Author Archive |
Aubrey Plaza: Funny Person
Cute actress/comedienne Aubrey Plaza, who plays Daisy, the love interest in the new Adam Sandler/Seth Rogen/Jonah Hill comedy Funny People, is a real up and comer. She’s co-starring in the Amy Poehler TV series “Parks and Recreation” and will appear in the upcoming Michael Cera action-comedy Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
We interviewed 23-year-old Aubrey in Santa Monica recently and noted that she was glammed up from her long, straight hair with bangs and glasses look in the film to a sleek semi up-do and no specs. She looked current/cute in a green tank over a black tee and a short animal print skirt. Ever wonder just how small the show biz world really is? A few days after our interview, I was on a plane from L.A. to Montreal for a set visit and who sits down next to me but Aubrey! After the “Didn\’t I just interview you?” “Yeah!” greetings, we ended up exchanging info, chomping on some cinnamon gum and with me spilling 7-Up on her purse! Aubrey was on her way to Montreal to appear in several shows at a big Comedy Festival which she didn’t mention at our interview. We wished her great luck and the usual show-biz “break a leg” send off and had a great flight during which the exhausted Aubrey slept more than I did. Reverse back to L.A. and our beachside interview.
TeenHollywood: Aubrey, how did you get cast in Funny People? Didn\’t you do stand-up and have a friend shoot it, and then stick it on YouTube? Did your agent tell you to do that?
Aubrey: I did that on my own, actually. I knew that they wanted to cast a stand-up, and I hadn’t really done it before, so I just decided to try it and I had my friend shoot it.
TeenHollywood: How was that experience?
Aubrey: It was totally terrifying. But, it was good. It had a good outcome.
TeenHollywood: Do you write your own stuff, all the time?
Aubrey: Yeah. I wrote all my stand-up in the movie, and all the stand-up that I do now.
TeenHollywood: They say a lot of funny people were miserable as kids. Does that apply to you or no?
Aubrey: I wasn’t miserable as a child, but I definitely have some insecurities that I work out on stage. I think that growing up with insecurities always leads to comedy, in some way.
TeenHollywood: Were you the class clown as a teen?
Aubrey: No. I was like Reese Witherspoon in Election. I was a huge dork, who was the president of everything. I was everyone in Election, really. I was more of a loser, in that way. I was really, really into taking things way too far and being involved in everything. I was an overachiever.
Laughing Matter: Aubrey Plaza
Aubrey is featured in the July 2009 issue of “Teen Vogue” magazine! Check out the article below…
Aubrey Plaza isn’t kidding when she deems this “the best year of my life.” In April, she made her debut as Amy Poehler’s deeply disinterested intern on NBC’s hysterical mockumentary Parks and Recreation. This month, she’ll share the big screen with Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, and Jonah Hill in the sure-to-be-a-hit Funny People. And then she heads to Toronto to play Michael Cera’s nemesis in the upcoming film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Basically, the lanky brunette has already worked with everyone who’s anyone in comedy. “Well, I haven’t met Tina Fey yet,” Aubrey deadpans in her trademark monotone.
Her stony-faced shtick is hardly an accident: The 25-year-old has been working on it since high school. As a freshman at New York University, she began taking classes at Poehler’s prestigious slapstick training ground, the Upright Citizens Brigade, but Aubrey also had her sights set on interning at Saturday Night Live, so she relentlessly faxed her resume to their offices until she got an interview. She was hired on the spot: “I literally went from doing nothing at my apartment to watching Ben Affleck rehearse on stage.”
With a few recommendations and some viral Internet hype, she’s gone from playing a “girl with a massive head wound” (her first film credit) to improv-ing with Team Apatow. The actress is used to holding her own with the guys, though: “On set, it’s not like, ‘Oh, you’re funny for a girl,'” she says. “It’s just, ‘Are you funny?'” In Aubrey’s case, the answer is an emphatic yes.
10 Comics to Watch
Aubrey Plaza – The ‘Parks and Rec’ intern perfected craft online master of the above-it-all annoyed-teenager look, Aubrey Plaza found a way to take her disgruntled millennial girl routine to primetime in the NBC sitcom “Parks and Recreation.” It’s a character type the improv-oriented comedian first honed on the Web series “The Jeannie Tate Show,” where she plays the troubled stepdaughter to the show’s titular soccer mom, developing it even further on a trashy MTV-style dating show satire she wrote and directed. “I am not sick of roles as the angry teenager; I could be one for the rest of my life,” quips Plaza, who explains, “I have a younger sister who I draw a lot of inspiration from.”
Sure enough, Plaza jumped at another droll adolescent role opposite Michael Cera in “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.” And though the acting attention is heating up, Plaza still considers herself a student of the form. She spent the 2004-05 season interning on the set of “Saturday Night Live,” being a wallflower while quietly observing the pros in action. “People on ‘SNL’ remarked how quiet I was and were shocked to learn that I was in comedy,” she reports.
And although she studied improv with the Upright Citizens Brigade, Plaza decided to branch into standup after landing the role of Seth Rogen’s girlfriend in “Funny People.” Director Judd Apatow wanted an actual standup for the part, so Plaza made a point to film herself onstage at a comedy club in Queens.
Plaza’s early material has been dark and rebellious, reminiscent of those grunge comediennes who came before her, such as Janeane Garofalo and Sarah Silverman (in fact, she does a killer impression of the latter’s potty-mouthed persona). “My sense of humor is a little strange,” Plaza admits. “I have to remind myself that if I think it’s funny, then I shouldn’t worry about others getting it.” P.O.V. “My purse is so heavy that when I put it on the passenger seat of the car while I am driving, the airbag light goes on because it thinks there’s a person there.”
From Variety
Aubrey to appear on “Jimmy Kimmel Live”
Aubrey is set to be a guest on the talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live” next week, on July 31st!
Jimmy Kimmel must have made a deal with “Funny People.” ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” will feature a cast member from Universal’s upcoming comedy each night next week.
Actress Leslie Mann (“Knocked Up”) will appear on Tuesday, July 28th. Jonah Hill, of “Superbad” and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” fame, also stars and will appear on Wednesday, July 29th.
Funnyman Seth Rogen will appear on the Thursday, July 30th edition of the program. Actress Aubrey Plaza, of NBC’s “Parks & Recreation,” also stars in the film and appears on the show on Friday, July 31st.
The show airs on the ABC network at midnight, but make sure you check your local TV listings for the exact air times in your city!
“Funny People” Star Aubrey Plaza is Just One of the Guys
Aubrey Plaza, who stars as Amy Poheler’s bratty and slothful intern April on the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation, breaks onto the big screen with a role in Judd Apatow’s “Funny People,” set to be released July 31. I got a chance to speak to the half Puerto Rican, half Irish actress and discovered that she doesn’t fit into any one mold.
All her life, Plaza, 24, has been one of the guys–the ultimate guy’s girl. And now, she’s the girl among the guys in Apatow’s highly anticipated comedy, which also stars Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen. Take the time to get to know Plaza, a woman who is redefining what it means to be a Latina comedienne.
I can’t wait to see Funny People! Who do you play in the film?
I play Daisy, a young stand-up comedienne who’s just moved to L.A. and is new to the area. She moves into the same building as Seth Rogen’s character, Ira, and Seth’s character lives with two other guys and they’re all young, up-and-coming comedians. She makes friends with them and gets in with their circle, but she causes a problem between the guys because Ira really likes her, but she goes out with Jason [Schwartzman’s character].
What’s Daisy like?
She’s a lot like me: really weird and sarcastic. She’s also the girl amongst the guys, which I find is usually the case with comedy. The comedy world is very male-dominated.
“Mystery Team” Trailer
The second trailer for one of Aubrey’s new films, “Mystery Team” is now released. You can stream the trailer below.
You have not seen absurdly funny internet comedy until you’ve experienced (almost) anything by the NYC-based group Derrick Comedy. Only two years ago, they were dominating Youtube with their hilarious skits like “Girls Aren’t To Be Trusted.” In fact, their video “Bro Rape” can be blamed in ironic part on having created the “bro” stereotype. Both “Family Guy” and the Nintendo Gamecube were never seen in a “bro” context until Derrick Comedy’s famous spoofing of a “Dateline” special popped up on the web. Check out these videos and more HERE.
Now, the group is taking their ability to write the absurd to the big screen, with their first feature film called “Mystery Team”. The Sundance favorite stars the three main members of the group, Donald Glover, DC Pierson, and Dominic Dierkes, as three wannabe detectives who decide to solve an actual murder case despite their infantile nature and lack of actual experience. Aubrey Plaza, who you might develop a crush on after seeing “Funny People”, also has a part in the film.
Considering the success Derrick Comedy has had in the past, (and also that this doesn’t look as unoriginally disastrous as Miss March, the flop from the other famous comedy group Whitest Kids U Know), I think I’m going to check this one out. It looks like a pretty outrageous small-budget film, even if the wacky humor plays to a more select audience.
From The Scorecard Review
Aubrey Plaza says kissing Seth Rogen is like riding a roller coaster?
Aubrey Plaza, wearing a hot Dolce & Gabbana navy mini dress, talks about kissing Seth Rogen at the LA premiere of “Funny People.”
Is Seth a good kisser?
“Totally! We make out on top of a car! I describe kissing him kinda like riding a roller coaster,” she says. “It’s scary at times, really fun, and then I throw up a little. In my mouth. Off camera, though. That’s not in the movie. Maybe for the DVD.”
We like this girl.
From the LA Times
This girl’s no slouch
Actress Aubrey Plaza recently wrapped up her first season as a bratty and slothful college intern in NBC’s new series “Parks and Recreation.” But though the role of April — who works for a polarizing woman (Amy Poehler) with lofty political aspirations — is her first starring role on a comedy TV series, Plaza, who is half Puerto Rican, is also appearing in three films. She plays Seth Rogen’s girlfriend, Daisy, in her first big studio movie, “Funny People,” a dark comedy from director Judd Apatow (“Knocked Up”), opening July 31. Daisy is a young standup comedian who befriends a group of male comics played by Adam Sandler, Jonah Hill, Jason Schwartzman, and Eric Bana. “She is the girl among the guys,” says Plaza, 24, a brunette with a girl-next-door look. “Which I find is usually the case with comedy, because the comedy world is very male-dominated.”
Plaza should know. Born in Wilmington, Del., she attended New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and is an alumna of the Upright Citizens Brigade, a city theater that offers classes in improvisation and sketch comedy. “Working on ‘Funny People’ felt very familiar to me,” she says. “I am used to being around lots of guys, and I think that’s why it worked so well.”
Plaza also stars as a mean coffee shop barista/record store employee in “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” a comedy starring Michael Cera scheduled for release next year. And she’s in “Mystery Team,” a feature about three child detectives trying to solve an adult murder mystery; it debuted at the Sundance Film Festival. But you don’t have to go to the movies or turn on the tube to watch Plaza’s irreverent humor. A video of a dead-on impression of Sarah Silverman has made her popular on YouTube. “That was my audition tape for ‘SNL,'” explains Plaza, who says it was once her dream to become a cast member on the long-running show. “I have a new dream,” she adds, “to host ‘SNL’!”
This summer, Plaza — who is Puerto Rican on her father’s side and Irish/English on her mother’s hopes to visit the Caribbean island. “I try to go every summer, because I have family there,” she says. “I love the food and the people.” Still, that doesn’t mean that she speaks Spanish. “I wish I was fluent,” she says. “My grandfather came over from Puerto Rico and raised his kids speaking English so that it would be easier for them to assimilate. My family speaks to me in Spanish,” she adds, “and I respond in English.”
From the NY Daily News
Photo Gallery Opened
I have finally opened up our photo gallery for everyone to view! There is currently over 1,000 photos of Aubrey!
Sorry the complete site is taking a lot longer than I posted. I’m going to try to get everything complete before July.
Temporary Version
Welcome to the temporary version of Aubrey Plaza Online! This site is currently under construction and I hope to have everything open by June 15th! In the meantime, I will be posting the latest news, photos and media featuring Aubrey into this space – so bookmark http://www.aubrey-plaza.com and come back soon!