A Conversation with Pauly Shore, Intrepid Reporter

By 05/09/2008
A Conversation with Pauly Shore, Intrepid Reporter

Edward R Murrow.  Walter Cronkite.  Pauly Shore.

That’s right, everyone’s favorite sometimes-celebrity is taking time off from…uh…whatever it is that Pauly Shore does, to pursue a career in hard-hitting, documentary-style, investigative journalism.  In Ripe TV’s Pauly Shore’s America, The Weasel travels the country covering top news stories in a way that only the star of Jury Duty can.  First stop: Texas’ ‘Yearning for Zion’ polygamist ranch:



I was intrigued and wanted to learn more, so I rang up the surprisingly serious Mr. Shore to get the inside scoop on his new career path.

Tilzy.TV: What is Pauly Shore’s America?

Pauly Shore: It’s basically my version of the news.  I’m trying to ask the questions and get to the point instead of the bullshit.  All the other reporters are like… you know what I mean?

TTV: Absolutely.

PS: They’re all great reporters but to me its like, I don’t think anyone cares.

TTV: Are you having fun?

PS: Yeah, I’m the one who initiated the first thing to go film down there.  I watch the news; it’s all I really do.  I think TV is so bad these days.  Everything is reality and I don’t really care about that.  The sitcom world is dead so I’m glued to what’s doing on in the world ’cause that’s more entertaining than a sitcom.

TTV: Where do you get your news?

PS: CNN…. I like Anderson Cooper and Erica Hill.  They’re fun and they’re smart… I think they’re the best.

TTV: Are you doing this as a comedian or a journalist?

PS: As a journalist who is interested in these stories but we edit it so it’s entertaining and funny.  But we edit it real.  If these reporters are being dicks or if funny things happen, we’re going to put that on camera cause that’s real.  It’s like documentary.  There’s nothing set up.

TTV: What qualifies you to be a journalist?

PS: I think that I have a point of view of, I don’t know, a lot of people.  I’ve been a successful comic for years and I have a certain way of asking questions and doing things.

TTV: Does your identity as Pauly Shore the comedian get in the way of being Pauly Shore the investigative journalist?

PS: (Laughs) I think that’s what makes everything fun.  That’s the fun angle.  If you look at Michael Moore or Morgan… what’s his name?

TTV: Morgan Spurlock?  The Supersize Me guy?

PS: Yeah, him.  They’re both offbeat characters as well.  There’s no difference between those guys and me as far being off beat.  Mike’s fat with a hat and the other guy looks like a Harley-Davidson guy.

TTV: But people have come to know Morgan Spurlock and Michael Moore as documentarians.  People have come to know you as the dude from Bio Dome.  Does that get in the way?

PS: No, not at all.  The polygamists didn’t know who the fuck I was.  I’m some fucking guy with a hat on asking him if he has sex with young kids.   I think a question is a question whether it’s coming from a retarded person or a journalist.

TTV: How does the rest of the media react to your presence there?

PS: They were uncomfortable… which was great for me.  Which was funny because I didn’t think about that when i was going down there.  I thought I was just gonna be able to go into the compound and bounce on the bed.  That’s really all I wanted to do.

TTV: No luck there?

PS: No, they wouldn’t let us in.

TTV: How close were you able to get?

PS: I talked to the one guy you saw [in episode 2], Dave Williams or whatever, other than that it was kinda hard, man.  I wasn’t able to bounce on the bed and ask the lady what the hell was going on.

TTV: Do you feel any journalistic responsibility?

PS: I do for sure.  I don’t speak like everyone else speaks. I don’t ask the questions like everyone else asks.  I just think that I try to get to the point and… I don’t know, man.

TTV: Are you hopeful that your style will bring change to mainstream media?

PS: I don’t know, I’m just having fun with it.  I think the episodes are real and I’m trying to bring a little tongue-in-cheek to the situation.  Comedy plays best when it’s in a dramatic situation, you know what I mean?  With the media down there, it’s pretty dramatic, these people are pretty serious.  The best part is that they can film other people but the second you film them, they fucking freak out.  We have a lot of footage like that coming the next few episodes.

TTV: You were disgusted by Motel 6.  Did you stay there or move?

PS: No, I moved to Howard Johnson’s but it was just as disgusting.

TTV: I assume you’ve watched the videos on Ripe.tv.

PS: Yeah.

TTV: How do you feel about being doused with shaving cream [from the animated overlay ad] in the middle of the video?

PS: No comment. (Laughs) I already talked to them about that, I was like, “What the fuck? This Edge commercial is getting me edged!”

TTV: You like your relationship with Ripe TV?

PS: They better send me a box of Edge.  That’s all I have to say.  They better send you a box of fuckin’ Edge while they’re at it.

TTV: You think you can hook that up?

PS: They’ll take care of you.

TTV: Thanks.  So how am I doing as an interviewer?  What’s Pauly Shore’s take as a journalist?

PS: I think you’re doing good.

TTV: Am I a Chris Matthews or a Larry King?

PS: Hardball!

There are three more segments from his Texas trip still to be released, the next of which is due early next week.  Pauly doesn’t know where he’ll head next or how long he’ll keep his reporter hat on.  But here’s to hoping he sticks with it.  I’m a proud citizen of Pauly Shore’s America.

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