Monday, December 27, 2004
Email Luke Archives Photos Stars Essays Search Luke Is Back.com Headline News Dec 21
Where Serge Birbrair Hangs
The legendary clickbroker now posts on a wine board.
Tabetha Stevens Calls
Tabetha calls December 26: "I'm in ---- meeting Nick's [Manning] parents. We're here for a week. We spent Christmas with my parents.
"We don't have a date yet [for the wedding]. We just bought a house. We're going through the motions."
AdultDVDTalk vs Jeff Steward Of XPT
Drew Black, co-owner of ADT, writes Luke: "Jeff has asked me to reinstate his company [JM Productions] in the price search on three separate occasions over the past year. (Jan 20th, March 24th and again on July 2nd.) Below you will find copies of the emails where the requests were made. I can provide the exact message headers for authentication purposes as evidence that I'm not faking this stuff. I just find it odd that someone that constantly trashes Adult DVD Talk, it's owners and members would have the nerve to ask to be re-included on the site."
Jeff writes Drew 1/21/04: "whatever.i just thought it was time to move forward but if you cant drop it,thats your problem.strange really,because you 2 started this whole thing.oh well,when your ready to grow up let me know."
Jeff writes Drew 3/24/04: "well its been like a year now that adt has had it jm ban in place.dont you think its time to grow up and drop your silly fued against my company?"
Jeff writes Drew 7/2/04: "Ok so its 1 1/2 years later.Are you now ready to end this fude?"
Brian Kushner writes:
Last year before I sold my DVD rental business rentdvdx.com to bushdvd.com this joker Jeff called me and left me a NASTY voice mail about copying his dvd's. I immediately called him up and asked what his beef was and the joker wasn't even sure what he was talking about. Seems he heard from someone that I might have copied one of his titles. Fact is I never copied any of his titltes and had records to prove it. That was the end. But the voice mail was brutal, cursing me, telling me I'm taking food out of his kids mouths..all this and he didn't even have any indication that I copied any of his titles.
If I hadn't sold the business I would not have continued to carry JM titles.
Jeff Steward writes about Drew: "I love the fact that im so under this guys skin that he spent his holiday weekend thinking about little old me. Hate is a powerful drug Drew, enjoy it."
Give XXX-Communicated For Christmas
Jamesn writes on XPT: "If anyone has six bucks they got from santa--spend it on the downloadable version of Luke's book [XXX-Communicated]. It's silly, entertaining, and the writing isn't as bad as you'd find in The New Yorker or anything. How can you not love something that opens with Luke being attacked by a chain-wielding Hustler editor then having his head repeatedly smashed into a metal pole?"
Bill Margold: "Jim Holliday and I were Lovers"
Jim Holliday and I were "Lovers"!
We were "lovers" of honor.
We were "lovers" of truth.
We were "lovers" of loyalty.
And most importantly, we were "lovers" of So many other similar
things and situations, that he bestowed on me, the title of "cosmic
brother" ---during a tumultuous friendship that spanned 25 years.
Jim Holliday---regarded, with virtually no detractors (except those who
don't matter, and those who reek from the stench of jealously) as the
Adult Entertainment Industry's Historian--- slumbered into eternity in
mid-December, losing a battle with Diabetes that was ruthlessly robbing
him of his most vital force...his mind!
Holliday entered into X through the "green door" of sales, and
the "black and blue" inks of journalism near the end of the
1970's, in the middle of what he would eventually call "The Golden
Age of X"---and slowly began to carve his legend into the hearts
and souls of all those who crossed his path. Fashioning an enigmatic persona,
complete with amusingly eccentric wardrobe, featuring sunglasses and moccasins,
Holliday more than earned his keep by being as disruptive as he was productive.
Holliday was his own best company. But he amused himself by self-promoting
himself to the extent that his numerous audiences would become exasperated,
and yet, those same audiences never stopped listening. And I strongly
suspect that while earplugs are being handed out in Heaven at this very
moment, they will never be used.
After completing "Only the Best"---his masterful study of Adult
Films and Videos from 1970-1986, he turned his bushy head toward writing
and directing a line of hardcore productions that I called "Marshmallow
Rainbows" ---utterly inoffensive, cryptically-saturated with trivia,
sweetly arousing efforts, loaded with the most gorgeous adult actresses
he could find. The lusty ladies who played and splayed for him became
known as his "Angels"... and besides striving to help immortalize
them, perhaps the most genuine appreciation he could extend to them, each
of whom he uniquely named, was to give them, a Hug. My relationship with
him extended way beyond XXX, into the never dull world of sports, wherein
we shared many joys (me with the New York Yankees, and he with the San
Francisco 49ers) and an equal amount of miseries (he with assorted baseball
teams, and me with the Detroit Lions).
And because he valued my insight into the world of mainstream motion pictures,
he trusted my "nine out of ten" accuracy when I provided him
with " real world movies" to watch. Among his favorites were
"Big Wednesday," and "The Wild Bunch."
Perhaps our most enduring collaboration was the founding and the guiding
of the X-Rated Critics Organization (XRCO) during its formative years.
He inducted me into its Hall of Fame in 1989, and I inducted him in 1995.
I guess that's what "cosmic brothers" do for each other.
And so...is what you've just read.
Notified of Holliday's passing, Video Team owner Christian Mann said,
"I'll never forget his eulogy at John Holmes' funeral. The opening
line was 'John was a liar.' Classic Jim Holliday. I wonder what the opening
line will be at his eulogy, and who will deliver it?"
Well, Mr. Mann, how did I do?
Cara Lott Interview
I was checking out CaraLott.com where I found this biography:
I was born and raised in Huntington Beach, California and grew up in a middle-class Catholic family. Living close to the beach, I came to love the ocean and out-of-doors. Some of my favorite activities include: Camping, hiking, fishing, swimming, scuba diving, skiing, rollerblading and of course SEX!
My XXX film career began, as luck would have it, through fate. On my eighteenth birthday, still in braces, I asked a friend to take a Polaroid picture of me in lingerie atop the family piano. I later sent this photo to my favorite adult publication "Hustler" with the hopes of gracing the pages of the "Beaver Hunt" section of the magazine.as well as earn a few bucks for college tuition. Within a few weeks I was notified by "Hustler Studios" that they would like me to come in for an interview. I was stunned! I never imagined in a million years that I was pretty enough or sexy enough to pose for a pictorial in "Hustler Magazine". Despite discouragement from significant others I went to the interview anyway and eventually wound up posing for the 1981 December centerfold as well as the cover of the magazine.
While shooting at Hustler Studios, I met another model (a.k.a. Kelly Nichols) posing for a pictorial. She gave me the telephone number of a reputable nude modeling agency in the San Fernando Valley and I called for an interview. The very next day I was interviewed by several photographers and began posing for XXX magazines that very same week. Within a few months I was eagerly acting in XXX films. With a few XXX movies under my belt I was later able to contract with several gentlemen's clubs around the country and Canada as a feature dancer and took to the road. My entire modeling/acting/dancing career spanned a full and satisfying 10 years from 1981 through 1991.
I then went back to college, and after completing my education, came back to the adult film industry for round two. Between 1997 and 1998 I completed 6 more XXX films for a grand total of 255 adult movies!
She returned my call Thursday afternoon, December 23.
Duke: "When you were a little girl, what did you want to be when you grew up?"
Cara: "A Playboy centerfold. That's what I told my father and he just laughed. I was eight years old. He thought it was a big joke. He had one of his buddies over. He said, tell John what you want to be when you grow up. I said, I want to be a Playboy centerfold. They thought it was so cute. How little did they know."
Duke: "Were you a cute kid?"
Cara: "I don't know. I was very shy. I didn't get a lot of attention."
Duke: "Did you have a happy childhood?"
Cara: "Normal. Bland. Catholic upbringing."
Duke: "What were you expected to become when you grew up?"
Cara: "A secretary or a stewardess. That was my father's aspiration."
Duke: "Anyone else have aspirations for you?"
Cara: "I don't think so. I was a daddy's girl."
Duke: "At what age did you get involved with the sex business?"
After a lot of hmming and hawing, Cara says: "Eighteen. I was interested in sex way before the sex industry."
Cara says the only thing she regrets in her career is her comeback film Heartfelt 2. "I did a gangbang. I don't know why I did it. I swore I would never do more than two guys at a time. I did a gangbang. That was too much for me. Five guys."
Duke: "What's the difference between having sex with two guys and having sex with five?"
Cara: "It's easier. I've got only two holes that can be used because I don't do anal. I did a fourway with three guys and that's when I made up my mind not to do any more than two because one gets left stroking his ---- while you're working on the other two. I don't know why I did five but I wish I hadn't."
Duke: "What do you love and hate about the industry?"
Cara: "Back in my time, it wasn't as competitive as it is now. I always liked the people I worked with. They were nice, fun, open people. I made sure I wasn't taken advantage of. I had my own rules. What makes me sad is people who shouldn't be in the business in the first place because they don't have the emotional stability for this work. They're into drugs or they're desperate for money. This sets up naive young women for exploitation and gives the adult industry a bad rap. I never saw anyone coerced. I was never into drugs or drinking. I wasn't sexually abused as a child. I wasn't desperate for money or lacking in education."
Duke: "What made you come back in 1997?"
Cara: "I had just gotten out of college and I needed a thrill. I was bored."
Duke: "Did it give you the thrill you were looking for?"
Cara: "Yeah, for a little bit. I did six movies and then I said, I like what I'm doing now [escorting] better. I like to do one-on-one things. It was too much of a hassle to drive up and get AIDS tests every 30 days. I was making more money in fewer hours than I did in the adult film industry and with fewer health risks."
Asked for the biggest difference in the talent since she entered porn in 1981, Cara said "they've gotten much more beautiful. They're smarter about their money and their health. It's more mainstream."
Duke: "They're wilder, doing stuff like double anal."
Cara, incredulous: "Really? I've never seen that. Double anal? They really do that. Oh my. I'll have to bring that up to my honey."
She says she's been in a stable relationship for five years.
"I had a different mindset than most of the girls in the industry. I had maturity and a sense of responsibility. I was running a business and managing my career at the time. I took it seriously. The other girls were more partiers. I was never much of a party girl. I've always liked being by myself. I didn't even live in the area. I lived in Orange County."
Duke: "How did it affect your personal life being a porn star?"
Cara: "Not at all. I kept my personal life private."
She's been married twice (once to a guy she got into porn as an actor, other than this Brazilian, she never dated anyone within the industry).
"It is hard on relationships. The men in my life would use my job as an excuse for their bad behavior (cheating, drug use). They'd say, 'Well, I've got to put up with you f------ other men for a living.' To which I'd reply, 'What will you use for an excuse if I quit my job?'"
Duke: "Do you think a relationship can ever work when one partner is [having sex for a living]?"
Cara: "Absolutely. I've been in several stable, longterm relationships. The only problems I've had were when my men were feeling insecure about themselves, whether it was a bad day at work or weight gain. Suddenly my job would become an issue. I said to them, don't make me choose between you and my job, unless you are going to pay my bills for me, which I don't want."
Duke: "How would you be different if you had never worked in this industry?"
Cara: "I still have the mindset that I had before I got in. I was always a free-thinker."
Duke: "How many men do you think you have been with in your life?"
Cara laughs. "My [significant other] asked me the same question. I don't know. A lot. I've never counted."
Duke: "Do you think it has changed your view of men working in adult entertainment?"
Cara: "Yes. I've come to realize that men are different. It's kind of disappointing that I know men so well. It's the nature of the beast. If you don't expect too much from them, you won't be disappointed."
Duke: "Do you think you have seen men at their worst, when they are sexually hungry?"
Cara: "Yes. Do I know what men can do when they want to get away with things? Oh yeah. I try not to think about it. I don't want to hate men. There are too many wonderful guys out there. But many porn stars and escorts, after a while, just can't stand men. You see them for what they really are. We know how they can be."
Tod Hunter Gets Mike South Thinking
Tod writes: "Joone said that porn is the only place where you can really get in and challenge the audience, as long as you also give them their money's worth with the sex."
I have long held that Ole Jewn is wrong, dead wrong.
I have watched a lot of movies in my days here on earth, both porn and not porn and some I'm not so sure about. I have seen amazingly good, horrifically bad and everything in between. I have been involved in both pre and post production, cast and crew on porn as well as mainstream.
Lets take one of the borderline porn movies, a really successful one, "9 1/2 Weeks" It's a great example because it dealt with sexuality. I loved this movie, not because the acting was good (it wasn't), not because the story was particularly good (it wasn't) and not because the sex scenes were hardcore (they weren't).
So why do I love this flick...that's easy .... It got me laid by more hot girls than all the shots of tequila I ever bought. Chicks got HOT over this movie. I will spare you the why...I know why but it's not within the scope of this particular observation.
Now, who in porn could have made this movie? think about that a moment. Would the movie have been better had it pushed the envelope? Had it "challeneged" it's audience and "given them their moneys worth" would it have been as successful? I'm sure tons of people would have flocked to see Kim Bassinger give Mickey Rourke a hardcore blowjob in this vid and ya it could have fit within the storyline but in doing so the movie would have become secondary, it would simply be known as the movie where Kim Bassinger sucked a dick.
You see as soon as you put hardcore sex into the movie you lose your audience, the story you are telling is now secondary, hardcore sex is too real. Would "Center of the World" have benefitted from some more overt sexuality? In my opinion no, as soon as it goes there it stops being about the story and starts being about the sex...bad move.
Now can Porn Valley make a cmpelling story about sex? Ya it's been done, "The Opening of Misty Beethoven" comes to mind. But it's still porn and nowhere near the standards of even "Wild Orchid."
Will there be a breakout film that is successful even with one little hardcore scene it in? I'm sure there will be. Will Porn Valley ever make a good movie with hardcore? That's a difficult question but the answer is a resounding no, at least not with the current thinking, you see when you have to have 5 or 6 sex scenes in a two hour movie it doesn't give you much time to even tell a good story, certainly not to develop characters and how many people in porn know what a character arc is much less how to present it in the allotted time frame. Even 9 1/2 Weeks had strong character arcs, without which a story is very flat and dull. Character arc is what makes you the viewer identify with a character. So don't hold your breath untill Michael Raven or Paul Thomas gets an Academy Award Nomination.
I thought this was an original idea until I had this conversation today with Tod Hunter and he told me: "That's what Orson Welles said on The Dick Cavett Show in the '70s when it was really possible that good filmmakers might include hardcore in their movies. He said that real sex is too powerful, it's like real death. "
Which, I guess, just goes to prove that there are no original ideas in porn....
Attn: AVN Staff, I need your home address
Toolz writes on JBM: "Whomever was in charge of the Internext flier being mailed out please let me know your home address. This WONDERFUL flyer came to my house today with PUSSY CASH prominently displayed on the back and front, if my mail lady had any doubts as to what I do I'm sure you've quelled them. So please go ahead and send me your home addresses, I have some giant black dongs that I'll wrap in cellophane and send your way."
Undermyspell writes: "I went to check the mail and I got not one.. not two.. not even three but four of these damn brochures with PUSSY PUSSY PUSSY all over them.. christ.. I live in a small damn town. The ones for Florida were much better at least they were nondescript. I just hope that none of my daughters friends peeked in our mailbox like they tend to do from time to time."
Reading the thread, I realize that AVN has never had a friendlier face than Aly Drummond, its new representative on the webmaster boards. Every major Internet company should have a friendly, difficult to upset, and attractive female rep who posts on the boards and calms down the surly and easily upset male webmasters who dominate the biz.
Chat with Mike Carpenter
Holliday: Don't you know who I am?
Why ADT Banned JM Productions
Drew Black, owner of ADT, writes:
I figured I would set teh record straight on the reason for the removal of jm Productions from our price search. Most people think it's because of the actions of one of their owners here in the forum. That's not it. They were removed after an email was forwarded to me from Rog, who we are partners with in his two sites. This is a snippet from that email sent by Jeff Steward to Rog:
so i cant go to your site from my office.at home i have no problem getting on your site.hmmmm,looks like that cunt steph is calling the shots on your site.she blocks my ip address,but did she tell you?Was this something you asked her to do or did she take that upon herself to decide who can and cant go to your web page?this is just more proof that steph and drew are not the good people you think they are.they are pure evil dude and i have made it my mission to expose them as the nazi f---s they are.dont even bother covering up for them.if you told them to block my ip address then f--- you and if not and you contunie to have any dealings with them,then you are a complete waste of space.oh well.this site does better and better everyday with more and more posters.soon we will be lanching our price search portion on this site and slowly but surely we will take all of adt's traffic.karma is a motherf---er and i will not rest untill those two are homeless and eating garbage from trash cans.i have the money,i have the contacts and i have the skills to make it happen.watch and see....
We will not help support a person or company who states that their goal is to put us out of business.
The Colonel From Mondo Video Checks In
The Colonel calls me back: "We've been busy shooting porn. I'm done for the rest of the year. The Colonel gets tired around the holidays.
"I shoot for everybody except high-end Vivid crap. I don't think they want a part of me and I don't want a part of them. Too sincere for the Colonel.
"I've got a feature coming out for Hustler next year called Beaver Bust. It's the White Trash Manifesto as only the Colonel can do. It's the first Colonel film in four years. I did it from beginning to end. I wrote, directed and produced. It's like a trilogy. It's all girls from the deep South. Lots of incest. Grandpa watching his granddaughter getting ------ in a shabby rat-infested apartment.
"He's eccentric. He's got a crown, a scepter. It's in that dark grey zone known as Mondo Video."
Duke: "Who provides that delightful girlish laughter in the background?"
Colonely: "That's Mrs. Colonel. She supports my perversity 100%. We've been married for 20 years.
"What are they going to do for Jim Holliday?"
The Colonel proceeds to give the most evil laugh of his life. "We're going to the convention. The Colonel is on board. I got 12 nominations. Two of them as a black man, which is always important."
The mail man stops by. "Does the Colonel not give you pornography for the holidays? He's even smiling. I even take care of the mail man. Happy holidays, mail man.
"I've been out there doing's God's work also. I serve the dark lord. I went to see Slayer Friday. That was payment for a year's worth of hard work, banging your head all night long. I may be up there in age but I can still bang my head better than anyone else out there."
The proceeding conversation had all profanities excised.
I am about to watch an excerpt of the Vincent Gallo movie The Brown Bunny (2003).
Though I'm only going to see three minutes worth of the film, I want to share my feelings with you in real time.
Oh my. This is so wrong. Stop! Quit that Chloe! Won't somebody do something? We're defining deviancy down at a time when we should be raising moral standards not lowering them.
Won't somebody please think of the children.
What would the prophet Michah say? Let righteousness flow like a mighty stream.
Can you believe she's doing that in a real movie? Whatever happened to human dignity? The sanctity of marriage?
I'm closing my eyes now. This has all been a big mistake.
Jim Holliday Speaks From The Grave
James DiGiorgio takes Gene Ross to task: "It would be one thing if they included any real and meaningful revelations: Some pornbiz-shattering commentary that could only become public after Holliday's death. But they don't. They simply sound, for the most part, like the ramblings of a self-obsessed ego maniac."
My Big Black Wedding
Normally my life is an endless cycle of grim duties and stern responsibilities. Pleasure is something I think of as best left to the goyim.
One of the grimmest duties in my life, next to daily prayer, is going to the Post Office. Usually I am served incompetently by scowling affirmative-action hires. Of late, however, a little ray of black sunshine has shone into my life. My local Post Office has a beautiful black woman behind the counter. She has never serviced me, but at least I get to look at her while I wait in line. She smiles and laughs with almost everyone. Her white teeth flash and her eyes make merry. She has no wedding ring.
But the good times don't stop here.
Librarians tend to be the one group of civil servants who are helpful. Of late my local library has had a beautiful young black woman behind the counter. I always hope that she will be the one who will check out my books and tapes. I wonder if either of these women are interested in living in my hovel?
If I were only married to a black woman, nobody could accuse me of racism. With such artistic freedom, I'd be sure to win a Pulitzer.
I could then classify my writing as a business owned by a black female, and we'd pull in major government contracts.
Oh, sit on my blog, sit on my blog, sit on my blog, till we're blown away.
Prelude To A Blowjob
Tod Hunter Writes To Mike South About The Brown Bunny (2003):
I succumbed to temptation and went to the New Beverly Cinema in Hollywood to see Vincent Gallo's The Brown Bunny. The scene at the New Beverly last night was like the West Hollywood Pussycat in the middle of early-'70s porno chic. Well dressed couples, making a point of their trendiness - one young woman in a skintight black top, short skirt, black tights and brown knee-high shearling moccasins (and a Strand Book Store purse/shoulder bag) chain-smoking Marlboros set the tone - with the sober "we're all grown-ups here exploring our sexuality" attitude masking the real reason: "I'm just here to see Chloë Sevigny suck a dick." The place was filled, way more than usual for the regular Hitchcock/Kubrick/Howard Hawks programs the New Beverly churns out.
The movie starts slowly, with a looooong shot of a motorcycle race that Gallo's character eventually loses, and we see him load his bike into his van and work his way west. Along the way he has several encounters with people, mostly with women, all with names like flowers, and a really awkward get-together with his old next-door neighbors. When he gets to L.A., he goes to his old girlfriend's house, which seems to be abandoned. He leaves a note on the gated door and heads off to a Hollywood motel. Eventually she shows up. (Her name is Daisy. That figures.)
She is Chloë Sevigny, so the anticipation level in the audience goes up. This is it. But not yet. The scene unfolds like a real encounter, when two people - even two people who have a history, a relationship, together - parry and size up each other before they start taking their clothes off. Eventually it happens, her top comes off, his pants get opened, it starts with what we call "soft cover shots" but sonofagun she actually sucks his dick, in tight close-up, no faking, that's the real thing. But Gallo still isn't through with us.
When the sex ends, Gallo's character pulls away, snarling nasty things at her. It looks like one of those easy-out Madonna/Whore things but then he pulls out a series of revelations and reversals that stun and astonish the viewer. I was impressed, and the sudden silence in the audience made me feel I wasn't alone in this.
I even stuck around to see the second feature, Gallo's other film, Buffalo '66, which had the same offbeat tone but no hardcore sex, so the audience was down to the usual sparse group of cineastes.
About a year ago, after an evening session at DP Tonight, I got into a discussion with Joone and a friend, and Joone said that porn is the only place where you can really get in and challenge the audience, as long as you also give them their money's worth with the sex. And he's right.
Some of the most challenging movies I've ever seen were sold by appealing to prurient interests: Vilgot Sjoman's I am Curious (Yellow) and its lesser-known companion film I am Curious (Blue), which wickedly blurred the line between the fictional story and the factual making of a film; Michelangelo Antonioni's Blow-Up, which drew thousands of moviegoers to see two teenage girls naked (one of them Jane Birkin) and threw us into a murder mystery that never does get solved; and the 1969 de Sade, which starred Keir Dullea (all grown up again after the ending of 2001) and played the play-within-a-play card better than anybody. I strongly recommend The Brown Bunny. It'll play at the New Beverly at 7:30 tonight. Admission is $6, the trendoid sideshow is free.
I saw an old Filmex friend there last night: Maybe you'll see somebody you know. I'm sorry that somebody filleted the movie down to the blowjob scene. It's better than that.
A few years ago, there was a movie that had an incidence of incest in it, but it wasn't about incest, any more than Citizen Kane is about journalism. Everybody jumped on the incest bit and it became "the movie about incest." The Brown Bunny, as lame and self-indulgent as it is (For starters, it's about half an hour too long: It's a short blown up to feature length.), is not about Chloë Sevigny giving a blowjob. It's about something else entirely, and the blowjob scene is a prelude to a set of revelations about Gallo's character and Sevigny's as well. Kind of like Hitchcock showing the flushing toilet in Psycho to loosen up the audience for the real shocker in a minute or two. I think this is going to stop people from seeing the whole movie, which is a pity. Like I said, although it isn't all that good, it's better than that.
What Were The Biggest Porn Stories Of 2004?
My thoughts:
* Double anal and HIV. Lara Roxx likely caught HIV from doing a double anal scene. Five people in heterosexual porn tested HIV positive in March and April of 2004 (leading to a two-month shutdown of the industry), and unlike 1998 when this happened, this became the biggest news story in the world for some days.
* Attorney General John Ashcroft served four years and did nothing against the porn industry (but First Amendment lawyers got rich telling porners that the feds were coming).
* Paris Hilton's home-made movie One Night in Paris was the best-selling tape of the year.
* One Night In Chyna.
* The death of Jim Holliday, porn historian, trivia buff and director. For many in the industry and out, that was the most significant event in porn in 2004.
* Chloë Sevigny's blowjob in The Brown Bunny.
Porn's Preference For Silicone
I don't see porn very much any more, but I saw quite a bit of it when one of my roomates in college had a TV and VCR and our neighbors started showing up with XXX tapes quite a bit. That was years ago, back when VCRs were a new craze. Just to show you how old I am, back then I don't remember seeing any of the silicone that seems everywhere when I peek in an adult shop today.
Why is porn so heavily into silicone? What is so wrong with a woman that has natural tits? And what is wrong with women with small tits? Ginger Lynn never needed any silicone and people still go crazy over her today. And what about women with small, pointy tits? Are they discouraged by the business? Playboy still loves to show off women with pointy tits like Angel Boris or Julie McCullough.
Nina Hartley replies:
Well, there is a backlash, and many movies use only "100% Natural" tits in them. Overall, though, girls get fake tits because they sell more. As Ernest says, "Small tits on box sell less. Big tits on box sell more." He speaks from experience.
Porn is live-action cartoons, MORE! BIGGER! Porn is fantasy, and the fantasy tit is the one you remember from infancy: bigger than your head. Also, some girls found it easier to get jobs as feature dancers.
There are some women who didn't get tits: Sharon Mitchell, Ginger Lynn, but more who did: Jeanna Fine, me, Tiffany Mynx, Roxanne Hall, Shanna McCullough, Amber Lynn, Bionca, Sharon Kane, to name a few of the "oldies."
Final Installment Of HBO's Pornucopia
Julian
Stormy, Brad
Julian, Stormy on Space Nuts
Jeff Stryker
Cindy Crawford and Jenna Haze
Katie Morgan on Wankus
Katie and Chi Chi LaRue at the AVNs
I just saw the final installment of Pornucopia and think, overall, it was kind of a mixed bag. On the positive side, I thought the producers did a great job of sharing the personal perspective of many of porn's personalities.
On the down side, I felt after about the third/fourth installment that it was just kind of the same thing over and over. In fact, I kind of feel like by episode 6 that the producers ran out of things to cover. That's a real shame considering all of the really serious subjects that they could have tackled. I also got so sick of the pop-ups, and cheesy production values. I think the series could have been improved had the producers spent more time on sets other than just Space Nuts.
Your Moral Leader's dating advice.
Selwyn Harris Is Back With SexWrecks.com
His real name is Mike McPadden and he is the editorial director for MrSkin. Former Hustler editor Allan MacDonell is his main writer.
Mike has a new web site: Sexwrecks.com.
Who Owns Video Team?
I used to think it was Christian Mann but now I believe it is Labrook Incorpored. That is owned by multiple owners and Christian is not among them.
Thursday morning I heard from a Video Team source that my La Brook Inc information is outdated and not relevant.
I was reading a couple of Gene Ross articles on this.
In brilliant technicolor.
Smelly Monkey writes: "Luke has done a great deal for porn gossip (and news i guess) since hitting the porn scene and I felt he deserved his own tribute thread, and since a pictures say a thousand words and Garfield has made it clear he doesn't like to read many words it will be a picture thread. Lets go."
Hello, my darlings, you all know may know me as KISS the Adult Actress. My real name is Sherrie Foster and that's the name I direct under also. I was born in Birmingham England. I'm the youngest of six and was very spoiled as a kid because of it. I always wanted to be an actress ever since I was a little girl. My Mam nicknamed me 'Bette Davis.'
When I was 19, I moved to London to begin my modeling career, I appeared on Page 3 for National Newspapers and Modeling Nude in Men Magazines. After being discovered by 'The Sport' and it's Sister 'The Sunday Sport' (National Newspaper), I featured in a column entitled 'Flash Hour'. Readers of the paper would send in their Ideas and choose the place where I would flash my Boobs, one reader suggested I flash inside Victoria Station London, during rush hour - let me tell u at 8 o'clock in the morning that place is packed. I took "The Sport" cameras and in the middle of all those people. I flashed my assets. Made quite a name for myself I tell ya. I would say that this was the beginning of my career in Exhibitionism.
In 92' I came to the states to begin my career in Porn. I walked in to Jim South's office about a week after I arrived. I didn't have any make up on, my portfolio hadn't arrived yet so I had no modeling pictures either. Jim looked at me as if to say... I don't think so!! Mate! He still took some really awful Polaroid's and I didn't hear from him again. My Portfolio arrived at last and I went back into his office, showed him my body of work and that was that. I started working the next day, and haven't really stopped since although my job description has. for the last few years I've been writing, producing, and even directing a little. Here's the link to some of the movies I've written and directed for Passion Pictures Studios check them out.
Deepthroat has the best lines since Pablo Escobar
I've been looking for scoop in all the wrong places.
I call Deepthroat. "I'm looking for scoop."
DT: "You didn't come to the right place today. I'm Christmas shopping. When you've got nothing but goyim in your life..."
"Why don't you tell them you can't celebrate a pagan holiday?"
DT: "Then they could come back and tell me that I was going to quit smoking. That I was going to quit doing porn. This and that. I don't believe anything you say.
"You're going to celebrate Christ's birthday by working?"
"Yes."
DT: "I went out with a very nice girl last night."
"Is she in the porn industry?"
DT: "Of course."
"Do I know her?"
DT: "Yes. She's a big star. I keep that stuff private these days."
"Did you sleep with her?"
DT: "No. I'm not a piece of meat. I need to be romanced."
Getting anything out of Deepthroat the past few weeks has been next to impossible. He wants to do business and the price of doing business is not talking to me.
DT: "Are you still going to see the Australian Porn Mafia?"
"None of them will talk to me."
DT: "Isn't that a shocker? I think you have a better chance of getting into Paul Fishbein's underwear drawer.
"I hung up on Howard Stern's people to talk to you. I've got to put your number back in my phone because now when it comes through, I don't know it's you. I'm playing Russian Roulette. I have four girls who call me daily and I'm like, hey. And they say, you know who this is? And I say, of course. Who is it then? Yeah."
Eulogizing Jim Holliday
His best friend Bill Margold writes: "An "event" that I've labled "A Gathering of Angels" will take place on Wednesday, January 20 at a location [that Paw will reveal to industry members]. All those attending will be offered the opportunity to "bring something to say." My comments, which will be the basis of my eulogy, will be published in The LAXPRESS (on The Cinema Seen page) next week (12-30-04 issue). 818-501-6139."
Bill wants as many of Holliday's angels to come as possible. They will be serving cold cuts and Pabst beer because those were Holliday's favorites.
Mike McPadden aka Selwyn Harris of Hustler fame writes: "I believe I made fun of [Holliday] in print, but he was always quite gracious to me in person. Mainly, I think, because it was established that I was not Christian Shapiro."
Festivus Eve
I passed an adult video store in midtown which boasted a neon Christmas tree and menorah in the window, strategically flanking the latest exciting releases from San Fernando Valley. A Santa cap dangled from some sort of personal pleasuring device, a rather jaunty decorative touch, I thought. This is the sort of ecumenical spirit that ought to be encouraged in those fractious times.
Outside the store, a rather forlorn-looking rank of middle-aged men were queued, like pensioners in an old Bill Brandt photograph, some of them holding up newspapers to cover their faces. It turned out that they were lined up for tomorrow's DVD release of Teen America 2.
Battle of the Directors: Jules Jordan vs Wanker Wang
This whole situation was a personal squabble, which to me was originally no big deal till Wang posted personal s--- and lies on this site, this issue goes back to a set that was built by a porn actor we both know, who built me two sets, which chico found out about and asked this person "didn't you build something for jules?", "I want you to build me one of those just like jules....", then later tells the same person "i'm gonna put a picture up on [l-keford.com] to piss off jules" people can create whatever set they want, i don't give a f---, I certainly never said I invented glory holes, but when you go out of your way "to piss off jules", thats exactly what it does. I also seem to remember a time when Chico ran to register the domain www.spermdigestion.com, after he found out I registered www.spermswallowers.com, coincidence? I dont think so. Wang also wanted to put out a facial line called "Facial Frenzy", I told him not to, because of possible confusion from my series "Feeding Frenzy". Chico Wang's sole enjoyment in life is this site, its his ONLY "power", he has insulted all his old "friends" here. This is his only place he will ever be a "celebrity". He constantly uses this site as a threat to people he has problems with. He has attacked me personally on this site and said lies and slanderous non truths, the truth of the matter is that Jules Jordan Video is the top selling product on the market today, and how i choose to market my brand is my business, and business has never been better I get a higher price and we sell more than anyone at this point. The proof is in black and white, all over the internet and abroad, I love porn and thats it.
Chico seems to have a very personal, mysterious, private life, no one seems to really know his real name or his background,other than he is Korean, is he protective over this info? all I know is that he is deathly afraid for his parents who live in hermosa beach to find out what his real occupation is, hopefully no one ever shows them his works. Pretty amusing for such an outrageous guy. He is such a coward he never shows his face on camera or in pictures. He says he has never seen any of my movies, so how then can he say anything about my movies?, this is funny because when i use to go to his house he always use to have boxes laying around with my dvd's in them, it is painfully obvious that he has made no attempt whatsoever to copy anything remotely close to what i do. He has made empty promises to numerous people to design sites for them, then after they spend money on content, he goes back on his word leaving these producers stranded. Somehow Chico ended up directing at Anabolic, who i think is a great company, minus Wang of course, and took over past directors lines, but he was always complaining, "how can you guys shoot this tease stuff?" Its called porno Wang, something you have no clue about, the only thing he is responsible for creating there was "no swallowing allowed", which was to be a parody/ripoff of "No Cum Dodging Allowed" from Red Light District.
He is famous for incredible disappearing rantings about someone, leaving it up on the site just long enough to call a few people to check it out, then take it down, within a half an hour, then blame it on his drunkenness the night before. I keep trying to call him but he wont pick up the phone, all he can do is type. He cant stop with just one rant, he has to keep going. Chico has been talking to me today through IM's (which are saved), about squashing this beef, and how it was wrong of him, and how he's man enough to say it, of course before I get to publicly issue my "statement" , sure Chico, let me now rant on your venue, and lets see if you take it like a man, or if you continue your libelous, slanderous tirades, Chico has threatened me if I post anything personal about him, and he has another posting ready to go, whats the matter, he can dish it out but not take it? He has entered the porn world for a laugh, but he is the real joke. So Wang, this is my last statement about you, if you want to continue it, its your choice if you want to take it to another level. A note to any of Chicos friends, you will eventually be in the same shoes as all of his other former friends.
Roles For The Over 40 Set
SoftcoreFan writes on RAME: "There are still a number of options for a 40 year old porn actress. She could do "MILF" features. She could play roles of older women having sex with "delivery boys", male service providers, etc.. She could do "Taboo" or "Aunt Peg" style incest features. It's all about expectations. An older woman who is sexually more experienced can use her power and influence to seduce the partners that she wants. That is something that is not seen very often in porn in any form. I think that it is something women, and some men, would like to see more often in adult film storylines. It only takes some mainstream adult film studios that are willing to take that opportunity."
IStrain writes:
I think the pizza boy plotline went the way of the raincoat theater. it doesn't even work as a goof (although it really should).You'd have to update it to a vegan mexican place or lattes or something. Is there a door-to-door iTunes ripping service yet?
I'm pretty sure that 18-50 year old males want....18-21 year old females, for the most part. (26 is okay, if she's been in Pilates regularly, and kept away from the Special-K.)
Holly Miles Porn Star
A friend was hanging out with Sandy Bunz. Sandy showed him a scene. It starred his ex-girlfriend Holly Miles.
Holly has stopped doing drugs and has ballooned up 50 pounds. She went to rehab and now she's going to school.
Duke: "How did she look in the scene?"
Friend: "She looked good. I'm going to take it home and...."
Wally Wharton
Gene Ross interviewed her 12/2/03. I talked to her this morning. She wanted to know about Jim Holliday's funeral, so we reminisced for a few minutes about the Golden Ghost.
Wally: "Are you married now?"
Luke: "No."
Wally: "I thought for sure you would be now."
Luke: "How about you?"
Wally: "Yeah. Sure. Can you hear him?"
I hear barking in the background.
Wally: "I'm married to twelve pounds and four little short legs of a dachsund dog. We've been together over nine years. That's longer than any of my relationships. [Wally's been married four times.]"
Luke: "Do you still stay in touch with Nikki Sinn?"
Wally: "We're as thick as thieves. We just did this art exhibit at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery for the Day of the Dead. Our sign said, "XXX Porn Stars RIP. I had one of those naked coffee table girls. I took the table off, painted her up, tarted her up, and we had a life-size skeleton going down on her and another one reading a magazine with Trinity Loren on the cover. Then we had portraits of as many [dead] porn stars as we could get. Nikki blew up the headshots on computer. We knew kids would be at the festival. We wanted to focus on the head shots and emphasize that they were people, not just bodies. We had huge crowds. The director of the cemetery came up to us and introduced us to all these people. All kind of people took pictures. There were ghosts in the pictures when we got them back. You see these orbs floating around.
"We had all these candles with pictures of stars who had passed away on each candle. We had a huge official Bible. If there was any cleavage, we would put stickers or stars [to cover it up]. Some of the parents said to their kids, 'See Johnny. Porn stars are people too.'
"I'm still in a few movies [such as by her friend, the director Geoff Coldwater]. I still rent my house out. I'm hostess of the series The Negro in Mrs Jones. I bookend the whole thing. I'll come on between scenes. I'll have a pointer and freeze the action: 'Freeze! Notice the huge gorgeous black male phallus as it enters the pristine vagina of the young Caucasian.' We did a Christmas one.
"I'd like to track 'em all down and have my entire ouevre.
"I did an E! channel thing -- 101 Best Kept Hollywood Secrets. I was number 74. It was about my appearances on the talkshow circuit -- Geraldo, Montel Williams... They said to me, we want you to say that everything was scripted. That it was all a set-up. I said, it was a set-up but it was not scripted. It was my very own pearls of wisdom. I got to revisit that for a few seconds and they went on to 73.
"If you go to a bar alone, they think you're a hooker. I am alone. It's my choice. I have guys I see. Basically, I am a solo act."
You should take that copy of Hustler Erotic Video Guide with your photo layout.
"See, I'm legit. Look at me. I'm spread-eagled here. Not bad for 50, huh? I'm throwing myself a big party. My [50th] birthday is in two weeks."
Do you look a little like Shannon Tweed?
"Some people have said that. I'm the same weight. My tits haven't exploded yet [Wally used to work as a stripper]. I'm glad I got the silicone. I'm still naked in these movies. Nobody seems to mind.
"I just went to the Mondo Video Christmas party Sunday night. They had the remains of Titus Moody in a jar."
Luke: "Have you spoken to Bill Margold recently?"
Wally: "Yes. I pal around with Dino Bravo. He's always tracking [Bill] down. He and Toby Dammit and Geoff always go bother Bill Margold.
"One night, Dino called him up and said, Viper's dead. Bill said, no, Viper could not be dead. Our souls would know. Our souls would weep tears for Agemnon. It was really funny. We couldn't get it by him. But we tried.
"Nikki Sinn's husband Michael used to be Montana Gunn's boyfriend.
"I've always wanted to open an acting school for porn stars. Would that be a losing venture now that they're: forget the script, suck his dick, and go home.
"I've seen Randy West ---- more time than my four husbands put together.
"I'm painting now and I collect neon signs.
"Getting laid is last on my list but it happens once in a while."
Jim Holliday Memorial
I hear it will take place after CES. I haven't heard of any funeral arrangements.
I have not noticed any mainstream obituaries for Jim Holliday. Nothing in The Los Angeles Times. They probably ran an electronic clip search on Holliday, which helps determine if they'll do a news obituary on someone. Given that Holliday did not talk much to the mainstream press, probably nothing was found. I'm sure newspapers will have reseavations on doing a news obituary on Holliday, given the nature of his occupation and that he is not generally known outside the porn industry.
Mike South writes:
The premise is pretty straight forward, a successful but lonely computer geek (Peter Sarsgaard) befriends a stripper (Molly Parker). Knowing he isn't going to spend time with her in any other way he offers her ten thousand dollars to spend a weekend with him in Las Vegas. It's subtle but you can tell that in his eyes he expects that she will see him for who he really is and fall in love. In her eyes she isn't a hooker but ten grand is a lot of money and she kind of likes the guy so she sets some rules that he agrees to and its off to Vegas. I'm not going to give any more info really because this is actually worth a view.
The thing that makes this story so compelling is how brutally honest the character portrayals are. You will see yourself and your past experiences in these characters. If you are looking for an escape from reality this movie isn't where you are going to find it. The dialogue isn't contrived, it's honest, you have said this stuff before, you have felt these feelings. Director Wayne Wang did a good job of puncuating the story with visuals and situations that underscore the psychological game that's unfolding.
When I saw the closing credits I remembered why I remembered the title. This was supposed to be Alisha Klass's big break into mainstream, she quit porn to pursue a mainstream career and she was busy telling everyone what a major part she had in "The Center of the World" In the credits she is billed as "Random Stripper", she had not even 2 seconds of screen time and any dialogue she may have had ended up on the cutting room floor. Oddly enough this seems to fit perfectly with the movie.
It's a good movie and it's treatment of both strippers and dot com'ers is intelligent and spot on.
Don't Wake A Sleeping Gene Ross
I've known Gene Ross for six years. I know that he gets up early and consequently usually goes to bed early. He's usually not at his best at 10pm because he's usually up before 6am. Thus, I particularly enjoyed this article by him on Adulfyi:
Nothing I like better than being awakened out of a sound sleep. And Dino Bravo obviously knew that when he called me 11 pm Monday night. Bravo said he was told by some people that I did an interview with Sandy Bunz. Apparently Bravo didn't read the article first hand but expressed surprise at the "softballs" I threw Bunz.
"We can discuss this more in length tomorrow," he said. I told Bravo that, no, we weren't. The case, which went to small claims court this past summer, was closed as far as I was concerned between him and Bunz until such time that Bunz forks over the $5,000 the court has awarded to Bravo. But Bunz hasn't and states that he won't. "We've gone through this thing a million times and you have had ample opportunity to state your case," I told Bravo. "He's never talked about it and I wasn't interviewing him. This piece had NOTHING to do with you."
I remember Dino telling me a couple of times he had a great story for me. I took a long time to interview him and even longer to transcribe it, only to discover that he had given the identical story to Gene Ross, who must've felt equally frustrated to have worked hard on a story available elsewhere.
Nina Hartley Remembers Jim Holliday
Jim Holliday was the first person, along with Bill Margold, who welcomed me into the business and recognized my potential and supported me in my career. When everyone thought I had retired, '88-'93, he defended me in AVN, which was nice. He stopped using me in his mega-cast videos about five or so years ago.
In the last ten years, I hardly spoke to him, and was always shocked to see his condidtion when we did manage to be in the same place at the same time. As sad as his passing is, I'm amazed that he lived as long as he did with such a severe disease.
That g/g/g/g scene in "Only the Best, III" was great! Bionca, me, and the two Sharons, it was simply a wonderful girl-fest!
What's happened to Ashlyn Gere?
Mullen writes on RAME: "I downloaded Extremely Yours with Ashlyn Gere for free the other night. I hadn't seen any of her recent work and wasn't even sure if she was still on the scene. I always remember that she had dark hair, very good looking and curvy with knockers like rocks. In the newish vid, she has straw like blonde hair, masculine body, what looked like a bad boob job with wrinkly skin around the boob area; she just looked really rough!"
Lakeqi writes: "Old stars would have a market if and only of they could keep up and exceed the depravity of the new bitches. I can't feel sorry for them if they are unwilling to keep up."
Porn Can Empower Women
Teagan recently revealed that she did porn as revenge on an ex-boyfriend. For some reason this made my ---- rock hard and compelled me to go and ---- off to every scene of hers in my possession. It's so hot to imagine her thinking "Ha, this'll show him!", or "Serves him right for calling me a worthless whore!" as she sucks the ---- that was just in her ---. I sat there with my hand on my ---- thinking "you go, girl!"
I bet that when he saw what she was doing, that dude really regretted losing her. This guy is going to have real trouble getting on with his life after such a devastating blow. I imagine Teagan looking back in 20 or 30 year's time and feeling really proud of herself for getting such spectacular revenge, captured on video permanently for all to see.
It's great to see that porn can be such a positive, empowering thing for women. Does anyone know of any other girls in porn for the same reason? I'd love to have more such material to ---- off to. Has any agency thought of using this as a hook to recruit new talent? Just run an ad: "Ex boyfriend a jerk? Get back at him permanently, do porn. Call xxx". Even better, how about a new series called "Revenge Sluts"?
Picman writes: "Mirage (now Briana Banks) intimated that she was getting back at a boyfriend in Nasty Nymphos 29. Then she proceeded to do a double ----."
Ivor Biggun replies: "Just think, that dude could have been the one rubbing ----s with another guy in Brianna's -------, but because he was such a jerk she let some paid stud do it instead. That's gotta hurt. These guys don't know what they're throwing away until it's too late."
Pete writes:
After her scene in one of the Gangbang Auditions videos, Kacey, with the --- from five guys all over her face, looks into the camera and says to her ex-boyfriend: "Paul, I don't love you anymore."
Paul might well still be in therapy.
Ivor writes: "Indeed, it must have been agonizing to realize he had let such a classy babe slip through his fingers."
Jewel DeNyle writes: "I shot a porn with Annabelle a young 18yr old who did porn because she broke up with her boyfriend she's in Wild on Sex shot in Vegas (PXP) I remember she got in a fight with him before the scene broke up with him a few hours before she shot for me and then took Brandon Iron's ---- she did it to piss him off we were in Vegas at the AVN when this happened I thought it was very funny stuff."
Ivor writes: "I wonder how many movies a girl has to be in before the revenge is officially accomplished?"
Whooya writes: "I know of one girl in the biz aout four years ago who had quite the opposite happen to her...Her family did not know that she was doing porn...When she pissed off her boyfriend he sent copies of one of her videos to her mom, dad and all three brothers, and hand delivered a copy to a guy in the dorm she was living in at UCLA. Needless to say she was quite humiliated."
Ivor writes:
Let me get this straight... Are you saying that these girls don't really understand the consequences of what they're doing when they enter porn as a revenge trip? That's a disturbing thought. If this is the case, then those agents/producers who encourage the girls are taking advantage of their naïveté. That perpetuates the sort of negative, predatory image of porn that the anti-porn zealots want everyone to accept. I refuse to believe it.
share your admiration for the likes of Jenna and Jill Kelly. Through liberal yielding of their orifices, these women have emancipated themselves and achieved success on a par with the most powerful men in porn, striking a resounding blow against the Patriarchy. It's a testament to the opportunities this industry offers that someone like Jill can move from talent, through directing, to becoming a highly successful businesswoman in her own right.
Porn truly is a world of opportunity and reward. I can only imagine the rush of power an 18 year old newcomer feels as the camera focuses on her for the first time and she realizes that she is the center of everyone's attention. To know that she is truly respected and judged on her merits as a person must be a liberating experience. It's such a refreshing contrast to other industries, where women are rated by their physical appearance or their willingness to please men. As that first cock invades her rectum, she must be overwhelmed with excitement and pride.
I understand your views on the downsides, but I feel your attitude is somewhat defeatist. We need to break down these barriers of prejudice and ignorance, and the only way to do that is for more people to be open about it with their friends and family. It's the same battle that Gays and lesbians have been fighting for years - until more people come out into the open, society will not accept it.
Parents should be PROUD that their daughter can do double anal, just as they would be proud if she was a champion gymnast performing similarly remarkable physical feats. They should celebrate the fact that their little girl has grown up to provide so much joy to masturbating perverts around the world. Shout it from the rooftops! "My daughter does ass to mouth and I'm not ashamed or her!"
God bless pornography, and God bless the girls who give it to us. Without them both my balls and my wallet would be a lot heavier.
I've often thought that one route to greater acceptance would be to establish a proper academic framework that leads to an accredited qualification.
It could start with a range of diplomas in different specializations such as oral copulation, anal penetration, etc. A performer could earn these on the job. By passing enough of these modules, they could eventually earn enough academic credits to gain a full honors degree in Erotic Performing Arts.
Not only would this promote societal acceptance by "legitimizing" the profession, it would also encourage higher standards within the industry. In the current political climate it's obviously a bit too controversial for the Ivy League, but maybe a liberal arts college might pick it up?
Janay writes: "Were you being sarcastic here? For the most part porn is a lot about looks. Who holds contracts with the biggest companies?"
Ivor writes on XPT: I love ADT. I love the fact that 36 posts into the thread and in relation to one specific point, someone has the nerve to ask me "Were you being sarcastic here?"
Ivor's signature is this quote from HIV-positive ex-porn star Tricia Devereaux: "I do think I'm a lady. A model for teenage girls."
Bishop Interview
This is not the Bishop who serves as Adam Glasser's assistant in the Showtime reality show Family Business. This is the 40-something male performer who seems to always be smiling.
I get Bishop on the phone at 7:45pm, December 20.
Duke: "When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?"
Bishop chuckles: "You caught me off guard when you started right up like that. I thought we were going to schedule it.
"I wanted to be a policeman like my dad."
Did your dad want you to be a policeman?
"No. He always wanted something more for me than that. He wanted me to finish school [Bishop graduated high school in 1982 and college in 1986] and be what I went to school initially for -- I studied law. I took Criminal Justice for three years. I thought I was going to be an attorney."
What happened?
"I got tired of being broke, working two jobs, and being in school. I recognized how many credits I had in computer science and took a double load the next semester and had enough to graduate [with an associates degree, short of a bachelors degree]. I backed out of school...with a degree [from Temple University in Philadelphia]. Most of my friends didn't even bother to go [to college].
"I'm still paying back student loans. I never did work in that field except for two times when I had other jobs that paid way better -- beer (for a decade) and porn.
"I grew up Pennyslvania. When my parents divorced, my father came to [Los Angeles]. I split time with my parents."
Was that XPT fight with Grant Michaels staged?
"No. The guy voiced an opinion. I didn't much care for it. But it was never more than that. People interceded for fear it was going to affect our careers."
How was the Nici Hunter birthday party last night?
"It was fun as long as I could stay at a little dance club in Studio City called Clear on Ventura Blvd. I'm a single parent [of a five-year old boy]. While I was there, my son was with my dad. I didn't stay out too late. I was there for [two hours]. The place was filling up and people were vying for her attention."
How did you get into porn?
"After my divorce in 2001 [a marriage of three years, one good, Bishop says he was monogamous during it], a messy affair, leaving me with a son to raise by myself, I figured I could use the support of my family... I had to leave the brewery because I wasn't able to work shift work anymore. I was an aircraft fueler at Van Nuys Jetport. I answered a casting call about Christmas-time in 2002. Lucky Star and Directions. They are from Japan. They don't even speak English. Lucky Star is their translator and handles the talent when they shoot their bukkakes in America.
"I was one of six-to-seven guys on set every day. This business is not the easiest. Some people can't even use the restroom if somebody is standing next to them. When I was able to provide what was needed on cue, it made me stand out. When a veteran wasn't able to make his scene, Lucky gave me the opportunity to do a scene. I succeeded. A couple of more casting calls and people were calling me.
"I haven't called anybody. I haven't auditioned for anything. I've worked constantly. People don't take you seriously until that is all you do. I've done about 200 scenes. All gonzo. No features.
"I got in just before things got interesting, before the double anals, the gagging, the piss-mops. I don't care for a lot of the things I see shot these days. People eventually stopped calling me for that stuff.
"There have been things I've had to change the terms of. There are interracial sites that like to use certain slurs throughout his site, in the trailers, the text... They booked me. I went down there and explained to them that I had a son I'm trying to raise and I'm trying to explain to him that people aren't any different even if they look a little different. I can't tell him that and have on record somewhere, anywhere, even in porn, that I said one thing when in reality I said another thing.
"I explained that if I was going to be in the scene, they were going to have to refrain from that. They honored my wishes."
Bishop directs for Darkside Entertainment. "I believe there can be porn that is good for couples, that is not degrading... That's what I love to shoot."
What do you love and what do you hate about the industry?
"People in porn are not what a lot of people think. They're not sluts or dummies, or if it wasn't for this, they would have no other way to survive. It's not filled with the losers of the world. I meet great people. To be with all these beautiful women. I love that to death.
"What I haven't cared for is that porn can be a little short-sighted. It wasn't that long ago that we were under a quarantine. People were pointing fingers but I can't help but think that any time you run the risk of tearing tissue and making blood you multiple the risk of transmitting something. Some of that top-me stuff puts people at risk more than anything else.
"You don't have to do quadruple anal and put yourself in a position where there may be blood involved.
"People left the industry when this happened in March. They were never going to do this or that again. Today, it is like that never happened.
"There's a low regard for other people's well being. If somebody does get infected with the virus, nobody is going to go out of their way to see that that person is taken care of. There's so much money involved. I don't see why people can't care more about each other."
Bishop talks to his son, "Let daddy use the phone. Please.
"Other than that, there's not a lot to dislike. There's good and bad in everything. There's less bad in this than people think. No hostages. No snuff films that I've seen. Nobody doing anything that they haven't signed up for."
What's it like being a single parent and working in porn?
"I keep those two worlds separated. Although my son is around me often enough through my phone calls that he probably is a little bit more aware than I would like to believe. I edit at home after he's in bed. He's not exposed to the materials themselves. Porn has benefitted me in that it has afforded us more comfort than we would have if I were working in something else. When I was at the airport, there wasn't anywhere near the money that I'm bringing home now. I was gone all the time. Porn allows me to spend time with my son.
"People will get fed and sheltered some way. I wonder what I would be doing without this?"
How many women were you with before porn?
"About a hundred. I've always been fortunate. Since porn, about 300. There's a lot more honesty in this profession than in interactions in the regular world. People will talk about what they want and like.
"Porn relationships haven't been that much fun for me. I tried it a few times and none of the results have been good. Even though they say, this is what we were doing before we got together. I'm ok with what you do. Invariably, one person will have to work and the other person will not and the person who doesn't have to work will eventually have a problem that their significant other is out having sex with somebody else.
"I've seen people who out in public seem successful with these things. I get their phone calls at 3am when the police are coming and things aren't going good. It's always the same arguments.
"We're open about not being monogamous but it always seems to come back down to that.
"I'm having success with dating outside the industry but it is one of the reasons I'd like to move behind the camera. The lady that I'm seeing has been patient and tolerant. She would like to stay with me and work on us being together until such a time when I'm not doing any scenes in front of the camera. She doesn't want to share her man with other women.
"When I dated women in porn, they seemed to have a flare for the dramatic.
"It is rare to find a woman outside the industry who will give you the time of day. I was having a great conversation with a woman at the car wash. We were making plans. She'd never asked what did I do. It didn't seem like it was missing from the conversation. In the last two minutes, she asked what I did. I told her as I had been advised against (let them get to know you before they find out what you do). She literally ran from me towards her car. She couldn't get away quick enough.
"If I was going in to an office every day with a briefcase, I don't think I would be cool going out with a woman who does what I do every day."
We talk about porn and race.
"Nobody has put me in a bad situation [in porn] because of race. I know there are people who are racist. I've had better opportunities here than many people have. There are white people who have been around this industry far longer than I have who don't have the opportunities presented to me now. I don't believe it is a racist industry. I would just like to see more black people in features."
Do you see any difference between a white movie and a black movie?
"In a white movie, there's more emphasis on production value across the board. A lot of ethnic porn could fit into the category of pro-am. White productions have so much more at their disposal. That's another thing I'm hoping to change."
Do you prefer working with white women or black women?
"I have no preference. My only preference is that there be as few other guys around as possible."
I've known a lot more use of alcohol on black sets than white sets?
"Yeah. I agree. Things are more low-key on white sets. Anything on a black set is more wide open. A handful of black guys are more likely to go out front of the house and light up a bowl or pass around a little bottle. [On a white set] they keep things more under wraps.
"Some folks need to get into their comfort zone to be able to perform. I have methods at my end."
Bishop addresses his son: "You have to let daddy finish his phone call. You can play with me after I get off the phone. I'll give you a shower. It's too late for a bath. It's already past bedtime. Go on. Go on. Thank you."
Bishop returns to me: "I've always been the sensitive kind of guy. I may pop a little early on the set. My methodology is to leave the first pop shot at home in the morning. If somebody has something that is going to knock the butterflies down... No matter how many times I've done this, in those last few minutes before a scene, every time, in the back of my mind, am I going to pull it off this time? There have only been twice that I haven't. There was one time I engaged in the party before a scene and it worked against me. If other people want to do it, that's fine. As long as you are not hurting anybody else. I'd rather see a group of guys smoking a bowl of marijuana before a scene than see in the middle of an anal scene, where the girl says stop, and the guy keeps going."
How often have you seen that?
"Not very. But the few times I have seen something like that, I didn't like it. I have sisters. They spring to mind in a lot of situations I find myself in. What if that was my sister?"
Bishop is going on the Sports Swami show in a few days.
'Get A Bed'
I met a girl. A civilian. She's studying Interior Design.
I said, I come from the land down under (but I never like to go there, unless someone else is paying) where women glow and men plunder.
I baited her with how appalling my hovel is. She took the bait and offered to redesign it for free. I accepted.
She came over today. When she stepped inside, she was horrified. For the next 90-minutes, she kept repeating, "Get a bed." She said she felt scared. I think she was glad to leave after a lunch of a shared bagel with peanut butter (she turned up her nose at the offer of the chocolate soy milk).
When I showed her my van, her esteem for me did not rise. I failed to communicate to her that worldly possessions hold no interest to me because I am so spiritual.
I remember I met a beautiful woman for coffee about three years ago. The place was closing. We walked to her car. I asked her if she wanted to come back to my place. She said yes. She walked in. She was appalled, particularly by the large stack of AVN magazines by the door (I threw them out the next day). Within a couple of minutes, she said she wasn't feeling comfortable in my hovel and could we walk around the block.
A Jewish woman I loved (several years ago) said to me her idea of roughing it was a three star hotel. One Friday night, I brought her over to the hovel to light metaphorical Shabbos candles but she was appalled and made an exit as soon as politely possible.
I think this is all kinda cool because I am a rock. I am an island. And a rock feels no pain, and an island never cries.
Jim Holliday: XRCO Head to Head with AVN?
Gene Ross writes: "Holliday called me when I was still with Extreme Associates, and Holliday had the idea that he wanted XRCO to go head-to-head with AVN's award show on the same night in Las Vegas."