In the middle of a Texan thunderstorm, Nena Cherry phoned Luke Thursday afternoon. She plans to appear at the 1/99 CES but has no plans to return to porn. Over the past couple of days she's called agents Jim South and Regan Senter to complain about how the industry cast her off when she supposedly tested HIV positive in early 1997. Nena, who has a nine month old daughter and recently aborted another child for financial reasons, says that she and her husband "do not have HIV. We have been approved for life insurance... I’m not testing HIV positive anymore. That happened in the past. It is something that has turned around dramatically in my favor.
"I've completely turned my life around. I'm glad to be out of porn. I love my husband. I closed down my web site www.nenacherry.com about a year ago and took a minimum wage job working for Fuji. Then I started tending bar. I worked at this redneck bar till Halloween when I could not take it any more. Now I do 'lingerie modeling.' I don’t use the name "Nena Cherry’… I don’t do hand jobs or blow jobs… No full service with me… I do private lingerie shows… You walk the guy into the room…with three or four girls… A session costs $60, you earn $20…. The guy gets naked and jerks off while you model for him. I sometimes make $200 an hour..."
Due to protests on this web site and on such newsgroups as rec.arts.movies.erotica, VCA no longer requires talent and crew to belong to the Free Speech Coalition before they can work for the Russ Hampshire powerhouse.
Luke found something comforting in that threat, and brought it up with his therapist Thursday morning.
FSC President Gloria
Leonard attended a screening of the new documentary about porn "It's
A Living" in Hollywood Tuesday night. "Went to the screening and party
last night! I've probably given several dozen interviews over the years
to documentary filmmakers and this was the first I can recall, that
saw the light of day. It was quite entertaining although most of the
profound information came from the women subjects - most of the men,
however, came across as what I refer to as "himbos." I was the opening
scene, which was a rather hilarious clip and what made this
effort so pleasing, was that Mindy (Melissa) nicely blended the serious,
the silly and even the sad. Ron Jeremy and Paul Fishbein were about
the only men who registered as articulate and Oscar Wilde and Nici Sterling
were elegant as the Princess Di and Prince Charles of porn. Of course,
there were about twice as many people at the House of Blues party afterward
than were at the screening - free booze and food I guess, brought that
crowd out. All in all, a terrific job - my guess is that it will probably
wind up somewhere like "Frontline" on PBS or A & E or even HBO.
Also interesting was the fact that in the audience of about 100 people,
I perhaps knew only a half dozen or so...mostly industry outsiders....perhaps
potential distributors/buyers. The girl did us proud."
Luke wanders into Reb’s Pretty Girl International at 11:30 Tuesday, 11/10/98 to watch Annabel Chong’s debut as a director – The Return of the Superslut for Jerry Garfinkle’s Impressive Video.
I meet a 6’3" dark-skinned male performer David Steel, who says he’s 50% white, 30% black and 20% Cherokee. David’s worked in porn since 1989, appearing in about 150 scenes.
Annabel shows me the boxcovers from a couple of Amazing Pictures releases from 1994 directed by John Bone – Anal Queen and Triple Penetration. Chong says she did triple penetration (two dicks in either anus or vagina and one dick in the other orifice) on her porn debut.
David takes to my tape recorder immediately, slipping into his radio performer mode. He says he worked at radio stations in three major markets. A tall slender and muscular 31-year old, he’s preparing to try his luck modeling in Europe in a few weeks.
"It’s great to be on the Luke F-rd show," rambles David. "I love your studio… How you guys have it laid out. Nice equipment [referring to Luke’s $20 Sony tape recorder]… It’s amazing how radio and porn mix…"
I hear that Reb’s daughter went to high school with Christy Canyon. Reb’s been married 33 years to Geri. Jerry Garfinkle has been married 29 years to his wife, and faithful the whole time, he says. Jerry, who wears earrings and resembles his cousin Ron Jeremy, says he does not do the talent.
In the background, Reb interviews new talent, and takes pictures of them nude.
Reb answers the phone, "Pretty Girl."
Man: "Regan [Senter]?"
Reb: "Regan’s your mother." Reb hangs up.
Tony Montana walks in. He’s worked for Mark Carriere since 1980 and seeks talent for a four man on one woman anal gangbang.
Annabel remembers how when she first met Montana, he told her that he could crack a walnut with his cock.
Raised in Colombia, Tony moved to the US at age 14. Montana entered porn (1978) around the same time as Don Fernando. Tony has not done a scene for eight months, instead working construction to pay the mortgage on his San Fernando Valley home. Tony volunteers for Annabel’s shoot but learns that he needs to get a PCR DNA test which takes four days to process.
Tony appeared frequently in the gossip pages of AVN, particularly about his rough affair with Crystal Gold.
"How can anyone stick their hand inside anyone and pull out their ovary?" asked Tony.
Reb pipes in: "You were on TV again last week."
Tony: "Oh yeah, Jerry Springer with her [Gold in 1995]. It was fun. Lots of people have seen it.
"At the time [of an incident which supposedly sent Gold to the hospital] there was a controlled substance in between us that I tried to get her off of but she didn’t want to… A lot of people when they’re high get delusions. She also told them [AVN] that I hit her and that she was hemorrhaging for two months. Nobody can bleed that long. It was all lies.
"When we were in Las Vegas, she was telling everybody ‘he’s beating me. He’s got me locked up in a room.’ She was out there.
"I gave her the money to get out of town. She’s now a mother of a baby boy and lives in Iowa. Yeah, we were going to get married… Just one of those things. Just because you enjoy going to be with someone doesn’t mean that you should spend the rest of your life together."
Montana evidently has his immigration problems under control. "I’m still here, aren’t I?"
Tony names Borderline as one of his best roles. "I was nominated by AVN for Best Supporting Actor. And some of those good ol’ movies we used to shoot for Plum Productions like Sweat. Anthony Spinelli was always nice to me. We used to shoot for Paul Carrera (Swedish Erotica), who’s now dead. And Reuben and David Sturman."
I inform Tony that Reuben is now dead.
"The quality of the
movies has changed for the worst. We used to shoot 35mm features. Now
it’s digital videocameras, quick, boom, boom, goodbye. It’s still fun
though. Somebody calls me, ‘I’ve got a girl for you to get laid,’ I’ll
be there in two seconds. I’ve been with about 5000 women in my life.
I used to be a real slut."
Luke: "Do you think that has damaged your soul?"
Tony laughs. "After all my years in this industry, I don’t think anything
can make it worse. If they believe in people going to hell for f---ing,
then I am going to be roasting when I die. If there is such a thing
as a Lake of a 1000 Fires, baby, I’m going to burn in each one of them.
And if it is true that when you die God is going to judge us for everything
we’ve done, then I’m going to have a helluva court date with him just
like I did with the United States of America [drug smuggling, immigration,
etc]. A lengthy trial with the verdict guilty as sin. You know God.
All kinds of things are all right but Cardinal Sins [a Roman Catholic
belief in particularly big sins like illicit sex] are the worst. Your
body is the house of God. When you violate that, you can’t get any worse.
You can kill someone and be forgiven for it, you might even be forgiven
by God, but Cardinal Sins are not forgiveable. That’s what I gathered
from Catholic school. It obviously didn’t help much, did it? If we were
going to worry about what will happen when we die, then obviously what
the hell are we doing here? Obviously we don’t worry about it that much.
Am I going to get into more problem because I’m doing it, or because
you’re watching it or photographing it or writing about it? No matter
what you’re doing, you’re part of it.
"Who am I to judge anybody?
Who am I to say what is right and what is wrong? All I know is what
I’ve done and what I’m doing. Would I do it tomorrow [sex]? f--- yeah."
Luke: "Have you ever sucked on a guy’s dick?"
Tony: "Never."
Luke: "Have you ever felt tempted?"
Tony: "Never… Gay guys are fine. They’re always nice to me. They ask me for my autograph. They think that I’m cool. Whatever your sex preference is, that’s ok with me."
Montana scans through a recent issue of Al Goldstein’s Screw magazine. He stares at pictures of J.R. Carrington. "That woman will suck your dick until there’s nothing left. I’d love to f--- that woman."
We talk about old timers. Tony goes through a list of names, pausing with Buck Adams. "Does he still look like a little midget? Last time I talked to him we were going to shoot a movie, but it never happened. Buck put me in a movie for HBO, Uninhibited. I played a drug lord."
Luke: "Wow, uhhh, you’re
quite the actor."
Tony: "I can act… But what were you going to say? Was I real drug dealer?
That’s what you were going to say."
Tony and Reb laugh. "People. What have you heard? I was acquitted of
everything I was charged with. Whether I did it or not, that’s not the
point. I was not guilty."
Luke: "What were you charged with?"
Tony: "All kinds of
things. International trafficking. Kidnapping for ransom, you name it.
In 1990, I made the pages of the Valley News."
Reb yells to Annabel Chong: "Your car is [going to cost] $20 more. Generator…"
Tony to Luke: "So how much of this interview are you going to use? I was at Reb’s office when Tony Montana walked in so I decided to probe into his hidden life. What does this guy do when he is not around? Where does he go? Who does he see?
"I live with a bunch
of dogs."
Luke: "That’s not a nice way to talk about your wife."
Tony: "No, real dogs. My wife [porn girl Sondra Summers] left in June
of 1997."
Luke: "Because you were buffing other women?"
Tony: "No, I wasn’t even f---ing anybody. She was."
[A source: "Sondra Summers only married Tony Montana because he paid
her to so that he could become a citizen (according to her). She left
him in 1996 but couldn't serve the papers until 1997 because he couldn't
be found.]
Reb asks Annabel Chong’s
friend Alan who does transvestite flicks as Alanina, "Do you like Jewish
guys with little dicks?"
Alan: "I’ve never seen one."
Reb points at Luke. "There’s one."
Homophobic Luke cowers into the couch, trying to hide behind a backpack.
Tony: "If I had a little dick, I’d be a writer too."
Reb asks Alan and Annabel if they pick up the same males. "We try," giggles Annabel. They laugh in unison. They walk in unison. They look alike.
Reb to Tony: "What about John Stagliano? He entered the business the same time as you. He has piles of money.""
Tony: "I made money.
Five million at one time. But I blew it all. I have no regrets."
Later I run into Danny, a white-haired man in his 40s who did a dozen
pornos including Hot Chocolate in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. He got
married and quit porn. Now he’s trying to start up an internet porn
site.
A straight talking Texan named Cap, a friend of Reb’s for ten years, brings a well built young man into PGI. After waiting around for hours for the male talent to arrive, Annabel and Jerry Garfinkle decide to use the newcomer in the first scene. It begins with Annabel pulling a knife on TJ Morgan and making him eat her out. TJ eats her, then wrestles the knife away from her and makes her suck him. Then newcomer Serge and veteran David Steele join in.
Serge has a ready pole but like all three guys does not enjoy using condoms for intercourse.
I leave Reb’s studio
for his office where Dave Hardman and Amber Woods are listening to Tony
Montana poke fun at me. "You’ve got to be careful of this guy [Luke].
He’ll try to make it sound like we want to suck dick or something. He
asked me, ‘have you ever had the desire to suck cock?’ I’m like, what
the f--- is the guy asking me? Tony Montana, the guy who loves to eat
pussy. I think he’s got a fantasy. Yeah, you’re the one with the fantasy
buddy?"
Dave asks for duck tape to keep himself from talking to me.
Charley Frey sent Domonique DeWitt to Reb. She says she had an awful experience entering porn through Denver journalist and agent JR Wolf, veteran photographer Johnny Castano and Max Hardcore.
Domonique: "I went to the Exotica 98 Expo [strip club convention in Las Vegas in September] with JR Wolfe. He was supposed to get me all this work. He didn’t do s---. He got me one shoot. It was with Max Hardcore. I like the guy but it was the worst possible first shoot I could’ve done. It was my first anal in my life. He was not gentle.
"I got stuck in Las Vegas because the maid threw my plane ticket away. Johnny Castano said I could stay at his house. JR called him and bitched about me. I bitched about JR. Johnny stood up for JR. We got into a big screaming match. He starts throwing stuff… He said, ‘I’m going to call this person and you’ll never work again.’ I took my s--- and I left his house. Johnny Castano can die and rot in hell.
"Paul Little as a person is a nice guy but when Paul turns into Max… Paul and I E-mail once in a while. He’s cool but I don’t know if I’ll ever work for him again."
Reb: "Johnny Castano is married to Regan Senter."
Amber Woods is back in porn ("boredom" is her reason for return) as a brunette after a three-year layoff. She stripped at TJ’s theater in Anaheim. She announces she doesn’t do anal anymore.
Tony Montana offers her $1500 for an anal scene. Amber is tempted. Tony says it is with four guys. Amber says no. She gives her regular boy-girl price as $400, then ups it to $500.
Amber turns the table
on me. "So what do you think of all this, Luke?"
Luke: "The industry, Reb’s office?"
Amber: "Is it intriguing to you to be around these kind of people who
are so free and open?"
Luke: "I’ve been doing it for three years so…"
Amber: "Are you married?"
Luke: "No."
Amber: "Why not?"
Luke: "Ahh…"
Amber: "Do you want to be married?"
Luke: "Yes."
Amber: "Do you have a girlfriend?"
Luke: "No. I’m going on a first date tonight. Someone I met at synagogue
Friday night."
Amber: "You go boy. I’m going out with a policeman tonight."
Luke is enchanted with Amber and snaps about 30 pictures of her.
Just as I prepare to leave PGI at 3:45 to prepare for my first date with a nice Jewish girl (Jaglom movie Déjà Vu in Santa Monica), I see two policemen enter PGI to chat with Reb. The talk and atmosphere is congenial, a stark contrast to LAPD’s attitude 15 years ago.
Updates from JL: 1) Erica Boyer is retired save for the occasional dancing engagement and living just outside Dallas Texas. She is a RMT (registered massage therapist) and does a good business under her real name. She does not trade off Erica Boyer and in fact virtually no one recognizes her. Still gorgeous though. She also does palm readings and Tarot readings, but not for money.
2) Letha Weapons (Stephanie
Smith) retired also and had a breast
reduction. Works as an outcall escort in LA or wherever she happens
to be.
3) Lee Carroll...moved
out of LA a few years ago with a slew of
creditors behind her, and went to West Virginia to live after running
up over 30,000 in credit card bills. Lived for about 8 months with Kitten
Natividad at her apartment on North Sweetzer. They were notorious for
heading out on the town and bringing home a young stud for what must
have been the night of his life. They both used to go to Las Vegas regularly
where they stayed with Patty Plenty where they would stay up for 3 or
4 days straight, gambling.
Houston was in Toronto last week. she was handing out applications for the 500 man gangbang she has planned. Her stage show consists in part of her covering her crotch area with whipped cream and inviting five men onstage to lick it off.
From the newsgroup rec.arts.movies.erotica
Mike Ross says that
editor S. Andrew Roberts S. Andrew has been choosen by FSC and AVN to
monitor this group and provide "feedback" on negative posts. Mike Ross
says that editor S. Andrew Roberts S. Andrew has been choosen by FSC
and AVN to monitor this group and provide "feedback" on negative posts.
Gloria Leonard says: "Why you [Luke] perpetuate Mike Ross' bulls---
is beyond me and I ask that you immediately retract his allegation that
the FSC has "choosen" (his spelling, like his ethics, needs work) S.
Andrew Roberts to report back to them on RAME postings. Yes, Roberts
is a friend of mine and often will post me info as it relates to Private,
Odyssey or the FSC - as do a number of other people who read RAME. NO
ONE has ever been "choosen" for this job. I myself, relay pertinent
info onto others as well, when time permits. Isn't the exchange of info
one of the driving forces of the internet? Mike takes everything personally
and is still childishly pouting over the fact that FSC dumped him. Considering
his bully behavior, I, for one, though I was not around when they canned
him, would still vote to be rid of
this unpleasant oaf."
Dithering: If this statement [about Roberts & FSC] is true, isn't it interesting that the person used by industry "mouthpieces" to monitor and interact with a consumer-oriented forum is consistently one of the most negative and hostile contributors to this newsgroup? Does Roberts' consistently negative and hostile reactions to participants (i.e. consumers) in this forum suggest something about the underlying attitude of industry "higher-ups" towards their customer base?
I have noticed that
employees of Sun, Apple and Netscape monitor and react to various newsgroups
in the computer-oriented Usenet hierarchy frequented by customers. As
everyone knows, people get irate when their computer or software investments
don't perform as expected. And usually, fault lies with end-users rather
than manufacturers. Even so, the computer industry liasons have constructive
interactions in those newsgroups, although their patience is sorely
tested. For example: "Why won't my f---ing modem work?" Answer: "Please
connect your modem to
your phone jack and see if the problems persist."
By contrast, Roberts, per Mike Ross's comments, is an industry liason; yet usually submits negative and inflammatory posts to this newsgroup. Mike Paul goaded Roberts on 11.1.98 to say something positive in the "Movie Costs and Profits" thread. And Roberts responded admirably. Why does it take goading for Roberts to consistently behave constructively in this newsgroup? Back to that underlying industry attitude, I guess.
Roberts, I understand
why you behave snippishly to someone like
LCPofUSA. That clown is an irritant and a troll. But given the wealth
of information you can offer, why consistently adopt the negative persona?
You can build consumer goodwill for the industry by replying honestly
and helpfully to legitimate questions, and clarifying areas where people
are misinformed. Like or hate him, Torris is not a troll. He is a vociferous
advocate for improving the product consumers purchase (or rent). On
that issue, he is unrelenting and unforgiving. Why exactly is he your
enemy, or should I speculate on your rationale? Keep reading.
Rocking-Rodney Moore uses this forum (my opinion) to guage consumer whims so he can exploit them to his commercial advantage. A case in point is his response to repeated requests for a "best of Nadia Nyce" tape. I suspect Rocking-Rodney will release three or four of these over time, with different footage. Although some might ask him to just do one mega-tape, he is, after all, a businessman. Good for him. With regard to a "best of Nadia Nyce," that niche is supply-constrained (i.e. demand exists, but the product is lacking). No one should fault Rocking-Rodney for slowly and systematically cultivating (and growing) this sub-niche without ripping (or seeming to rip) people off.
Similarly, Iron-Mike South uses these Internet consumer-oriented forums to build name recognition. In other words, he pays $19.95 a month for indirect promotion of the Mike South product (or brand, if you will). Iron-Mike supplies helpful (and "additive") information, and generally ignores infuriating assholes. Can you learn something from him?
Likewise can't you learn
from Big-Game-James DiGiorgio and his
"additive" contributions to this forum? Lastly, Garden-of-Eden Rae has
done the exact same thing in terms of building name (and brand)
recognition to further her business self-interests. Hart Williams,
except for infrequent outbursts when irritated, is consistently an
"additive" contributor to this newsgroup. So is (was) Nick Long.
Are all the people I
mentioned free-thinking "rebels," uninterested in
kow-towing to the "company (industry) line," or smart capitalists
--close to the cash register-- with sophisticated understanding of the
extended benefits of customer "goodwill?" Or all of the above? Why is
your unceasing negativity and Roger Pipe's duplicity ("How can I possibly
see a condom since I watch solely as a fan") the modus operandi in this
forum?
Should I expect a negative response from you, yet again? Are you going to suggest that Ross is an unreliable industry observor full of sour grapes, like Brandy Alexandre? Or will you be "additive?" Choose your words carefully, because I assure you I will reply when you and (if) Roger "Condom, I didn't see a condom in that condom-mandated tape" Pipe respond.
DSL1999:
With only a few exceptions (none that I can name off the top of my head),
I have wondered why adult video manufacturers don't seem to give a damn
about their products. Typically tapes I rent or buy from VCA are filled
with drop outs throughout, even on prestige titles like "Latex" or "The
Chameleon." Evil Angel titles usually have a washed out look with ghosting
throughout. Vivid Video constantly and unnecessarily edits their videos
for running time, and some movies like "The Swap" are so poorly mastered
so as to look like it was recorded in the extended play mode. I bought
an older title from Caballero recently and the damn thing would not
track properly on any of my three VCRs.
It has been my experience
that poor video quality is the rule not the
exception. Unfortunately, porno videophiles do not seem to be a very
discriminating consumer voice, and so the s---ty videos keep coming
(no pun intended). AVN will occaisionally give lip service to poor recordings,
but they never advocate a standard or take specific companies to task
for any quality control.
VanMon: I have been a video retailer for over 8 years now. The reason adult product is done so cheaply is just that reason, it's cheap. With wholesale cost about 6 bucks for catalog and 20 for new releases, the premium labels (Evil Angel is best in my opinion) rarely come down below $13, it's no wonder the quality is poor. Regular (not x-rated) product is about $72 for rental and $14 sellthrough. You get what you pay for...