We recently sat down with model/actor/director/renaissance woman Jaime King to get some insights on her Atom directorial debut, The Break In.

• How did you become involved in directing the quirky short The Break In?
I became involved with this short when my friend Jacob Fleisher brought it to me. I had just made my decision to start my path directing, producing and writing and wanted to start off with something short, hilarious and that I knew would pop. This was it!

• You have been called one of the original model-turned-actresses. What steps did you take to make that transition from modeling to film and television and then ultimately to directing?
I started modeling because I had always been obsessed with photography, film, writing and fashion. When I was young growing up in Omaha, there wasn’t much to do so I read a lot of magazines and books where I stumbled upon the works of Nan Goldin, Sally Mann, Richard Avedon… I watched a lot films from Spielberg, Lucas, Mike Nichols—you name it. I was lucky to go to a progressive school where I was able to shoot and develop my own photography and study it in a proper way. I thought if I became a model then that would give me an opportunity to move from Omaha, learn and do the things I loved creatively. I was a forward-thinking child and wanted this at a young age, 13!

When I attained success as a model I was very lucky to consistently work with Terry Richardson, Richard Avedon, Bruce Weber, David Baily, and ironically, I did a big piece with Nan Goldin about my life for The New York Times Magazine that won several awards. This was seen by many people, including those in Hollywood.
I had saved my money from modeling because I knew that I wanted to go into the film industry. At the age of 18 I would quit and officially start acting. People were not happy about this because I was at the top of my game in the fashion industry and no one had yet successfully transitioned from modeling to acting, so why would I want to do this?

Well, I knew film making was what I was meant to do and I started auditioning and landing huge films gracefully. By fully quitting fashion and not keeping one foot in both, people understood that my intention was clear. I studied my butt off and was fortunate to learn from amazing directors and the actors I worked with. I studied my directors, writers and fellow actors closely, knowing that what I loved was the WHOLE process of storytelling and one day wanted to be on the other side of the camera writing, producing and directing…and here we are.

• You seem to be primarily involved in alternative, independent, or black comedy style films and short situation comedy television series. Has your involvement in this style of entertainment influenced the way you directed The Break In?
I think that all of my involvement from comedy influenced The Break In. For me, comedy works when we are focused clearly on our main characters and their dilemmas. When the actors are totally committed to their conflict so truly, that it is hilarious because in truth, the situation and their reactions are absurd. I think the ordinariness of life is so funny—the way we as human beings take everything so personally and seriously is a fun thing to explore. We all do it, we all get so engrossed that when we take a step back to observe how we handle things and respond to them, it’s really quite hilarious. You have to find the funny even in the dark and trying times in life because if we don’t do that in the face of adversity, we’re done.

• Jason Ritter and Selma Blair star in this role-play comedy short. Has your close friendship with Selma Blair influenced any of the direction?
Yes. Selma has been my best friend for 11 years now and I worked with Jason on The Class and think that they both embody a very unique and incredible comedic style. Comedy is by far the most difficult form of acting and many cannot perform comedy. Selma is very funny because she is self-deprecating, silly, totally committed and she is very aware and evolved as a human being. She is one of the most talented actresses and comedians I know and I admire her greatly. Jason is amazing because he is so goofy but grounded, and his comedic timing is so perfect. He is hilarious because he is so grounded in what he is saying when his lines are so absurd, you cannot help but laugh your ass off. They were a perfect combo.

• As a model, actress, producer and now director of The Break In, have you chosen a favorite role in the entertainment industry?
I love them all. I think first and foremost, acting and writing are my first loves because they gave me the opportunity to delve into the understanding of humanity and what really drives us in all aspects of our consciousness. However, now that I am directing, it is one of the most fulfilling things for me that I have ever experienced because I get to use all of my abilities—my understanding of acting, my writing, my ability to communicate to the audience and desire to move people through the lens. I love directing and I hope that I get to really have an abundant and successful career as a director.

• Can we expect more directing from you in the future?
Yes, yes and yes. I just wrote and directed a short film called Latch Key that I am in post production on. I am also going to direct my first feature film that I co-wrote with the wonderful Jason Dolan called Polar Seasons that Brett Ratner, John Cheng and Kyle Newman are producing with me. I can’t wait, I am very excited about that.

Alright guys. It’s been a blast, but after a year of fierce competition, we’re retiring the Tournament. The last week of competition is May 9th – 15th. That’s the last time our top 3 videos will win cash, swag and the chance to be on Comedy Central. So let’s blow it out, guys. If you’ve got a video you want in the Tournament, now’s your time to upload it.

Hit the jump to see who our top ten this week are:

To help everyone get to know our buddies The Birthday Boys, we’d like to present a little photo tour of their home. Remember, they aren’t just a sketch group, but they’re also a gang of dudes who live together in a house!

Like what you see? Get much more videos from The Birthday Boys right here!

Happy birthday to us! This is week 52 of the tournament, which means we’ve been writing some iteration of the phrase “cash, prizes and the chance to be on Comedy Central” once a week for a year. As you guessed, the top 3 winners get the whole shebang.  You’ll have to click the jump to find out who’s taking home the cash-money, from our world famous cash-money internet comedy tournament.

We were thrilled to participate in last week’s LA Comedy Shorts Festival by hosting the “Male Pattern Baldness” screening session and the “Big A$$ Kids Party” afterword. The screening, staged for a packed house at the Downtown Independent, featured 5 comedy shorts by local comedians and sketch groups in addition to our grand premiere of Matumbo Goldberg. After the tapes had rolled, we also got to hear from the creators (and some stars) of the screened shorts, as they shared some remarks on their creative processes.

Once all was said and done at the Independent, we clamored onto giant yellow buses to continue the festivities at the ESPN Zone.

Below are some snaps of the event. Got any you want to share with us? Post them on our wall!

You may have heard of Marc Maron. You may also have heard of Laura Kightlinger. Both are Pretty Big People In Comedy ™.

Well we just so happened to have made videos with both of them, and folks are still talkin’! Well, more specifically, they are still talking. This morning on Marc’s WTF Podcast, Laura promoted her “American Heroine” piece and Marc gave a shout out to his “Stalker Guilt Syndrome.”

Here they are. We think you’ll agree that they’re quite fuss-worthy.

American Heroine

Stalker Guilt Syndrome

We’d like to dedicate this week’s post to Photoshop, which has made possible a barren and omnipresent wasteland of flawless billboard pod people whose pictures make it increasingly difficult to feel like a somewhat acceptable-looking human being if you happen to be the bearer of pores.

Sue Galloway, don’t let the bastards get you down. You look fab. Now go forth, and use your winnings to buy some jorts.

Everyone who was lucky enough to attend last Saturday’s screening at the LA Comedy Shorts Fest already knows this, but we’re proud to announce the newest series from Front Page Films (the gang behind the Doctor and Hotel series) Kid Farm, the story of the Engvalls, the family with, you know, around 17 kids. The trailer is all over the internets, but more episodes will be arriving exclusively on Atom. Check out the depressingly accurate trailer right here!

This week, we’re in limbo between our 50 week milestone and our one year anniversary! All around the limbo clock, hey, let’s do the limbo rock!

How low (well…high, actually) did you go?

The gang from Comedy Central‘s newest show, Workaholics, which premieres Wednesday, April 6th, at 10:30p/9:30x, sat down with close personal friends at Jokes.com in lovely Miami, Florida, to talk about their show and how they got their start on the Internet, and how their process for making Internet videos (shoot anywhere you can, mostly your house and your office) informed their process for the show, which takes place in… a house and an office.

Watch their great series Crossbows and Mustaches right here on their site!