Chicago

Chicago has been pretty fucking insane. It started out pretty chill after I drove to Chicago from Detroit and got dinner with two of my friends director Joe Swanberg and photographer Clayton Hauck. I made plans with them separately but when I introduced them they had actually already met as two days previous Clayton shot Joe for an article in Chicago Magazine. Wild coincidence. After dinner there was hangs in Joe’s weird Tiki themed basement that I may have mentioned yesterday and then I updated this site and crashed out.

In the morning I met up with porn babe Caprice Capone and we went to the Navy Pier and I got her naked on the Ferris Wheel. We rode it twice and I am pretty sure they caught us the second time but instead of going to jail and becoming sex offenders we just got laughed at. After that we went to a beach where we attempted to get her naked in the water but two kids saw her in her tiny bikini and kept lurking so we sort of gave up. It was fun to swim in Lake Michigan even if we didn’t get any rad photos. (We may have snapped a few…) As I was driving her to the train station a crazy storm/tornado hit and I was pretty sure my car was going to get thrown into the lake, but fortunately I made it to my friends Jillian and Madlab place alive.

I watched the first period of the Blackhawks Stanley Cup playoff game with them and then ran over to a comic book store to shoot Rizzo Ford in front of a huge wall of golden era comics. It was a pretty cool shoot although the light was a little weird. Right as I was leaving the comic book store the Hawks won in a dramatic come from behind historic victory to claim the cup and Chicago was just completely insane after that. Total madness everywhere.

I then headed over to Evil Olive to shoot the insane Porn N Chicken party. Check out the first time I shot it. It was a pretty crazy time and there will be a ton of pictures from that soon. I took almost 600 shots. Bananas.

Anyway, I am fucking about to pass out and I have to be awake in 4 hours to get on the road again. This time with Sidney Scarlet. It should be fun. Pics of Caprice, Rizzo and PNC after the jump. NSFW.

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Detroit

So my road trip is off to a great start. I flew to Detroit and I managed to get upgraded to first class which made our hour delay a lot more bearable. I got to stay in a pretty sweet Red Roof in that just mildly smelled like death. I had the Insane Clown Posse’s former publicist take me out to some extremely weird bars and and ate some sort of cream puff from Coney Island which is kinda bullshit that I have to eat food in Detroit named after a place in the city I live in.

The next morning I woke up and met up with a girl named Dixie Comet. She is a fetish model and just moved to Detroit. She had randomly Tweeted at me a couple days earlier and I really wanted to shoot someone in an abandoned building so I asked her if she was down. She had a building in mind but I had heard about this massive Packard Plant that had been abandoned in the 90’s. I thought we were going to have to jump a fence or something but you could just walk in because most of the walls were gone. There were plants growing on the second and third floors. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. We only explored one building and there were dozens of them. I could have shot her for months and never shot in the same place. Unfortunately it was insanely hot and we called it a day after about an hour.

The only downside was when I stepped on a nail that went right through my shoe. I haven’t gone to the hospital yet but I am sure when I get lock jaw I will go to the ER in whatever city I am in. Let’s pray for my health. I also almost hit a pheasant with my car.

After the shoot I drove to Chicago where I am now in my friend Joe Swanberg’s Tiki themed basement that was like this when he bought the place. Super surreal. Joe directs movies for a living and when his movie Drinking Buddies comes out you need to see it. I saw it at SXSW and it’s amazing.

After the break is a preview from my shoot with Miss Dixie Comet. I would say it’s NSFW but its probably too late at this point.

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2013 SXSW Film Red Carpet

Gotta make this quick as SXSW Music week is in full swing, but I wanted to try to get some more stuff up while I had a chance. I saw five films at SXSW and I shot the red carpet for each film. I have seen some really great stuff at SXSW and this year was no exception.

The opening film was the Incredible Burt Wonderstone with Steve Carell, Jim Carrey and Olivia Wilde. Steve Buscemi and Alan Arkin were in it too, but sadly they didn’t show up to the red carpet. Huge films that open at SXSW tend to be really, really funny and Burt Wonderstone was fucking hilarious. Go see it even though it’s about magicians.

The next film I saw was Prince Avalanche directed by David Gordon Green. It had Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch in it. It was a slightly confused movie, somewhere in between a comedy and a slow meditation on loneliness. I enjoyed it but I think Paul Rudd fans will find it pretty boring.

The highlight of the festival for me was Joe Swanberg’s film Drinking Buddies. I have known Joe for about 10 years and I have seen probably 5 of his films and enjoyed them all but Drinking Buddies blew me away. It was his first film with big name actors and that helped make the film more accessible and added a lot of emotion that you don’t get from Joe’s indie film friends. I remember thinking Hannah Takes The Stairs was the most real film I had ever seen, but this film had that same realness with a lot of talent and acting chops behind it thanks to Ron Livingston, Anna Kendrick, Oliva Wilde and Jake Johnson. Jake Johnson is really a fantastic actor and was in my favorite film of SXSW last year, Safety Not Guaranteed. At the press conference after the movie all the actors were so complimentary of Joe, I was so damn proud. I think this movie is going to do really well and make Joe a household name. Fuck mumblecore jokes.

Spring Breakers had the most hype at SXSW and it totally lived up to it. Harmony Korine is a fucking lunatic and makes the most insane films that exist. Spring Breakers is no exception. I don’t even know if I liked the film but I was really glad to see it. You need to see it. James Franco plays his weirdest character yet and a bunch of teen idles play over sexed criminals. Also, on the red carpet watching teen girls try to trample each other to get to Selena Gomez was pretty amazing too.

The last film I saw was Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s film Don Juan. He wrote and directed and starred in it. Tony Danza played his father and was really great in it. Tony Danza needs to be getting more work. Joseph Gordon-Levitt on the other hand can fuck himself because he made a film about how bad porn is. Fuck that shit, you puritanical motherfucker. Don’t go see Don Jon. Stay home and jerk off to porn instead.

Click here to see all the red carpet pictures from the 2013 South By Southwest Film Festival.

Incredible Burt Wonderful

Prince Avalanche - Emile Hirsch - Paul Rudd - David Gordon Green

Drinking Buddies

James Franco - Spring Breakers

Josephg Gordon Levitt - Don Juan

Bonus Elvis Mitchell

Selena Gomez - Spring Breakers

 

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2013 SXSW Film Portraits

Every year I split my South By Southwest adventure into two parts. The second week, which starts today is music week and total hell. I work 20 hours a day, take thousands of photos and never sleep, but I tend to make more money than any other week of the year. But the first week is sort of a vacation. I work for the Village Voice, who let me do whatever I want, and I get to shoot movie stars, eat BBQ and watch a bunch of movies. After 10 years of this I have so many friends in Austin and the SXSW Film Fest is pretty much my favorite event of the year.

For my Voice gallery I set up a bunch of mini photo shoots with actors and directors and then I also shot a few red carpets. I will get the red carpets up this week if I have a minute to do so but I wanted to get these portraits up because I am really happy with them and I think you will dig them. My insanity starts tonight but I have a few hours before I have to start working.

The highlight of this gallery is actually for a SXSW Interactive but it features a bunch of movie/tv stars so I am keeping it in this gallery. It’s the cast of JASH the comedian run new YouTube channel from Tim & Eric, Sarah Silverman, Michael Cera and Reggie Watts. I am a fan of all of them so it was great to get a chance to shoot them. I knew Reggie back when I first moved to NYC. I didn’t know if he remembered me but when he realized I ran Driven By Boredom he started talking to me about the naked girls I shoot and told Tim & Eric they needed to see my site. It was a pretty good look and I have loved Reggie’s stuff for years so maybe he and I can do a real shoot because he is the most photogenic human alive.

I got to shoot the stars and director of Milo a film about a monster that lives in Ken Marino’s ass. It sounds completely terrible but I have heard nothing but amazing things about it and I cannot wait to see it. Evidently it is absolutely hilarious. My friend Joe Swanberg (who’s film Drinking Buddies seems to be the talk of the festival) told me that the director Jacob Vaughn was really good and it stars hilarious people in Ken Marino, Gillian Jacobs, Steven Root and another comedian I know and love Kumail Nanjiani. Ken Marino was of course on The State, the last great sketch comedy show and directs pretty much the greatest thing on the internet, Burning Love. Gillian Jacobs is on Community which is one of the weirdest and best shows on TV. She aslo happens to be totally not ugly and was the nicest person I met all week.

My favorite photos I took were for the film Short Term 12, another movie I hear great things about. I got to shoot Brie Larson, who is in pretty much every film at SXSW, and John Gallagher Jr. John is one of the stars of The Newsroom which is the best new show on TV. If you haven’t seen it stop fucking up and steal someone’s HBO Go password immediately. I got to shoot them by the river and it made for some lovely photos.

I got to shoot M. Blash and Chloë Sevigny for their film The Wait. I have had a crush on Ms. Sevigny since I was 15 and I actually was kinda star struck around her which hasn’t happend to me in a long time. I shot her in a plant. It was really important. The first photo I took all week was of Charlie Todd of Improv Everywhere. There is a documentary about him called “We Cause Scenes”. I have been an Improv Everywhere fan for a long time and I noticed him at the convention center right after I picked up my badge. I also got to shoot Paul Walker and the director of Hours. Paul was really excited and knew all about my 35mm camera which I was not expecting. You don’t expect the star of Fast and The Furious 6 to be a camera nerd. I shot my friend Davy Rothbart who runs Found Magazine with two of his Medora documentary stars. He spent a season with a high school basketball team in a dying town in Indiana. The film looks really phenomenal as well. I also shot Josh Duhamel, the star of the film Scenic Route. He seemed like a really good dude unlike Adam Brody from Some Girl(s) who pretty much acted like I didn’t exist. His co-star Mía Maestro was lovely though and I very much want to see the Neil LaBute film.

So yeah, that’s a huge write up, but I really like these photos so you should look at them.

Click here to see all my South By Southwest Film Festival portraits!

Michael Cera, Sarah Silverman, Tim Heidecker, Reggie Watts & Eric Wareheim - JASH

Brie Larson & John Gallagher Jr - Short Term 12

Adam Brody - Some Girl(s)

M Blash Chloe Sevigny - The Wait

Ken Marino, Jacob Vaughn & Gillian Jacobs - Milo

Paul Walker - The Hours

Michael Cera - Jash

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10 Years Of SXSW

As we speak (or as I type) I am on an airplane headed to Austin, Texas on my way to South By Southwest. This is not just any SXSW for me; it is my 10th straight SXSW. I started out traveling to Austin when I managed a dance pop band called The Gaskets. After the Gaskets broke up I started going as a member of the media, covering it for the last six years with a camera in hand. This year I am going to be EXTREMELY busy and I will be on the road for at least two weeks. I have a feeling that I won’t be able to update this site as much as I would like to so I wanted to put this post up. I WILL be updating my Twitter, Instagram and most importantly my Tumblr. I will be posting highlights from every day on Tumblr so check over there if I am slow to update this site.

Anyway, in honor of my 10th at SXSW I wanted to give you a little break down of some of the highlights of the last 10 years. Austin is crawling with musicians and celebrities so this list is going to sound a little (okay, a lot) name droppy, so I apologize for that in advance. Just don’t read it if that sort of thing is as grating to you as it is to most people. I am going to include some links and photos to keep you guys entertained while I am busy taking photos 14 hours a day. And if you are going to be in Texas over the next two weeks hit me up! See you guys in a food truck line! (Read the article)

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IFC On Demand Press Conference – 1.19.09

Ah, my first proper Sundance post… with many more to come…

My friend Joe Swanberg is a great director. I have talked about this on DBB a number of times. He emailed me the other day to ask if I was going to be at Sundance. I was, so he invited me to a breakfast/ panel he was on with Steven Soderbergh. They were announcing IFC On Demand’s new Festival Direct. Festival Direct is on demand movies that come out at the same time that they premiere at a film festival. The first 5 films are premiering this March at the SXSW Film Festival. One of those movies is Joe’s new film, Alexander The Last. When it opens at SXSW it is going to be on IFC at the same time. Janet Pierson, the producer of SXSW Film, was there to explain her decision to work with IFC On Demand as was Jonathan Sehring of IFC. Pierson is the wife of John Pierson who along with making Spike Lee and Kevin Smith famous, was one of my little brothers favorite college professors. Joe was at the event to talk about why he decided to forgo a festival run for on demand and Soderbergh was there to talk about releasing a big budget movie like Che On Demand while it was still in it’s original theatrical run.

To read more about the press conference click here, but to se my photos of the event, click over here.

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Trash – 10.10.08

IT’S BAAACK!  I finally got my camera back.  For about two months I had a Nikon D300 which is the first digital camera I have ever been happy with (although the Fuji Fine Pix S2 Pro was pretty nice at the time).  After about two months, one of the memory card reading pins got bent and I had to send it to Nikon to get it fixed.  To their credit, they fixed it for free, however when they sent it back UPS lost it.  It should have been delivered on Aug 21st.  By the time I went through all the bullshit of dealing with Nikon and UPS (they will be receiving hate mail shortly) and got my camera back it was October 9th nearly two months later.  I am just getting used to the camera again.  I have to reread the manual and figure out what’s what.  So these photos are a test run.  Check back in a month and we will see how we are doing then.   I also shot these photos with a fixed 20mm lens so they should be a bit wider than normal.  Anyway, let’s get on to the post.

My day was sort of a travesty.  I woke up at 7 AM to watch myself on Good Morning America.  I was going to go back to sleep but after a run to the post office and a few McGriddles I didn’t really feel like sleeping.  I went into my day job an hour early to take some photos.  I work for the Internet Archive and until Friday we worked out of the Donnell Public Library.  However, they are turning that library into a hotel so we had to leave.  I spent some time photographing the now empty building.  Those photos should be up soon.  We had to pack up everything at the office and my coworkers and I busted our asses getting everything done so we could get today off of work.  It was successful, but I was completely exhausted.  We got off work a bit early around 10:30 so I decided I had some time to kill before heading over to Trash.

My friend Mandy Morbid was in town and her boyfriend Zak Sabath had an art show in the city so I went to meet them at the after party.   It was 5 avenues and 25 blocks (about 2.5 miles) southwest of my work, but I wanted to play with my camera so I decided to do it on foot and walk through Times Square.  When I got to the bar, Zak and Mandy left to have sex and told me they were going to be back soon.  The bar was called Billy Marks West and it was the worst bar I have ever been to.  I wanted to just walk around until they got back because the bar looked so god awful, but I really needed to pee, so I decided to go in.  But I didn’t want to just use their bathroom and walk out so I took a seat at the bar and was going to order a coke or something.  I don’t drink as you probably know by now, but I was extremely thirsty from the walk.  I really just wanted a water, but I wanted to pay for something.  The bartender came over and asked me what I wanted.  When I said “What do you have that is non-alcoholic?” He snapped back “Nothing.” And walked away from me.  I was sort of bewildered but I just sat there.  A few minutes later he said in a quite threatening way “What can I do for you?”  I said “Don’t you have a coke or something?”  He told me it would be $5.  Now, I would have spent $5 (Plus tip) to just sit there and wait and use their bathroom, but the way he said it, it was clear he was just trying to be a dick.  So I said “$5 for a coke?”  And he said “It’s the same price as a beer, a drink is a drink”. So I told him to make me a Shirley Temple.  Again he turned his back on me.  A few minutes later he came back and said I was making him uncomfortable.  I told him I was didn’t drink and I was just waiting for some friends.  He told me that normally when people come into a bar they drink.  I told him again that I was just waiting, and that I would buy a Shirley Temple.  He then got in my face about how this was his bar and blah blah blah… So I left.  I didn’t even get to pee. Never go to Billy Mark’s ever (Not that you would).  It is a horrible bar with at least one asshole for an owner (I’m not sure if he was Billy or Mark but he is on their bullshit site).

I walked over to Rebel and talked to their manager while I waited for Mandy to text.  When she did, she said she had run into some people and they left and she had to get up early anyway.  At this point I am just in a horrible mood.  I take a cab over to Webster Hall for MSTKRFT.  I should be on the list, but I am not for some reason, and the door guy who I have talked to probably 25 times or something didn’t recognize me, even though he let me in without even looking at the list less than a week ago.  He told me I wasn’t on Alex English’s list and then started quizzing me about what Alex looked like.  He told me he had never heard of Driven By Boredom.  Now, I probably sound like an asshole here, but how do you work in night life in NYC, work with the same people I work with, and have never of even heard of my site.  That’s just upsetting.  He did eventually let me in any way, but my mood went from bad to worse.  After being twice asked to sell people E in the first 10 minutes of me being there, I decided I should just pack it in and go over to Trash.  On the way out I talked to JFK from MSTKRFT about working on a blog I might start with Terrence soon and got a hug from Bronques and a pep talk from Paulo so by the time I got to Trash I was feeling a little bit better.  My friend Joe Swanberg was in town for his movie premiere  and I got him and his friends a table and a few bottles of champagne.  I made out with some cute girls and even danced a bit.  Good times were had and I went to bed just a mere 26 hours after I woke up to see my self on national TV.  What a weird fucking day.

Photos are here.  They are NSFW including one of my favorite photos I have ever taken. It’s of Apathy.  You can see it below in it’s censored version.

PS.  Joe’s movie is called Nights and Weekends.  It is playing at the IFC Center in NYC and is available on IFC OnDemand.  You should see it.  As soon as I do I will get up a review.

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Last Day.

I am going to be back in New York at 9AM tomorrow morning. I have a ton of weird photos to go up, but I have had no time to deal with them. I have been pretty busy and in a room full of like 20 people at all times. It is sort of hard to get work done. I left my sleeping pills in LA so last night I woke up like every 20 minutes. It is sort of amazing that I got any sleep at all. With the altitude, lack of sleep and my allergies I feel absolutely horrible. It is so weird to be here because I don’t know anyone in Hollywood and I don’t know how to get into any parties. I just randomly walked the street, but I did run into my friend Joe Swanberg who is covering Sundance for Myspace. He is a reasonably respected director and couldn’t really get into any parties either. The two of us and a bunch of his friends sort of ran around doing nothing and they went to hang out at their place and I went home and tried to sleep. Anyway, this is sort of unexciting, but I did meet Danny Glover. Check out one of Joe’s videos below.

PS. My naked clown photos had a broken link.  They work now.

[myspace]http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=2085982388[/myspace]

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Trash – 8.24.07

Stephen of the Snakes birthday, Lydia was hosting… had to be there. It was packed for whatever reason. I brought Joe Swanberg and Teddy of the Gaskets. I don’t think they had fun. This girl Erica (Erika?) thought I was gay until I kissed her and I went home early for some reason. Oh, my little brother was there. More experimentation with longer exposures. Click for good times.

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