![]() Rex has been a fringe dweller on the pop mainstream of the past quarter century, a sort of low-rent Zelig refracting the era: he was an MTV VJ in the mid-90s, a minor league television star and bit player in films like the Scary Movie sequels, friends with Paris Hilton, and a cult cracker rapper known as Dirt Nasty (yep, that's Rex, moustachioed behind the wheel of a Trans Am in Ke$ha's 2009 megahit TiK ToK). The song forms a kind of running gag that turns decidedly melancholy by the film's end. Red Rocket returns the filmmaker to the periphery of an adult film industry he explored in his breakthrough, Starlet (2012), only this time the thematic stakes feel nothing short of national.Ī canny period piece set in 2016, with the Trump-Clinton election offering a running commentary on TV screens, the movie follows all-American hustler Mikey Saber (Simon Rex), a high-profile porn performer who has fallen on hard times and fled Los Angeles for his Texas City hometown – in dire need of a second chance.īaker opens on a pop gambit that marks the cruel passage of time: NSYNC's Y2K single Bye Bye Bye, a boy band smash whose processed exuberance now sounds as distant as classic hits radio – dawn-of-the millennium ambition that's become the soundtrack to the burnout and bust of the next generation. At the very end of our conversation, he paused and with great sincerity said, “When I see someone coming up to me while smiling, I know I’ve done my job.The crisis of American manhood – in every sense of the term – continues in the new film from Sean Baker (The Florida Project Tangerine), a tragicomic tale of a 40-something porn star who discovers that he can never go home again.īaker is a collaborative filmmaker who favours marginalised subjects on the cultural fringe, resulting in a series of distinctive films that have never quite marched to the standard indie beat: Tangerine was an iPhone-shot Christmas fable centring Black transgender sex workers, while Oscar nominee The Florida Project offered an empathic look at impoverished motel life. I just want to laugh and want everyone else to laugh with me.” Rex is constantly working on his music as Dirt Nasty and his show on MTV, Happyland, and it’s clear he enjoys and has great respect for his job. I don’t like mean comedy or bullies I never make fun of other people-I make fun of myself. You grow up and care about being a good person and doing good unto others. “I’m turning 40 this year and have been through bullshit. I found Rex to be an incredibly normal and polite guy. Remaining level-headed and humble would be a challenge to anyone who has lived a similar life. Rex interacts with followers through comments or via Twitter, which is crucial for brand loyalty, and his social media enjoys rapid growth. Through his various platforms, most boasting nearly 200,000 followers each, real fans of his brand stay loyal. With close to a million followers collectively, spread out over various social media platforms, Rex is very rich in the high-value currency of social media followers. Super-important as a promotional tool.” An OTX study from January 2013 shows that the average American spends more than three hours a day on social media. I constantly put out videos and keep my brand of comedy alive, and promote a movie or TV show, or Dirt Nasty it’s Using social media as a tool to fuel his brand is crucial for Rex: “It keeps you out there to stay in the entertainment business, you have to keep putting out material and comedy. Rex has plans to release the interview on his popular YouTube channel. It was him just talking the entire time he was super-cool.” Shakur expressed his desire to end the West Coast versus East Coast dispute that marked rap music in the ’90s, saying, “It’s between me and a couple of people.” Until only recently the interview had been lost in the MTV archives. Says Rex: “I was completely humbled and nervous. The five-minute interview was one of Shakur’s last before his death. ![]() One of the most poignant was his segment with the late Tupac Shakur. While he was at MTV, Rex interviewed many artists. With his adorable little dog Duane at his side, Rex spoke with me at his Hollywood Hills home about his time at MTV, his brand, and self-philosophy. At 39, handsome, and in incredible shape, Rex elicits a huge reaction from his female fans in whatever role he steps into. Former MTV VJ, television and film actor, comedian, and rap artist Simon Rex is one of the few men who can seamlessly transition between roles. ![]()
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