Girls
‘The Third Date’ at the Hollywood Fringe Festival
‘The Third Date’, Written by Deborah Gross, Directed by Doug Hannah, is a funny and original one act play featuring Peter Cilella (Evan) and Megan Raye Manzi (Allie). The likable pair meet at Evan’s apartment for their infamous third date, filled with nerves and expectations for the night. The expected awkward banter is interrupted by the appearances of Barrie (Rebecca Mader) and Helmer (Antonio Alvarez). These ghosts of relationships past proceed to charm, distract and antagonize our young would-be lovers from each other’s arms while their fears and neuroses are revealed to each other and the audience.
Megan Raye Manzi and Peter Cilella do good work as Allie and Evan, portraying the clumsy early moments of a relationship without becoming caricatures. Rebecca Mader plays Barrie with enthusiasm, giving “the hot exotic ex girlfriend” character both charm and humor. Antonio Alvarez, who stepped in for Chris Wylde on our night, was convincing and likable as Helmer. Both Barrie and Helmer were written and played as likable yet pompous, finding camaraderie with their ‘competition’ while also sabotaging their efforts from within.
At 40 minutes, this well written and subtly directed piece deserved it’s full and raucous house. The one act satisfies it’s mission and leaves you entertained and amused.
There are two showings left, Wednesday, June 26th at 7:30 pm and Sunday June 30th at 5:00 pm. Tickets and information can be found here, via the Hollywood Fringe’s web site.
Jun 19th
Lisa Kelly talks about her return to “Ice Road Truckers” on the History Channel
The original hit series “Ice Road Truckers” on the History Channel returns Sunday, June 9 at 10PM ET/PT This season, old rivalries hit an all-time high as two different companies with legendary truckers go head-to-head and try to put each other out of business. Also, after a year on hiatus, the queen of the road, Lisa Kelly, returns and chooses a side.
Throughout the season, the rivalry between the companies reaches to a boiling point as every load delivered means money out of the other team’s pocket. No assignment is off limits, no road is too dangerous and no ice crossing is too thin in this battle for winter roads supremacy.
Lisa Kelly sat down with me this week to talk about her return, broken wrists, and what she did last year when she took a break from the show.
Art Eddy: So the new season starts this month. You are back. Fans of the show are psyched that you are back. Are you excited to be back on the show?
Lisa Kelly: I am so excited to be back on the show. I had fun doing it. (Laughs)
AE: What did you do while you were away from the show?
LK: Oh it is a big, big secret. (Laughs) No, not really. Just working and living life like normal people do sometimes.
AE: So do you consider yourself not normal when you are doing the show?
LK: Sometimes it gets pretty not normal. It is pretty crazy.
AE: Did you get a lot of mail or tweets from fans wanting you to come back on the show?
LK: Yea the fans are great. It was a great support system, but that was the number one asked question. It tells me that people care so that was awesome, but yea tons of that.
AE: The show is very interesting, but you guys are just doing your job. Some of the stuff you guys have to do is amazing. Does it feel weird to you that people are so involved with what you do for a living?
LK: I am just amazed that people are interested in it. You say what we do is amazing and I think it is amazing that you guys think it is amazing.
AE: What can fans of the show expect from you and the rest of the gang on the show?
LK: I am not entirely sure because it is a whole new ball game. Everything has changed this year. I am not in Alaska. I am in Canada now. I am not working for Carlile. I am working for a different company. Just for the show. I took time off of Carlile for show. I am back at Carlile now. I am literally in my truck right now.
Other than that I don’t know. There is a new show runner. It is a whole new thing. I had a lot of fun. I didn’t throw caution to the wind I would say, but I would say because I wasn’t working for Carlile I didn’t have to be so focused on safety and not getting fired. I had fun with it. I don’t know how that will come off, but I had a lot of fun with it.
AE: During this season I heard you broke your wrist. How did that happen and has that affected your driving?
LK: I didn’t break my wrist on the show. I broke it racing motocross last summer in June or July. I was racing and over jumped a jump and impact fractured it. I don’t know what happened. All I know is that I am doing okay. It took forever to heal. When I tried to shift at international 13 speed it just aggravated it to where I didn’t know at first what to do.
So I trained my camera guy on how to shift for me. So I would tell him what gear I had to shift into. I was like okay this aint going to last long. Then I am like oh I got duct tape. So I started duct taping it. The whole show it was wrapped up. It was really bothering me. It just won’t get better. I can tell I am getting old. I don’t heal.
AE: In what ways has the show changed your life?
LK: It has just changed it period. It changed it from top to bottom. It has taken over. It’s become my life. I can’t talk to anybody without mentioning the show or some interview because that is my life. I’m not bragging. It is just you want me to talk that’s all I got.
AE: You and Hugh Rowland have a bit of a rivalry. Will we see more of this transpire on the show this season?
LK: I didn’t know that we had something going on until I saw the preview. So I guess we have something. I don’t know. I just do my job and whatever happens, happens. Things did happen. I didn’t see it as a big deal of anything more than I would normally handle somebody that’s difficult.
To listen to the entire interview to find out what other bones Lisa has broken click here!
Jun 5th
Top 7 Models From the 2013 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue – Mankind Unplugged
Our friends over at Mankind Unplugged are lookin’ out for you, man. The 50th Annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition is available at newsstands everywhere, but if you’re too lazy to pick one up, just check out Mankind Unplugged’s Top 7 Models From the 2013 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue post for some sweet photos and highlights. Such as…
You get the idea. Go check out the rest!
Feb 12th
Jane Seymour Is So Hot in Live and Let Die
Live and Let Die was the first Bond movie that I ever saw. I watched it when I was a kid traveling with my family in Vienna. Even though it was dubbed in German, I knew it was something awesome. I also remember thinking that Jane Seymour was super hot. I took a mental note of that as an eleven year old.
Fast forward 20+ years and yea, Live and Let Die is still a pretty good movie. I caught it on a nostalgic DVR decision. It was Roger Moore’s first Bond flick. Sean Connery was offered a huge stack of cash to reprise his role as Bond, but he declined, and officially endorsed Moore as his replacement.
The whole time I was watching Moore’s first run as Bond, I just couldn’t believe how unbelievably hot Seymour was as Solitaire. Her wardrobe, her face, those eyes; she’s like a 70’s Olivia Munn with bigger hair and bigger shoes. Forget the fact that Jane Seymour is still bangin’ at age 61. There’s just something about 1973 Live and Let Die Jane Seymour that’s worth celebrating, even almost forty years later. Take a look:
Sep 1st
250 Hottest Women Athletes at the London Olympics
250. Kate Macgregor – Sailing – Great Britain
249. Mariel Zagunis – Fencing – USA
248. Anastasia Prokopenko – Badminton – Russia
247. Milka Kraljev – Rowing – Argentina
246. Sahana Kumari – High Jump – India
245. Gretta Taslakian – Track & Field – Lebanon
244. Nadiya Dusanova – High Jump – Uzbekistan
243. Maurren Maggi – Long Jump – Brazil
242. Lisa Perterer – Triathlon – Austria
241. Mie Skov – Table Tennis – Denmark
240. Emilia Pikkarainen – Swimming – Finland
239. Pinar Saka – Track & Field – Turkey
238. Jana Teschke – Hockey – Germany
237. Sonata Tamosaityte – Track & Field – Lithuania
236. Irene Vecchi – Fencing – Italy
235. Patricia Mamona – Triple Jump – Portugal
234. Paula Pequeno – Volleyball – Brazil
233. Tatjana Pinto – Track & Field – Germany
232. Charlotte Kerwood – Shooting – Great Britain
231. Niki Panetta – Long Jump – Greece
230. Cleopatre Darleux – Handball – France
229. Marija Vrsaljko – Basketball – Croatia
228. Nevin Yanit – Track & Field – Turkey
227. Mara Navarria – Fencing – Italy
226. Marleen Van Iersel – Beach Volleyball – Netherlands
Aug 13th
Paula Patton Interview
Paula Patton is a stone-cold fox. But I’m not telling you something you don’t already know. You’ve seen Paula in films like Déjà Vu, Mirrors and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. She’s like a younger, longer-haired, happier version of Halle Berry. All comparisons aside though, Paula Patton is talented and gorgeous enough to merit all the attention she’s getting.
In addition to promoting the latest Mission Impossible (now available on DVD) and her upcoming role in the film Disconnect, Paula just signed on to play Denzel Washington’s love interest in 2 Guns. She’s also been working with Pepsi to get the word out on their new product, Pepsi Next.
Pepsi Next combines four different types of sweeteners to deliver a cola product with 60 percent less sugar. The combination of high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, sucralose and acesulfame potassium results in a Pepsi that doesn’t quite taste like a diet soda and is a bit mellow on the syrup factor than an original Pepsi. A regular Pepsi contains 150 calories and 41 grams of sugar. Pepsi Next has 60 calories and 15 grams of sugar.
To be honest, if I was walking around Los Angeles and Paula Patton asked me to taste-test a beverage as part of a “Drink It to Believe It” campaign, I’d probably drink just about anything. Believe that.
I did a quick interview with Paula this week and we talked about her involvement with Pepsi Next, the filming of Mission Impossible 4, Swedish actor Michael Nyqvist, Paula posing nude for her hubby’s album cover and whether or not the original script for the film Mirrors called for Paula’s character to sport a wet t-shirt through the entire third act of the film. Here’s the interview:
Now go support Paula and try out this Pepsi Next business for yourself.
Apr 11th
Super Bowl Playboy Party at the Bud Light Hotel
It’s been a week since the NFL season came to a close. The Super Bowl has been picked apart and over-analyzed and revisited countless times in the last seven days. There’s not much else to say about Super Bowl XLVI. It’s in the books, time to move on.
But before we close out all mentions of Super Bowl XLVI, let’s pause and appreciate some photos from the Super Bowl Playboy Party at The Bud Light Hotel in Indy:
Goodbye, NFL football. See you next year…
Feb 12th
Yvonne Strahovski Interview
Yvonne Strahovski is a fox. She’s a butt-kicking, twinkle-eyed fox. Her smile has been known to cause blindness. Her sexy Aussie accent has the potential to melt your face off. Strahovski could be at the supermarket wearing sweatpants and a hoodie, and she’d still be an instant head-turner. Imagine the kind of whiplash you’d get from seeing her after a six hour application of coconut and palm frond body paint for a sexy skinsuit photo shoot in South Beach.
Well thanks to SoBe, you don’t have to imagine this scenario. Strahovski became the third model (after Ashley Greene and Jessica Szhor) to don the body paint for a steamy SoBe Lifewater skinsuit photo session. The pictorial spread, shot by famed swimsuit photographer Raphael Mazzucco, will appear in the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition that hits newsstands on February 14.
The third annual SoBe Skinsuit spread coincides with the launch of three new SoBe with Coconut Water flavors: Pacific Coconut, Pomegranate Nectarine and Mango Mandarin. To celebrate the new flavors infused with coconut water, SoBe used Strahovski body canvas to create sultry scene of strategically placed coconuts and palms.
We got a chance to interview Yvonne and talked about the photo shoot, the application (and removal) of the body paint, her upcoming projects, the intensity of Jason Statham and what she misses most about Australia. Here’s the video
Here are some shots from the SoBe Lifewater spread:
If you want to check out more shots of Yvonne, make sure to visit Facebook.com/SoBe for exclusive behind the scenes photos and videos. You can also discuss the unquestioned hotness of Yvonne by joining the #sobeskinsuit conversation at @sobe on Twitter.
Jan 16th
Jessa Hinton Interview
Playboy playmate Jessa Hinton does more in one week than you do in six months. She’s a model and fashion designer who covers boxing, interviews poker stars and trains with MMA fighters. Jessa still finds time to appear on billboards all over Vegas and stay ridiculously good-looking. Miss July has put together a strong Playmate of the Year case. Jessa’s built up a great brand and she’s smart, engaging and if you’re lucky, she’ll teach you a thing or two about gymnastics and bisexual monogamy.
I had a fun chat with Jessa a couple weeks ago. We talked about breaking the ice at nude photo shoots, Hef, MMA vs. boxing, dating a poker star, hassling the Hoff on the set of Baywatch and how awesome it is to hang out with Jessa’s mom.
CS: When you’re in the middle of a photo shoot how do you get comfortable in the nude? Do people around you crack jokes to break the ice? How does that whole atmosphere work?
JH: The first thing that I didn’t realize—I thought it was going to be more sexy, more of strip down type of atmosphere. You’re basically in your lingerie and they’re like “all right, come up, let’s go.” I’m like, “really?” So the first scene is a little nerve wracking because you’re just meeting everyone. But you’re with them for the week and so by the end of the week you kind of look at them like your doctor. They see so many things and they do crack jokes, and but I definitely do as well. So by the end of the first or second day, we already know each other – names, where they grew up. You have a lot of down time so you get to meet everybody and really know them personally.
CS: The doctor comparison is funny. So there’s a little bit of joke cracking, but it’s still all business at the same time?
JH: Yeah exactly. It’s not—nobody hits on you. It’s not a kind of pervy atmosphere. Most of the time, they’re not even looking at your body parts. They’re dealing with lights. They’re looking at the set. They’re looking at something that needs to be two more inches to the right or their checking the color of the sheets. There’s a lot more that goes into it than just the girl and how she’s posed.
CS: And how many people are on a shoot like this?
JH: Probably seven or eight.
CS: Oh wow. That’s a lot of heads.
JH: Yeah.
CS: So what do you love most about Hugh Hefner?
JH: He’s probably the only guy in the past, I don’t know, let’s say 5 years, that has actually pulled out a chair for me.
CS: (Laughs)
JH: When they say “chivalry is dead,” not with this guy. I mean there’s no creepy side. Whenever you see him you just get kind of star struck. I mean he still has it. The man’s still got it. He’s what? 80—84 years old and he’s still going around like he’s, you know, 28. So just the kind of magnetism that he has is unbelievable. And people are like, “oh well did you ever sleep with him?” It’s not even like that. You just kind of respect what he’s done and you just want to be around him. The stories that he can tell you are just unbelievable.
CS: So you’ve been around boxing and MMA. You’ve done work with Top Rank Boxing and you’ve trained with top MMA fighters at Randy Couture’s gym. How do you think the two sports compare? Can boxing still maintain relevance when MMA just keeps growing and growing as a legit sport?
JH: I mean, I definitely think that MMA has more of a trend factor. I think boxing is more respectable for me. And the kind of fans that I interview or that I’m around at a MMA fight or at a boxing fight are like night and day.
CS: Interesting.
JH: It’s not the same kind of crowd. When I’m around Randy or Rich Franklin, it’s very different than when you’re around, say, Sugar Shane Mosley or Manny Pacquiao. It’s just crazy the kind of respect that the guys get as a boxer as opposed to an MMA fighter. So it’ll take a while for MMA to really get to that point. Boxing’s not going anywhere. I grew up with the Mike Tysons and the Muhammad Alis. Those are the people that my dad used to idolize. So to be around those people and interact with them, it’s more of a shell shock for me than being around Randy Coutures or the Chuck Liddell or Tito Ortiz. It’s very different. And the demographic is, like I said, night and day.
CS: Who do you think is going to win between Pacquiao and Marquez?
JH: (Laughs) Manny’s gonna win. I mean, there’s no question. Warner says it’s going to be a great rematch, but I really think that Manny—I mean what is he, 14-0 right now?
CS: Yeah.
JH: Everybody wants to see Manny and Mayweather. At every single fight that I go to, every single interview that I do, all the fans, that’s what they want to see.
CS: Right.
JH: But Marquez, I mean I just don’t think that he has the speed that Manny does. Manny’s a quick little fucker.
CS: (Laughs)
JH: (Laughs) You know what I mean? I mean you watch that guy and it’s like you wonder what he’s doing during the day when he’s, you know, in Congress in the Philippines and then you’re like, how does he have time to be who he is? It’s crazy.
CS: So what are you going to ask Manny when you interview him?
JH: Well I’m in the talks right now of doing celebrity ring girl for the Pacquiao fight. So not only will I do the press conference and also do co-hosting but maybe – and it’ll add that extra “it” factor if I can do it – I can go up there and take off my hosting coat and strip down to celebrity ring girl, kind of like what Holly did for MMA. But I mean with him it’s just, what is he doing different in this camp? What is he doing that’s going to really make this rematch stand out from the last time?
CS: I read somewhere that you coached competitive gymnastics. What’s that like?
Oct 31st
