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 NINE, PART FOUR]

[GHOSTS IN THE MACHINE]

[Previous Chapter]

“So Max engineered a staged suicide to inspire hundreds or thousands more to bring down BBI?”

“It seems that is the method he chose,” Svoboda said, “and unfortunately his plan is already succeeding. Over eight hundred young people in Asia and Europe alone have taken their lives.”

Haggerty felt like he’d been struck. “Because of the media coverage?” he said weakly.

“The news media has been quite responsible,” Svoboda said. “They instituted a blackout, due in great part to your late friend’s eloquent plea to the Surgeon General.”

“Doug got word to the Surgeon General?” That might clear Consuela, Haggerty thought.

“He did. But nothing hides from the Net. Recordings were uploaded to the Indranet almost as fast as the presses were broadcast. The most horrific act involved the president of the Clone Jesus fan club in Tokyo, who rallied nearly fifty children to death by drug overdose after he pressed an illegally acquired black box. The reports have been accelerating since sunrise on the East Coast, three hours ago. There are four hundred confirmed suicides here in the States.”

“The census bureau reports an average of two-hundred-twenty-six suicides per day in the U.S.,” Elsa stated. “This number, although significantly elevated, is not in line with your projections.”

“Those numbers relate to the elderly,” Svoboda said. “Not to children. The numbers we are seeing now are cumulative and instantly available on the Indranet to any user. Media coverage is irrelevant. One suicide sparks another.”

“Suicide contagion,” Haggerty said.

“Precisely,” Svoboda said.

“But why is Max doing this?” Haggerty asked.

“I taught Max that BBI must fall, and he realized that bringing them down would not only give him his revenge but enrich him far, far more than the Last Supper Club ever could. He’s got truckloads of Happy Styx all over the country, ready to supply the demand for a fast, easy, pleasurable way to die. And you will be blamed for all the deaths.”

“Why me?”

“Max decided you were his best bet to take the fall, and began to study you in depth. If you had pressed last night as he predicted, prior to the concert, things would have gone quite smoothly for him. Instead, you took over the investigation.”

“And how exactly do you know all this?” Haggerty demanded, digging at his thumb to quash the ants.

“I have been following Max’s activities since I became aware of his true character. I discovered that he was profiling you and realized that I should find out why he was so interested. The best way to do that was to crack Elsa. You know the rest.”

The rest being that Haggerty had this man — and Regina — to thank for saving his life and enabling him to figure out what was happening.

“How the hell did he engineer all this?” Haggerty asked. “He’s just a kid.”

“He created the most addictive euphoric drug I know of. But he needed capital to get started. I understand that he approached the Triads first. They laughed at him. What use was an addictive drug that eliminated the potential for repeat customers? Finally he found someone — I still don’t know who it was — and set up the Last Supper Club. The Triads had no objection to offering protection after that, and Max’s association with them provided access to celebrities. At which point he hatched his master plan.”

“And chose the number one band on the charts to help deliver,” Haggerty added, “then used them to befriend Stelwyn’s son.” He rubbed his right thumb against the knuckle of his index finger compulsively. “Can I have more water?” he asked Svoboda, the cup trembling in his hand.

Elsa looked at him intently as he downed the refill. Time was passing and he needed more answers.

“Do you know how agent Corbin’s involved?”

“Nia Corbin was here for a time as well. She and Max were classmates. She’s twenty-three years old.”

That explained the blisterbrands on her body. Plastiche could work both ways, but Haggerty was surprised at how completely he’d been fooled. Whoever had aged her was a master. If Doug had discovered her true age during psycheval, it supplied a plausible motive for his murder.

“So they both know about this place?” he said.

Svoboda nodded.

“You don’t see that as a threat?”

“They know that I won’t move directly against them. When the system falls and they rise to take its place, they know I’ll be there peacefully protesting.”

“Are you in league with Max and Corbin?” Haggerty demanded. “Have you purposely engineered any of this?”

Svoboda met his gaze unflinchingly. “No,” he said.

Haggerty looked to Elsa. “He is telling the truth as he knows it,” she said.

“What are you planning to do to help stop Max?” he asked Svoboda.

“Nothing,” Svoboda said calmly.

Haggerty stared in disbelief. “You can’t just let thousands of children die!”

“More like tens of thousands, Mr. Haggerty,” Svoboda said. “But there is nothing that can be done. You misunderstand what’s happening. This isn’t merely a reaction — it’s a correction.”

The ants danced fire over Haggerty’s skin. “What the hell are you talking about?” he said.

“In the sixth century B.C. the Chinese philosopher Confucius came down from his mountain retreat at the request of the Emperor to bless the kingdom. At the end of a meal with the royal family, Confucius offered the following blessing: ‘Grandfather die, father die, son die.’ Interpreting this as a curse, the Emperor had Confucius imprisoned. After many months, a follower of Confucius risked his own life by telling the Emperor that he had misunderstood what Confucius had said, that it is indeed a blessing when the natural order of death is upheld. When the grandfather dies first, the father second, and the son third, all is as it should be. If the order is changed, some unnatural tragedy has occurred.”

“And what is the relevance here?”

“The relevance is that we as a society have been breaking the natural order for over a century. The grandfathers and fathers aren’t dying, and the sons basically are being raised as a slave class. CC status gets harder and harder to come by, and soon the Gen-Ohs won’t be able to procreate at all. It’s an affront to nature that can only end in genocide. But Nature will have her way. Max is just a catalyst that was bound to come along at some point, if not now then ten or twenty years from now. I doubt he fully understands his part in all of this. We’re about to witness an event that has never occurred before in human history.”

“You’re one of the grandfathers who refuses to die,” Haggerty snarled. “You say it’s for a greater purpose, but these kids are copycatting a triple homicide. What greater purpose can that possibly serve?”

“Simply this, Mr. Haggerty. The old refuse to die in a country short on space and resources, and the young people — responding to some deep-seated drive that holds racial survival over personal survival — are going to die for them. And when the parents of those young people find that their only child is dead, the child they waited years and years for permission to have, what do you think will happen? Elsa, please give us statistics on parental suicides in the U.S. following the deaths of only children.”

Elsa looked to Haggerty, who nodded, dreading what he was about to hear.

“Two out of five parents of one child commit suicide when that child suffers accidental death,” Elsa stated. “When the child commits suicide, the rate rises to four out of five parents within two years after the child’s death.”

Haggerty’s own experience told him this was true. He closed his eyes in pain.

“Grieving parents will start pressing your little black buttons in droves, Mr. Haggerty,” Svoboda continued relentlessly. “And when it’s over, the population will be corrected. The chinks in the system will be revealed, and that system will finally be abolished.”

“Enough!” Haggerty cried. “You’re as insane as Max is, willing to sacrifice generations for your own ends.”

“Not true, Mr. Haggerty. It grieves me profoundly that this is going to happen. But it will happen. I couldn’t stop it if I tried.”

“Why do you insist that this will happen?”

“For the simple reason that Generation Zero wants to die, Mr. Haggerty.” Svoboda took a small hypersteel box from a cabinet and extracted two gleaming metal disks from it. “Let me send you to my source — the Indranet.”

“A prophecy off the Net is what’s causing your reluctance to stop this?”

“Surely you’re not such a neophobe,” Svoboda said. “The Net embodies the collective consciousness of millions of people and in turn provides acute intuition. Find out for yourself why I believe what I do.”

He offered the disks to Haggerty.

Haggerty grimaced. He had no desire to interface with the Indranet, but understanding the Indran “prophecy” was his best hope for finding something that would persuade Svoboda to help him stop the looming disaster.

“Is it like Regina’s rig? The one we used —”

“That was nerve impulse transfer. This is EEG.”

“Will it impair my thinking?”

“No,” Svoboda said. “It’s like linking, with the addition of visual.” He adhered the cold metal disks to Haggerty’s temples. “Close your eyes. It will be too confusing if they’re open.”

* * *

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
Fiction Friday: The Killswitch Review – Chapter Seven, Part Three
Fiction Friday: The Killswitch Review – Chapter Seven, Part Four
Fiction Friday: The Killswitch Review – Chapter Seven, Part Five
Fiction Friday: The Killswitch Review – Chapter Eight, Part One
Fiction Friday: The Killswitch Review – Chapter Eight, Part Two
Fiction Friday: The Killswitch Review – Chapter Eight, Part Three
Fiction Friday: The Killswitch Review – Chapter Nine, Part One
Fiction Friday: The Killswitch Review – Chapter Nine, Part Two
Fiction Friday: The Killswitch Review – Chapter Nine, Part Three

by Blogbot (image) [Dwam Suicide in Parallelism] (image) Artist / SG Member Name: I'm Dwam on SG and as a tattooist, but I use Ipomée as an illustrator name. Mission Statement: I don't know. I'm fascinated by the aesthetic of the body. I love drawing people, faces, bodies, clothing, motions,... more

by Blogbot


[Dwam Suicide in Parallelism]



Artist / SG Member Name: I'm Dwam on SG and as a tattooist, but I use Ipomée as an illustrator name.

Mission Statement: I don't know. I'm fascinated by the aesthetic of the body. I love drawing people, faces, bodies, clothing, motions, figures, in order to convey or translate moods, emotions, and sensations. I'm also really into dreams, symbols, mythology, and gender issues, and I'm trying to infuse that in my works.





Medium: Mostly graphic and ink on paper, some acrylic inks or watercolor, and digital art on Photoshop quite often. And skin now.

Aesthetic: Obviously it's very influenced by comics. And now all this background influences a lot my tattoo work. I don't know if this will make sense, but what I'm looking for, mostly, is the elegance of the lines.





Notable Achievements: Although I've been a part of a bunch of collective comics books, and I also created a self-published 4 books project with my schoolmates back in time; I never really made it further into the comics world. After I worked in an animation studio, I changed directions and stepped into the tattooing world, and that has been a lot more successful! However, I'm still illustrating sometimes for magazines or occasional commissions.





Why We Should Care: I don't know. Why should you care, or why not? I hope to touch people with my art, but then it's a matter of taste and sensibility, and they do not always match.

I Want Me Some: I've got a bunch of prints and originals on sale but no site for that. Most of my works are on my blog: ipomee.canalblog.com/ The easiest way is to contact me on SG or at ipomeee@hotmail.com if you're interested.





***

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by Laurelin (image) Change over time is a strange thing; it’s so gradual and so fast at the same time. One day you open your eyes and you’re like, wow, where did the time go? How did I get here in this apartment with all this stuff, with this job and this… life. That’s how I felt high school... more

by Laurelin



Change over time is a strange thing; it’s so gradual and so fast at the same time. One day you open your eyes and you’re like, wow, where did the time go? How did I get here in this apartment with all this stuff, with this job and this… life.

That’s how I felt high school and college were, and then all the years after that –– a montage of years blending, flickering in my memory like old movies, set to the most beautiful music. It all seemed to be only an exhale in a series of breaths, and all the breaths gone with only the slightest breeze before I’m even aware I’ve drawn another. It was forever and no time at all at the same time, and when it was finally over I couldn’t place how I had changed, or when; I just knew that somehow, I had. Looking back on the past month of my life I am finally able to look at something and know that without a doubt, this instance was when everything changed. This moment was mine.

I have always coasted though life with minimal responsibilities. At almost 30 I have to say I have the best and worst of it all: I have worked hard for every penny I’ve earned. I’ve always paid my own way. I fell into bartending because it paid my bills and still allowed me to party. This was a community where I could drink and stay up late and have a family, and a home away from home. I watched every friend I ever had in high school and then college settle and get married, start families, buy houses. And I stayed the same. I don’t think I ever had a problem, but I certainly never had any solutions. I never thought of it as a career, but it all of a sudden was mine, and while others turned up their noses I decided to make it my own. I never thought that anyone else would imagine me as being able to run a bar on my own; it was always someone else’s job. But then all of a sudden, there it was. An offer for this place to be mine –– really, actually mine.

Being offered a management position in an industry that has always allowed me to coast through life with minimal responsibilities seemed at first frightening. I can’t do this! Other people do this! It was scary, knowing that someone saw something in me, someone thinks I could run the show. What if I’m not good at it? What if I let everyone down? A chance to shine is also a chance to fail, and I always ran from responsibility in fear of failing. Mulling over my fate clutching my usual pint of beer, I consciously make a choice. This job I’ve chosen might not be what “everyone else” is doing, but it can be a career, it’s always been mine. I took a week to think about it and when I was finally ready to say “yes,” I knew that my life would never be the same. This was one of those moments where you take control and literally steer your life down one path. Mentally, I strap on my seatbelt and brace for impact.

My new manager pants seem to be fitting alright, but at the same time I am still so lost; working amongst friends and ex-boyfriends, trying to find my voice of authority while also trying to remain one of the gang. I have no idea who this person is who is supposed to be in charge. I feel like I haven’t found my voice. I can’t even control the color of my cheeks around my ex, how can I control the bar? I may not feel like I can find that voice of authority, but I have always had MY voice, and sometimes I hear that person I want to be stepping forward and speaking, as though someone else is finally accepting a role, and it takes a minute to realize that that person really is me.

I’m settling in in my own way, piece by piece. I’ve come to the conclusion that for me, there really isn’t a life beyond the bar scene. Some people were created just for this; born of late nights, shaken cocktails, of phone numbers and thoughts scribbled on cocktail napkins and spilt beer. I like to think that I didn’t just fall into this because it was easy. That’s how it started, sure. But it’s not how it’s going to end.



***

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(image) by A.J. Focht (image) [Above: First look at the Jim Lee designed cover for DC's Free Comic Book Day] The Avengers is a less than two months away and each week more information about the film is released. Most recently, SFX Magazine interviewed members of the production including Tom Hiddleston... more

by A.J. Focht


[Above: First look at the Jim Lee designed cover for DC's Free Comic Book Day]

The Avengers is a less than two months away and each week more information about the film is released. Most recently, SFX Magazine interviewed members of the production including Tom Hiddleston (Loki) and Director Josh Whedon. Hiddleston revealed some of Loki’s motives and Whedon further talked about the troubles with juggling so many heroes. Tickets for the midnight showings of The Avengers go on sale as early as March 16th. Those lucky enough to be near an affiliated AMC theatre can also catch the $40 Avengers Marathon that includes: Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor 3D, and Captain America 3D all before the midnight showing of The Avengers 3D.

Potential spoilers have leaked for the upcoming Iron Man 3 project. Playing off the storyline to come in The Avengers, Iron Man 3 will explore the Extremis storyline where Tony Stark uses nano-technology to become one with the Iron Man suit. For Iron Man comic fans, this is not as much of a surprise as the first Iron Man movie followed the Extremis origin and not the original origin. Another interesting thing on the video was confirmation that three Avengers: Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man will all be getting sequels regardless of how The Avengers does, whereas, the future of The Hulk franchise will be dependent on the performance of The Avengers.



There is a lot happening in the world of comics. The first preview for DC’s Free Comic Book Day book has been released. Marvel comics has also released four more cover previews for the upcoming Avengers vs. X-Men. Also, I called it weeks ago and now everyone else is catching on. With the release of the newest Spider-Men teaser, many are coming to the conclusion that Miles Morales and Peter Parker will be meeting in the main Marvel verse.



DC is also making some changes with their comics. April will be the last month for a few of the New 52 that didn’t sell as well such as Static Shock, Hawk & Dove, and Men of War. They are also changing up artists. Starting in May, Detective Comics and Batwoman are getting new artists. Why they are replacing Batwoman’s artist after it was widely voted the Best Art in a Comic in 2011 is beyond me.



DC has also released more information, including covers, for Before Watchmen. The comics go on sale starting in June, but you may want to read the latest comments of Watchmen creator Allen Moore before buying them. In short, Moore is still upset he was screwed out of the rights for Watchmen, and he kindly asks if you do buy Before Watchmen that you stop purchasing all of his other works.

Joss Whedon has three movies coming out this year including The Avengers, but he hasn’t given up the fight for Firefly. In short, he said:

Speaking of watching projects rise from the dead, Warner Bros is talking to Javier Bardem about The Dark Tower movie. Ron Howard still is set to direct the first film, perhaps with Bardem as the Gunslinger. The studio has purchased the script, and it is likely to start shooting in 2013.

The cast from the upcoming Evil Dead remake is nearly full. Most of the roles in the film have been cast and an official premise has been released:

Finally, George Takei was so excited when he raised the money for his upcoming Broadway musical Allegiance that he decided to share a little something with all his fans. I leave you with George Takei’s Happy Dance.

(image) by Nahp Suicide (image) [Gogo in Nixe] P_Mod is from Strasbourg, France, and has been a photographer for SG since 2006. He specializes in shooting for tattoo magazines, and also takes live music and band promo pics. How did you first get involved with SuicideGirls? After a long photography break,... more

by Nahp Suicide


[Gogo in Nixe]

P_Mod is from Strasbourg, France, and has been a photographer for SG since 2006. He specializes in shooting for tattoo magazines, and also takes live music and band promo pics.

How did you first get involved with SuicideGirls?

After a long photography break, my tattoo artist (Reynald, Asphalt Jungle) asked me to do a couple of portraits of some of his costumers. It was a proposition that I declined first cause I felt uncomfortable with portraits. (Basically I was pretty shy and I preferred taking pictures of landscapes, abandoned buildings, and so on.) I discovered SG when looking for good inspiration pictures of tattooed people, and three months later I shot two girls (Ayane & Raia) in Paris with a national TV team behind my back. I hadn't slept for two days before the shoot, but at least the baptism by fire was done.




What's your background photography-wise?

I learnt photography [at college] and I graduated 15 years ago. I was pretty disgusted by the artsy/elitist/show-off [element of] the students’ and teachers’ mind-shaping, so I gave up shooting for eight years and worked as an assistant in a photo laboratory. Then digital arrived and the photo processing industry felt down, so I opened my company four years ago. Now I work mostly for the tattoo press and doing band pictures.


[Myra in Fernsehapparat]

What was the first photo you had published?

A picture of Jay Read for the cover of Rise tattoo magazine. 




How would you describe your style?

That's a pretty difficult question. I don't work to create a special style actually. Basically I try to keep pictures as close to reality as I can. Photography is in many ways like music, you can hide behind the technology, but it’s not everything. For example, I was at a Dream Theater show a couple of years ago. It was the most well executed gig I've ever seen, but the most boring also. Two days later I went to a random punk gig. It was technically a disaster, but way more enjoyable and alive. You can shoot a perfect picture technically, but which doesn't work cause the moment isn't there and nothing happens. The shoot is only a part of the process. The selection is also very important: why a picture is a part of your selection, what the picture means for you, and how it represents your mood during the shoot – even if the picture is not technically perfect.

What gear do you use?

A Canon 1D + 50mm + 24-70 95% of the time, and Hasselblad 500CM for analog.





[Dwam in Woad]

How important is Photoshop in your final images?

I think that a raw image which doesn't work unedited won't work edited. I try to select pictures where I won't have to spend two hours editing, but there's obviously an element of laziness also.




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

Mostly music visuals, video clips, cinema. Actually, most of the time it's not a real creation but it's tributes from existing things, winks or whatever. The trick is I'm usually trying to let the girl bring her idea. I'm just here to help in a technical shaping. It's not laziness; I find it interesting to involve models in their own idea as SG is basically a way to show yourself. There's also the possible scenario where there's no specific theme, in this case we just discuss how we can take advantage of a location, light, and mood, and do something coherent. To mix with some photographers on SG like Steve Prue, Cherry, Albertine or Dwam has been a real inspiration and kind of changed my view on photography generally speaking.





[Apory in Karma Police]

What is your favorite image?

None and many in the same time.

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

My main trouble is when I spend too much time on the pictures, then I always think it's all crap. I used to have a personal crisis, like "let's give up photography and open a fishing company in the country side." On the other hand, I'm more interested in personalities than simple aesthetics, so my faves are obviously the pictures done with people who own a strong universe. I think when you can join personality and aesthetic, you can be sure something will happen. My first thoughts go to people like AnnaLee, Gogo, Lylie, Leopoldine, Dwam, Nemesis, Revenge, Apory, Opale, Sinnah, and so many others. But I'm certainly not objective about it as they are a way more than models and have became true friends.



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

I’m usually [limited by] geographic issues, but I'd like to drift off into new encounters so let's wait and see ; )


[Dwam, Key, Morrigan, Nemesis, Opale, and Tie in ZILF]

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I first heard of Stevie Ryan when VH1 presented her new show Stevie TV to the Television Critics Association in January. When they showed a clip real of Ryan in impeccable makeup as Kendra, the Kardashians, Lady Gaga and Mob Wives, her point of view cracked me up. Stevie TV (pronounced like Stevie Tevie)... more

I first heard of Stevie Ryan when VH1 presented her new show Stevie TV to the Television Critics Association in January. When they showed a clip real of Ryan in impeccable makeup as Kendra, the Kardashians, Lady Gaga and Mob Wives, her point of view cracked me up.

Stevie TV (pronounced like Stevie Tevie) premiered on Sunday, March 4 on VH1. Ryan’s first sketches had Kendra breaking into dance anytime anyone chanted “Go Kendra, Go Kendra” and Justin Bieber (also Ryan) running a Bang Bus. Wait until you see her as Lady Gaga forcing children to explore and reinvent gender definitions.

Ryan got her start making comedy videos on YouTube. If you check out her YouTube channel you can even see her doing a burlesque dance in a sepia tint. Rather than many comedians who have a knack for voices and do impressions, Ryan uses makeup and costume to portray a realistic version of her characters. Perhaps it almost feels like you’re watching the real Kim Kardashian knowing what a fool she acts like.

The week before Stevie TV premiered, I spoke with Ryan by phone. As I’d hoped our talk went off on tangents that expressed her comic voice, rather than the nuts and bolts of making a show. Stevie TV airs Sunday nights at 11 p.m with repeats throughout the week on VH1.

SG: I believe you share a hairdresser with Missy.

SR: Really, at Hairroin Salon. That’s so funny. I’ve been going there for years and they’re pretty much the best hair place in the world in my opinion.

SG: Do they do your hair for your characters or just Stevie’s hair?

SR: They actually did my hair in the pilot which I didn’t get to bring my Hairroin girls onto the show because it was a union job and they were all nonunion and we tried to get them into the union and there was a whole disastrous thing but they have. They used to do a lot of my online videos. A ton of my online videos they’ve done the hair in. We have hair tutorials even online that I did with the salon, so yeah that’s so crazy. That’s awesome.

SG: So are you familiar with Suicide Girls?

SR: Of course I am, who doesn’t know about Suicide Girls? I am very familiar with Suicide Girls? Actually years ago when I first started making YouTube videos, I was approached by, I have no idea who it was anymore, I’d have to go on my MySpace and look it up and I don’t even know if I remember the password to my MySpace but I actually was approached by one of the Suicide Girls and they had asked me if I wanted to do a shoot to try to get in. I actually have a few friends that have been Suicide Girls and yeah, I feel like Suicide Girls is very pop culture.

SG: Would you maybe play a Suicide Girl in a sketch?

SR: You know what? We actually talked about that. Suicide Girls was one of our ideas but what we wanted to do ended up being a little dark. That’s the only thing that we get. One of our things is we tend to go dark with things sometimes because comedy can darker easily and then our head writer was like, “No, you guys are going dark with it so calm down.” But hey, you never know. Season two!

SG: What was the idea that was too dark?

SR: It was something about being a Suicide Girl that was dead. Like she actually was a real life Suicide Girl that had killed herself so that was the dark end of it.

SG: Do you actually have any tattoos?

SR: I actually don’t have any tattoos surprisingly because I’m pretty sure I’m the only one of my friends that doesn’t have a tattoo. I went through my whole thing in high school where I stretched my ears very big which I now regret because now they look like little cat butt-holes or something weird. I know that’s so gross, but that’s what they look like. When you stretch your ears and then you take your plugs out, they shrink up and they look like cat butt-holes after. It’s just so ugly and I wish I wouldn’t have done it but whatever, I’ll live. It’s just the ear hole. But I had them stretched huge to like 1/8” I think. I had my tongue pierced and my lip pierced. I was all pierced up and had crazy hair in high school and I think I got it all out of my system early on.

SG: I’m a big cat lover so I think cat butt-holes are adorable. They're always in my face.

SR: See, that’s why I compared it to that because cats are always putting their butts in your face and I love cats too and just animals in general. I’m a fan of cat butt-holes. I think they’re cute and they’re little. Who wants big scary ugly ones? Not me.

SG: As someone who likes to dress up, how is your self-image as Stevie?

SR: You know what? This is really weird because no one expects this, but I can’t stand myself. That’s why I like being characters. If I wanted to be me I would be like a standup comedian, but I don’t wanna be myself. What fun is that? I’ve been me my whole life. That’s not very fun. So I really don’t even have a view on myself. I don’t like being in my own head. I like leaving my head and pretending to be in someone else’s head. I like going into different worlds. I live in my world every day. I was born into my world. I’m bored of it. So for me I don’t like being myself.

SG: Do you like making yourself revolting, like as the Mob Wives?

SR: Oh yes. Actually, it can go both ways. I really love it because it’s a real transformation and it really makes you feel different. We have one sketch, it’s a celebrity ghost stories sketch but it involves Lindsay Lohan. Basically I’m Lindsay Lohan but I’m a demon and I have to do this all day. They blotted my teeth out and made me look super crazy, and it was really fun during it because I’ve never done a character like this. I’ve never gone to a dark place character-wise. Then I had to go to such a dark place for that that by the time I got home, I was completely freaked out. I couldn’t sleep. I was so scared. I didn’t even feel like myself in my apartment. I felt like I was a demon haunting my own apartment. I didn’t even go to bed until the sun came up because I was terrified. I wigged myself out. Even for Little Loca, when I first started doing Little Loca online I was so consistent with it that I started dreaming in Spanish, and I don’t even know Spanish. So I know the toll that these characters can take on you but I never thought it would take me to such a deep dark place like that did in just one day. So that was really interesting for me and I see how people can get wrapped up in characters. I hate to bring it up but Heath Ledger, after I had that experience I was like whoa, I couldn’t imagine playing The Joker for months and being in that place in your head. That would be fucking impossible to come back from I feel like. That would be a really scary thing.

SG: How do you feel as Lady Gaga? Did you get any of her mojo?

SR: Oh, you don’t even know. First of all, I now love Lady Gaga. Of course before I was like yeah, Lady Gaga, she’s awesome, cool, Gaga, whatever. Like I thought she was great and she had her own thing going on, but then after playing her, first of all our Lady Gaga outfits are so awesome and I realize how much effort it takes to just wear those outfits around. I just feel like wow, I have a whole new respect for Lady Gaga. I think she’s awesome. I think she’s brilliant and I don’t use that word lightly. I just think for every character I’ve played besides The Kardashians I always leave with a new respect for them, and especially Gaga because she kicks ass at what she does and she does it in the most painful and most incredibly uncomfortable outfits that anyone could ever imagine. And she does it with all her heart and soul. And no one would ever know how uncomfortable she is unless you’re in those outfits. Now that I know, I just think that she’s awesome and wow, you really, really work hard for what you have. It’s not a joke. It’s really not. I feel like that about a lot of characters. I didn’t really have an opinion on Ke$ha. We have a Ke$ha musical parody and I thought oh, it’s Ke$ha, whatever. Everyone would say really negative things about her and then after researching her, before we recorded the song, before we wrote it, I had to listen to her albums and read about her and just kind of find that character. After that, after we shot it, I was like I love Ke$ha. I think she’s awesome and I wouldn’t have developed that love for her if I didn’t get to experience her world and get to know her world. On that end it really makes me have a new respect for a lot of artists and see how hard these things really are for some people.

SG: But not the Kardashians?

SR: Not the Kardashians, no. I don't know what it is, but I just feel it just doesn’t take much to be a Kardashian.

SG: You have a burlesque video on YouTube. Was burlesque something you were always interested in?

SR: Ooh, yes. This is actually years ago, this is actually how I found YouTube. I was looking up, and this is before the Bettie Page movie. This is far before Bettie Page was cool.

SG: Bettie Page was always cool.

SR: Exactly, but I mean mainstream cool. Bettie Page has always been awesome. At Amoeba, before there was Netflix Streaming and Hulu and all these sites where you can go watch movies, you used to actually have to go to rent movies or go to Amoeba and I found a bunch of Bettie Page, they call them stripteases but she doesn’t even strip in them. They’re just these little films of her dancing around and I bought all of them. Now they’re all over YouTube. You can YouTube ‘em but it’s like five minute pieces with Bettie Page dancing along in a cute outfit to some music. I was so smitten by them. I just thought it was the epitome of a beautiful woman. Like body-wise, face-wise, personality-wise, I just thought it’s so classy and so cute. The shit we’re seeing nowadays with chicks rubbing their vaginas all up in the camera and flashing and just grinding all up on each other. But it’s so different and back then it was such a scandal for a girl to even dance and be sexy like that. I don't know what it is, I just find it so charming. I became obsessed with these Bettie Page stripteases. Then I just decided I had to try to make my own versions of these. They’re obviously from the Irving Klaw era when he used to shoot Bettie Page and I found other ones of his with other pinup girls, and just kept discovering more and more from there and I just thought it was the ultimate way to be sexy.

SG: It’s funny what you say about spreading and grinding. I’m a guy, I look at stuff, but sometimes even I think, “Come on, that’s just gross. That’s your vagina and A-hole.”

SR: No, totally. It’s super weird. There’s some things you’ve got to like make it a little harder to see. Don’t put it all out there. If you put the buffet out, people are going to eat it. That’s just the way that it goes.

SG: Or in the first minute. At least build up to minute five or 10.

SR: Exactly, there’s gotta be a buildup or something that leads. Just don’t lay it all out right away. You’ve got to give it to ‘em slowly. It’s really interesting the way that things are just out in the open now and like super open open. I’ve seen a lot of friends or just people that I’ve met all of a sudden their nudes are leaked online, and it’s not like oh, it’s them naked. It’s them spreadeagle with a giant gaping hole in between their legs that I never wanted to see in my life and is causing me to have acid reflux from looking at it. It’s like what? Why are you even taking a photo posed spreadeagle? At least close your legs and take the naked photo. That’s fine, but it’s just weird. It’s just like there’s no censor in people’s minds even.

SG: I always say the best way to keep a sex tape from getting out is not to make one.

SR: That’s exactly what I say. See, I have a previous experience that really fucked me up. An ex-boyfriend of mine moved in with me, this was years and years ago. Because I was creating my own content at the time, I have tons of tapes. I still have tons of tapes. I’ll always have my little tapes. He had tapes as well. He was a film student. So our tapes were mixed together in our apartment. I had shot my older brother’s wedding but none of our tapes were marked. I don’t ever write on my tapes what they are so I was literally putting in tape by tape going through seeing what each tape was, looking for my brother’s wedding tape. Well, while I’m going through these tapes, I come across a video of my boyfriend at the time and his ex-girlfriend having sex on tape. And let me tell you, this was not like oh, they’re just doing it. I can’t even believe that someone got this deep into her vagina with a camera. I’m like did this camera have sex with you? You fucked this camera I’m pretty sure. It was so graphic and gross and I was so shocked. I’m like how did this girl let a tape of herself butt naked with a camera inside her vagina, out in the world? If anyone ever brought anything near my vagina like that it would have to be burned up and destroyed afterwards. I can’t even imagine how he just left that out in the open and just the things they were doing.

SG: At least he didn’t talk you into it.

SR: Oh, if he ever even would’ve said that he would’ve gotten knocked out in a heartbeat. It would’ve been like what? No. But it’s kind of shocking because I love the female body. I’m the first one to say it. I think women are beautiful, all shapes, all sizes. I think that you can photograph the female body and do it in a way to really show how beautiful it is. There’s a certain way that you can do nudity that’s tasteful and is about appreciating the female body. And then there’s a whole side of it where you can really degrade the female body and make it look very degrading and have it be awful. That’s what I think some of these big name sex tapes are. It’s degrading. It’s not done in a tasteful way. It’s not making them look beautiful. It’s not about respecting the female body and showing you how beautiful it can be. It’s very weird and I just can’t imagine having something like that or doing something like that and not lighting it on fire right after. Then this girl, what are you thinking? I have your sex tape somewhere in my tapes. You don’t even fucking know. I could send that to your parents. Why would you want that out in the world? I have no idea. That’s the weirdest thing. What if your kids found it? It’s so crazy.

SG: That said, I am a guy. If I hear someone has a sex tape out, I watch it.

SR: Hey, I’m a girl and I hear someone has a sex tape out, you damn well bet I’m the first one Googling it trying to find a link. I’m awful about it but again, it’s one of those things. I’m very much fascinated, that’s why I love these reality shows and stuff. People are like oh, this is mindless television. No, it’s really not. It’s looking into people and human behavior. And seeing the way that people act and the way that they operate in these settings and when there’s a camera around. Each one is different. You take stage moms and their children and you have Toddlers and Tiaras and you get to watch these parents abuse their children. Essentially that’s what it is. Or you take five girls and you put them in a house with a camera and you call it The Bad Girls Club, all of a sudden these five girls just want to beat the crap out of each other and throw each other’s mattresses into the pool all day. So it’s very interesting to see human behavior in these different environments and settings, the way they react to these situations or the problems and their solutions. It really is a peak into the human psyche as far as I’m concerned. I don't think it’s mindless. I think it’s entertaining because we’re watching humans react so I’m fascinated by it. I think that even goes back to the sex tape thing. Wait, I want to see this because I want to understand. I want to understand this celebrity better. I want to understand this situation better. It’s just another part of human behavior and us figuring it out, and teaching us what we don’t want to do as well. I love seeing things like that because it shows me what I don’t want to do. That’s my reasoning for it.

(image) by Nahp Suicide (image) [Gogo in Nixe] P_Mod is from Strasbourg, France, and has been a photographer for SG since 2006. He specializes in shooting for tattoo magazines, and also takes live music and band promo pics. How did you first get involved with SuicideGirls? After a long photography break,... more

by Nahp Suicide


[Gogo in Nixe]

P_Mod is from Strasbourg, France, and has been a photographer for SG since 2006. He specializes in shooting for tattoo magazines, and also takes live music and band promo pics.

How did you first get involved with SuicideGirls?

After a long photography break, my tattoo artist (Reynald, Asphalt Jungle) asked me to do a couple of portraits of some of his costumers. It was a proposition that I declined first cause I felt uncomfortable with portraits. (Basically I was pretty shy and I preferred taking pictures of landscapes, abandoned buildings, and so on.) I discovered SG when looking for good inspiration pictures of tattooed people, and three months later I shot two girls (Ayane & Raia) in Paris with a national TV team behind my back. I hadn't slept for two days before the shoot, but at least the baptism by fire was done.




What's your background photography-wise?

I learnt photography [at college] and I graduated 15 years ago. I was pretty disgusted by the artsy/elitist/show-off [element of] the students’ and teachers’ mind-shaping, so I gave up shooting for eight years and worked as an assistant in a photo laboratory. Then digital arrived and the photo processing industry felt down, so I opened my company four years ago. Now I work mostly for the tattoo press and doing band pictures.


[Myra in Fernsehapparat]

What was the first photo you had published?

A picture of Jay Read for the cover of Rise tattoo magazine. 




How would you describe your style?

That's a pretty difficult question. I don't work to create a special style actually. Basically I try to keep pictures as close to reality as I can. Photography is in many ways like music, you can hide behind the technology, but it’s not everything. For example, I was at a Dream Theater show a couple of years ago. It was the most well executed gig I've ever seen, but the most boring also. Two days later I went to a random punk gig. It was technically a disaster, but way more enjoyable and alive. You can shoot a perfect picture technically, but which doesn't work cause the moment isn't there and nothing happens. The shoot is only a part of the process. The selection is also very important: why a picture is a part of your selection, what the picture means for you, and how it represents your mood during the shoot – even if the picture is not technically perfect.

What gear do you use?

A Canon 1D + 50mm + 24-70 95% of the time, and Hasselblad 500CM for analog.





[Dwam in Woad]

How important is Photoshop in your final images?

I think that a raw image which doesn't work unedited won't work edited. I try to select pictures where I won't have to spend two hours editing, but there's obviously an element of laziness also.




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

Mostly music visuals, video clips, cinema. Actually, most of the time it's not a real creation but it's tributes from existing things, winks or whatever. The trick is I'm usually trying to let the girl bring her idea. I'm just here to help in a technical shaping. It's not laziness; I find it interesting to involve models in their own idea as SG is basically a way to show yourself. There's also the possible scenario where there's no specific theme, in this case we just discuss how we can take advantage of a location, light, and mood, and do something coherent. To mix with some photographers on SG like Steve Prue, Cherry, Albertine or Dwam has been a real inspiration and kind of changed my view on photography generally speaking.





[Apory in Karma Police]

What is your favorite image?

None and many in the same time.

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

My main trouble is when I spend too much time on the pictures, then I always think it's all crap. I used to have a personal crisis, like "let's give up photography and open a fishing company in the country side." On the other hand, I'm more interested in personalities than simple aesthetics, so my faves are obviously the pictures done with people who own a strong universe. I think when you can join personality and aesthetic, you can be sure something will happen. My first thoughts go to people like AnnaLee, Gogo, Lylie, Leopoldine, Dwam, Nemesis, Revenge, Apory, Opale, Sinnah, and so many others. But I'm certainly not objective about it as they are a way more than models and have became true friends.



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

I’m usually [limited by] geographic issues, but I'd like to drift off into new encounters so let's wait and see ; )


[Dwam, Key, Morrigan, Nemesis, Opale, and Tie in ZILF]

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Paul Dano has been one of the most interesting actors to watch in the last 10 years. He’s done several hard hitting indie dramas like L.I.E. and The Ballad of Jack and Rose, and that famous “I’ve abandoned my child” scene in There Will Be Blood. His youthful face has kept him in teen comedies,... more

Paul Dano has been one of the most interesting actors to watch in the last 10 years. He’s done several hard hitting indie dramas like L.I.E. and The Ballad of Jack and Rose, and that famous “I’ve abandoned my child” scene in There Will Be Blood. His youthful face has kept him in teen comedies, dramas and dramedies, from The Emperor’s Club to The Girl Next Door.

It was probably Little Miss Sunshine that made viewers learn his name. Stuck in the van with Steve Carell, Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette and little Abigail Breslin, Dano played the older brother who just wanted to join the air force. Since then he’s popped up in big studio movies like Knight & Day and Cowboys & Aliens.

Currently, Dano stars in Being Flynn, based on author Nick Flynn’s memoir Another Bullshit Night In Suck City. Dano plays Nick, then an aspiring author volunteering at a homeless shelter. His estranged father Jonathan (Robert DeNiro) comes back into his life and even shows up at the homeless shelter. Jonathan Flynn left before his wife Jody (Julianne Moore) killed herself, a suicide Nick believes he caused with a short story he wrote. Guilt, homelessness and even falling into drugs himself makes Nick a very juicy role for Dano.

Dano gave us some time to speak with him when he visited Los Angeles with the film. Though I’ve been watching him for a decade this was actually the first time I met him in my Hollywood career, although for all this time I’ve been saying his name wrong. I learned the correct pronunciation of Dano after hearing all of the Focus Features staff refer to him all day. Good thing I didn’t make a “Book ‘em, Dano” joke because that’s not how it’s pronounced.

Suicide Girls: So it’s Day-no?

Paul Dano: It is.

SG: I apologize. I have been saying it wrong all this time.

PD: You know, I think there’s a lot of people out there who say it wrong. It doesn’t really bother me.

SG: You’re able to tackle a lot of tough material. What is your connection to these subjects?

PD: I guess I like to feel challenged. That’s sort of what makes me want to work hard more than the paycheck or something. I really like what I do and I’m really inspired by people who do it well so I think I just like to feel that rush of fear, like I know I can do this but I don’t totally know how. That’s just the kind of thing that gets me out of bed as opposed to something else.

SG: I like movies that deal with tough issues in a good way. Do you have a sense of what the right way is?

PD: I don't know. I guess once you’ve chosen to take on a part, it’s amazing how the horse blinders come on for me and I think for a lot of people. There’s nothing that you really start thinking about except what is best for this character, how am I going to become him. What can I bring to it, how can I get away from myself, how am I going to set myself up to do the best job on the day and what kind of prep do I need to do? I don’t make a conscious effort to do anything else but that.

SG: Do you gravitate towards characters who are very different from yourself?

PD: I think so. Obviously there’s something in me that can relate, empathize, connect, whatever, with the characters I play but I definitely feel like when I think about some of them, I’m really nothing like them. Nick’s situation, I really am moved by and I identify with certain aspects but the fact that I’m not a big drinker, I don’t like doing drugs, but that’s a turn-on that this guy does. Why? Why does a person do that? And sort of getting into that world. I’m sure there are either themes to some of these characters you’re referring to or there’s always a personal connection without a doubt.

SG: I ask in the interest of trying to understand what you like.

PD: I guess I do like conflicted characters. Inner conflict to me just is attractive as an actor. It gives you something to really struggle with, to really sink your teeth into. It gives you something emotional, it gives you something psychological and I just like that. I like that. I don't know why. If I was just asked to play myself, I think I’d get really bored quickly. I don’t wanna do that. And if I was asked to just play one note in some of these more bland films, I’d just get bored. It’s not fun.

SG: I would have assumed you weren’t an addict, but I didn’t know you don’t care for drinking anyway.

PD: No, I like to have a glass of wine. I drink. I have other ways of being self-destructive I’m sure but that’s not my main way of doing it.

SG: So how do you give that authenticity to the performance without having experienced it?

PD: Especially with this film, look, for me one thing that was important was to understand a guy like this emotionally. Why do you self-destruct? Why do you end up passing out in a stairwell with a crackpipe? That’s I think really interesting and I think there’s an emotional psychological reason behind it and that’s what makes me able to get there. I did not go and actually smoke crack. You’re tempted to. You’re tempted, oh, should I actually try this? You want to be a committed actor but you don’t need to actually. Sometimes you do. You’ve got to put some things into practice.

SG: That one would be illegal though.

PD: No, you know, some things you have to put into practice but really the addiction aspect for Nick, I did not want to be the stereotypical druggie guy and I don't think most of these people are. There’s a lot of people who are addicts of some kind out there who are normal people who are going to work every day and who are having a bad time alone at night. I did not want to do this grandiose addict thing. That’s not who this guy was I don't think. So I did my research, talked to people who have had this problem and read about it and then tried to understand who Nick was as best I could.

SG: So you went inside out, you didn’t start with the symptoms?

PD: You do both. You need to know what the external is but I think the reasons for Nick turning to those things was he was coping with this crazy issue of his father being a homeless man in the homeless shelter that he works at. His father is a lunatic writer. Nick wants to be a writer. Is he gonna end up like his father? Did he kill his mother? So he’s got a lot of reasons that he is trying to defuse his inner state. So it makes perfect sense. It just gives you the reason why you’re going to that. But the first thing I think I did for this was actually I’ve gotta get to the shelter and get out

there. So you do inside and outside.

SG: Had you ever volunteered at a shelter before this movie?

PD: No. When I was a kid growing up in New York I think at school we had to do, I think we did a soup kitchen thing

but that was through school. I don't think I had and I think in high school I delivered some stuff sometimes from a grocery store to a place. That’s something my parents did so every now and then I would do a drop off for them. But no, aside from that and a couple little things.

SG: I admire that because I’m sensitive to the homeless situation but don’t think I could emotionally handle getting hands on.

PD: You know what, it was a pretty great experience. Especially what I said about most of these people, there’s a lot more normal people than you think who are homeless and that was really eye opening for me. Talking to people and going my God, sometimes you’re not that far from it. You just don’t know it. There’s people who are three months homeless or three weeks homeless and you go geez, wow. You just lost your job and you couldn’t [keep up.] Stuff happens. And you have your people who are crazy or addicts. It was a pretty great experience and we’re going to do some screenings I think for shelters to raise some money, so that’ll be nice coming up in a few weeks.

SG: Living in New York, do you give money to beggars?

PD: Yeah. If I have change in my pocket, I usually give it to somebody. I especially give it to the people who are working for it. I take the subway every day almost and you have your people who might sing or play guitar or do a dance. Yeah, if I’ve got change, I will give it. Growing up I remember being affected by the image of the homeless when I was very young. Then as you grow older, you start to rationalize that and get used to that image. In some ways it becomes a part of your life. You’re in New York, the same thing here in L.A. This was definitely a nice experience to have my eyes reopened to the issue and also just to understand the personal element. They’re real people and a lot of them are more like you than you know.

SG: When you do roles in Cowboys & Aliens or Knight and Day are those really aggressive auditions?

PD: It depends. Sometimes you might get offered a part. Sometimes you have to go through the process to get it. Some of them are super competitive. It just depends.

SG: You’ve played several young characters or high school that a lot of people relate to. Were you popular in high school?

PD: I think I did all right. Yeah, I had a lot of friends. Some people had a really tough time in high school. I had a great time in high school I also had a tough time in high school but I had a great time. I look back on it fondly and I had some great, great friends and I have some good memories so I think I was all right.

SG: Have your young features been a helpful tool as an actor?

PD: I don't know. I guess if that’s what the part is, maybe. I’m not sure. Yeah, sure, I think it’ll be a good thing ultimately.

SG: Was there a moment where you felt: I am an established actor?

PD: I do remember starting to get recognized for the first time and how sort of horrible that was. It was definitely shocking and weird but no, I don’t really think about that too much.

SG: What were you being recognized from?

PD: I think when Little Miss Sunshine came out I started getting recognized and it was weird. You get used to

it and it can be a nice thing sometimes but that’s not the impetus to try and be a successful actor for me. I could do without it.

SG: Was there a moment you thought: Yeah, I’m good?

PD: Yeah, I think I’m doing all right. I would not try to keep doing this if I didn’t think I had something to offer.

Being Flynn opens March 2 in limited release.

by Nahp Suicide (image) [Talena in Middle of Nowhere] Talena is a Latin American photographer. She lives in Chile but travels constantly to other Latin American countries to shoot sets with different SGs. She has been with SuicideGirls since 2007, and is both a model and a photographer. How did you first... more

by Nahp Suicide


[Talena in Middle of Nowhere]

Talena is a Latin American photographer. She lives in Chile but travels constantly to other Latin American countries to shoot sets with different SGs. She has been with SuicideGirls since 2007, and is both a model and a photographer.

How did you first get involved with SuicideGirls?

I remember finding a few pictures of Quinne, Apnea, and other models thanks to Fotolog. Then I found a link to the SG site, and took the free tour. I used to think that SG was only for North American models.

What's your background photography-wise?

My start was thanks to Fotolog. That was how I got involved in photography too, with standard cameras, trying to get the best out of every machine that I had during that time. I was also my own model. I am a self-taught photographer from the beginning, so I know that photography will be my only path in life. In the present I’m studying Visual Art and Photography. I enjoy it very much, but college only gives me the status of professional. I feel like the experience with SuicideGirls gives me all the knowledge of a professional photographer, the studies only give me some foundation in technique. But as an artist or a professional related to art and expression we’re always gonna learn some more.


[Emanuelle in Playground Love]

What was the first photo you had published?

That was in a publication called Pink Attitude. They bought my self-portrait for the cover around 2007 or 2008.

How would you describe your style?

Tough question; In the beginning I was trying to follow the style of the site. It took some time for me to discover my own voice, my own emotional vibration. Outside of SG my style is more dark but equally feminine, playing with the atmosphere, with textures, and the temperature. I guess, little by little, I ended up transferring a mix between my personal style and the style of the site.

What gear do you use?

A Canon 7D with two lenses: a 28-155mm and a 50mm. I aso use a Canon Speedlite 580 II flash and some reflectors. I’m planning to increase my gear this year.


[Noidd in The Bright Young Things]

How important is Photoshop in your final images?

It’s a tool in that it complements my work, BUT you have to understand that the capture is everything. When I take a good capture, I can always visualize how it’s gonna end up, what kind of mood, the aesthetics, the feeling, the personality of the picture. So for me it is a great tool to increase, interpret, and transform the conditions and details since as a photographer sometimes you have to fight with nature.

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

I am inspired by several sources: fashion, film, music, and the feeling that remains in my subconscious, that makes me dream. I also get inspired by the style and the personality of the models. It’s really fun adapt a vision based on the style of the model because that only makes the results better.


[Liu, Prussia and Cassiopea in Cherry Bomb]

What is your favorite image?

Oh god, that’s difficult, because lately I have shot so many sets and I think most of them are my favorites. But I think one of them is from the multi of Liu, Prussia and Cassiopea called Cherry Bomb.

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

I specially love this picture because the girls had so much fun. I mean, as a matter of fact, most of the pictures were spontaneous. It was so much fun. The four of us took a long trip to take the shots. It happened in a room full of instruments. Everywhere was smelling of beer and cigarettes, and everyone was sweating and laughing till they burst. I think that’s why it’s one of my faves. It was a nice moment. I love that set to death.

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

My dream is go to Europe and be able to shot every place that crosses my sight. Getting to know Germany especially, would also be a dream. Being able to shooting Manko, Quinne, Radeo, Plum, Annalee, Kraven, Jamity, and the list goes and goes. The truth is that I hope to meet and shoot so many girls of the site. I’ve had the opportunity to visit different countries and meet very gorgeous girls in each one. I hope to continue traveling the world and not stopping. There's so much beauty in every place.


[Liu in Fake Diamonds, Fur Coat]

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