gorilla flicks

paisley skates and the artistes of big brother

Theologians and religious scholars will tirelessly war against the theory of evolution, but every once in a while it's scientifically proven that bodies do collide and will give birth to something new. Actually, this happens every day. It's called sex. Men take their private parts, rub them on a woman's private parts, there's an explosion—BANG!—and that's where babies come from. It's not a miracle by any stretch, but the mere fact that Big Brother skateboard magazine came to be and managed to exist for 12 years is almost as mind-blowing as a box of magnets. What few people understand about the magazine, however, is that the staff was entirely comprised of classically trained artists, and that's why I've chosen to interview myself about this extra special, extra arty release from Paisley Skates. This is, after all, the Age of Enlightenment*. —Sean Cliver

Sean: First things first, what is Paisley Skates?

Sean: Great question. Real journalism 101, Norman Mailer. Regardless, I'm glad you asked, because it's a snappy little skateboard company I co-founded with Paul Urich. Our first set of boards came out last November and we've somehow managed to release a few more since then, thanks in part, or possibly in whole, to a small collective of friends and like-minded thinkers, like Nick Halkias and Mike Pipito, who have generously donated their time, talents, and esoteric interests to accelerate the cause.

the jackass standup comedy eastern canada tour

Today's debate: How big is Canada, anyway? Apparently it's pretty big, or at least big enough to support beef between the Eastern and Western inhabitants. Although none of this would have been known if it weren't for a few of the jackass guys going out on their upcoming standup stint in North America's attic this June. Once again, Rick Kosick gets the scoop, this time straight from the King of Poop, Dave England… 

Rick Kosick: I’m talking with Dave England, but Preston Lacy is welcome to chime in anytime during this discussion. You guys are about to kick off your Canadian tour, what’s it called, does it have a name?

Dave England: It’s called the Jackass Standup Comedy Eastern Canada Tour. At first we called it the Canada Tour, as we posted on social media, but then Western Canada had a lot to say about that. We’re only doing Eastern part, but I’m sure we will go back and hit the Western.

happy birthday to sean cliver!

Once again it's that queer third person time of year, when Sean Cliver wishes himself a "Happy Birthday!" because that just so happens to be his damn job at GORILLA FLICKS. To shake it up and make it more of a party that's not all about him, him, him, though, here's Chris Pontius as well who's striking a very handsome pose in a somewhat matching outfit. For the record, neither of these goofs called each other up before the party and asked, "Hey, are you wearing your Paisley Skates shirt to the Big Brother deal tonight?" Instead it was kismet. Meant to be. Just one more plate of shrimp on an already heaping cosmic buffet table (but not the table adorned with a big icy SHIT behind them).

last call: the dc shoes x big brother shit show

Before we get shit deep in a photo mix from this past weekend's DC Shoes x Big Brother skateboard magazine launch event, check out that fancy-ass banner at right! Tremaine and Kosick really knocked it out of the online ballpark. So if you want to buy the book, go on, click the image and be whisked away to a magic page on Gingko Press to do so. Should you have any reservations about doing so, please put them aside because the Big Brother book is a best, worst, and who fucking cares collection of content from the magazine with all-new editorial blurbs by former staff members Marc McKee, Earl Parker, Sean Cliver, Rick Kosick, Dave Carnie, Dimitry Elyashkevich, Chris Nieratko, and Chris Pontius. Bonus: It is guaranteed to not fit easily onto any bookshelf, thereby by forcing you to leave this shit out on a coffee table for all to see and roll upon. Now onto the potpourri of people...

Left to right: Big Brother managing editor Chris Nieratko and pro skateboarder Mike Carroll; Pro skateboarders Brandon Biebel and Bill Weiss; The one and only "master journalist" Earl Parker with Big Brother contributor Johnny Knoxville.

Left to right: The original Big Brother staff members Sean Cliver, Earl Parker, Marc McKee, Jeff Tremaine, and Rick Kosick; Contributing photographers Dennis McGrath and Tobin Yelland with the welcome wagon for the party.

last call: the being evel premiere

Left to right: Justin Moore-Lewy, Kelly Knievel, Jeff Tremaine, Johnny Knoxville, Mat Hoffman, and Daniel Junge.

Last night we were all able to relive a bit of the awesome and wonder of our '70s childhoods with the Hollywood premiere of Being Evel—Evel, of course, being Evel Knievel, the American icon and daredevil known for his crazy stunts, larger-than-life behavior, and big time love for all things emblazoned in red, white, and blue. Directed by Oscar-winner Daniel Junge and produced by Johnny Knoxville, Jeff Tremaine, Mat Hoffman, Justin Moore-Lewy, and Brendan Kiernan, Being Evel first appeared on the cinema scene earlier this year at Sundance, where the documentary was met with critical acclaim, and it's now set to blaze across the world this Friday, August 21st, with a limited theatrical release and widespread availability on iTunes. For now, here's a smattering of the faces that were in attendance to kick-off this thoroughly enjoyable and boldly honest portrayal of the legendary life and times of Evel Knievel…

Left to right: Tremaine with special effects maestro Elia Popov; Wee Man meets the press with some hands-on; Dave England does his red carpet duty. 

Left to right: Executive producer George Hamilton with one of Evel's original motorcycle leathers; Red carpet selfie-in-action with Tremaine, Knoxville, Daniel Junge, and Hoffman; Tremaine goes tan-to-tan with George Hamilton.

Left to right: Tremaine and Hoffman get posey with Evel's son and daughter Kelly and Alicia Knievel; England and Wee Man get posey with Evel's motorcycle.

Left to right: Donnie "Money Shot" Anderson and Andy "Sweatpants Media" Bell; Barry "Symbolism" Smoler and Knate "Knew Mutants" Gwaltney; Knoxville with his daughter Madison.

Left to right: Introductions are important as Knoxville, Daniel Junge, Mat Hoffman, Tremaine, and George Hamilton do the Being Evel honors; Evel's big red, white, and blue truck was on display out front the Arclight theater on Sunset Blvd.

Left to right: Rental moguls and editing buddies Steven Gatto and Seth Casriel wait in line for a look inside Evel's truck; Wee Man emerges from within Evel's truck; Donnie Anderson and Anna get handsy with Evel's cane inside Evel's truck.

Left to right: A pre-lasted Lacey Reilly; After party Evel memorabilia on display; After party props Donna Stack and Sean Cliver.

Left to right: Closing the night out strong with Wee Man and Tremaine; Party boys Chris Pontius, Rick Kosick and Wild and Wonderful Whites wrangler Julien Nitzberg (not to mention an extremely shady Guch in the background).

(Photos by Rick Kosick; 2015)

happy birthday to chris pontius!

I can still remember the first day I met Chris Pontius. It was only very briefly in 1993 or 1994, as he'd made a surprise stop at the third Big Brother magazine office location at 815 N. Nash Street in El Segundo, California, and my observational impression then was that he closely resembled a hyena if it was crossbred with Patrick Swayze. Not only in the big, devious perma-grin on his face and mop of Swayze-like coiffed hair on his head, but his whole demeanor and presence in general. There was something definitely unpredictable about him. And his gait ... he pranced in a very satyric manner. But satyrs aren't real. They're mythological bullshit. Hyenas, on the other hand, are real, and of course it would only be a decade later when Chris would astutely point out on Wildboyz that the female hyena has a "mock penis" that is actually an over-sized and extended clitoris. The last time I saw Chris, which was only a few days ago, he was still unpredictable and devilish as ever. He also had a knife held to a small child's throat, but in a good way—a photo op with an enthusiastic young fan. Stay gold, Chris. Happy birthday!

(Photos by Sean Cliver and Rick Kosick)

talking stand-up with chris pontius

New reporter in the Gorilla Flicks thicket Rick Kosick managed to pin down Chris Pontius to elucidate on the recent rash of stand-up comedy shows in and around the LA area put on by him and his fellow jackass mates, Steve-O, Dave England, Preston Lacy, and Danger Ehren. This is what he had to say—or at least a portion of it, because Pontius is no stranger to beating around a bush and makes an editor work hard—so hard—for the money.

RK: So when did you find out you were funny?

CP: I never really tried to be funny. It’s more just like people would laugh at the stuff that I did, and then maybe I wasn’t trying to be funny, but I guess it was funny, so … I don’t know? I have no idea. I’ve always been kind of a late bloomer in life to tell you the truth.

another jackass night at the improv!

They did it once and now they're doing it again. And possibly more, but let's just take things one day at a time for now. Who, what, when, where, and how? Here's the tried-and-true scoop:

Who: Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Preston Lacy, Dave England, and Danger Ehren.

What: A night of onstage improv, where these many splendored stars spin yarns and tell stories from their ridiculous life and times on jackass.

When/Where: On a Tuesday! Like tomorrow Tuesday, May 12, at The Improv in Brea, CA.

How: One at a time each of the guys will get up onstage to regale the crowd with a selection of on-camera and camera-off moments while filming the jackass features (who knows, maybe Wildboyz, too, because Chris and Steve-O probably got into more exotic shenanigans in three years than most mortals do in a lifetime).

Get your tickets here: http://brea.improv.com

last call: the agents provocateurs art show

Most all of the Gorilla Flicks troop was out of town this past weekend, whooping it up at the Sundance Film Festival for the world premiere of Being Evel, a documentary about the daredevil life and times of Evel Knievel produced by Johnny Knoxville, Mat Hoffman, and Tremaine, but the leftovers—along with a crap ton of other people—braved the lists and lines outside Subliminal Projects in Los Angeles this past Saturday night to check out a selection of "subversive" skateboard art and the semi-awkward artists that make it, all of whom were featured in Seb Carayol's book Agents Provocateurs, published by Gingko Press. Whew. Quite the grammatical clusterfuck of commas there, but so it goes in convoluted introductions. Now on with the photos!

Photos from left to right: First off, that first photo isn't left or right, it's at the top, and it's indicative of the crowded house (plus it has Guch and Shad at far right in the Where's Waldo mix!); Infamous skateboard collector Nick Halkias and David Lopes of Gingko Press; Meko the wonder dog; A kick-ass sculpture by Andy Jenkins for a Gabriel Rodriguez pro model on 101 Skateboards, circa 1992, when slick bottom decks were all the rage.

a gorilla flicks holiday gift giving guide

Every year, well, not every year but almost every year, we like to recommend a few items for your holiday gift giving needs and/or desires. This year is no different and for all I know it will feature a lot of what was recommended in years of holiday past with but a few new shits on the block. Regardless, similar to diamonds, jackass is forever with Wildboyz being the ultimate rush, the ultimate high! And with every emerging country in this world there is a whole new market to be tapped like a keg and drained of all monetary sense, because, after all, that is what the holidays are for: yule logs to keep the economic fires burning hard—so hard.

Her

He may not have gold teeth, but he did win a golden award—an Academy Award, to be precise, so you know he's hardcore. He being Spike Jonze. Her being the movie he wrote and directed. Her will make you laugh at times, cry at others, but simultaneously make you ponder the fate of humanity as it dives down a technological rabbit hole of social self-absorption. It will also drop your jaw at the nifty job of Production Design through the creative eyes of K.K. Barrett. For classic Jonze kicks, though, you can always pick up his Director's Series collection of music videos and short flicks.

 

Wildboyz

For all of us that worked and traveled on Wildboyz it remains to be our crown jewel. I believe Wildboyz may also be the standard by which all other shows on Animal Planet and Discovery measure themselves, but that may also just be me writing shit out of my ass. Whatever the case, Wildboyz was that next great evolutionary leap in nature programming, the likes of which transcended the classroom and graduated to theme nights at a prominent gay club in West Hollywood. Chris Pontius and Steve-O commandeered four seasons of Wildboyz in all, covering most all regions on the globe in a generally uncovered fashion, with a bevy of guest-stars including Wee Man, Johnny Knoxville, Mat Hoffman, Manny Puig, David Hasselhoff, and more!