Stand Up Live

WWE Hall of Famer (and best-selling author) Mick Foley

To most people -- well, pro wrestling fans at least -- the name Mick Foley is synonymous with brutal, blood-soaked matches involving the renowned grappler giving and receiving plenty of pain. This is, indeed, true of Foley, who spent close to two decades in the ring with World Wrestling Entertainment and other feds before hanging up his boots, but he's much more than just another 'rassler.

Besides his claim to fame as a three-time WWE Champion, the 55-year-old also is a gifted wordsmith and natural storyteller (hence his many legendary wrestling promos) who's penned several New York Times best-sellers and has been a frequent appearances on The Daily Show as the program's "Senior Asskicker."

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- WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes on His Killer Mustache and Ribbing Damien Sandow
- Seven Animated GIFs of Rowdy WWE Fans at Royal Rumble

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The Test

Patrick Fischler (currently of Californication) and wife Lauren Bowles (True Blood) have established impressive résumés in Hollywood, but their new short film The Test (screening this Friday and Saturday at the Phoenix Film Festival) is first time the pair has tried their hands at executive producing and writing for film or television.

We talk with Fischler (Lost, Mad Men, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Mulholland Drive, Old School,) about why he and Bowles decided they wanted to write and produce their own film, which roles he loved doing best, what working with director David Lynch was like, and what his answer is when people ask him what Mulholland Drive is about.

See also:
A Survival Guide to Phoenix Film Festival 2013
10 Films We Can't Wait to See at the Phoenix Film Festival
Five Must-See Movies in Phoenix This April

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Hopefully your Phoenix Film Festival list of movies to see isn't already full, because you're going to want to add Fight Like a Girl, a film told from a first person perspective about the greatly unknown world of women's boxing.

We talk with the film's director and star, Jill Morley, about why she wanted to get involved with women's boxing, what she learned about herself, and how she used the sport as a catalyst to overcome her inner demons.

See also:
A Survival Guide to Phoenix Film Festival 2013
10 Films We Can't Wait to See at the Phoenix Film Festival
Five Must-See Movies in Phoenix This April

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University of Illinois Press

Out of the 500 companies in the Fortune 500, only 21 of them are led by a female chief executive officer. When Edna Phillips joined the Philadelphia Orchestra -- an equally illustrious group in her time -- as principal harpist, she was the ensemble's first female member, becoming one in 100. And not only was she the group's first female player, she was the first woman to hold a principal position in any major American orchestra.

Author Mary Sue Welsh recently penned Phillips' biography, One Woman in a Hundred: Edna Phillips and the Philadelphia Orchestra, about Phillips' life in the orchestra, how she survived in a world dominated by men, and why her story is relevant for today's women.

See also:
ASU Alumnus Darian Lane Discusses His New Book Flashy Fiction, Working With Muhammad Ali, and His Next Projects
The Best Equality Memes from Around the Web
10 Films We Can't Wait to See at the Phoenix Film Festival

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photo: Darrell Fielder, source: jillianmichaels.com

We're halfway through spring, which means you're probably in that miserable limbo between having thoroughly failed your New Year's resolution and desperately needing to get in shape for summer.

Lucky for you, personal trainer and The Biggest Loser star Jillian Michaels is here to help, with her first-ever tour, Maximize Your Life, coming to Comerica Theater on April 14.

In this one-woman show, Michaels promises to help audience members find their potential, establish realistic goals, and lead a healthier life both physically and mentally. To find out Michaels' thoughts on body image, diet, and fitness, check out Jackalope Ranch's interview after the jump.

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- Choreographers Alexei Ratmansky, Alejandro Cerrudo and Ib Andersen in Ballet Arizona's Director's Choice: March 28 to 31
- The 10 Coolest Celebrities from Arizona

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Paul Reiser via wikimedia

Comedian and actor Paul Reiser has starred in a wealth of roles over the course of his two decades in showbiz. Fans of NBC's "Must See TV" era will, of course, remember him for the seven seasons he spent as the neurotic Paul Buchman with Helen Hunt on Mad About You. And then there were his memorable cinematic gigs in such classics as Beverly Hills Cop II, Aliens, and Barry Levinson's Diner.

These days, Resier's has been busy tackling the role of stand-up comic, the profession he used as a stepping stone to success more than two decades ago, before his sitcom career took off in the early '90s. Having been away from the stage for close to 20 years, Reiser told Jackalope Ranch during a recent phone interview that he was a wee bit nervous about picking up where he left off in the comedy world last year. The 55-year-old comic, who is scheduled to perform Friday at Wild Horse Pass Casino's Ovations Live! Showroom in Chandler, quickly got his chops back and is looking forward to entertaining Valley comedy fans this weekend.

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- Legendary Comedy Club Tempe Improv to Reopen Its Doors in April
- Andrew Dice Clay on Female Comics, How Women Are Raunchier Than Men, Why He's as Fierce as Ever

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Todd Stanley

Matt Fahey is no stranger to intense challenges, risk, and life-threatening situations. As a producer and camera operator for Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch, he's battled many storms and has willingly gone back for more.

We talked with Fahey about how he ended up in film production, why he pursued getting on Deadliest Catch, and his biggest challenge yet -- battling Stage III B colorectal cancer or, as he candidly refers to it, ass cancer.

See also:
ASU Alumnus Darian Lane Discusses His New Book, "Flashy Fiction," Working with Muhammad Ali, and His Next Projects
HGTV's "Scoring the Deal" Star Jason Abrams Talks About His New Show and What's on His Reading List
Arizona Theater Chain Owner Dan Harkins to Speak on the Future of Film

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Matthew Wegner (left) and Ben Ruiz (right)

Ben Ruiz's makeshift office is located in a quiet corner of a Tempe coffee shop where he currently is working on his love letter to the beat-'em-up genre,Aztez.

Aztez is a stylized brawler with an art style ripped from the wall of an Aztec pyramid. Gameplay in Aztez is split between a turn-based strategy overworld map and responsive small-scale brawls with a variety of enemies. Aztez will be available for both PC and Mac later this year.

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- In Honor of the Renaissance Festival: The Greatest Medieval Games of All Time
- The Five Most Anticipated Video Games of 2013

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Courtesy of Darian Lane

Darian Lane has worked in L.A. for more than 10 years as a writer, director, and producer for some of the music industry's top artists, as well as big-name advertisers, including the Black Eyed Peas, Chris Brown, Audioslave, Nike, Reebok, and IBM, to name a few.

His life in L.A. inspired his second novel, Flashy Fiction, which chronicles his encounters via short story-style fiction, or flash fiction. We caught up with the ASU alumnus to discuss his new book plus what else he's got up his sleeve for 2013.

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HGTV's "Scoring the Deal" Star Jason Abrams Talk About His New Show and What's on His Reading List
Author Cory Doctorow Talks Tech, Trotsky, What He's Reading, and Why He's Giving Away His Books For Free
Disappearing Ink: What Will Happen to All the Books?

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Courtesy of Jonas PR

The notorious Andrew Dice Clay

The next time you're bust up laughing after a bawdy female comedienne like Lisa Lampanelli, Whitney Cummings, or Chelsea Handler lays down some of her signature raunch, be sure to thank Andrew Dice Clay after your sides stop hurting. That's because -- believe it or not -- the ultra-lewd and oft-misogynistic outlaw comic, who served the scourge of feminists during his controversy-laden zenith in the early '90s, ultimately helped break ground for such vulgar vixens, some of whom are as crass and crude as The Diceman ever was.

Though Clay has gone through some bad times in the two decades since his heyday, he's been on a major roll the past couple of years. He pulled memorable appearances during the final season of Entourage, debuted a blockbuster Showtime comedy special titled Indestructible in December, and stars in Woody Allen's upcoming flick, Blue Jasmine. And this weekend, the Diceman will cometh to the Valley for a three-night stint at Stand Up Live.

See also:
- Best Place to See a Comedy Show - 2012: Stand Up Live
- 10 Favorite Strip Clubs in Metro Phoenix (NSFW)

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