Pauly Shore Talks 'Adopted'

Pauly Shore rose to fame as the eccentric host of MTV's Spring Break and Totally Pauly in the 1990s. He went on to make several comedies, and is still very active in comedy and filmmaking. Pauly spoke with TheCelebrityCafe.com's Andrea Keiter about his stand-up comedy tour and his newest movie, Adopted.

TheCelebrityCafe: What are you up to now?

Pauly Shore: Well, right now I'm at the Comedy Store. We go on the road tomorrow morning. I'm just really busy. I'm doing kind of a Southern/Midwestern comedy tour, promoting Adopted, and just getting out there with fans.

TCC: Tell me about Adopted.

PS: It's kind of like Borat with no costumes. Everything is kind of set up. There are people on the streets who aren't in on it, and we wanted it that way. It's really raw, very real.

TCC: How did you come up with the concept for the movie?

PS: I was going down there [to South Africa] to do stand-up. I spoke with the producer of the tour and we kind of came up with the idea. There is a scene [in Adopted] where I'm on stage in South Africa. That was a real show.

TCC: How were the characters, especially the kids, cast?

PS: It was just like a real casting. The kids came in, I played with them, and we decided.

TCC: Since the movie is about what some consider being a sensitive topic, have any individuals/groups spoken out against Adopted?

PS: When I first started releasing it, I started getting a couple calls. Then people realized that it was fake. They are all actors, it's just a movie.

TCC: What do you say/do in order to prevent or respond to backlash against the film?

PS: The truth, I don't lie to them. Not everyone will like this subject. There are definitely people who think it's inappropriate, it gets under people's skin. There are people who are like "oh shit! What's he doing? He has a child in the bathtub?"

TCC: What are your overall thoughts on South Africa? Was there anything you were surprised by once you arrived?

PS: No. It is kind of normal. People are normal like they are here. That's what I wanted. I wanted to show South Africa as it is everywhere else. I mean, CNN focuses on AIDS and disease and that's there, but there are also fun and good things, also, beautiful scenery.

TCC: Do you want children? Would you consider adoption?

PS: Not adoption, I'd rather have a kid with someone that wants to have a kid with me. At the end of the day, women need a lot of attention and I'm always traveling, working. You have to put your shit off to the side to commit in a real relationship. My career and work is my life. It's cool to come up with ideas and put them out there, it's a cool procedure. Like with Adopted, we pulled it off with no permits. It was a lot of work, but very rewarding.

TCC: What is your YouTube challenge all about?

PS: It's basically something we all kind of came up with. We engage people who are on my sites, engage people who watch my stuff. I basically said 'screw it, tell me what to do, I'll do what you want me to do.' So it's just fans saying 'hi my name is Jim, I live in Albuquerque and I wanna see Pauly do this scene from Encino Man.'

TCC: What's going on with your stand-up tour? Upcoming dates?

PS: I'm in Louisville for four nights, then Iowa for three nights and St. Louis for three nights. The promoter in Iowa, whose job is to get you from gig to gig, told me that this one guy wants to take you in an RV from the movie Strike. I was like 'this is like my summer camp.' And that kind of how I look at this tour, you know what I mean?

TCC: Is there any kind of theme for your tour? Title? What does your material talk about?

PS: People ask me that all the time, but I tour all the time. It's just me on the road, always on tour.

TCC: Do you still enjoy doing comedy after all these years?

PS: Yeah, it's just my true passion. I got more into it in the last couple years. When I'm on stage, I create such an intimacy with the audience that I guess I don't have in real life. There's a connection with fans, a real energy.

TCC: What are your plans after your comedy tour ends?

PS: I've been working on my MTV pilot, should be finished in the next month or two. It's called The Shorez. It's a reality show about me finding the family that people don't know that I have. I am getting back together with my ex-girlfriend, Playboy Playmate Katie [Cantrell], and we have four kids. It's kind of like a warped Brady Bunch meets The Osbournes.

TCC: Do you have any new movies/TV shows in the works?

PS: Right now, I'm writing and looking for directors and financing. I'm going to do something that is such a departure from everything I've been known for. I don't wanna say it like this, but I've been looking for something to 'break the mold,' something that isn't as expected. Adopted is me now, as opposed to 'The Weasel' [Pauly's persona in the early 1990's]. I've got a new movie coming out called Slut Killer. It's a thriller, kind of like a Fatal Attraction thing. My character, Wayne Evans, is basically a trust fund baby who becomes a slut vigilante. He kills women that come to Vegas to cheat on their husbands.

TCC: How has the film industry changed since your first role in Hollywood?

PS: Well, for me, the film industry hasn't changed. It's all about money. It's about if it's gonna be a box office draw. But it's what I love to do; I would do it if I wasn't getting paid. The latter films I made, I didn't get a lot of money. Like Adopted, if it does well, I might see some money. I've changed in that I'm more interested in the work as opposed to being famous.

TCC: What kinds of movies/TV/music do you enjoy?

PS: I really like Curb Your Enthusiasm and all of the Showtime series: Weeds, Dexter, Californication. I also like the news, like CNN, it's funny to me. There's nothing better than Wolf Blitzer.