On Monday, I asked Paul Fishbein a series of tough questions about his managing editor Byrn Pryor aka Mark Logan, that had been sent to me. I held off running Paul’s response, and the questions, until I talked to Pryor, which I did at 6PM, Tuesday.
Bryn has worked at AVN fulltime for a year.
On Monday, I asked Paul:
Your managing editor Bryn Pryor aka Mark Logan, a friend of Chloe’s, has a well documented history with Wicked Pictures. In fact Pryor had a fallback deal with them to direct videos in case his AVN situation didn’t pan out. Pryor is also cozy with Joy King. They belong to the same swingers’ group and Pryor has often invited King to nude orgies which he runs. Doesn’t that kind of behavior disqualify him from being the editor of the magazine much less being a fair and impartial judge of Wicked product?
Paul: "I don’t know anything about what he does in his private life and I never heard anything about a Wicked Deal. What guys do in their private life…"
Pryor has been described by people in the industry as a hothead and a powder keg ready to blow. Is that the kind of person you want running your operation?
Paul: "I can only judge somebody by the way they act here on the job. He’s doing a great job. He does have a bit of a temper but so far good."
Does Pryor have a financial interest in Seymore Butts? He reviews all their product and gives Seymore astounding ratings and editors’ choices.
Paul: "No, he likes the stuff… I don’t know what to tell you."
Pryor is an unemployed actor. Before he came to AVN, Pryor’s only experience in adult was editing stroke books for Elliot Segal…
Paul: "He had a lot of retail experience. That appealed to me. Our magazine goes out to retailers. That is the crux of what we do."
Bryn said he wished that he did have a financial interest in Seymore Butts and noted that he’d given them a couple of negative reviews of late.
"I also edited stroke books for Max Cohen (Champ Distributors which became Champ Periodicals). And I ran adult stores in Arizona for two years. I’ve worked in adult about seven years."
Luke: "Bryn, are you a hothead and powder keg ready to blow?"
Bryn: "Absolutely."
Luke: "Are you an actor?"
Bryn: "I’ve been acting professionally since age nine and made a living at it in Arizona doing theater… Almost every movie that came through I got a piece of… Just as I was getting to the point where stage producers in Arizona would call to offer me roles instead of having to audition, I abandoned my small pond to become a nobody [by moving to Los Angeles in 1991]."
Luke: "Did you have a fallback deal with Wicked Pictures to direct?"
Bryn: "If that were true, I’d be there. Absolutely. If Stevie were to hire me, I’d give Paul notice…"
Luke: "Pryor is also cozy with Joy King. They belong to the same swingers’ group and Pryor has often invited King to nude orgies which he runs. Doesn’t that kind of behavior disqualify him from being the editor of the magazine much less being a fair and impartial judge of Wicked product?"
Bryn: "I’ve invited Joy and unfortunately she has never attended. ‘Member of the same swingers club,’ that confuses me."
Luke: "Are you a big swinger?"
Bryn: "Not so much anymore. Just because they don’t have good organizations in California. The only groups that they have in CA is a group called After Midnight [popular with porners]… I haven’t been in ages though I’m considering going to their New Year’s Eve party.
"I love the people at Wicked. They are dear friends of mine. Joy is one of my closest friends. I think highly of Wicked but often feel that they fail to live up to their potential. And I’ve told them that.
"I sat down to lunch one day with Steve and Joy and told them my opinion of their product. I think these are the flaws of your product and this is how you could do better. And this is nothing that we don’t do with anyone who asks. It wouldn’t matter. I offered that in the editorial when I first got in the magazine.
I’ve done the same thing with Ray Pistol of Arrow. Ray came in one day and said, ‘you keep giving us bad reviews. Show me what’s wrong with our product.’ And we sat down, and I said, ‘watch this. See that. See that.’
"I think that Joy and Steve are where this business needs to go. They are smart and they’re classy and they pay attention to their product and they care, which I feel that a lot of people in this business do not do. The people at Wicked do not have the ‘f--- it, it’s just porn’ mentality. That attitude is why people in the business say that I am a hothead. It doesn’t make any difference what people think of me. I could care less.
"I think Wicked product is often tragically flawed and I’ve told them that. I don’t review a lot of Wicked movies, and when I do I have given them just as many lackluster reviews, more in fact, than good reviews. I’ve written three Editor’s Choices for Wicked… And I’ve given them several AAA ratings…because frequently their product doesn’t live up to the packaging. I supported not giving several of their big movies the ratings they thought they should’ve gotten. Pornogothic didn’t get the rating they thought it should’ve. And I explained to them why. It could’ve been great, but bad editing, bad music and bad acting.
"So, if it’s criminal that I have friends in the business, great. Show me someone who doesn’t. And if it’s criminal to try to help those friends make better product, sure… I don’t skew reviews for anybody, I don’t care who it is. It’s not worth it. If they’re my friend, they’ll understand… I can tell them.
"I think one of the best videos they’ve done all year is Exile, which caught them by surprise. It was a quick little William Shakespeare remake that Brad Armstrong directed. Maybe even because it wasn’t so focused on, and it wasn’t done by committee, which I think, to a certain extent, some Wicked product is… It was more pure and more clear. It worked on lots of levels.
"It’s the opposite with a lot of their videos. Pandora’s Box leaps immediately to mind. What a foul video that was. It was really bad."
Luke: "Here’s another Email. Tessio writes: "And Fishbein’s flunky Gene Ross had better watch his ass too. Managing editor Bryn Pryor [Mark Logan] has been out to get him, trying to make him look bad. Ask Pryor how he pimps girls for Fishbein. Ask about Chloe. Isn’t f---ing a porn star a conflict of interest for a managing editor? Fishbein said it is."
Bryn: "I wish I were [f---ing Chloe]. If she offered, I sure would [as would Luke]. If I got fired, it would be worth it. I would love to know who I pimped for Paul. I’m so fascinated by this industry gossip. I once heard that I had been struck by a car and killed.
"Chloe’s a friend of mine but the offer hasn’t arisen. She’s in love with her boyfriend, a musician from Philadelphia."
Luke: "Gene Ross told me on the record that he’d slept with about 600 women in his life. And you?"
Bryn: "I wish I were in triple digits. I am in the mid ‘30s [with Luke]. I’m more selective than many people in the business.
"No, I am not out to get Gene. I don’t know what I would stand to gain by making Gene look bad."
Luke: "You could become the vice-president of Editorial Operations?"
Bryn: "Why would I want to be that? I love that few people know about me. Gene and Paul get the complaints. Great. The less people who know about me, the fewer calls I get. Now Paul shuffles a lot of calls to me. Let Gene take the flack. I’m happy laboring in the background."
Luke: "Would it be a conflict of interest for you to buff a bunch of porn chicks?"
Bryn: "Tough question. I’ve got a libido that won’t quit. If it was someone I was really interested in, I don’t know that I’d be able to say no. I work the other way round [discriminating against his friends]. I would be more likely to give them the short end of the stick. I’d overcompensate.
"I was such a conspiracy theorist about AVN before I got in here. I was so sure that everything was rigged. Then I got in here and discovered that it wasn’t even close to that. I was so astonished that I’ve done everything I can to make sure that nothing I do is biased. There are people I dislike in the industry and I intentionally write good things about them, trying to overcompensate."
Luke: "Do porn girls throw themselves at you hoping to get good press?"
Bryn: "Not nearly as much as I wish they would. No. Most of them have no idea who I am. I can say the magic words AVN and their eyes light up a little bit… Plus, I’m a funny looking guy anyway.
"People are going to believe what they want to believe. Nothing that anyone inside this office says is going to change anyone’s mind. And I understand that. Especially for producers in the industry. By believing that the awards and reviews aren’t rigged means that they might have to accept the fact that their product might not be as good as someone else. No one will say, ‘Stagliano’s videos are better than mine. Tom Byron’s videos might be better than mine.’ They won’t say that. Even though they haven’t seen them. Even though half the time they haven’t seen their own product. So I understand why it is easier to believe that it is all bought and sold."
Rob Black and Paul Fishbein talked this afternoon. Extreme Associates has pulled all its advertising from the trade magazine in light of its poor showing in the AVN nominations. Rob promises Luke the full scoop TODAY.
According to a report on RAME, Nikki Randall was found dead of a drug overdose Saturday night in Galveston, Texas.
Porners took up a collection for broke and battered Danielle Rogers last night so that she and her two kids could eat and have a Christmas tree.
A few weeks ago, I hear,
Randy Spears threw a pot of soup over
her, damaging her breasts and knocking her out of work. I hear that
Sharon Mitchell bailed him out of jail.
Danielle sold her van, I hear, when she moved to LA, and now, given her break up with her randy husband, she lacks transportation to make it to sets.
Email: "I have a question about a site at www.classicadultcinema.com. They have old "uncut" videos which they seem to be selling at a very low price. The videos have fisting and golden showers. They will only ship US Mail. They do not indicate that the videos are legal. I have written them to confirm they are legal to purchase and have received no reply. I wonder if they are on the up and up or if it is a government trap. Any input about them? If it is a government scam how do we notify people? Any help would be appreciated."
David Chapman, founder
and owner of Class Adult Cinema, replies: "Seeing as how you (Luke)
have several quotes from our site on yours I had thought that our credibility
was established but perhaps this is from a recent reader. Regardless,
Classic Adult Cinema is a corporation that has been doing legal business
for over 2 years now. As evident by the disclaimer our customers must
agree to prior to ordering, we are clearly not a "government trap".
The "legality" of these videos is frequently covered on R.A.M.E. and
other areas of the net and basically breaks down into the whole "community
standards" issue. As it states on our disclaimer, if you are ordering
these tapes, then you agree that they do not violate your community
standards. We certainly don't know the "standards" of every community
in this nation so we leave it up to individual choice as to what they
want to see in the privacy of their own homes. Any and all questions
we receive via e-mail on this
subject are replied to in the same fashion. Finally, if the above reader
has a problem with our low prices I suppose we could charge them more
if it would make them feel better."
Patrick Eisenhauer writes:
"I've been reading your site daily for several months now. I'm not a
porn 'fan', just have a passing interest in it. You are what I call
Meta-Porn. I even caught myself saying to a friend, in my neighborhood
bar, after work, "Hey, did you read Luke F-rd today?" That's high praise.
That's like saying hey did you see (name a TV show) today.
"Oh by the way, the Premiere article that yesterdays interview talks
about, that was the funniest thing I have ever read in my life. Who
give a s--- if it might not be fully accurate. It was hysterical."
Reb's secretary Trudy has quit and signed up with Jim South. Jim and Reb are getting along well these days. Jim, I hear, can't stand new talent manager Damien Michaels. Rob Spallone is setting up his new talent agency and shooting studio at a home in the Encino Hills.
The February issue of Hustler features a 3000-word excellent article by Rodger Jacobs aka Martin Brimmer on extreme porn. I make an appearance near the top.
"There are fewer taboos to break," says gossip columnist Luke F-rd. "The X-rated filmmakers today have to be even nastier to bring about shock. There's a huge demand for denigration, for watching the lions eat the Christians."
Jacobs looks at those (Rob Black, Jim Powers, Max Hardcore, Tom Zupko at Apocalypse Productions) who push the envelope and wonders if it will bring down a government crackdown on the industry.
"Apocalypse Productions' first feature Anal Ball portrays five Vikings blasted into the future who buttf--- nuns. These are subjects that porn learned many years ago to stay away from in the rubble of the Meese Commission," said Rodger, speaking by phone from his new home in the San Francisco Bay Area. "We don't do rapes anymore or violate the religion - pornography line... but guys like Rob are pushing that... As Rob keeps saying, 'it's just a movie. It's just entertainment.'"
[Van Damage says he has on tape the Apocalypse crowd pleading for financial help. Apparently they can't pay their bills.]
The article closes with a powerful quote from Director Greg Dark. "The ultimate carnival event in pornography would be to see some girl get gangbanged and then start cutting pieces of her body off, shoving it up her orifices and then killing her and coming all over her. It would be a big pay-per-view event. We in this country obviously can't do that but we can use metaphors for it. We'll tease around it. The shock is what it is all about."
Rob Black and company at Extreme think the Hustler article is BS.
Rodger was born and raised in San Francisco and is happy to be home. Shockingly high rents don't bother the overpaid editor of Yoram Dohan's New Rave and Dirty magazines. Jacobs also writes for other porno publications and is finishing up a feature script for Wicked.
Working with VCA Director Wesley Emerson, Rodger interviewed virtually all the people who were important to John Holmes for the forthcoming documentary WADD. It's the definitive story of the King, surpassing Mike Sager's excellent Rolling Stone essay of years ago. Sager appears frequently in the documentary.
The biggest missing piece remaing in the Holmes story is John's role in the Wonderland murders. That should come from the forthcoming book "Four On The Floor" written by the lead detectives on the case, Tom Lange and Bob Souza, who are working with writer Nils Grevillius.
Lange and Souza appear in WADD to lay out the bare bones of their investigation.
Among the myths that WADD lays to rest: That John slept with 14,000 women. That he flew across the world as a high-priced stud. That he attended, let alone graduated, from UCLA. "John believed his own bull s---," says Amerson.
Another important myth laid to rest is that John left a bloody handprint on the wall at 8763 Wonderland Avenue, the site of the "four on the floor" murders.
WADD says that John
was discovered in the bathroom of a poker club in Gardena around 1967.
In 1973, to avoid serving time for pimping and pandering, John started
informing to Detective Tom
Blake, an LA Vice detective.
"He liked playing the role of Dick Tracy," Blake told the VCA documentary. "He'd tell us who'd be shooting the porno films, who'd be producing, who'd be directing... Who the money people were backing the films. When the film was being shot."
Wadd employs no narrator and runs about two hours long.
"The bloody handprint myth was perpetuated by journalism," notes a flu-ridden Martin Brimmer. "There was none. I thought this too when I went into the documentary. 'A bloody handprint above the bedpost, how could they have not convicted this guy.' Then in reading the preliminary transcript of the trial, there it is - handprint. Not a bloody handprint. A handprint that John could've left at any time because he used to live in that house.
"Someone gave me a copy of the screenplay Wonderland, a mainstream feature about the four-on-the-floor murders which just finished shooting. There, the whole question of John's guilt or innocence in this feature film hinges on "a bloody handprint on the wall." So the myth gets perpetuated again."
Michael Biehn (of Tombstone) plays Holmes in Wonderland. Tim Daly plays Ron Launius. Tim Daly's production company made the film. Daly was in the TV series Wings and the TV remake of The Shining.
"The writers of Wonderland otherwise did a decent job," says Jacobs. "My guess is that they relied on the Sager and Goldstein articles... Nobody could've done the research as exhaustively as Emerson and I.
"The trial transcript is not around for anyone to peruse. It's not at the LA County courthouse. One of John's lawyers, Mitchell Aegers (sp?), they have the only full trial transcript."
Pretty Girl International
talent agent Reb Sawitz wonders why he's been passed over for the AVN
Hall of Fame. Writing Tuesday afternoon, Paul Fishbein replied: "I think
that's a legitimate choice.
Sometimes the numbers get overwhelming. I'll nominate him for next year
and I'm sure nobody would argue with his place in the history of the
business, since Jim South got in two years ago. I just have to find
a place to build a hall of fame."
From the 12/98 AVN gossip
section, under the headline "So Sue Me": "Based on recent remarks made
on his Website, Jasmin St. Claire said she's going to sue Luke F-rd
for everything he doesn't
have. St. Claire vehemently denies Ford reports that she has Hepatitis
B and scoffs at another story being circulated that she got arrested
in Michigan last year for doctoring prescription forms for
speed. "I look the way I do because I eat well and go to the gym," St.
Claire said. "I have too many things going on to be dealing with this
s---. Luke F-rd f---ed with the wrong person this time.""
Following in the footsteps of AVN's Gene Ross, imlikgod@mindspring.com writes: "Rob Black is trying to break into the second sleaziest business in the world, Pro Wrestling. He has contacted Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), about trying to get in. He has even offered to work for free in an attempt to get himself over.
"Rob has contacted ECW,
a group based out of philadelphia whose "hardcore or extreme style"of
wrestling has found itself with a cult following on pay-per-view. Its
style is based on using weapons and lots of blood. Rob has contacted
ECW head Paul Heyman asking to be on their tv show and wanting to actually
wrestle. Black has said he is starting to work out and train for this,
even saying he would get on the "juice" (steroids)."
Speaking by phone Tuesday afternoon, Black confirmed the report, pointing out that AVN had published an article on this several months ago.
Imlikgod responds: "Well since it seems Mr. Black has shown disrespect to my "scoop", here's what some of the boys (ie the wrestlers) in ECW think of Rob's pipe dream. While some enjoy his movies, others find his blatant misogyny despicable. Which is ironic since women are reguarly roughed up on ECW's shows. Some of the boys are already begging to be the one to give rob his first chair shot. The list is growing even larger after a recent screening of Rob's recent piece of s--- movie Free at Last. I figure Rob will have nothing less than a concussion if he gets to fulfill his dream. Be sure to let him know if he wants to get over, he better bring some porn star pussy to share with the boys or he can be expected to be treated like any other greenhorn wannabes that reguarly show up in wrestling dressing rooms."
Dirty Bob writes on
RAME: "I get this e-mail today telling me that, one of the girls I am
trying to help in the biz (Tawni Lyons) has had her photos lifted (stolen)
from my www.dirtybob.com/xtras.htm site and put in Regan Senter's site
under the heading of girls he
represents!
"He tried a month ago
to get Tawni to agree to represent her, but she told him (after literaly
dozens and dozens of very annoying phone calls at home and work!) emphatically
NO! She does NOT
want him to represent her!
"So what does Regan do? He "lifts" the photo from my site and is telling people that he is representing her anyway! I suggest that others check out his site (www.beautifulmodels.com/names.htm) and see if he is doing the same to them. He has over a hundred people listed and I know damn well that at least some of them are not with Regan."
Heavenly Leigh: "He is doing it to me also. I used him when I first got in the business and after the s--- he pulled with me I kicked him to the curb. But if you go to him he still has my pics up. Jim South is another one that does the same. I have not used him for some time and he still tries to get money from people I work for."
Regan Senter responds:
"Tawny Lyons has expressed interest in Beautiful Models International
finding her work. I am really truly sorry that in the process. I upset
Dirty Bob as I do have the utmost
respect for the man and perhaps we shall work together at some point
in the near future.
"As far as Tawny is
concerned based on HER REQUEST AND WISHES I REFERRED HER (in bulk) to
multiple producers and photographers in and around the greater Los Angeles
area, part of
the master pgm and plan that I laid out for her in detail.
"One of those vehicles to display talent is on the net. If I did not feel that I could make a lot of money for her I would not go to such a length . Actually I really thought that Dirty Bob would respect my integrity and want me to help her as it is sad for NEW L.A talent arriving in the city and the business already having disagreements or conflict BEFORE even arriving and only she has to lose by it re-jobs.
"Heaven Leigh is a real
cool intelligent sexy red-head who has a great husband who fully supports
her. A well known producer in the business referred me to her about
two years ago and I signed
her up with Beautiful Models International. I paid the producer a finders
fee for the new talent who I found so attractive red-head who was super-intelligent
as well. I then had the pleasure of meeting
her husband who is the qualified model role of what a husband married
to a girl in the business represents. Heaven Leigh left town for a while
more than once and to no fault of hers. I lost confidence in booking
her since she wasn't here. When she returned to L. A. truthfully I did
NOT jump and start to book her and she found her own work and also thru
a local talent agent. We had minor verbal disagreements throughout the
last two years. I admire her steadfast independence that has been well
earned by her (SOMETHING NEVER EVER RECOMMENDED TO ANY NEW GIRLS IN
THE BUSINESS COMING TO L.A).
"To be perfectly honest with you I have booked her on a couple of jobs and she does not know that I booked her as well as refer to several producers AS INDEPENDENT TALENT REFERRED BY BEAUTIFUL MODELS INTERNATIONAL.
"Of course the producers
pay my if they utilize her in the production. I am really excited about
Heaven Leigh's new production and I know we shall be working together.
Sometimes talent (or wanna be talent) sends us photos. I say: I shall
give a preview of you to the producers even before you arrive in L A
or sign up on line. Even if a very few are not as yet signed up we still
refer them to work and give the producers and photographers a preview
of what is coming soon."