The Unappreciated Scholar

Q and A with Bam Margera and Ryan Dunn

2010-10-08T11:58:00.000-07:00

Interview conducted by: Bob Kaplan

(From Left to Right: Ryan Dunn, Bob Kaplan (Me), and Bam Margera. Photo taken by: Colin Kerrigan.)

This week I got to sit down with America’s favorite bad boys: Bam Margera and Ryan Dunn. Despite many things I’ve heard, these are two of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. Ryan was sick during the interview, but he held through like a trooper. They were both very chill and very friendly.

TUS: Do you think that since a lot of your work has been in a more documentary format that the public knows your personality more than other celebrities who are just making films and such?

RD: No, I don’t think so. I don’t reveal too much. It may be documentary, but I do feel like I carry a different persona when I’m on camera. Most people think I’m crazy, but in real life I’m pretty much very mellow.

BM: Wait, I missed it. What’s the question?

RD: Do you think people know you better than other celebrities because what we do is documentary based?

BM: Well, I think, yes, because, you know, they know my mom and dad and all that, so I feel like they know me, like they see my house and where I live and what I do and all that and it’s like real, rather than being on some like movie. I don’t know.

RD: Right, right.

TUS: Do your parents react the same way they do on the show compared to regular life?

BM: Well, actually, we did 45 episodes of “Viva La Bam”, and you know when we film every single day, my mom just starts to catch on that she’s going to get mucked with in some way. She doesn’t know what, but she knows that something bad is going to happen. So she kind of just got used to it. You know, so like a year went by and then we started filming Jackass 3-D so it was kind of like new to her so when she checked into her hotel room in Los Angelos, we have this like gorilla punching the flat screen TV in the room and knocking over a table. And she’s freaking out, and then there’s a trainer sittin’ there trying to tame the gorilla, which is Chris Pontius in the gorilla outfit. You can’t tell the difference, it really looks like a gorilla. So like she’s flipping out, and it was good because a year went by without her getting mucked with.

BM: (turns to Dunn) It looks like there’s a rave going on next door, do you want to go?

RD: No. Why? You going?

BM: You want to go to the damp rave party?

RD: No, no, I’m good. I want to go to the bathroom and vomit. That’s what I’m going to do. Sorry, it’s not you guys, I just got sick before you guys got here.

TUS: How would you compare Jackass 3-D and the other Jackass films to CKY?

BM: Well, it’s a lot more professional, I’d say. It’s like way nicer cameras. (laughs)

RD: Oh yeah!

BM: Spike Jonze had a lot to do with this one, so there’s a lot of choreographed timed up stunts. It would be on like a dolly track, you know. It’s like: “You hit Wee-Man with the fish, and then Dunn throws a bucket of fish at him from behind and then he gets punched in the face.” Everything’s timed out perfectly with the motions of the camera. So it was a lot more well done.

TUS: With CKY you just went out and did stuff?

BM: Oh CKY we just had a camera filming what we’re doing and it didn’t matter what angle we had.

RD: Yeah, we didn’t know what an angle meant.

BM and RD: (laughs)

TUS: How do you feel about MTV’s latest hit show: “The Jersey Shore”?

BM: Uh, I actually love to hate it. I watch it from time to time because I just can’t believe that there’s people out there that are like that.

TUS: Do they think the same thing about you?

BM: I don’t know, and I don’t care. But like, honestly. I’m sure Snooki signs autographs. I’m sure she does a lot. Why would anybody want her autograph? I think she’s: A. not very pretty, and then B. what does she do that’s talented? Nothing. She tans herself, and then goes to the beach and tries to get dick.

TUS: Do you think that now that "The Jersey Shore" is big, that a lot of MTV viewers miss "Viva La Bam"?

BM: I don’t know. Well they play it a lot still, actually. But, I don’t know, I honestly like to watch it though just because I can’t believe that, like, it’s like, you wake up, you lift a bunch of weights, then you tan yourself, then you go to the beach and try to get pussy. And that’s what you do all day long. (laughs)

RD: That’s a good wrap up on it.

BM: And there’s nothing more. That’s it.

RD: It’s a good life.

BM: (laughs)

RD: Except I hate the beach, and I hate tanning. I like women, but I don’t like to talk to them. (laughs)

TUS: Do you do a lot of pranks and crazy stuff in your everyday life, off the camera?

BM: Off camera? No, if I’m going to do something that’s going to be funny, I make sure it’s on film.

RD: No, no, you know, People go on vacation, because their job is traditionally boring, you know, it gets monotonous. I think my job is being crazy, so when I’m not filming I’m usually pretty mellow. You know, I just want to be in a rocking chair or something, chilling out. I mean, I get drunk and make mistakes, A LOT of them.

BM: Like, people think though, like, the other day I’m just sitting at a bar like this just chilling, and a girl comes up and she goes, "Oh my god! You’re Bam from Jackass!" Then she smacks me in the face. And I’m like, "What the fuck?" So then I grab my beer, and I dump it on her head. And she’s like, "You fucking scumbag! You’re a fucking scumbag!" And I’m like, "How am I a scumbag? You smacked me in the face." "Yeah, but you’re on 'Jackass'." I’m like, "Yeah, and a Jackass thing to do would be to dump my beer on your fucking head." You know, like, that’s what happens sometimes.

TUS: A lot of stuff like that happens in bars, would you say that people hold it at a different level when you do it?

BM: Well, I do a lot of shock value purpose things. Such as, I live in a college town, so if I go into a bar and somebody’s like, “pfft”, and they see me with all these necklaces and shit, “Look at these fucking faggots walking in.” And I’d hear that, in the back of my ear. I’ll go into the bathroom, talk to my friend, then I’ll barrel out of the bathroom making out with my guy friend, and tumbling around doing somersaults, making out. Just to piss them off even more. And I’m not even gay. (turns to Ryan) I’ve frenched you too.

RD: I’ve frenched you. Don’t take the credit.

BM: Yeah, cause we were in Gaydon, in England.

RD: Spur of the moment.

BM: We were in Gaydon, England, so Dunn felt the need that he had to French me with his sick disgusting beard.

RD: You seemed to have a problem with the tongue, not the beard.

BM: (laughs)

RD: The beard was the only problem with that frenching?

BM and RD: (laughs)

TUS: Who is the most reckless one out of the whole Jackass crew?

BM: Reckless...

RD: I don’t know. Uh…

BM: I’d have to give it Knoxville.

RD: Yeah, yeah.

BM: Like, just because he like… You know when Steve-O does something, he’ll eye it up for like twenty minutes and like contemplate what he’s going to do, and eye it up and all this. Knoxville is just like, “So what am I doing? Getting trampled by ten buffalo? Let’s just do it, let’s go. Let’s just go and do it. Do it now!” I see that, and I’m like, “That’s rad. He’s ready to rock.” You know. So I’d have to give it to him.

RD: I agree.

TUS: Is it true that Knoxville has to wear a catheter because he’s had so many stunts getting hit in the genitals, that he can’t pee on his own anymore?

RD: He doesn’t wear a catheter, he has to do something…

BM: No, he tried to do a back flip on a motorcycle, and the motorcycle landed right on his dick. So now he has to have a catheter. He had it in there for like a year.

RD: But now he has to do something else.

BM: Well, he just had a kid, so obviously…

RD: Yeah, it still works, but I think he’s got to like still got to swab the thing all the time, like something uncomfortable. His dick’s banged up. It’s a banged up dick.

BM: (laughs)

TUS: Do you guys consider yourselves role models?

RD: Oh god, I hope not.

BM: Uh, I don’t know. I don’t care.

RD: (laughs) That’s elegantly put. “I don’t know. I don’t care.”

BM: Well, it’s just that a mom will say like, “My kid got hurt doing what you do.” I’m like, “I got hurt doing what I do. What the fuck is your point?” You know, like, it is what it is. I got hurt doing what I’m doing. Your kid got hurt doing what I’m doing? Well, what do you want?

RD: Don’t have a stupid kid.

RD and BM: (laughs)

BM: Don’t have a dumb kid.

RD: My mom’s got to deal with it too. She raised a dumb kid, you don’t see her bitching about it.

BM: (laughs)

TUS: There is a disclaimer at the beginning that says do not do this at home.

RD: Right.

BM: It still doesn’t work. But if anybody mails like footage of them to Jackass, they don’t even open up the package and they just send it right back.

RD: Screw kids! I don’t like them! You can quote me on that.

BM: (laughs)

No offense to Bam, but I think it is hilarious that his initials are: “BM”. It makes sense though, because Bam is the shit! I used to not be much of a fan, but he has earned much of my love and respect over the years.

From Troma to Drama

2010-09-24T13:26:00.000-07:00

Written by: Bob Kaplan

Recently I was able to sit down with the actress: Helen Campitelli. Helen has been working in commercial real estate for some time now, but the fascinating part about Helen’s life is that she was one of the stars of the film “Squeeze Play” 31 years ago.

“Squeeze Play” was one of the first films directed by Lloyd Kaufman. Lloyd Kaufman has written, directed, and produced nearly 100 films and television shows, such as: “The Toxic Avenger Series”, “Silent Night, Bloody Night”, and the animated series “The Toxic Crusaders”. He has acted in 168 projects, such as: “Rocky”, “Orgazmo”, “Crank: High Voltage”, and “Gamer”.

Helen and Lloyd worked together very early in his career, before things skyrocketed.

“They were lucky enough to sell the film and have it distributed by FOX, which was the biggest of their day. And my mom literally called me on the phone and said my name was in the paper for the movie, the posting for the movie. And that’s how I found out that it actually got release,” said Helen Campitelli.

The film industry has changed a lot over the years. Helen became a part of “Squeeze Play” from a flyer on a telephone pole. Now actors go on websites like Film.org and Craigslist in order to find acting jobs. She said even the films themselves have changed. “Squeeze Play” was a raunchy comedy filled with crude humor and nudity, even Helen herself was topless, but it was in a more respectable way. There was not as much vulgar language and “F-bombs” as the risqué comedies have today. Back then, Lloyd used to hold the rehearsals at his apartment on his sofa.

“He was very very funny,” said Helen. “He would literally act out what he wanted you to do, and if it was something like a little bit sexy or risqué, it was absolutely hilarious to watch him doing it. Because he had a full beard at the time, and he was just like older than his years in the way of his mannerisms. It was always so funny.”

Helen has been a realtor for the past 25 years. She did what she could to take care of her mother, who passed away in 2006. Helen’s life in film was something in the past, until her nephew, Gary Makarevitz, decided to pursue his dream of becoming a make-up effects artist. At first Gary did not know that his aunt had starred in a Troma film. He was actually wearing a “The Toxic Avenger” shirt when Gary and Helen were discussing the film industry for the first time.

“You know, I was younger. It was all young people. It was young energy. I’m excited about seeing some of that with, like ‘Party Smashers’, and some of these films where they’re young ambitious people and it’s exciting to see my nephew getting excited about it. The youth. The youth is what changes everything,” Helen said, comparing then and now.

Helen also did quite a bit of modeling in her early years. She was actually one of the Black Velvet girls. Helen worked with a lot of famous hairdressers such as: Sir Robert Clegg, Paul Mitchell, Donald Scott, and Robert Pearson. She actually learned make-up from Way Bandy.

Since Helen has gotten back into film she has worked on a few projects, and a few more are in the oven. Helen was just in a film titled: “Zombies and Pizza”. A feature called “Ultra Violence” is in pre-production. Helen will be playing a very comedic character named: Mary the Cougar. Helen and Lloyd will actually be reuniting on the set of this film for the first time in over 30 years. She is playing the district attorney in the film “The Bookie”. She was also an actress in one of the reenactments of "Forensic Files". Helen also played Rev. Bob Levy’s wife in the short film “Party Smashers” produced by 1 More Time Productions.

Keep an eye out for Helen in future projects.

(From Left to Right, Gary Makarevitz and Helen Campitelli on set of "Zombies and Pizza")

(Movie Poster for "Squeeze Play")

Welcome to my world...

2010-08-03T12:04:00.000-07:00

So I know a lot of artists, musicians, filmmakers, actors, models, photographers, writers, playwrights, comedians, et cetera. I work for a few magazines and newspapers right now. My partner, Luc Paul, and I are starting a magazine this December. All that aside, it is very hard to cover all the great creative professionals that I know. I have blogged before. I used to have my own blog, but that was just me going on and on about everything that pisses me off, which is everything. I was also a music journalist for MusicUnderFire.

This blog will be a great place for me to post articles about all the brilliant and talented people I know. I will also talk about Hollywood and mainstream entertainment. I might even post about classic films and musicians. Who knows? The possibilities of this blog are endless. No one knows the limits that this blog will test, not even me. I might even break the borders of Arts and Entertainment.

I hate the terms “blog”, “blogger”, and “blogging”. The word “blog” sounds like something you do on the toilet. But I am not against blogging. Obviously, since that’s what I’m doing right now. There is a lot of BS blogs out there. Who knows? Maybe this one is one of them. But we will find out. Only time will tell.

I am always known as the guy who doesn’t hold anything back. I say what’s on my mind, even if people don’t want to hear it. So hopefully this blog will be a success. As long as you guys can appreciate the fact that I am going to tell you the truth no matter what.

I would also like to ask you to try to not be offended by things I say. Just know that everything is in good fun. Especially this month’s poll. Let it be known that I do not dislike Jon Cryer. I like Jon Cryer. But I still think he is awful. It’s not his fault. I mean, come on, he was Duckie for God’s sake. I do, in fact, hate crawfish though. I think they are the most disgusting miserable creatures that ever existed. So, Jon Cryer, please don’t be offended. I don’t think that you are as useless as a crawfish. Or do I? I can’t even tell you for sure. But the people will tell. And if you are a crawfish supporter and are offended that I compared the crawfish to Jon Cryer, then I really don’t care.

We will come back to this subject.

I bid you farewell for now, and I hope you enjoy “The Unappreciated Scholar”.