The second to last episode of a TV show is always kind of sucky, right? It’s not the finale, but it’s impossible to view it as a regular episode of the show. Well, this is the second to last time that I write one of these blogs, so I’ll save the sentimentality for next week*. Hit the jump to see who’s won the big cash, the big prizes, and the big chance to be on Comedy-mother-lovin’-Central.

*The Tournament’s final week is May 9th – 15th, so get your videos in now before it’s too late to win!

Hey Birthday Boys, We hope you get really, really, reeeaaaaaally drunk celebrating your selection as our latest pick.

Here’s $500—the cab’s on us.

Welcome to the AXE Dirtcathlon! Rob Riggle and his right hand man Owen Benjamin have a series of four fun (and dirty) challenges that our four teams have to conquer in hopes of scoring a trip to sunny Spain and a shot at the Dirtcathlon trophy.

We enlisted Team Tiger Awesome to help create the challenges, in which pairs of hot teammates get down and dirty in the back of a taxi, some body paint, and a shared toga. The scores are neck and neck, but we won’t be releasing the grand finale til the end of the month, so be sure to come back and see which couple will soon be frolicking in Espagne.

Episode 1: Taxi Dash

Episode 2: Art Smear

Episode 3: Toga Party

As we embark on our penultimate week of the Tournament, let’s look back at the last week’s winners. Some made us laugh, some made us cry, some made us marvel at the wonder that is this planet and these giant bipedal creatures we call humans (and their flipcams).

Onward!

1. Drunk Driving by The Birthday Boys with 29183 plays.
2. Order and Law SJDPD – The Punniest Short Ever by Justin with 11268 plays.
3. Welcome to San Marcos by Coqui with 10649 plays.
4. Guaranteed Sex by torreymeeks with 4058 plays.
5. Undocumented Worker: The Auditition by The Second City Network with 1720 plays.
6. My Moment of Greatness At Wondercon by sociallyawkwardhuman with 1229 plays.
7. Meeting, Interrupted by Rue Brutalia with 1117 plays.
8. The Frank And Susan Show by Frank Faucette with 868 plays.
9. Newark Times Weddings: Ted & Gracie by Jena Friedman with 442 plays.
10. Wrong Kind Of Threesome by The Shelter with 304 plays.

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