From 'Planet Show Business' for Thursday, October 8, 1998
All you screenwriter wannabes can put away your John Holmes scripts — Christopher Walken's already written it. And in his version, the actor says he nearly makes the "gifted" porn star's downward spiral of a life something akin to Amadeus.
"He was this simple guy whose father was abusive, and he came to L.A. to work as a handyman, and he never realized he had this great gift," Walken tells Movieline in its November issue. "He didn't even know that everybody wasn't like him. It's sort of a funny story, [although] he ended up stealing radios from cars and he died of AIDS.... It's a nice story. Basically it's about the curse of a great gift. It's like Mozart."
David Aaron Clark and videographer Charlie left John Bone's Cream Entertainment over a week ago and they will now shoot for Extreme Associates.
I hear that Papillon has retired and now works at Tropical Lei/T&A Video in Upland. Lili Xene used to work there. "She told me that she's retired from porn for good (yeah, right)," writes an observer. "She did say that she has some stuff coming out over the next few months. She's 24 years old (just turned 24 August 17th, if I remember correctly). That tattoo on her left arm is a couple of stylized lions and she has it because she's a leo. She just gave birth to a baby girl six months ago.
"She's changed her look a little. She no longer has the twin blond streaks in her hair that I remember and she has gained a little weight. She still looked pretty good though and I recognized her instantly. She confirmed that her ethnicity is half Fillipino and half White but she laughed about how she gets dubbed hispanic, asian, black, or white depending on the video she's appearing in. She is going to be working at Tropical Lei / T &A Video during the day on Thusdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. She lives in xxx and seems to still have good relations with her family judging by what she said about them."
Porn insiders wonder about the unnaturally close relationship between John Bone and AVN's assistant editor Gene Ross. John frequently seeks Gene's approval and appraisal of his product.
John is a master orchestrator of the media. I find Bone a uniquely intelligent, charming, creative, interesting and hilarious porner. John landed AVN covers and lots of coverage for both his contract girls - Zoe and Kendra Jade. Shortly after the last Kendra/Cream cover, AVN announced that it would no longer accept company stills for its covers. Perhaps Wicked - VCA - Vivid complained about all the free publicity John gets while he fails to buy many, if any, ads.
I found the 12/98 Hustler Erotic Video Guide's shots at AVN hilarious when HEVG and the rest of Larry Flynt Publications adjust their editorial content frequently to please advertisers.
Charley Frey, longtime manager of Jasmine St. Clair, writes: "Jasmin was arrested for attempting to buy controlled prescription drugs using fake prescriptions she wrote up herself. Has not everyone wondered how she miraculously lost so much weight? And does anyone working with her know she had (has?) Hepatitis B?"
Jasmine says the charges are nonsense. "I have every right to sue you Luke and Charley Frey. I do not have Hepatitis B and have never had it. Yeah, I got busted in Canada, not Michigan, for selling tapes at a dance booking."
Rodney Moore writes on RAME:
Recently, I was given a DVD compilation of John Holmes loops from the Swedish Erotica series of the late 70's. Some of the scenes I remembered from the very first porn movies on video.
Much is said regarding the "Golden Age of Porn". There was a striking difference between the style then and now. I found 2 things that I like much better about the old porn.
The first is of personal taste. The second is more of a commentary on the state of porn today.
1) All of the girls in these scenes had lots of pubic hair and natural breasts. This has been replaced by either shaved or "Hitlered" pussies and silicon/saline altered breasts. So natural is out, fake and unnatural is "in". I have been trying to push a one man crusade to bring back pubic hair into the porn world, and for the most part (other than my shoots in Seattle) I've been losing.
2) John's dialogue to the girls consisted of phrases like "Love it, honey", "Love that tongue, honey", "Oh, Love the way you do that, honey".
This has been replaced in the late 90's by dialogue such as "Suck my cock, you stupid cunt" and "You were put on this earth to suck my dick, bitch" and "Hurry up and get me off, whore, so I can throw you back in the garbage dumpster where I found you".
Maybe my movies don't sell as well as those that have this type of dialogue, but I'm proud of the fact that they don't.
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An observer: "I just read your article on Linda Lovelace, but it's not totally accurate...! Chuck Traynor admitted to a Vanity Fair reporter that he enjoys beating women. That quote appears in the issue where Marilyn Chambers is interviewed. Marilyn Chambers also appears in two S&M movies that I know of: Never a Tender Moment and Beyond DeSade. Why she would choose to participate in such movies--she's beaten with boards in 'Never' -- is beyond me. Marilyn Chambers had to request Chuck's permission to use the bathroom -- several reporters have commented on this -- and always appeared with him in all her press interviews. She wouldn't answer questions unless Chuck OK'd them first. And as far as Linda 'Lovelace' saying how much she enjoyed the sex in the movie, do you really think that the movie would have been released if she'd been crying because she'd been beaten the night before? She does have black and blue marks on her body throughout the film. I guess there will always be someone who believes the world is flat."
Luke gets fan mail: "You are so on the money! I've met you before, while you were interviewing a major porner, and when I read the interview on your site, I was impressed with your total accuracy. Prior to that interview, you had profiled someone else I know quite well, and you dutifully recorded him so well I could hear his voice speaking the words off the page as I read! These porners, they all lie, and you tape-record it. Then when you put it up on your site, they accuse you of shoddy journalism! It's their own lies that they spoke that they say are lies! Duh. These people are so stupid they talk to hear their own voices. The stupid porners love to talk about themselves, and they love to feel important in their little porner world, not unlike the bank teller that gives you a hard time because the bank is her little world. I think everyone knows someone who fits this description, don't we? I can't wait for your book, tell it like it is, Luke.
"Here's some news for you, [Hustler Erotic Video Guide editor] Mike Albo is strung out on heroin. he's been a junkie for years. I hate to see him calling you names in print when he's got his own skeletons. Ask him, and see what he says. Check out his pinned pupils, and now it makes sense when he sounded f---ed up on the phone that time, huh? Don't be suprised when the porner friends try to protect him. What's the matter, Mikey? Can't face the truth? I love the stupid porners, they are my daily entertainment for years now. Others love you too, Luke, friends of mine at Hustler they love you and we all want to be outed as LUKE LOVERS but our jobs won't permit it-yet... We've got our own book ideas too...it's just too weird this world of freaks."
Nine most powerful porners - Russ Hampshire (VCA), Steve Hirsch (Vivid), John Stagliano (Evil Angel), Patrick Collins (Elegant Angel), David Sturman (GVA West), Edward Wedelstedt (Goalie), Paul Fishbein (AVN), Mel Kaminsky (GVA), Jim South (World Modeling). Email Luke F-rd with your list, in order preferably.
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Noelfr@aol.com writes on RAME Thursday:
Last night I saw MTV's series "Tru Life". This week's episode was on the adult porn industry and featured interviews with Chloe (Very honest and personable), Rob Black, Missy, Ron Jeremy, J.D. Ram, Michael J. Cox, and Brooke Ashley among others (Brooke discussed her HIV condition). I personally enjoyed the honest insights, but more importantly, how appropriately everyone answered the typical critical questions held of porn, for example, "Isn't it demeaning to women?"
The one disappointing note was Ed Powers in my opinion. Knowing what I know of Ed, the portion that focused on him made him out to be out of touch with reality. The focus on the segment is on a "debutante" who has only done pictorials up to this point (Set to be MDD #92). Among her concerns is her knowledge that Ed is not very attractive, but quickly rationalizes the meeting with the money she will be making (At the time she presented herself as a college student doing it for the money. She is not in school at this time).
Once the taping switches to Ed, it's all typical Ed ego from that point on.
A close up of Ed is not very kind to him. He is not an attractive man at all, and the close up reveals flaws that videotape softens. Why do I care? Because it seems as if he's oblivious that he is not a very good looking man at all.
When he removes his jacket he reveals one of the biggest butts I've seen on a man with his torso and stature. His physique is disgusting for the kind of work he does.
MTV actually catches the "bantering" Ed does to set the mood. Honestly? It works for me when watching his videos, but I was embarrased for him in this setting. He came across like an idiot.
He did the typical Ed insecurity Q's:
-Has she ever been with an older man? Yes, she said, "34". (Ed claims to be a downsized "43", he has to be older).
-On a scale from 1 to 10, how was he in bed? (She didn't answer, which is an answer in itself.)
At the end, she rationalizes the whole experience by seeing she was paid a very generous amount of money for this experience. Doesn't Ed get it? He should, he's the one paying, but all you see is a man out of touch with reality who if he was not in the line of work he is in, and paid the amounts he did, would get laid as often as the common man on the street with his looks and physique, which isn't much.
I realize that I'm turning against Ed because instead of being a modest or humble man in the sexual department, his personality is one of a Peter North or Rocco Siffredi. How he has allowed himself to to take this turn is beyond me.
Mr Owlsey: "I thought MTV did a good job and was non-biased. Some of the people came across as being stupid (Missy), but others came across as being intelligent (Mr Marcus and Chloe). Speaking of Chloe... she's one harsh looking woman without make-up. Also, I've got new respect for Rob Black now (even though I still don't care much for his videos). He seemed to be a funny guy and had Tabitha Soren laughing a few times, but more importantly he tells it like it is and seems to be in tune with what most porn viewers want -- no condoms, extreme sex, etc."
Hart Williams writes:
"...Every porn actor and/or director has their garden-variety philosophy of the biz, and will invariably expound ON that philosophy, which invariably gives the documentarian in question (in this case, MTV) ample opportunity to pull enough sound bites to make everyone seem like a moron. Note how much time was devoted to the "extreme" philosophy, f'r instance. All in all, I thought it was about as fair a shake as Porn is likely to get in a society whose taboos CREATE porn. Notice the commercials BETWEEN the segments?
Talk about yer pornography....
...Well I'm sure he's [Ed Powers] gonna cry all the way to the bank. Frankly I'd be happy for them to make ME look like an idiot in return for a couple million dollars of free publicity. It really doesn't matter, after all, if the audience respects you (too many threads on this and other NGs indicate that they don't, generally, and never WILL). What matters more is that everyone who got their porn "cherry" popped will rush down to the video store and rent "Dirty Debutantes" because they know what the box covers look like.
And, they can wax rhapsodic at the Frat house about how they saw how this Powers character "really" is.
Personally, the whole "sexual guru/initiating the virgin" trip has always been the sign of a pathetically insecure male, to me, but what the hell: I'm for the First Amendment, I just don't have to watch Powers and his ilk if I don't want to.
Notice how Sarah Jane
Hamilton/Veronica Hart (I'm not sure what she calls herself these daze
after the World Porn Con) managed to skate onto the thin ice of almost
censorship, BTW? You can't really hold up a case for porn on First Amendment
grounds and then say that THIS or THAT is crap and imply that it shouldn't
be seen.