Ti West is becoming a major name in horror movies. His 2009 film, The House of the Devil, harkened back to 1980s atmospheric horror, to the point where it was available on VHS in a big plastic shell case. He’s been invited to speak on numerous panels, such as the 2010 South by Southwest Film Festival’s... more

Ti West is becoming a major name in horror movies. His 2009 film, The House of the Devil, harkened back to 1980s atmospheric horror, to the point where it was available on VHS in a big plastic shell case. He’s been invited to speak on numerous panels, such as the 2010 South by Southwest Film Festival’s Directing the Dead one, where he joined Zombieland’s Ruben Fleischer, and Cloverfield and Let Me In’s Matt Reeves, and memorably spoke about the awkward moment when you have to direct a woman to show her naked breasts.

His new film, The Innkeepers, premiered at this year’s SXSW. After continuing to play the festival circuit, it’ll finally creep into homes via VOD on December 30 (and will get a theatrical release on February 3, 2012).

The Innkeepers is a horror comedy about two clerks working at a soon-to-be defunct hotel during its last weekend in business. Claire (Sara Paxton) and Luke (Pat Healy) pass the time by speculating about ghostly inhabitants and attempting to record EVP.

Claire’s slapstick bumbling and Luke’s sarcastic comments are a change in tone from the popular House of the Devil (a satanic cult movie that exploited the power of silence with nary a laugh). West has also directed The Roost and Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever, although he disowns the latter because it was taken away from him in editing. He also directed segments of the forthcoming films V/H/S and The ABCs of Death.

Midway through the SXSW festival in Austin, I caught up with West at a point when we didn’t have a full night’s sleep between us. I was going on three hours and he just barely had me beat. Those are the glorious moments when you just push through the exhaustion on pure adrenaline because you just have to keep up with the prevailing film geekery.

SuicideGirls: Last year on the “Directing the Dead” panel you said when you had to ask an actress to do nudity, it reminded you that that's a human being.

Ti West: Yeah. I do mean that but I don’t mean it in a “That’s a person, that’s offensive” kind of way because I don’t care about that. I mean it as in when you actually say it to someone, you realize you’ve just said that out loud and you’re like, “This is weird.” You just feel like a creep is what I’m getting at. It’s an odd situation to be in that when you’re not in it seems like oh, it’s just business as usual. Then when you’re actually there being like I have to tell her, it’s not even like because she knows she’s going to be naked, but I’ve got to tell her, “You’ve got to turn your boobs more to the camera,” you’re like oh man, this is weird.

SG: I found it a compassionate point of view because it’s a staple of the genre we love. Should we feel a little guilty for enjoying naked boobies?

TW: No, I don’t think so. I’m just saying it’s just awkward to do it. As the person doing it, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it, it’s just when you actually say it out loud, and maybe this is just me being weird and insecure about it but the times that I’ve had to do it, it’s one of those I can’t believe I have to go up to this girl and be like, “You need to turn more this way because we can’t see.” They never care. Everyone’s always fine with it but it’s just you realize what you’re doing when you ask that.

SG: My take was you were being compassionate.

TW: I think that’s ultimately where I come from.

SG: Of course we hear stories of bad producers forcing naive young actresses to do it, but I take a positive perspective that that’s a cool girl, she’s sharing her hot body with me on screen, so thank you, lady. Maybe it isn’t always like that.

TW: It’s just weird because it’s people everywhere. The whole thing is just awkward. Whenever anyone says, “Sex scenes are so awkward to shoot,” it is. It’s just a weird thing to be doing. It’s part of it but it’s odd.

SG: When you’re doing a horror movie set in a hotel, is that dangerous territory?

TW: Well, I’ll tell you that the first time we put the camera on a steadicam and walked down the hallway, I was like, “Oh, shit.” Because you can’t not. As soon we did it, as soon as he walks down that hallway you’re like, “Oh man, The Shining.” What can you do? I tried to stay far away from that stuff. I think other than a few visual things like that you can’t avoid, I think we’re a standalone thing. But yes, that’s one of the greatest movies ever made. I’m uncomfortable making a movie that’s similar to a movie like that.

SG: They still make exorcism movies though.

TW: That’s true. I feel like movies, sometimes they use similar bell type sounds and you’re like dude, what are you doing? I don’t know. When there’s a movie that good, it’s best to just leave it be.

SG: Did you want to use humor this time around?

TW: Yes. House of the Devil was a movie about a girl that was just bummed. So I was just like I don’t want to make another bum out I don’t have any money kind of movie. My whole goal with this movie was to make something that was charming. I have had every kind of part time day job ever and I really like those relationships you have with people. They’re not your friends, they’re your coworkers but you spend eight hours a day with them and you develop these quasi-friendships with them and it’s usually snarky and there’s usually a lot of humor in there. That’s really where it came from is to really try to make a charming movie about these minimum wage jobs that turns into a horror movie.

SG: Charming is a good word. I described it as campfire style. The scare is part of the fun.

TW: I can see that. Certainly when she tells the ghost story especially but I like that hanging out, you’re just kind of making conversation because what else are you going to do? Then you kind of develop this rapport based on that. That’s what I thought these two characters having spent so much time just sitting at a desk together.

SG: Even just as far as the joy of being scared, versus the intense disturbing horror movies.

TW: Yeah, again, House of the Devil is a girl who’s bummed out and then it’s a Satanic cult and it’s violent. I’d just done that so I wanted to make something that was a little bit more kooky and mystical and go down that not really fantasy, but a little bit more abstract field and have humor and have kooky wacky like screwball comedy stuff, but still have it be scary, which is like an odd combination but I felt like the contrast of those two things would work well.

SG: Speaking of mystical, several movies this year dealt with the interconnection human beings have with each other and the afterlife: Source Code, Insidious, the documentary I Am. What do you think makes so many filmmakers explore that metaphysical theme right now?

TW: I think because even if you’re a skeptic, there’s some inkling that there might be some truth to that. Nobody really believes in vampires. Nobody really believes in werewolves. Nobody believes in zombies, but ghosts are something that’s like I don’t think I believe, but maybe. I think there’s something about that that audiences and filmmakers, your own mortality, there’s something you can’t help being sort of interested in that. That’s to me what’s always been interesting about ghost stories. That’s why I think those movies to me are always the scariest movies, because I don’t really believe they’re going to happen, but I’m not 100% sure that they won’t. I’m in the high 90s but there’s that little percent, whereas I have no fear of zombies breaking in here ever. So that’s just entertainment to me. It can be well done craft or social commentary but it stops there. Whereas the ghost thing I think hits everybody more personally. Also anyone that’s had anyone in their life die, that’s a really trying experience and that’s something you think a lot about, like what happens? It’s not even necessarily in a religious way. I guess like you said, in a metaphysical way.

SG: Have you explored that deeper in real life, any reading?

TW: I had a friend that used to listen to a lot of Deepak. Me having to always hear her tell me about Deepak, Ekhart Tolle, some of that made it into the Kelly McGillis character because I would hear all these things about consciousness and all this stuff. I cannibalized some of her ramblings to me and put them into there.

SG: What are your favorite obscure horror comedies?

TW: Ah, I don’t know because there’s not really that many that don’t go into the weird outrageously silly Troma territory. This isn’t totally a horror movie but Death Race 2000 is a great comedy dark movie. Eating Raoul is a great dark black comedy with horrific elements. But just straight up ones, there’s not too many. The Burbs is awesome. The Burbs is one of my favorites. It’s genius and it’s not straight up horror but it sort of is because it’s the creepy neighbors but The Burbs is probably the answer I’ll go with. Forget Evil Dead II. Let’s go with The Burbs.

SG: Are you drawn more to horror movies as a movie viewer?

TW: No, I have 1000 DVDs and the minority is horror movies but I do like provocative stuff. So I’m always going to respond more to that. I just feel when stuff is the same, another Transformers movie, another Fast and Furious, other than some effects, there’s nothing in that movie that’s going to be new to me. I’ve said this a bunch of times but Steven Soderbergh had a really good quote when they were like, “How come you’re taking some time off from making movies?” He said, “I just can’t get excited about another over the shoulder shot.” It’s like something else needs to excite me so I’m always looking for edgier more provocative movies that give you a visceral reaction because so much doesn’t anymore.

SG: Do you have Blu-rays?

TW: I don’t have a lot, I have maybe 10 to 20.

SG: What movies are in your main rotation, DVD or Blu-ray?

TW: Well, I did this interview for Criterion for the Hausu DVD and they gave me a stack of DVDs. So my beginning of Blu-ray was just all Criterion stuff. I was watching a lot of that, rewatching Videodrome and all that sort of stuff. I bought Scott Pilgrim which I like a lot. Because of Netflix I get everything on Blu-ray whenever it comes out and it’s a fantastic format. As far as DVD stuff, my purchase of DVD has slowed, much like everybody, has slowed down over the years.

SG: We don’t need to own anymore. There are all sorts of sources of instant movies.

TW: My Blu-ray player is a Playstation and I got it because of the Netflix Instant thing and that just blows my mind. I think that’s amazing. The more stuff that gets on Instant, I have this floor to ceiling thing of DVDs that I just look at like, “I don’t even need these.”

SG: What are your perennials?

TW: Golden Child, The Burbs, Karate Kid, Teen Wolf. Movies I grew up with. 48 Hours, Beverly Hills Cop I watch all the time. I think it’s great. There’s something about those movies, it was the last bit of not lowest common denominator. They weren’t attempting as much. It was before all the test screenings. 48 Hours is a comedy but also an action movie, but also really dark and also just really well written and really well shot by Walter Hill. How often do you get a really well known gritty director to do a Nick Nolte/Eddie Murphy buddy comedy racial tension action movie? It’s like whoa. That just doesn’t happen anymore. Those are the movies I grew up with and I really like that stuff.

SG: What is on your stack to be viewed?

TW: There’s a bunch of Criterion things that I haven’t seen. Friends of Eddie Coyle, I haven’t watched that yet. I might be pretty caught up. I don’t have a stack, I don’t think, of stuff to see. When I was in New York finishing all the sound for the movie, I was in a hotel so I would just sit and watch tons of stuff. I watched the whole Sopranos season so I caught up with that. I’d never seen that before. I got really into TV box sets because I like the long form of it.

SG: Do you ever go through your collection and pull stuff out to get rid of?

TW: No. The collector element in me, I hold onto it.

SG: I’ve had Cabin Fever 2 on my stack for two years and I still haven't gotten to it. Should I watch it?

TW: Uh, I guess. It’s not my movie. I’m sure there’s things in there that could be amusing. Yeah, I don’t know. It doesn’t bother me. I’m long passed it at this point but it’s a bummer, it’s a shame.

SG: But you know how it goes, you might want to watch it to see what you're talking about, but then it just sits there.

TW: Actually, you should watch it. Here’s why. The way that you brought that up knowing the history of it, it’s totally fine. If you didn’t know the history and you were like man, I loved your movie and now I’m going to check out this Cabin Fever one you made, I’d be like, “Don’t!” Because then it’s like you’re going in thinking this is going thinking this is going to be like those. Then you’re going to be like oh, what happened here? The fact that you are educated to know that there were problems and I tried to Alan Smithee it and all that stuff, then you can watch it as a sort of experiment I suppose.

SG: I didn’t know that when I first got the DVD, but I've learned about the whole history of it as it's sat on my shelf.

TW: But knowing that, I would encourage anyone to watch it because everyone in that movie, I don’t dislike any of those people. Good for them. It’s just even people who really like that movie, I don’t feel comfortable taking any credit for it. That movie, I was editing it, it was going well and then everything I did they deleted and someone else started from scratch and re-edited it. I just think they missed what it was. Some people say, “How different could it be? It’s the same footage.” It’s like Dane Cook telling Seinfeld jokes. The material’s fine but the delivery is all fucked up. He’s giving you all this energy and it’s not supposed to be done that way. The material’s still funny but no one’s laughing. That’s how I feel about Cabin Fever. It’s a local band covering a famous song where you’re like, “This is the same, it’s just not as exciting.” That’s how I feel about it.

SG: The longer it gets the more I wonder why I haven’t just watched it yet.

TW: It’ll pop up on Netflix Instant and you’ll see it like that. The Alan Smithee thing would’ve been cool because I would’ve been part of that club. I mean, it’s not a great club to be a part of but at least I could be like historically, I’m in the Alan Smithee club. It’s very hard to get that credit though.

SG: They did a movie about that.

TW: I know and I think that killed the Alan Smithee, it makes it almost impossible to get it now. It’s no one’s real fault. It wasn’t Lionsgate. A whole series of things happened that just didn’t work out.

by Jeckyl Suicide A column which highlights Suicide Girls and their fave groups. (image) [Jeckyl Suicide in Abnormal Behavior] This week, Jeckyl Suicide gives us an exclusive peak inside SG's innermost sanctum, the super private SG Lounge. Members: 2,916 / Comments: 330,432 WHY DO YOU LOVE IT?:... more

by Jeckyl Suicide

A column which highlights Suicide Girls and their fave groups.


[Jeckyl Suicide in Abnormal Behavior]

This week, Jeckyl Suicide gives us an exclusive peak inside SG's innermost sanctum, the super private SG Lounge.

Members: 2,916 / Comments: 330,432

WHY DO YOU LOVE IT?: It's given me the opportunity to meet and get to know some of my fellow SG sisters. It's a relaxed and open space where we can all just be ourselves and be open and supportive. There's a lot of love in that group.

DISCUSSION TIP: Anything goes. The more random the better. We pretty much discuss everything under the sun.

BEST RANDOM QUOTE: "SG is a place where we can make friends or acquaintances with girls from all over the world who share our interests."

MOST HEATED DISCUSSION THREAD: What? SG's never fight or argue. EVER. +cough+

WHO’S WELCOME TO JOIN?: The place for SuicideGirls to talk amongst ourselves. Private; SuicideGirls only.


***
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by Steven-Elliot Altman (SG Member: Steven_Altman) Our Fiction Friday serialized novel, The Killswitch Review, is a futuristic murder mystery with killer sociopolitical commentary (and some of the best sex scenes we’ve ever read!). Written by bestselling sci-fi author Steven-Elliot Altman (with Diane... more

by Steven-Elliot Altman (SG Member: Steven_Altman)

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

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

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

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

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



[THE KILLSWITCH REVIEW – CHAPTER SEVEN, PART THREE]

[THE SOCIETY OF THE LAST SUPPER]

[Previous Chapter]

DeAngelo’s guest was seated at the table when Polly led him back, his mind hazy with pleasure. The dark-haired Asian girl smiled as he approached. Her right arm was missing and the right side of her face was a mass of red, blistered scar tissue. Her deformities would have been unsettling even in a culture familiar with disease and illness. To someone used to the bland perfection of plastiche-smoothed good looks and geno-immunized healthy bodies, seeing a human being so physically ruined was a nauseating experience — or would have been were Haggerty not in the grip of drug-induced euphoria. Instead he was fascinated. What would it feel like to touch that cruelly disfigured skin? Did her wounds retain the heat of the fire that had scarred her? Would those crimson ridges of hardened tissue burn his fingers?

Polly introduced the girl as Suniko. He offered her his hand.

“Welcome, my dear,” he said.

“It is a great honor to meet you, Mr. DeAngelo,” the girl said timidly.

Haggerty resumed his seat, relieved to discover that she did not know DeAngelo. “Would you like a glass of wine?” he asked her.

“Thank you,” she replied.

Haggerty studied her as she watched Polly fill her glass. Suniko’s damaged skin extended from the base of her neck downward, past the intricate straps of her gown. From the shape of her, it seemed likely her right breast had been removed.

“Most people turn their gaze away from me,” she said softly as his eyes returned to her face.

“I am not most people,” he said.

“No, you are a great and powerful man,” she said. “I could not believe it when they invited me to join you.”

“May I ask what happened to you?”

“I was caught in a chemical fire at the care center where my parents worked,” she told him. “I was twelve. They lost their jobs and could not afford to have my arm replaced.”

The longer she spoke, the lovelier she seemed to Haggerty. He realized she must have been striking once.

“That’s why I’m so thankful. I hope that you will find me pleasing. I have never paired with a man. But after tonight, I may have a chance for a new arm.”

Then Haggerty understood: DeAngelo had requested a deformed virgin to have sex with, a notion that, even drugged, Haggerty found appalling. What drove a man to be sexually aroused by a stranger with a deformity? The fact that Suniko’s sacrificing herself to DeAngelo might earn her the chance for reconstruction only muddied his feelings further.

“I’m glad I could help,” he said, placing his hand on hers.

A waiter in a kilt making the rounds stopped at the table with a cart holding canisters of every illicit drug Haggerty could think of except celtrex. Polly asked Suniko if she wanted to dose. Haggerty suggested SkyWhip, and was happy when she agreed; it would be best if she were drugged as well. Polly brought the inhaler to her mouth and popped for her. Suniko slumped in her chair, eyes glazed.

“One for you, Mr. DeAngelo?” Polly asked.

“No, thanks,” Haggerty replied. “Is Traci available yet?”

“She’s having cocktails with another guest in one of the private suites before she goes onstage. You and your guest are not scheduled for a suite until after your main course.”

“Can I reschedule?” he asked.

“I’ll go and see what can be arranged.”

A short time later, a young man strode to the table. With shock, Haggerty recognized the boy with the silk handkerchiefs from the Orphanage.

“Greetings, Mr. DeAngelo,” he said, offering his hand. “I’m Max. May I join you?” Without waiting for a response, he pulled a chair from another table and sat down. “I trust you’re enjoying my club.” His eyes pierced Haggerty.

The boy’s looks were extraordinary; he could easily have been a holostar. Haggerty was taken aback that someone so young could be the owner of this establishment. Maybe Max was another Tanner, only better at pulling off the illusion of youth — or with access to better plastiche. Haggerty had the unsettling feeling it wasn’t so.

“Everything’s wonderful,” he said.

“I pride myself on delivering whatever my guests request,” Max said, flicking his gaze at Suniko but otherwise ignoring her.

“Worth every credit,” Haggerty said, regarding the slumped girl, who refused to look at Max. “I congratulate you on the drug. It’s quite an accomplishment.”

“I’m pleased you like it.” Max’s smile seemed genuine. “I created it.”

“I’m impressed,” Haggerty said.

Max accepted the compliment as if it were his due. “I understand you’d like to change your scheduling, Mr. DeAngelo.”

“If possible,” Haggerty answered.

“I can make anything possible,” Max stated matter-of-factly. “I must admit, I thought you’d be in worse shape, given your condition. I’m impressed by your doctors. You’re one-forty-three, if I remember correctly?”

“I’ve been kicking around a long time,” Haggerty parried, sensing a trap. The drug kept him from panicking, but had not yet eradicated his ability to think. Best to say as little as possible.

“And a sports fan?”

Haggerty nodded noncommittally.

“I like football myself,” Max offered. “Funny you chose tonight to dine with us, what with the big game tomorrow.”

Was he being tested? Haggerty felt he had to respond. It was probably unwise to say football was not his sport of choice. “I assume you have a telemonitor with full access, should I find myself still in your company come game time?”

Max sat forward, his chair legs grating on the marble floor. “I pride myself on being able to meet the needs of any and all of my guests,” he said smoothly. Haggerty relaxed, sensing that the test was over. Brian hadn’t been called to forcibly eject him from the premises — or do whatever it was they did to gate crashers in this place — so he must have passed. “If you are still with us when the game is viewcast,” Max continued, “I promise you an unforgettable experience. I myself will be at the game in style.”

He signaled the orchestra.

“The floor show is about to begin again,” Max told Haggerty. “Have a nice rendezvous in your suite. I’m sure Suniko will see that you enjoy yourself.”

He gave the girl a meaningful glance. Suniko nodded, her eyes contracting slightly. Haggerty felt like he’d been slapped.

“I’ll leave you now. Perhaps I’ll join you for dessert. Be sure to dose again before you dine, Mr. DeAngelo.”

* * *

A line of young women entered from stage left, a line of young men from stage right. The boys wore 1930s finery complete with spats, top hats, and swallow-tailed coats; the girls were dressed in beaded satin gowns of the same era cut on the bias, their hair in period chignons. At center stage the lines reassembled into couples who waltzed in a circle and swept back into the wings — revealing Traci and her partner posed in a passionate embrace.

Traci was thinner than she’d been in the holophoto, too thin to be truly attractive. At first Haggerty wondered why the Last Supper Club, which prided itself on only serving the best, had hired her. Then she and her partner began dancing.

Traci wrapped herself around her partner with fluid grace. The young man supported her with skill, but it was Traci who turned a simple ballroom dance into an expression of intimate desire. Her beautifully executed arabesques, the quality of her leg extensions and pirouettes bespoke rigorous training she wouldn’t be able to use for decades, if ever. Centuries ago, a ballerina’s career was over by the time she reached forty, when her body could no longer sustain the demands of her art. But that was no longer the case. A prima ballerina could dance until she was past the century mark, her skill undiminished and her appearance still youthful. By the time today’s dance stars retired, decades hence, those who’d spent their lives denied opportunities while the grandes dames hogged the spotlight would be passed over in favor of younger talent. So it was not surprising that Traci poured all her energy and ability into this titillating dance in an illegal club with an adequate but uninspiring partner. It was as close as she was ever likely to come to a starring role.

Her partner released the closures of her gown and she spun away from him, left in a glittering skinsuit. The gown discarded, he pulled her back into his arms. Haggerty leaned forward, eager to see if Traci could sustain the atmosphere of sensuous grace when the pas de deux turned blatantly erotic.

Then Polly returned. “Your private suite is ready for you now, Mr. DeAngelo,” she said.

Haggerty could hardly tear his gaze from the stage. He nodded to Polly, reminding himself that lives were at stake, and rose from the table, taking Suniko’s single hand to help her stand. They followed Polly along an endless corridor, past ornate doors affixed with colorful carved representations of jungle palms, an antique Japanese pagoda, the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland. Haggerty was amazed at the vastness of the restaurant grounds. Finally they stopped before a door with a carving of two whips crossed in an X, which Polly opened.

The hard stone floor inside was strewn with archaic torture devices: a bed of nails, a stock with spaces for a victim’s head and wrists, and instruments Haggerty did not recognize but had no doubt DeAngelo would. One wall held whips and chains and other objects whose purpose he couldn’t guess and didn’t want to. Suniko stood nervously observing a small metal cage.

Polly indicated a rope pull hanging inside the door. “Ring the bell and I’ll come and collect you,” she told Haggerty, and turned to leave.

“What about Traci?” he asked.

“She said she didn’t recognize your name.”

The clock was ticking down to morning and Haggerty needed to get out of there before dosing again. He’d only dosed twice and sensed that the drug was impairing his judgment. But he couldn’t leave without first speaking to Traci.

“I was told I could have anything or anyone I wanted,” he shouted.

“All right,” Polly said.

Haggerty could not tell if she was acquiescing to the club’s policy or merely trying to make him quiet. He scratched the back of his neck.

“If you must know, I’m an associate of Shintag Lake’s. Tell Traci I have a message regarding a common friend of theirs.”

Polly nodded.

“And before you go, give me another canister or two of Sky.”

Polly smiled. She handed him three additional canisters and left, closing the door behind her.

Haggerty turned his attention to Suniko. The poor girl was shaking.

“There’s not even a bed,” she said, her normally timid voice reduced to a near inaudible whisper. She gestured to the cage. “Do you want me to get in?”

“Don’t worry, Suniko,” Haggerty said gently. “I’m not going to use any of these things on you. Here, this will calm you down.”

He held a Sky canister to her quivering mouth and dispensed the contents. Within moments she was barely conscious. Haggerty guided her into a chair equipped with iron leg and wrist straps. He tucked the other canisters of Sky into his cummerbund for easy access, next to the white box — he didn’t want Suniko to overhear the conversation once Traci arrived.

Ten nerve-wracking minutes later the door opened and there was Traci, all ninety pounds of her. She’d taken her hair down; her long red curls seemed to bounce at her shoulders. She was dressed in a gown from a later era than the one she’d worn onstage. A bodice of boned green satin molded her breasts and cinched her waist; a skirt of a lighter green chiffon billowed from the waistline, supported beneath by stiff crinolines reminiscent of a costume from a classical ballet; he wondered if it was coincidence. If not, the choice was unfortunate in Traci’s current state. The color might have been good on her once, but her complexion was pallid now and the green made her look sickly. While the 1950s gown appeared to have been altered to fit her body, this clearly had been done when her figure was fuller. The scrap of green chiffon draped over her arms like a shawl couldn’t disguise how thin they’d become or camouflage her prominent collarbone. The vintage dress didn’t hang off her frame, but it was loose enough to suggest what it should have looked like when properly filled out.

She leaned back against the door to close it, one hand on her thin waist while the other toyed with the pendant at her breast.

“You told Polly you’re a friend of Lake’s?”

“We’ve met. But the message isn’t from him.”

“Whatever.” Traci glanced at the limp form of the girl in the chair, examining Suniko’s deformity and wrinkling her nose. “Are you planning a threeway? Because I have to say — she makes me uncomfortable. I mean, I will if you want . . .”

“I’m not here for that,” he said.

She stepped closer; Haggerty could smell she was recently perfumed. She fingered the rose on his shirt, looked down at his waist, and noted the white unit. She ran her tongue across her lips. “All right, I’ll play along.” She stepped away and walked around the room, staring at the cage and the bed of nails. “So what’s this message you have that isn’t from Shintag Lake?”

“I’m friends with Regina and Sharyn. I’m trying to find out the truth behind what happened to Teardrop and Sunset.”

Traci stared at him, her face a storm of suppressed emotion.

“You’re on H, right?”

“Happy Sticks?”

She nodded.

“Yes.”

“Wish I was,” she said dreamily, rubbing her right thumb against her pendant. “Isn’t it fabulous? I don’t suppose you’d be willing to let me have a press?”

“Sharyn told me you dosed,” he said.

“Whatever. She’s a bagbite.”

Traci went to examine the wall of ancient instruments. Haggerty came up behind her.

“She also told me you brought home an unregistered black button unit. That’s a Federal offense.”

She stiffened. “I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about. I’m outta here.”

Haggerty grabbed her roughly as she made to leave. “You’re not going anywhere until you tell me how you got that stolen box,” he said. “I’ve been blamed for giving Teardrop and Sunset those units.”

“Bites to be you then,” she snarled, struggling to pull away.

“I’ll have you locked up for a long time,” he said.

She shrugged off his grip, then rubbed her arm where he’d held it. “Like that scares me,” she said. “I’m under the protection of — ”

“Max and the Triads,” he finished for her. “They’ll be happy to know you’re stealing from them. Employees aren’t allowed to dose on Happy Sticks. It gets in the way of their doing their jobs.”

Traci threw back her head and laughed hysterically. “Max won’t be happy with me if he finds out I’m dosing, but I think he’ll be even less happy if I answer your questions.”

“He’s not your main concern now, I am. And he’ll be safely tucked away in a cell soon as well.”

“I doubt it. He has the police in his pocket.”

“But not the Feds. And they’re involved now. So you’ll tell me what I want to know if you plan to come out of this without a jail stretch — or worse, an order for deportation and exile. Did Max supply those black boxes?”

“I’m not telling you anything,” she said tightly, crossing her thin arms over her breasts.

“He already admitted to me he invented Happy Sticks,” Haggerty said. “That’s enough to indict him. You can’t protect him now and he sure as hell won’t be in a position to protect you later.”

“He only told you because he knows you won’t have a chance to tell anyone else.”

“I plan to as soon as I leave here,” Haggerty said.

Again that unsettling, hysterical laugh. “The only way you’re leaving here is in a bag. Haven’t you worked it out yet?” She flicked her gaze at the unit on his belt. “You’re already dying.”

“What?”

“It’s not sticks, like twigs,” Traci said. “It’s Styx like the river of death in the Underworld. Once you’re dosing, you’re dying. H is the most addictive drug ever invented. When the fix starts to wear off, you’ll do anything to get it back, including die — which is exactly what happens, because your seventh dose kills. You’re here to die, man, going out in style after one helluva last meal.”

* * *

Excerpt from The Killswitch Review, published by Yard Dog Press. Copyright 2011 Steven-Elliot Altman.

Steven-Elliot Altman is a bestselling author, screenwriter, and videogame developer. He won multiple awards for his online role playing game, 9Dragons. His novels include Captain America is Dead, Zen in the Art of Slaying Vampires, Batman: Fear Itself, Batman: Infinite Mirror, The Killswitch Review, The Irregulars, and Deprivers. His writing has been compared to that of Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Michael Crichton and Philip K. Dick, and he has collaborated with world class writers such as Neil Gaiman, Michael Reaves, Harry Turtledove and Dr. Janet Asimov. He’s also the editor of the critically acclaimed anthology The Touch, and a contributor to Shadows Over Baker Street, a Hugo Award winning anthology of Sherlock Holmes meets H.P. Lovecraft stories.

Steven also bares ink on his body, and is bi, as in bi-coastal, between NYC and LA. He’s currently hard at work writing and directing his latest videogame Cursed Love, an online free to play gothic horror RPG from Dark Hermit Studios, set in Victorian London. Think Sherlock Holmes, Jack The Ripper and Dorian Gray mercilessly exploit the cast of Twilight. Friend Cursed Love (Official Closed Beta) on facebook and you can have fun playing out this tawdry, tragic romance with Steven while the game is being beta tested!

Diane DeKelb-Rittehouse spent several years in Manhattan as an actress before marrying her college sweetheart and returning to the Philadelphia area where she had been born. Diane first worked with Steven-Elliot Altman when they created the acclaimed, Publisher’s Weekly Starred-Review anthology The Touch: Epidemic of the Millennium, in which her story “Gifted” appeared. Diane has published a number of critically acclaimed short stories, most notably in the science fiction, murder, and horror genres. Her young adult fantasy novel, Fareie Rings: The Book of Forests, is now available in stores or online.

Interested in buying a printed copy of The Killswitch Review? Well, Steve’s publisher Yard Dog Press was kind enough to put up a special page where SuicideGirls can get a special discount and watch a sexy trailer. Just follow this link to KillswitchReview.com and click on the SG logo.

* * *

Related Posts:
Fiction Friday: The Killswitch Review – Chapter One
Fiction Friday: The Killswitch Review – Chapter One, Part Two
Fiction Friday: The Killswitch Review – Chapter One, Part Three
Fiction Friday: The Killswitch Review – Chapter One, Part Four
Fiction Friday: The Killswitch Review – Chapter Two, Part One
Fiction Friday: The Killswitch Review – Chapter Two, Part Two
Fiction Friday: The Killswitch Review – Chapter Two, Part Three
Fiction Friday: The Killswitch Review – Chapter Three, Part One
Fiction Friday: The Killswitch Review – Chapter Three, Part Two
Fiction Friday: The Killswitch Review – Chapter Three, Part Three
Fiction Friday: The Killswitch Review – Chapter Four, Part One
Fiction Friday: The Killswitch Review – Chapter Four, Part Two
Fiction Friday: The Killswitch Review – Chapter Four, Part Three
Fiction Friday: The Killswitch Review – Chapter Five, Part One
Fiction Friday: The Killswitch Review – Chapter Five, Part Two
Fiction Friday: The Killswitch Review – Chapter Five, Part Three
Fiction Friday: The Killswitch Review – Chapter Six, Part One
Fiction Friday: The Killswitch Review – Chapter Six, Part Two
Fiction Friday: The Killswitch Review – Chapter Six, Part Three
Fiction Friday: The Killswitch Review – Chapter Seven, Part One
Fiction Friday: The Killswitch Review – Chapter Seven, Part Two

(image) by Blogbot (image) [Adria and Temper] (image) [Temper] (image) Artist / SG Member Name: Zak Smith / ZakSmith Mission Statement: I hate it when you're eating a cheeseburger and then the chef comes out of the kitchen interrupts you eating and goes, "Oh now let me tell you a little bit... more

by Blogbot


[Adria and Temper]


[Temper]



Artist / SG Member Name: Zak Smith / ZakSmith

Mission Statement: I hate it when you're eating a cheeseburger and then the chef comes out of the kitchen interrupts you eating and goes, "Oh now let me tell you a little bit about why I made a cheeseburger." Oh wait, I don't hate that. Because it never happens. Because they never do that. Because that would be stupid.





Medium: Acrylic on paper for the paintings. Ink on paper for the black-and-whites.

Aesthetic: Maximalist.


[Charlie]



Notable Achievements: I have a painting in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and it's a Suicide Girl -- Charlie. I drew one picture for every page of Gravity's Rainbow. I did an illustrated book of true stories about me working in the adult film industry called We Did Porn. I painted 100 Girls and 100 Octopuses and Charles Saatchi bought it and I know that plural is actually grammatically accurate thanks to friends I made 8 years ago on Suicide Girls. Honey Manko Suicide once called me crass.

Why We Should Care: Because throughout a decade of long disconnection and difficult-to-pin-down multimicronichefamousness SuicideGirls is the closest thing to a home I've ever had. And even though I went to Yale, been to a million art dinners, and have watched Sasha Grey lick my cum off another girl's ass, I can still say to this day that most of the smartest, prettiest, and least sane people I've ever met and most of my best models are from this little pink pin-up girl website. Actually, that’s why I should care, isn't it? I don't know why you should care.





I Want Me Some: My last two books -- Gravity's Rainbow and We Did Porn were published by Tin House Books, my first one, Pictures Of Girls, was with DAP. Both are available through the usual on-line channels and by harassing finer art-book stores near you. The SG store used to sell some very nice full-size posters of my Charlie and Sawa paintings. If you complain a lot they might do some more. My site is www.zaxart.com.







***

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I'll start: (image) Anthea : Ladders and Hearts

(image) by Nahp Suicide (image) Lavezzarro comes from South America, but now splits her time between London, Berlin and wherever the wind takes her. How did you first get involved with SuicideGirls? Monik’s set was my first time shooting a naked girl. I’m glad it got accepted. That was in 2005 and... more

by Nahp Suicide



Lavezzarro comes from South America, but now splits her time between London, Berlin and wherever the wind takes her.

How did you first get involved with SuicideGirls?

Monik’s set was my first time shooting a naked girl. I’m glad it got accepted. That was in 2005 and how it began.

What's your background photography-wise?

I dropped out of Fashion Design University in the 4th semester as I noticed it wasn't my thing, and I decided to learn photography without a school. I worked for different studios as assistant where I could learn something, and the main thing I learnt was that I dislike studios. So I kept on doing my thing - I still am learning actually.

What was the first photo you had published?

It probably was a band shot I did for an ex-boyfriend’s band back in 2004 when they were releasing a CD and got featured on a major newspaper.

How would you describe your style?

I am very honest. I like to photograph the girls how they are. I don't tell them how to dress or to pretend to be something, and I think that can be seen in the images. I’m a bit of dark person, so you won't be seeing rainbow cupcake pictures coming from me. I am also not a technical person, so I won't be freaking out looking for the perfect images. I like to capture what happens and I like spontaneity. I think it's raw.

What gear do you use?

All Canon lenses and body and few analogs, which are my favorites.

How important is Photoshop in your final images?

Not very. I do it very little to none, as I have no talent editing. Now I have amazing Photoshoppers working with me. They can retouch much better than I, but I ask them to keep it really natural. I can't stand airbrushed images.

What gives you ideas and inspires you to create such amazing sets?

I listen music 24/7 and I am addicted to information. I have to be watching, reading, listening, consuming new stuff all the time - everything can inspire me because I am open to it.

What is your favorite image?



Tell us why it's your fave and how you achieved it?

It is one of my favorites because it is simple, sexy, natural. Sums up what I like to show; the girls how they really are. The lady was kind of shy and we couldn't communicate very well because of a language barrier, but I could see in her eyes she had the flame and I think it was properly captured in her whole set.

Is there anybody or anything you would love to photograph that you haven't? (And tell us why)

I really want to photograph as many people as possible, travel more, discover more, so everyone that I haven't photographed yet I want to photograph one day. And everyone I already have done, I want to do again.


For more on Lavezzarro visit her SG and Facebook profiles, and see her portfolio at www.lavezzaro.com.

Some SuicideGirls have been modeling for the site for 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or even 10 years. We thought it would be fun to show you a look back and some of the SuicideGirls throughout the years.

This week we bring you Fractal.


Fractal has been a SuicideGirl since 2003. She has changed so much since her debut set. Enjoy this look back at just how much:


Violet haired Fractal in her 2003 debut pin-up set "Fluffy"










Now with dark hair Fractal shot her first set with Missy 2003's "Shock Me"





A blonder Fractal from 2004's Typeset:





From 2005 multi with SuicideGirl Sicily shot by Sean
"Chaser"





From 2006 "Rockstar" by tmronin:







From her CSI:NY set "Jane Doe"



From 2007 "Squeaky Clean":





From 2007 "I'm a Marla"




From 2007 "Your ad Here"




From 2008 shot with Zoetica "Permissions"






From 2008 "Dirty Noir" also with Zoetica





From 2009 "Momento Mori" shot with Sawa:







From 2009 set with Cherry featured in "SuicideGirls: Guide To Living" Fractal shows us how to cast a "Love Spell":



Finally from 2009 "Heaven in Black" with Zoetica:








Hope you enjoyed the beautiful look back at Fractal!

Become a member TODAY to see all 22 nude pin-up photo sets of Fractal - http://suicidegirls.com/join/

Quentin Tarantino discovered Rie Rasmussen when he was presiding over the Cannes Film Festival in 2004. Her short film, Thinning the Herd was nominated for the Palme d’Or in the shorts competition. Her first feature film, Human Zoo opened the Berlin Film Festival in 2009, and Tarantino is bringing it... more

Quentin Tarantino discovered Rie Rasmussen when he was presiding over the Cannes Film Festival in 2004. Her short film, Thinning the Herd was nominated for the Palme d’Or in the shorts competition. Her first feature film, Human Zoo opened the Berlin Film Festival in 2009, and Tarantino is bringing it to the states.

Rasmussen herself plays Adria, an immigrant from Kosovo in Marseilles. While opening up to an American romantic, Shawn (Nick Corey), Adria remembers her escape from military rape and a crime spree with a former soldier (Nikola Djuricko). Filled with the kind of blood and sex that would strike Tarantino’s fancy, it’s the voice of a woman with worldly thoughts. Standing 5’11” with Danish features, Rasmussen was a model for Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Dolce and Gabbana and more.

She appeared in the film Femme Fatale and starred in Angel-A. I met her on the Femme red carpet where she laughed at my questions about her height. Again speaking about Angel-A, I recalled her itching to speak out about her passions after years of being paid to stand there silently. So I was interested to see what those artistic ideas would be. To speak about Human Zoo, Rasmussen hung out in the offices of The Weinstein Company, essentially Tarantino’s home base. Dressed in all black with leather jacket, she dropped F bombs, talked dirty and got political all in the same breath. Finally, a woman I can talk to.

SuicideGirls: Let’s first talk about what Human Zoo means so the people who haven’t seen it yet can understand.

Rie Rasmussen: I ended up doing Human Zoo because a real story was happening currently in my life. A parallel universe in Denmark where my family adopted a girl named Lihn from Vietnam. Her mother had been sold into prostitution in Moscow and she was from Vietnam. She’d been stuck her entire life where her mom was enslaved and had escaped. Her mom had gotten her out. Lihn made it to Denmark where my parents ended up trying for six years, battling to adopt her. That was when I started thinking about Human Zoo, the human zoo we’re in. In the film it’s like the ovarian lottery. How do you win the ovarian lottery where you’re born in America, ka-ching, you won. You’re born in Canada, you’re pretty all right. If you’re born in Mexico, you’re looking at a short stick. How is this possible? How is this stupid line, this red line made with blood, sweat and tears, how could that separate me from the fact that I could be a fulfilled individual human being with a soul that matters and know that it matters and can vote and can make a difference in the world? That’s what Human Zoo is about.

SG: When Shawn in the film makes a sarcastic remark to Adria, she doesn’t understand why he’d lie as a joke. Does that reflect your feelings about sarcastic jokes, that people should just be honest?

RR: When she says, “I don’t trust you. Why would you say that if you don’t mean it?” Yeah, for me, a lot of this is autobiographical you’ve got to realize, because I left Denmark at 15. I came to Huntington Beach, California. First I came to New York for six months. Then I followed a surfer boy to Huntington Beach, California and all of a sudden I’m in Jackass: The Movie for real. Really, honestly, because that’s where they all came from back then. Back then there was a real live crew of it and this was my experience with American humor and sarcasm. I couldn’t understand it. Coming form Europe, it was much more deadpan. The disconnect between the two universes was why I was so attracted to that universe and why it taught me so many lesson and why I grew up so fast out of there. This is the exact thing. It’s American to me. I met America basically before MTV had Jackass. That was my interpretation of America.

SG: Doesn’t that sarcasm put a distance in relationships? Everyone’s performing so you avoid honesty.

RR: Exactly and this is what I mean. From 16 and whatnot living in Huntington Beach and driving my first car, a massive Toyota Landcruiser and doing skateboard videos and being around skateboard society, like you see in the movie I had to learn how to fight, physically and mentally. I had to learn how to put up a fight and this is my way of also showing what we teach people. Our environment will teach us how to become adult animals, how to become predators or how to become prey.

SG: As a director, are you able to photograph yourself the way you wish other people would have seen you through the lens?

RR: I think a lot of people, I come into a room and I see people and they see “Oh, this beautiful girl.” That’s what they think. This is not me saying it. I see something completely different. I see a character, an individual. I see something that I know could come out of me. Obviously you’ve seen Human Zoo. Yeah, okay, I’m 22 pounds heavier but you really get the heaviness of her life. She’s sweet, she’s cute, but she has a heaviness in her and a worn out-ness in her later on and a tiredness and a realness that other people when they shoot me, like Luc Besson, I’m this otherworldly angel who is alien and six foot tall and absolutely glamorous and gorgeous. Well, I don’t see that. I see the broken down soul in Human Zoo with the dried up skin and the dumpiness of her. Yes, so you’re very, very right.

SG: It helps to have all this going on inside that you can express, because I can tell you not all pretty girls have that.

RR: [Laughs] Look, my experience is that those generalizations with models, let’s call them pretty girls, 80% of the time they’re right. And why? It’s not really they’re fault. It’s also society’s fault. Look at TV. They give them everything. The pretty girl walks into the room and we can’t help it. Me too. I cater too. I like a pretty girl. It makes me happy. So she comes into the room, I’m going to cater to her, and everywhere that girl goes, she’s going to be catered to. And everywhere, everybody’s going to try to impress her or give her something or they’re going to have a reaction to her beauty. Therefore, she becomes conceited or dumb or entitled, which is the worst. An entitled pretty girl is just straight up a fucking cunt. But that’s what you deal with in these industries of beauty and I understand that. Huntington Beach and these skateboarders and this surfboard community and these guys who were so out of tune with their emotional level and so in tune with their animalistic need to be “I’m alpha and I’m badass,” really made me just feel dumb if I wasn’t up to the performance level. I’m sure for them there was a certain level of looking at a pretty girl doing what I was doing, but I wanted to be just like them. I have a very competitive streak and I have a very tomboyish side so that brought it out in me.

SG: Did you ever hate being pretty?

RR: Look, I look pretty in the photographs. I look pretty in this and that movie, Femme Fatale, Angel-A and I can look pretty going down the street but I can also put on a pair of sweatpants and not look pretty and that’s fine. If people think I’m pretty, fuckin’ hell yeah, awesome. That’s great. Use it, be happy about it. It’s a gift from the genetic compatibility of my parents and that’s what it is and I’m stoked.

SG: Don’t you think guys like the sweatpants and dumpy look?

RR: You know, when I wear it, if I’m in a big T-shirt, like I just walked in and I saw Quentin with all this staff the other day. He said, “Oh my God, you look like just a little girl, perfectly cast in the alternative movie.” I was like oh, I think a lot of guys respond to that but especially respond to their T-shirt and white panties and their socks. Then it’s all good.

SG: Does the Suicide Girls type make you happy?

RR: I love tatted up girls. I think it’s a turn-on. I love sexually empowered girls, if they are. Sometimes sexually explicit girls are just acting out because they’re having a lot of problems and then I feel sad for them. But I love sexually empowered girls. I’m from Scandinavia. We were the first country to have female rights for voting. In the 1300s, women could divorce the men and they could take their children with them. So I’m coming from a culture where men and women are basically the same size, build and considered equals. So I look at myself as a person. Not is she a cutie girl or is she a tomboy? I’m a person. I’m a human being and if in front of me is a man or in front of me is a woman and I’m attracted to this man or this woman, it has absolutely nothing to do with what gender they come in. So yeah, I think the tatted up girl is pretty fucking hot generally.

SG: Human Zoo does not look like a first time feature. There are some complicated shots like tracking action in several rooms from above the building. How did you achieve those?

RR: Well, I’m not a first time film director who hasn’t seen film. I am from the Quentin Tarantino school of filmmaking. I have watched movies my entire life. Anything, anytime, anywhere, anyhow. Two a day, three a day, five a day. I also grew up in Denmark, it’s really dark, it’s winter nine months out of the year and it’s horrible, so you escape. I really needed the movies for escaping. Movies taught me. Sam Peckinpah, Sergio Leone, Orson Welles, Carol Reed, Howard Hawks, John Huston, you name it, Jack Hill, they taught me.

SG: Still, haven’t you seen a lot of aspiring filmmakers who watch a lot of films and don’t quite get it?

RR: Funnily enough, a lot of times the ones who don’t quite get it haven’t watched a lot of films. I’m not saying that’s the only school. I’m saying Scorsese and Tarantino did it and it worked for them but they’re brilliant minds.

SG: I know and there are wonderful first time films too, but you know.

RR: Yeah, there are really incredible first time films where you’re just so impressed and sometimes that’s their only film that they’ll ever make that’s worth anything. But there’s a lot of crappy films and we know that, but that’s also part of the beauty of it. That’s also something the Quentin Tarantino school of film taught me is love the bad movies for their best qualities.

SG: What was your vision for the love scene? It’s really passionate and he goes down on her, which they never allow

in American films.

RR: The vision was he goes down on her.

SG: So I’m not wrong to pick up on that.

RR: No, no. It was quite graphic too. Also, most people don’t notice but it’s one take. Not one cut. None of that cutting to lips and skins and a nipple and the hair. No, no, no. This is what fucking happens. They come in, take off their clothes, he goes down on her, it’s awesome, it gets a little jumbled and they’re having sex. They’re fucking and it looks good and that’s it. It’s one take. Yeah, the point was he goes down on her.

SG: Well, thank you for that.

RR: Yeah, well, I’m glad you liked it. I’m glad you saw it.

SG: I saw you’ve photographed Afghanistan. How did that opportunity come about and what were you able to illuminate?

RR: I went with my creative partner who I worked with and I’ve known for the last 15 years and I went to Kosovo with him to research in Kosovo. We couldn’t shoot in Kosovo because the U.N. is down there. The U.N. security is just ridiculous. But from there I went to Afghanistan because one of the characters in this film is from Afghanistan, an immigrant woman from Afghanistan which is something that happened in my home. When the Taliban took over in Afghanistan, all these Afghans came to Denmark and they would come through my home. My mother’s a doctor. She would retrain them, all this kind of stuff. I went to Kabul, I went to Afghanistan to check out what this was because there’s an organization called RAWA, Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan. This is a good thing to put out because it’s good for them, they need money. They just do female causes in Afghanistan and they do refugee centers on the Pakistani border. They did girls schools during the Taliban because women weren’t allowed to learn. I have a lot of opinions on that. So then I went to Kabul and I saw them. I had no fucking idea how crazy it was at the time because this was 2007 and it was in Ramadan, it was fall 2007, Iraq was getting under control but it was nuts in Afghanistan but in the press they weren’t talking about it because it was just going out of control over there. But my sister’s husband was part of the Danish U.N. troops going in there. Denmark was very involved in trying to reform Afghanistan, especially when the Danish president became the head of the U.N. So I had some military advice but I went in there and it was nuts. It was fucking nuts.

SG: It’s kind of nice to be reminded of Kosovo, because you forget, yeah, we did go to war with them too.

RR: We did, yeah. Bill Clinton did, by the way, bomb this country. In Kosovo, this was the Albanian immigrants in Serbia, in a little conclave where they were actually being. It was a sort of Apartheid because if you were Albanian, Kosovan, Serbian you were not allowed to go out at night. You were not allowed to learn things in school. You weren’t allowed to write your own language. It was really terrifying, a terrifyingly oppressive, discriminatory little state. It was after Sarajevo. Sarajevo was obviously terrifying with all the rape camps and everything. Good on Angelina for making a film on that because it was terrifying. This is the ex-Yugoslavian region that invented ethnic cleansing. It started there. Ethnic cleansing out of ex-Yugoslavia meant impregnate women from the other culture and either they have your child, or their father or their brother kills them, or they have to kill themselves. This is straight up the truth what happened, and then everything else that came with that violence. There was violence so grotesque I could never show it in a movie. You could never because it’s humanity at its absolute dark ages.

by SG's Team Agony feat. Yulia Let us answer life's questions - because great advice is even better when it comes from SuicideGirls. (image) [Yulia in Don't Panic] Q: I've never really ever written to one of these before but…yea…I've been single for the last eight months,... more

by SG's Team Agony feat. Yulia

Let us answer life's questions - because great advice is even better when it comes from SuicideGirls.


[Yulia in Don't Panic]

Q: I've never really ever written to one of these before but…yea…I've been single for the last eight months, since my ex dumped me (I later found out the she was cheating on me). Ever since I've been living the single life, which is a life that i absolutely hate. Despite looking, I have been unable to find a girlfriend, and it's becoming increasingly more frustrating.

Lately I've become extremely attracted, both physically and intellectually, to a girl in one of my college classes. When I asked her out she told me that she wasn't going to date during college and I retreated with my metaphorical tail tucked between my legs at yet another rejection. Several weeks later her and I spent an hour and half just looking at pictures on her laptop after class, and a friend informed me that they think this girl actually is into me. So if that’s the case, why would she turn me down?

I mean I've heard that women find confidence sexy, but when all someone has know are liars, cheaters, and rejection, how am I supposed to be able to have any confidence? I've had two very serious girlfriends both cheat on me, and it's just made me angry and bitter. Is it something about me that drives these girls to other men? Are they just cold heartless bitches?

I'm just so sick of being single, and being lonely, and I could really use some answers.

Thanks.

A: I always feel for people who have difficulty enjoying being single. I strongly advocate single time as freedom time, meaning you have the freedom to do what you enjoy 100% of the time. I hope you find ways to take advantage of this. This might not be what you want to hear, but I think you should consciously spend a bit more time living the single life, but from now on focusing on enjoying your life for what it is and using your free time for you.

Why not join a sports team, take up a new hobby, or volunteer for a project at work? Not only will you be busier and have less time to dwell on past relationships or your single status, but hopefully your confidence will grow as your life does. When you meet your next girlfriend or even your next date, you will be happy with yourself and full of confidence.

As for the girl at college, unless you get to know her better, you'll never know her reasons for turning down the date. She may indeed find you attractive, but if she feels strongly about not dating during school and has a busy life already, those reasons may be more important to her than her attraction to you or any other potential date. Do keep in mind this is likely not personal if she's focusing on her education above all else or not dating for other reasons.

Also remember that you are also still in college, with plenty going on already in your life. Being in a relationship is great, but you have a long life ahead of you and if you're not in one right now, who's to say you won't be by the time you graduate or shortly thereafter? I know some people meet their long-term partners in college or even high school, but most don't. Try to stop focusing on having a girlfriend and just enjoy dating and meeting new people.

- Yulia

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Got Problems? Let SuicideGirls’ team of Agony Aunts provide solutions. Email questions to: gotproblems@suicidegirls.com

Some SuicideGirls have been modeling for the site for 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or even 10 years. We thought it would be fun to show you a look back and some of the SuicideGirls throughout the years. This week we bring you GoGo. Gogo has been a SuicideGirl since 2005. She has changed so much since her debut... more

Some SuicideGirls have been modeling for the site for 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or even 10 years. We thought it would be fun to show you a look back and some of the SuicideGirls throughout the years.

This week we bring you GoGo.

Gogo has been a SuicideGirl since 2005. She has changed so much since her debut set. Enjoy this look back at Gogo:

Here is GoGo's first photoset from 2005: The Fortified School








Here is Gogo's 2006 tribute to the film Leon



Here is a photo from her 2006 set Man Eater:



Her 2007 set shot by Sean: Pouty:






2007 set shot by Albertine, Victorian Maiden:






She took a year off in 2008 but came back with a vengeance in 2009. From her return set Blackwater Vengeance shot by Cherry:








From her 2010 set Nixe shot by P_mod:





From 2011 Darth Side of the Moon by Sean:





2011 photoset Summer Blues shot by Albertine:








In 2011 She shot a multi set with the beautiful AnnaLee called and The Wolf Caught The Bird...






and finally from her most recent photoset Wolfie shot by Cherry:





Hope you enjoyed the beautiful GoGo!

Become a member TODAY to see all 27 nude pin-up photo sets of GoGo - http://suicidegirls.com/join/

At age 22, Lady GaGa (born Stefani Germanotta) has already written songs for Britney Spears and the Pussycat Dolls, gone number one in two countries and topped the iTunes chart with her debut album The Fame. Named after the Queen song "Radio Ga-Ga," she's also been accused of influencing... more

At age 22, Lady GaGa (born Stefani Germanotta) has already written songs for Britney Spears and the Pussycat Dolls, gone number one in two countries and topped the iTunes chart with her debut album The Fame. Named after the Queen song "Radio Ga-Ga," she's also been accused of influencing the current sounds and visuals of another pop superstar, Christina Aguilera, who rocked a suspiciously GaGa-esque look at the MTV Video Music Awards and in recent promotional photographs. We spoke with this engaging ingénue in the making about these "dirrrty" claims, fame and the legacy of her idol, Andy Warhol.

Tamara Palmer: Congratulations on the success so far of your debut album. At this point, it has only been out a couple of weeks. Has it exceeded your expectations so far?

Lady Gaga: I really didn't want to put too much emphasis on the first week because, I'm not Kanye West, you know what I mean? I'm a brand new artist. I've had the album do really well in other countries on opening day, but we had a number one single [in Australia and Canada]. We didn't even have any radio play in America so I didn't know what to expect, and I didn't go on iTunes, I didn't call anybody. I just stayed focused, kept my head down and did my interviews and before I knew it, they called me and said, "You're number one on iTunes today," and I was like, "Hollllly shit!" It absolutely exceeded my expectations, but I know that it's great work and I believe in it and it's going to continue to exceed my expectations and everybody else's.

TP: You're correct to not judge it on opening week, even though there is pressure to do so in the music business. But I think a record like yours needs to grow in a more organic way.

LG: Oh yeah, and there are so many albums that come out in opening week and explode and sells a ton, and then they totally sell nothing. I was really excited to see this week's numbers, because we didn't sell too many less than we had sold the week before, which means that it's steady and I'm making an impact and it's a real record.

TP: Why did you devote this album and perhaps this phase of your career to the topic of fame?

LG: As somebody that grew up in New York City, I was surrounded by pop culture obsession and fame growing up. I was really fascinated with the idea of fame as an art form and studying the philosophies of Andy Warhol in the 70s and fashion icons from that era as well that were really inspired by the idea of fame and glamour and decadence but from a more organic place, from the street. So I tried to look at the fame as something that comes from within us and analyze how in New York City we feel fame from within, from the way that we walk, the way that we dress, the way that we live and breathe our art and our fashion. It's got nothing to do with being a celebrity or having cameras and money. So this record was a struggle and a reckoning with all those ideas.

TP: You went to a high school with a lot of famous former students. On Wikipedia's entry for it, it says, "Notable Alumni: Caroline Kennedy, Nicky Hilton, Gloria Vanderbilt, Lady GaGa." Is that wild to you to be considered in that sort of company?

LG: Ha, that's funny. That's very funny.

TP: So you were even more directly surrounded with celebrity than your average kid in New York?

LG: I wouldn't say I was surrounded by it. I wasn't part of that elite group of girls. There were lots of different kinds of girls who went to my school; some with an incredible amount of wealth and some with none. So I wasn't part of that top tier group of girls, but I was very close to it and got to see it every day. Going from a school like that and then moving down to the Lower East Side, it changes the way that you look at things and it opens your eyes up to a completely different perspective on life. The thing I do have in common with all those girls is our education. I came from a really educated background and I'm very proud of that.

TP: You speak about Warhol as being a big influence, but what about that generation of artists and performers that took over downtown after Warhol passed away? That sort of Michael Alig, club kid?

LG: That whole scene and that whole lifestyle is really emblematic of something that's much bigger, and that's something that's kind of vacant right now except for a really small community in New York. And really what's missing is that group of people that really live and breathe for their art. Right now, I think the club scene is more saturated with the drugs, the alcohol and the party kids. I think what I'm really hungry for is that unity, that Factory, that group of people that decide what art is and what's not and it's part of their lifestyle.

TP: So do you think the club scene is more aimless than it used to be?

LG: I don't want to say that it's aimless because I'm really close friends with a lot of people that are in it. It's funny, it's just like anything: There's some people that are totally aimless and just drink and get drunk every night and don't pursue their art, but then there's others that do that are extremely talented and have a lot of notoriety in that community. It's both. But I will say that I don't think it's nearly as saturated as it was in the 70s and 80s.

TP: Despite the fact that this is your debut album, you're not really a new artist, are you?

LG: I've been around for a long time. It's funny when people are like, "This happened so quickly for you. You came out of nowhere," and I'm like, "Not really!" I've been doing it the way everybody should freaking do it, I'm not special. Every person who is worth their salt as an artist that's living on a tour bus and playing for 15,000 people in an arena every night should say that they've been around for a while and they've hustled. To me, that's like Artist 101.

TP: Does your experience writing songs for other people help you with your own songs?

LG: You learn how to synthesize other people's ideas and edit them and make them better. That's why I'm strong as a writer, because I work with artists who want to write music and I take their ideas and their emotions and what they want to say and I apply a pop sensibility to it. A lot of times, someone will sing me a verse or a chorus that they really like and I'll just move the rhythm around a little bit, change a couple of the lyrics and maybe just whack that hook in a little bit further so it really has that hooky pop explosion feeling. That's what I'm talented at, so absolutely. This would not be the album that it is if I hadn't been writing for other people, because I learned how to write a pop song.

TP: Are you writing for anybody right now?

LG: Yeah, I'm working on a couple of different things now.

TP: Anything you feel like talking about?

LG: Um, well, they're not for sure yet so I don't want to talk about it because it's senseless. For sure I'm on Britney's album, that's something I can talk about.

TP: How was that experience? Did you write "Quicksand" with her, or separately?

LG: She heard a song that I wrote that she really loved and then she put her own touches on it and recorded it. I was really disappointed that I couldn't be there to produce her vocals because I was in Europe but I'm hoping to get to work with her more closely soon. She really loved the song and wanted it for her album and I was more than happy to have her do it.

TP: There has been a lot of buzz on the Internet, largely thanks to Perez Hilton, that there are a lot of similarities between Christina Aguilera's current project and what you've been doing. Maybe it's the way that Perez and other people frame it, but to me it just seems so blatant that she is borrowing from you.

LG: Well, you know, it's interesting. Perez is excellent at what he does. I've got to hand it to the guy. Sometimes I look at his blog and I'm, like, "Oh my God, Perez!" He just seems so on the money. But at the same time, I don't want to get swallowed up with what the media says and she said and then what he said and everything gets twisted up and discombobulated. And at the end of the day, when I was a little girl, I was a really big fan of Christina's and I still am a fan. I think she's very talented, so I don't want to get wrapped up in all that stuff. I don't have anything bad to say about her. I think she's a legend in her own right for my generation and I think there can be both of us. I don't think there has to be one.

TP: I agree, but it also must be a little bit of a flattering thing for you?

LG: I mean, it's flattering that I could possibly be inspiring her work. But I would never say that she's copying me or that she's stolen things from me. I'm from New York and I live and breathe fashion. I mean, I sleep in my freaking catsuit sometimes. It's not a costume that can be stolen; it's in my bones.

TP: One thing Christina is really good at is morphing her look and the concepts of her records. Do you think that you'll play around with that yourself?

LG: I think that my work is ever-changing and constantly morphing. I'm not the kind of girl to sit down and go, "Okay, this album I'm going to have this look." I don't live my life in stages of looks. I'm changing from week to week and month to month. This truly is who I am. If I go out to a nightclub and I see a certain hairstyle or a certain outfit and it inspires me and starts incorporating itself into my vision, and then I see an art piece and I take something from that, it's really organic. Does that make sense? It's part of my lifestyle, it's totally not a marketing idea that I sat down and came up with. So, yeah, I'll for sure be changing for a long time.

Since the publication of her now classic book “Eros the Bittersweet” a quarter century ago, Anne Carson has become one of the most acclaimed classicists, translators, poets and essayists of her generation. In one of her most acclaimed translations, “If Not, Winter,” Ms. Carson translated and presented... more

Since the publication of her now classic book “Eros the Bittersweet” a quarter century ago, Anne Carson has become one of the most acclaimed classicists, translators, poets and essayists of her generation. In one of her most acclaimed translations, “If Not, Winter,” Ms. Carson translated and presented the complete works of Sappho, including the fragments, revealing what has been lost as well as what was written in a way that is striking, showing Sappho’s genius as a poet but also serving as a reminder of what has been lost to time.

Ms. Carson is also a noted poet and essayist who writes about love and desire, longing and despair, heartbreak, what has been lost and how we fill those voids that have been left in our lives. In “Autobiography of Red,” a novel in verse, she retells the myth of Herakles’ tenth labor where he slays the monster Geryon. In Ms. Carson’s contemporary telling, Herakles steals the boy’s innocence and breaks his heart. In her recent book “Nox,” she tackled a much more personal subject, her relationship with her late brother and his death, composing a hauntingly beautiful book that certainly stands as one of the great books about grief.

Ms. Carson also achieved pop culture notoriety when in the first episode of “The L Word,” a discussion of Carson’s work became an elaborate seduction scene. That a book about love in ancient Greek literature could serve as such a catalyst is odd enough but that Ms. Carson could be mentioned by name makes her the rare writer and public intellectual with a reputation to be so noted. Given all that, it seems in poor taste to note that the characters in “The L Word” largely misunderstood the book.

Her most recent book is “Antigonick.” A translation of the classic play by Sophokles, the book, published by New Directions, is one of the best designed books of the year and a unique reading experience. Ms. Carson hand-lettered the text of the play, which isn’t presented like most plays but incorporated within pages of artwork. Like her previous book, “Nox,” “Antigonick” is a unique book and a reading experience that can’t be replicated electronically.

Ms. Carson was kind enough to agree to speak with us about the book and her work and we exchanged a series of emails in which she demonstrated that her passion for literature and the Greek classics has not dimmed, but that she is uninterested in discussing personal topics. Despite her lack of interest, she did answer the questions. As she said in response to a different question, “Canadians are dutiful.”


ALEX DUEBEN: In recent years you’ve been translating a lot of dramatic work, first the Euripides plays for the NYRB imprint, The Oresteia, and now Antigonick. Why have you been drawn to and interested by drama in recent years?

ANNE CARSON: These were all commissions. I have never in fact been much interested in drama but if someone asks me to do something, I generally do it. Canadians are dutiful. 

AD: Where did the idea of translating Sophocles’ Antigone come from and could you talk a little about the decision to not simply translate the play but to rewrite it?

AC: To be honest, I don't see any "rewrite" going on. Everything I've done in the translation is an attempt to convey a move or shock or darkening that happens in the original text. This doesn't always mean reproducing the words and sentences of the original in their same order; but a play is (note etymology of "drama" from Greek DRAN "to do or act") a collection of actions or doings, this is what needs to be rendered from Greek into English. It's true Sophokles doesn't mention Hegel on the first page of Antigone, but he does refer to the long tradition of A's catastrophic family in order to remind his Greek audience of the legend and for us, in 2012, the Antigone legend includes Hegel.

AD: Do you think about how the play could be performed, or at least how the language could be spoken as opposed to read when you translate a play?

AC: Yes, every minute.

AD: Talk a little about Nick. Why do you create this character and how do you feel Nick helps to illuminate the themes and ideas of the play?

AC: 1.  Nick measures things. Most Greek tragedies are about a person who is too big for the space of life allotted to him. Excess leads to catastrophe. The need to avoid excess hums through these plays as a constant anxiety.  

2.  A mute character who moves all the time is a free space of invention for whoever directs/produces the play. It could be funny, it could be lyrical, it could be a whole other dramatization of tensions, depending how you stage it.

AD: How personal a book do you feel Antigonick is?

AC: Not sure what this means. 

AD: Your last book published was Nox, which was about your own personal grief and then you translated Antigonick which is about, among many other things, what remains after the death of someone and what we bring to that experience and our responsibility to the dead. Having said that, I think much of your work deals with this topic: what has been lost, whether through death or heartbreak or loss, how we cope and understand the holes in our lives.

AC: You could say that. I don't think I know why. 

AD: I can’t help but think of Antigonick as a relative in some ways to your last book, Nox, which I loved. And they’re both books created by someone who is a designer. You studied graphic design, is that correct?

AC: No, I know nothing of graphic design. I studied it for half a year once and flunked out. The design of both books is owed to Robert Currie, my friend and collaborator. 

AD: I know that you’re a visual artist. Why didn’t you illustrate the book yourself?

AC: [Robert] Currie and I wanted to give someone else a chance, then we met Bianca Stone and liked her work. 

AD: How did you meet Bianca Stone?

AC: Bianca was a student of Currie's and mine in our workshop – Egocircus – at NYU a few years ago.

AD: Why did you chose to hand letter the book instead of using a font?

AC: For vitality and intimacy and to slow down the reading. Also fun to do. Currie pencilled the text first, I went over it in ink - his part was way harder.

AD: What first drew you to studying the classics?

AC: The incomparable beauty and endlessness of Greek. 

AD: I remember in an interview a few years back after Grief Lessons came out, you mentioned that you didn’t like Euripides, who wrote a play Antigone that’s largely been lost. You know far more about this than I, but having translated Sophokles and Euripides, I’m curious how you thought of them and how they tackled the same tale.

AC: I can't answer this question without doing a lot of research, as I'm not familiar with the ancient resume of the Antigone by Euripides. It is indeed a big topic, the different angles that Sophokles and Euripides take on tragic projects, but in general I would say that Sophokles is deeply interested in language and Euripides is not. For Euripides language is a means to an end, the end being a spectacular speedy plot line and crashing confrontations. As a translator you cannot travel into the language of Euripides, and you can that of Sophokles. In Sophokles every word is a universe.

AD: After translating so much tragedy, have you ever considered translating a comedic work?

AC: I dislike comedy; never get the jokes. True for TV as well as ancient lit.

AD: You once said in an interview, “Homer's a poet. I would say I make things.” Why don’t you think of yourself as a writer? Or has that changed over the years?

AC: Hasn't changed.

AD: What’s on your desk now? What are you working on?

AC: I am translating Euripides’ “Bakkhai” for the Alameida theater in London.

AD: If someone reading this is intrigued to pick up not just your work but something from the classic tradition, is there a book or an author or a translation you would recommend?

AC: All translations by Christopher Logue and Memorial by Alice Oswald.