanging out going crazy. But um, other than that, they enjoy it now and they know there is a business in it. They are really positive now but they weren’t in the beginning, they wanted me to go to school to be a film director. It just didn’t work out; I just got caught up into the lifestyle of comedy.

Wil: In the beginning there were more Latino Jokes in your act. Now I think your show is Universal. Do you feel your comedy has evolved?
Pablo: Oh yeah! Look I can do Eskimos; I can do politicians, so it really doesn’t matter. I am happy where I am at. So it evolves sometimes.

Wil: What is your favorite celebrity impression?
Pablo: Movie previews guy, [in character] Are you ready? This summer, one man! He is really easy, I met him, he is really nice, and we hang out once in a while. He was on Frank TV with me, if you youtube “Frank TV Pablo”, you can see all three of us doing the movie preview voice.

Wil: How did the impressions come about, I read that you beat boxed when you were younger?
Pablo: I beat boxed a little bit. I was nine years old, my brother had a tape recorder and I would take it to school. Messing around with my friend’s they would ask “how do you do a heartbeat” and I would just do it. I would say about third grade, nine years old and up, I had help with a tape recorder until it got lost somewhere. I would say that’s when it all started. Sometimes I had other friends that could do voices, and they would teach me how to do it.

Wil: Do you still have your old tapes?
Pablo: I do have an old tape and I played in my kitchen for my friend, it was back when I was in third grade. It actually sounded kind of cheesy.

Wil: You wrote a Myspace Blog about your sweaty DVD. Did you realize that after the shoot or while you were performing (That you were sweating during the whole performance)?
Pablo: Yeah, I did not know I was sweating that much. We did two shows back to back. Each show was an hour and a half. They spliced the show together, so you will see me dry and all of a sudden I turn really sweaty and I’m like, “Oh, God!” I don’t like it to much when I see performers sweating like crazy. I think I was wearing a black shirt so it soaked in right, but during the show you see me sweat and I was having a good time and of course the DVD is really funny. They showed some close ups and the drops, blah!

Wil: Why is 30 the magic number for comedians to get their breaks and become professionals?
Pablo: It’s a good starting point because they got a brother helping them out and they party together and they get hos together. Yeah thirty is a good point because a bunch of comedians go through divorces and they go through a lot of their relationship problems in their twenties. They get out and they say, “I wanna be a comic now”. So thirty is a good time because they have gone through the hardships in their twenties.

Wil: Have you made anyone laugh to death?
Pablo: I had someone laugh hard enough till their drink came out of their nose. That was kind of a nuisance. George Lopez made someone laugh so hard they died. They died in the showroom that was kind of crazy.

Sebastian Maniscalo has been pursing his stand-up career for ten years now, and his role as the new “golden boy” of comedy has come through a lot of hard work and sacrifice.

Maniscalo has been on many late show programs but his recent role in the new documentary Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show has enabled Maniscalo’s star to grow.

Although Maniscalo did not get to enough time to explore the cities toured or get sleep on the bus, he still made it out the Houston Improv where he recommended people invite their friends to come over and eat some Entenmann’s crumble cake.

A humble Chicago native, Maniscalo was born to an Italian family which he uses as a main focus in his act. His jokes ranged from text messaging to a dog that walks like a human to a joke about showing his humanitarian side by partaking in the Adopt-A-Child program from the Salvation Army, which included him sponsoring Jesus for the holidays. He recently sat down with Trashwire’s Wil Chinchilla for an interview.

Wil: So Northern Illinois University was your college, how did that work out?
SM: I went to Northern Illinois at Dekalb. I went for a communications degree, but my original plan was to just get out of school. To tell you the truth, I wanted to quit after a year of college. I always knew I wanted to do standup. I wanted to leave school and pursue a career in comedy in Los Angeles, but my parents told me to get a degree before I could do any of that. Shortly after graduation, I left for Los Angeles to pursue my career in comedy. College was great because I was in a fraternity; I was actually president. The school I went to was like a commuter college, so I found a social life in a fraternity and it turned out to be one of the best decisions I made. It was good times.

Wil: You now have a Youtube account, what do you mean in regards to your statement, “Do me a favor and leave the home videos where they belong, in a drawer collecting dust”?
SM: What I mean is that Youtube is a good vehicle with people who are in the entertainment industry and are trying to get a web series to create some heat with that to eventually become a series on network television. A lot of the stuff on Youtube seems to be people’s home videos and all of a sudden these people are now considered entertainment. I mean one video where one couple had a wedding dance that they gained coverage all over the USA and now they are all over the news, on morning news shows, I think it’s just watered down entertainment.

Wil: In your act, you mention Faith the Dog [with no front legs]. Do people get offended by that?
SM: I have nothing against the dog, I just basically reenacted what I saw on TV. As far as the dog is concerned I got nothing bad to say; it is an inspirational story. I just reenacted how the dog walks around. I also have nothing to say about the owner, I am not being sued although I was proposed to receive a subpoena but I never received it.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://youtube.com/v/iSZ7Bm0V_rM" width="300" height="225" wmode="transparent" align="right" /]

Wil: How did you get approached to do the film Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show?
SM: Vince Vaughn was a friend of a friend and he used to come down to see some comedy shows that his friend [Ahmed, who is also in the movie] used to be in. I was performing at a show Vince was at and Ahmed just made the introduction between me and Vince. We found out that we had a common background because I grew up in Chicago and he grew up in Chicago and we just saw each other a lot at the comedy clubs. We had a drink and he asks me if I can be in a bus tour across the country like a rock band that would bring stand up comedy and entertainment to parts of the country that really don’t get to see this kind of entertainment. The VVWWCS is a variety show of sorts, a 30 day 30 show tour from Los Angeles to Chicago. We documented it as a movie and it was picked up. Just to name some guys in the movie there’s John Faveru, Justin Long, and Peter Billingsly, who played “Ralphie” from A Christmas Story and is good friends with Vince.

Wil: Do you think that you can beat the ticket sales of this comedy movie compared to the Kings of Comedy tours?
SM: I just feel that, in the movie, there is a separation of stand-up from VVWWCS compared to other stand up movies like Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedian. This is a unique concept because the A-list actor took in four unknown comedians on the road, which you never really see nowadays. This is unique because this is a unique in depth view of comedians backstage, with their parents, and it’s really cool.

Wil: What was your favorite city to do stand-up?
SM: Las Vegas just because you get a good cross section of USA. Since you get everyone visiting from all over, you get a feel of how your material is playing throughout the country. The thing for me is, it’s another pinnacle of entertainment. Although it is very corporate it’s the place where entertainment is king. I love going back home to Chicago to perform in front of family and friends. I like the south too; the south is pretty cool. And Miami is another favorite place to perform.

Wil: I understand you’re gaining a ton of exposure, what do you want the end result to be?
SM: I would definitely like to get into film and television. I definitely want to go into that field, although my first love is stand-up comedy. I would definitely like to increase my following and keep headlining clubs, eventually making my stand-up career into an acting career. Hopefully, more opportunities come after the movie comes out. As far as I’m concerned, I love doing stand-up and some comedians say they hate the road, but I love it. There’s nothing like going to a different city, getting the flow of the city, going golfing during the day and then taking a rest. I don’t like golfing by myself, but I usually travel with other comedians and we all play together.

Wil: Who would you want to work with?
SM: Vince Vaughn was the guy who I looked up too and wanted to work with since I started comedy. I watched his comedy movies and always said I would definitely want to be part of what he is doing because his comedy resonates with me. I always thought, this guy really gets it. John Faveru is great to be around because he is very creative and he has great ideas. If I can do another movie with Vince Vaughn that would be great. It’s a dream come true because I grew up watching Swingers, and to think ten years later I would be in a movie with him… it’s crazy.

Wil: Not that long ago, you were still waiting tables? Is it surreal that you have your dream job?
SM: Yeah it’s kind of weird man because it has been ten years. It’s tough just like any entertainer, any person that is going into this business has to have another job to supplement their income while your pursing stuff. I kind of abruptly made a change from having two jobs to just doing stand-up and it’s great, its a dream come true, it’s all I ever wanted to do, make a living while doing what I love to do.

Sebastian Maniscalo will be huge in 2008. Watch out for his half-hour Comedy Central special airing now and his DVD Going Up, which is available through his website www.sebastianlive.com. Also, be sure to see Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show, out in theaters February 8.