Comedian and actor Pauly Shore seems like a remnant of the early '90s; during this era he met success with a series of improbable hits ranging from 'Encino Man' to 'Bio-Dome.' However, a failed FOX sitcom and a population that seemed generally bored with his antics relegated him to C-level celebrity status.
Shore has experienced a resurgence recently with the acclaimed mockumentary 'Pauly Shore is Dead' and his own reality show, 'Minding the Store,' about running his parents' Los Angeles comedy club. Shore comes to The Comedy Club, 119 State St., tonight. He talked with The Daily Cardinal recently about his life philosophies, his stand-up career and 'Jury Duty.'
The Daily Cardinal: Do you actually 'Mind the Store' on your reality show or is it all just a setup?
Pauly Shore: It's both. The truth is, it's my mom's club and she's 110 percent in control of everything that goes on here. I'm a control freak and she's a control freak, so at this point I'm not doing it as much because she's not really allowing me to do what I want to do. You have to check with her on everything. I'm 37 years old, I'm not really into checking in with my mom on the different little things. I'm over it'that's why I'm coming to Madison.
DC: Has the show helped relaunch your stand-up career?
PS: I think anytime you're on TV or in movies it helps. Like my movie, 'Pauly Shore is Dead,' it's out on DVD'just anytime you can get out there, it helps your stand-up.
DC: Is 'Pauly Shore is Dead' just some sort of meta-joke about the entertainment world?
PS: A little bit, but it's a real story, it's a real movie.
DC: There are a lot of stars in it, from Sean Penn to Vince Vaughn to Britney Spears. How did you get them to appear?
PS: I was just relentless. Most of the people that are in there are my friends, and the people that aren't my friends, I was able to convince them. When you do something independently, and you're on your own doing it and you reach out to other fellow actors and comedians and stars, they want to help you out because they've all been there as well.
DC: With a plot like the one from 'Pauly Shore is Dead,' there's much self-deprecating humor directed at you. Was that hard to put to film?
PS: I'd say it was therapeutic. I wouldn't say it was hard. I think a lot of people that watch it are like, 'Wow, that's harsh!' but to me it's just funny. I like self-deprecating humor, like Woody Allen where he just rags on himself. When he can do that and people immediately embrace that, then they don't feel like you're trying to be cool; they feel like you're everyone else.
DC: Do you have any upcoming projects?
PS: Yeah, I'm working on a lot of stuff. Right now, I'm in the middle of putting together 'The Best of Pauly Shore' DVD/CD. I'm going to put that out in 2006; it had all my old stuff, all my classic stuff, stuff that's never-before-seen. I've compiled so much stuff in the last 20 years that I could make the DVD/CD.
Then I'm also rereleasing 'Pauly Shore is Dead' on DVD with a whole new film attached to it called 'Desperate Times''that's the making of 'Pauly Shore is Dead.'
DC: What would you claim as the pinnacle of your career?
PS: Probably 'Pauly Shore is Dead,' because that was something that I wrote/directed/starred/produced/financed, one of those things. As far as what's most possible to people, I guess, 'Son in Law.'
DC: What are your feelings about your older movies?
PS: I love those movies, I think they're great. I mean, obviously people love them, or else they wouldn't continue to play them on TV all the time and get good ratings. When I go on tour, people come out to see me. People really liked them, a lot really didn't, that's life. At the end of the day, I make a living doing what I love to do, and that's the key to life. Find something that you're passionate about that can actually pay your rent.
'Interview conducted by Kevin Nelson.
