Monday, April 10, 2000
David Aaron Clark Protests Censorship
David Clark writes on RAME: Just wanted to offer a little self-serving announcement to friends of my work who post on RAME (I know there are two or three of you!) that you might want to pick up my latest, SEX DRIVER: CITY OF NIGHT, soon, as the company [Gabor's Heatwave?] has decided to recut it, due to "violent" content.
They're doing the same with my last one, PORNODROME, but that one wasn't so great, anyway, so if you haven't bothered by now, don't ... Others in our group who are fans of truly extreme acts shouldn't get all excited and run out and buy these titles, because you WILL be disappointed -- there's nothing there that's as strong as, say, a Rocco or Max Hardcore tape.
It's funny: Amongst all the controversy over Rough Sex, The Fist, et al, this here director works under much stricter, sillier standards -- a company where the owner never watches the tapes, and judges their success not on popularity in the American market, but how many cable/foreign markets he can sell them to. So it is that on my storyline features I'm supposed to shoot soft for cable, ultra-hard explicit and euro for Germany, and still have a version that will not offend Canada (where they may be taking fisting in one province, but a feminist-speared law still prohibits any sort of S/M-inflected sex as violence against women). And do it all in less than a week, and on a budget less than that spent on a quality, Evil Angel gonzo.
I know elsewhere on this board I'm taking a poster to task for not understanding that every porn company ultimately subscribes to the bottom line, but this is indeed an example of why porn generally sucks and we don't get to see what we'd like to ... though the owners of the company I shot these shows for envy and covet greatly the American marketplace success of Evil Angel, etc, they clamp their hands over their ears when you tell them the only way to be competitive in the marketplace is to A). pay enough money to hire good-looking girls, and the amount of time needed to shoot them properly, and B.) actually watch and take an interest in your product, and pay some attention to what consumers are actually looking for, rather than what gets five stars in AVN. You should understand that more directors than not in the biz work under conditions such as these or similar ones, next time we're looking to make up the list of reasons why the state of porn is so anemic .
Goalie Management
Owlsey writes: I'm curious if anyone reading this ng would care to share their feelings about Goalie Entertainment? The reason I ask is that Goalie recently took over management of several porn shops where I live. I'm curious how much this will affect the stores from a merchandising and customer service standpoint. The stores that they took over were generally better stocked and had more intelligent staff than the Goalie stores already here... it's been my experience that the Goalie store staff are stupid as rocks and just don't give a f--- about the customer (management included). To make things worse, they seem to stock a much higher percentage of old tapes and comp tapes.
Luke: Goalie is owned by Edward Wedelstedt, a convicted felon.
Hal Guthu Memorial
Visit this link for the Hal Guthu memorial site: http://207.104.234.18/
From the site: Memorial Service for Hal Guthu Tuesday, April 11th, 2:00 ~ 4:00 pm (sunset) Griffith Park, Los Angeles. The service will be by the old zoo at Griffith Park. Take the 134 freeway or the 5 freeway to any main Griffith Park exit (Riverside, Los Feliz, Victory), then follow the signs.
Hal's bird has been located. During the fire, Max hid under the furniture in the dressing room, and apparently died of smoke inhalation. A toxicology report is pending.
On Sunday, February 27th, a fire gutted the C.H.N. studio in Hollywood. Talent agent Hal Guthu was found inside, dead of a gunshot wound.
Police have been unable to locate Hal's home address. (Hal had all mail and identification, everything, going to the studio.) If you know what area or city Hal lived in, or know someone who did or would, or even if you just kinda sorta think you might have an idea, please call the detective immediately: Sergeant Lyn Reeder (323)890-5612 or (323)890-5500
Candida Royalle Lectures
Peter Hayes writes: Candida Royalle has been lecturing at a night school class in New York. Firsthand reports suggest that the first lecture by the porn vet was well attended with a first night audience of around 50 - all but two of them being men.
The actress started out in the 1975 film The Analyst and worked on several hundred productions before starting her own - self named - company in 1980’s serving the specialist female market. The company has been successful enough for her productions to have been shown on mainstream European TV.
Candida started by talking about the basics of production, formats, and budgets (from "$5,000 to $250,000"). Making porn will not make you rich was first to point out. She stated that what was needed was a "unique vision" and an "understanding of marketing and public relations."
Some of the technicalities got a bit too much for one student: "Is there anything the guys can take to keep going?" one asked. Another student seemed to know the answer, but Candida stated that was not part of the syllabus. However she tells some interesting stories about the history of the medium and tips the lesbian market as the next growth area.
She is against multimedia and DVD with multi-camera choices: "I am a purist. I love the editing and when you buy a Candida Royalle production you are going to get it the way I want it." She is pessimistic about the future under a Bush government: "Things can change. If we get Bush in office maybe we are going back to the days of no penises again." For Candida that means turning the clock back a very long way indeed.
Peter Hayes Controversy
Renegade writes: Luke, I really enjoy reading your site, but I beginning to wonder whether Peter Hayes is an idiot. I'm surprised that he has editors who are willing to pay to for his opinionated dribble. He's never written positively about any of his interview subjects (at least that I’ve read), but to trash the Dutch because of their liberal attitudes towards sex...well, what can I say. Is he a shill for the right wing?
Peter: I don’t like your use of the word "idiot" as I have been published in too many places (150 plus) for that to be true. "Opinionated dribble" is, however, critique and therefore valid as such. Presumably his opinions also cover the people I quote? My role in life is that of a neutral observer, not propagandist or apologist. Please turn to AVN for that.
I am not right wing at all, I point out the facts that are presented to me and report what goes on before my eyes. I am glad that Amsterdam exists, because many towns and villages are glad to get rid of their drug addicts to such a welcoming kind of place - just think of all the crime that it removes from other European streets?
I am not a fan of porn or explicit commercial sex entertainment. It has no soul and does nothing for the spiritual well being of the participants. I know that I am writing for an audience that - in the main - disagree. That is the rub. I am about to write about the sex industry in Rio, so you may like to avoid this column for a few days.
Colin writes: Is Peter Hayes a complete idiot? All you need to do is look at the statistics instead of sticking his head in his ass. Holland may have relaxed drug and prostitution laws but facts are facts. And they are: Holland has a lower per capita rate of drug users then any Western European or North American country They have lower per capita rates of AIDS and all other STD's as well. No matter how much their approach to the situation puts Peter Hayes panties in a knot, what they do works.
Japanese Live Sex Shows
From nerve.com: Why are there so many couples everywhere? Why am I the only one without a girlfriend?
That's how I was feeling one Sunday as I boarded a train on my way to visit a strip joint outside of Tokyo. The club was only a two-minute walk from the station. I stopped to look at the poster outside to see who was performing. It said "Special Guest Eri Kikuchi!"
I had met Eri Kikuchi, a porn actress, five years earlier on a photo shoot when I was working as a magazine editor. So little Eri was still hanging in there, was she? Feeling a little bit better, I climbed up the stairs to the ticket booth and told the old woman, "One, please." She impatiently replied, "6,000 yen" (about fifty dollars). The price made me flinch, but I slapped down a 10,000 yen note, picked up my change and opened the door into the theater. The sour odor of a strip joint wafted into my nostrils. I looked around.
Jeanna Fine
Lake: Looks like shes outta here. I saw her on tour a few years ago, she is such a loving person and she puts on a great show- she like put her crotch on top of my head and ground herself around and around, now thats giving the people what they want(she had panties on) shen i talked to her she held my hand so gently and stroked it like a mother- she is SO NICE.I talked to her about how she came back with an anal vengeance. She said she had to stop doing that and said something about moving to central america- she did many movies after that but maybe she finally made it, goddess bless her soul. She did it the right way, had a great career as a blonde deep throat artist, comes back as a brunette anal queen champion filth talker. her body was getting kind of bad, her skin around her hips and waist was really stretched tight, is that what plastic surgery looks like- anyway- she was the quintessential porno queen- see her sceen with pj sparxx and tricia devaraux in i think it was cellar dwellar 2.
Stan: She moved back to upstate NY last Fall. She's semi-retired though still dancing.
Is Paul Thomas Always This Incompetent?
Dave writes on RAME: Just watched the much anticipated film "Roommates." Why was it much anticipated? It was Shelly Jones' XXX debut? Who is Shelly Jones, you might ask? Only a former Playboy covergirl, with the greatest eyes, nipples, and ass you'd ever want to see. So, I pop in the tape with great hopes. What do I see??? I see a *very* enthusiastic Miss Jones in a completely wasted performance, due to poor directing and camerwork. Lots of cutaways, and very hazy photography. Shelly takes a dildo in two different scenes. In neither scene do we see an insertion shot, there are no close-ups, and the scenes are waaaay too short. Everything looks like it's shot thru a dirty lens from 9 miles away. Perhaps he didn't realize who he was working with. She surprisingly seemed really into it, talking all dirty to the other girls and stuff. It appeared like she was willing to go a lot farther than she did, but apparantely Mr. Thomas had a bus to catch that day. Just a very, very disappointing effort. I know everyone has a bad day at work now and then, but it'll be a long time before I rent/buy another movie of his. Thank you.
Mike Paul replies on RAME: You see, PT makes 'erotica'. That's the stuff that yuppie couples watch, so they can't be accused of watching 'porn'. He *intentionally* makes his movies that way, to 'raise' himself above the subject matter. Maybe 6 years ago, in an AVN article, he pointed out how the in-an-out is only interesting for a few strokes, so he needs to keep refocusing on other things. Of course, the 'other things' include his hazy photography gimmick, and the cutaways that make him look like a Real Filmmaker. Nice to see someone else realizes his money was wasted. Now, if the *rest* of the folks who patronize 'erotica' would wise up, maybe PT would be forced to rethink his 'genius'.
Bell writes: I just finished watching this movie and was about to post the same negative review. The sad thing is when AVN, Hustler, Cheri, Club e.t.c comes out with their reviews of this movie they will be telling us how great this movie is. They have all sold out. Lets not forget some of the well known RAME posters/reviewers. They will most likely praise this movie.
Ed Powers Auteur
Wilkie writes on RAME: Why do they let Ed Powers keep making porn movies? The camera work is awful, Ed seems exactly what the girls want, and the public wants to see. But to be honest, he looks like George Carlin with a floppy dick. I don't think it would bother me if Ed only did ONE scene in each of his movies, but nooo, he insists on banging everyone of the girls he managed to talk into not only staring in, but video taping one of his movies.
Someone: They? Who are "they?" He produces and distributes them himself, just as you or anyone else could. The real question is "Why do they keep buying them?" The only reason the series is successful is because people are buying them. As soon as that stops, Ed will be gone -- the same thing that can be said of, say, the WWF show!
Lynne L-patin On Love
Lynne writes: Dear Luke:
I am at a loss for words.
Have been for almost an hour.
You and I are now in the same boat, so to speak. Your challenge is to find someone who loves you as much as I do -- my challenge is to find someone who treats me with as much respect as you do.
A year ago you told me that you could "never" have sex with me, and that you were "uncomfortable discussing it." (Ah...the dangers of dealing with someone with an eidetic memory...)
You love me and therefore cannot defile me with fornication. I love you. When people who love each other have sex, they aren't "fornicating." They are making love, and it is the most marvelous thing in the universe. There's nothing more life-affirming and healing than the tangible, physical exchange of intimate energy.
You set yourself up for failure when you pursue women who cannot love you because of who you are, and what you do. There's nothing exciting about running yourself into an emotional cul-de-sac -- just frustration.
On the other hand, I do love you for yourself, and you run from me as if from a rabid dog. What are you afraid of? If you can't work this through with me....as your friend (and semi-trained paraprofessional)....even on a theoretical level, no amount of therapy will do you any good. Therapy just becomes one more avoidance mechanism.
It's like me telling you there's nothing wrong with you fails to confirm your own self image of being unable to have a relationship. For some reason, it is important to you to maintain this ambivalence -- your next step with me is either to sabotage our friendship so it won't go any further and you can fail, or to move ahead and explore what it means to love and be loved. Stasis or healing.
The prospect of being involved in a loving relationship should be exciting rather than terrifying. I was amazed at how accurate the MMPI was, but nothing in the MMPI explains this contradiction in you.
Anyway, get yourself safely back to California and when you get back, there will be a screener of "Working Stiff" in your mailbox, and you can watch yourself on TV all you want. Please let me know that you've gotten back in one piece. Other than that, please spend some time thinking about what I've said.
Luke: Hi fans, should I sabotage my relationship with Lynne, or move ahead and explore what it means to love and be loved. Stasis or healing? Email Luke
Curious: Luke, Be totally honest now. If Lynn L-patin looked like say... Juli Ashton or Asia Carrera would you be so firm in your resolve not to corrupt your friendship with sex? Be honest!
PS: Why not treat your newer readers to that nude photo of Lynn from a few months back to give them the proper context?
Goddess writes: Perhaps you're not really narcissistic, Luke, but you just have a healthy love for yourself, not unlike a lot of people in the porno biz. Did you know--and THIS IS TRUE--that Mike South has his bedroom totally wallpapered with pictures of himself?! Mike said this is so he can be the last person he sees before he goes to bed, and the first person he lays eyes on when he wakes up. The upside is that when you write Mike and ask for a photo, he just rips one off the wall and sends it to ya:) I know, cause he sent me several and they still have the wallpaper glue on the back.
Brandy Alexandre writes: Luke, upon pondering your pondering your return to Los Angeles and psychotherapy, just because they say you need it doesn't mean you have to get it. If you're happy with the way you are, and you seemed to be before you went to Oz, why undertake the expense? To please your family? If they aren't happy with the way you are let them pay for it.
Saying that Mila's prolasped colon is from years of straining in the toilet is letting her off too easily. It makes the other girls think it won't happen to them. It's from the abuse she puts her ass through--forcing it to be an entry instead of an exit. It's okay to do once in a while as long as you give it a break and allow the supporting muscles to recoup and repair. There are exercises to strengthen the muscles, but sometimes surgery is necessary to correct the problem. And it is a serious problem--nothing to be laughed at. It can cause serious and life threatening infections, even lead to cancer. It's a part of the body that was never meant to be exposed to the open air. When she says, "Let's wreck some ass" it's more truth than porno poetry. But the diaper remark is correct; it's the future for a lot of these girls.
Laura writes: I'm so sick of Chaim Amalek's racist and ultra orthodox religious bulls---! The bible is a work of FICTION and you are wasting your life following it. And concerning white men being disgusted or whatever over white women having sex with black men, TOO DAMN BAD! Get over it! People have the right to be involved with whomever they choose regardless of whether racists approve or not. The truth is white men are just insecure in their masculinity and feel threatened by what they percieve as the physical superiority of black men, especially their larger penises. And BTW marriage is not at all important and children can turn out just fine with a single parent or yes even a gay couple. Why do we need to be constantly bombarded with Chaim Amalek's crap, this site is supposed to be about adult industry news.
Lord Peter Luther Christian writes: Dear Mr. Ford:
(Forgive the officiousness, but this letter is directed more to your readers than to you.)
There is good and simple news about racism by way of the New Testament: it is forbidden, pure and simple. There is no prohibition against love between different races for the simple reason that no such prohibition is stated.
Applying strained talmudic reasoning to conclude that a biblical verse from the Old Testament concerning beasts holds for human beings after the teachings of the Redeemer is a logical fallacy that no informed Christian should be fooled by.
The Good News of Jesus places the saved on an equal footing before God:
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)25"
While man, born with the taint of original sin, often chooses to oppress his fellow man by creating divisions that the Lord does not recognize, those who are born in the body and redeeming blood of Christ, all are equal before God.
Yours in Christian Love,
Lord Peter Luther Christian, OBE
JM writes: love to learn about the actors and what happens "behind the scenes" but I have always been curious about 1 thing. You know how the mainstream movies have a "Top 100 Movies of All Time" I was wondering if porn has that to or maybe the top 5 highest grossing porn movies of all time.
Luke: 1 - Deep Throat.
2 - Behind the Green Door
3 - Devil in Miss Jones
4 - Debbie Does Dallas
JM: I have always wondered what happened to Kevin James? I am a big fan of the Taboo movies (the early ones). I read where he had died in 1987 of cancer and I just wanted to know if that was the same one in Taboo 2,3,4 because I have come across a couple of people doing porn with the name Kevin James. I noticed that you have nothing on him in your stars section and I just wanted to know what happened to "Greg McBride Jr." and what he done up until his death if that is the same one.
Luke: It is the same one.