Friday, August 18, 2006
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So current...
AVN's Mike Albo emails:
The great thing about the Internet and blogs is the almost immediate relay of information. Way to go, Luke! However, I'm surprised that you didn't conjecture about how Mr. Feinberg contracted pneumonia. You know, like maybe he got it from a "porner" who was attempting rape or something.
Longtime Pornographer Mickey Fine (Herbert Feinberg) Died Of Pneumonia Last Fall
I just found out.
Mickey called me from prison a couple of times in the summer of 2001 to condemn Kevin Beechum.
Kevin and Mickey fell out over an attempted bombing in Chicago in 1993.
Kenny Gallo writes on Hollywood Mafia:
Mickey Fine who was an associate of Reuben Sturman came to Kevin for help in forcing some bookstore owners to pay Rubin. Kevin hired some of his biker friends to carry out the bombing. There is plenty online about this. A man was killed on the way to the bookstore when a bomb went off. Kevin made a deal with the Feds and Mickey Fine would now die in prison.
From my July 12, 2001 archive:
Herbert Feinberg vs Kevin Beechum
I interviewed Kevin Beechum Wednesday afternoon [July 11, 2001]. First, some background.
Los Angeles Daily News 4/18/92
The two men riding in a car that exploded this week on the North Side, killing one of them, were bomb makers from a California motorcycle club who had flown to Chicago that day to blow up several adult bookstores, federal authorities alleged Friday.
Donald Mares, 28, who died in the blast, and fellow Vagos Motorcycle Club member Jay Brissette, both of Palmdale, were paid $6,000 for the job, according to a federal complaint.
Brissette, who authorities say was riding with Mares in the car and escaped, is listed as a fugitive, and was charged late Friday with plotting to transport explosives to Chicago. The purpose of the alleged plot, the complaint said, was to "intimidate individuals and unlawfully damage and destroy buildings."
Sources familiar with the case said likely suspects include West Coast pornography distributors who hope to forge new outlets and organized-crime figures seeking to extort money. Brissette is believed to have been at the wheel when the rental car, a blue Chevrolet Corsica, exploded in front of 43 W. Division St. about 8 p.m. Thursday.
That bomb, among several explosive devices found in the wreckage, detonated prematurely, officials said, probably as Mares fidgeted in the front seat with a remote-control device. The device might have been intended to trigger the Old Town bomb, authorities said.
Passers-by in the popular night-life area told police both occupants jumped from the car as the blast shattered windows. Mares staggered a few feet and collapsed. The car, moving on, hit a curb 140 feet away and burst into flames. The second passenger, dazed and bleeding, fled on foot. His clothing and hair were scorched, witnesses said.
Mares and Brissette flew to Chicago from Milwaukee on Wednesday after catching a flight there from California on Monday. They rented a car in northwest suburban Des Plaines and drove into the city, bringing bombs with them. Five bombs were accounted for, including the one that killed Mares. The fifth was found in the Chevrolet's wreckage Friday and was detonated.
"Essentially, all the devices are homemade pipe bombs (with) remote control detonation devices (and) were made by the same individual," the affidavit said.
A confidential informant described as a woman told authorities that Mares and Brissette had been paid $6,000 to bomb adult bookstores here.
On Thursday, federal agents in California searched the home and garage of Mares in Palmdale, and reported finding gunpowder, small radio-controlled devices and other explosives paraphernalia. Organized crime has used pipe bombs and motorcycle gang members to enforce demands on operators of adult bookstores and other businesses to pay extortion.
Testimony in the recent trial of Ernest Rocco Infelice, a suburban mob boss, showed how his street crew employed threats of violence and actual beatings to enforce extortion demands. Witnesses said pipe bombs were sometimes detonated as a "final warning to pay or die."
Chicago Tribune 3/31/93:
Peep shows in Arizona were the first target. Next, eight adult bookstores in Chicago faced bombings. And, if necessary, similar businesses dealing in sexually explicit films would be hit in Cleveland.
An outrageous Hollywood movie scenario or the storyline of a Mafia bestseller? Not according to federal authorities.
In documents detailing an alleged true-life conspiracy of intimidation and violence, government court filings cite a bungled plot by convicted pornographer Reuben Sturman to get the attention-and money-of several national distributors of adult-oriented material.
On a chilly April night in Chicago last year, the scheme literally exploded in the faces of two alleged conspirators, killing one and igniting a nationwide investigation. Now, Sturman and companion Herbert Feinberg face trial April 26 in Chicago on charges arising from the alleged shakedown plot and its grim residue-the fatal car bombing April 15 outside 43 W. Division St.
On file in federal court here, the documents outline the prosecution's case against Sturman, charging he directed the violence against former business colleagues to enforce extortion demands for money. Among the identified victims were Paula Lawrence and her husband, Roy May, whose Chicago-based firms Capitol News Agency Co., General Video Midwest Inc., and Wednesday Co. Inc. distribute adult films and operate peep shows in the Midwest.
The couple paid tribute to Sturman, in payments up to $200,000 at a time, out of fear of economic harm or violence, the documents explained. The documents contend Sturman wouldn't take no for an answer to his extortion demands, and he made those demands because he had a huge tax bill.
Until 1991, when Sturman faced the certain prospect of prison for violating federal obscenity laws and income tax fraud, he had routinely received money from Lawrence, May and a porn dealer in Phoenix, Tamara Green, who operated Book-Cellar Inc. But the cash flow dried up as Sturman's legal appeals to avoid prison failed, and he was hit with a $4.66 million tax bill by the Internal Revenue Service.
That is when an indictment in the case said Sturman devised the extortion scheme and turned for help to Feinberg, getting him to hire muscle-recruit and pay people to create violence for a price, until he got his way. Sturman, 68, formerly of Cleveland, and Feinberg, 62, of Los Angeles, both veteran distributors of adult films, were indicted on charges of extortion and conspiracy.
According to court documents, Sturman's and Feinberg's implication in the case is based largely on testimony given to a grand jury in Chicago by Sturman's former wife, Naomi Delgado, and several California men who claim Feinberg paid them $20,000 to bomb eight Chicago adult bookstores. Another California man, Donald Mares, 28, died in the Division Street car bombing.
A pipe bomb detonated prematurely as Mares and his companion, Paul Mahn, traveled between bookstore bombings on the Near North Side. Three other conspirators were elsewhere in Chicago at the time, trying to bomb another bookstore. All were businesses owned by Lawrence and May.
According to court documents, Mahn, Mares and a third man began the violence in Phoenix. The trio used hammers to extensively damage peep show booths in a Tamara Green-owned bookstore on Dec. 22, 1991.
From Chicago, the indictment said, the violence was to move to Cleveland and several adult bookstores whose owner refused to meet Sturman's alleged demands for money.
Mickey Fine aka Herbert Feinberg phoned me from prison Tuesday afternoon (July 10, 2001). Seventy years old and in poor health, he's serving 40 years for arranging a bombing gone awry of a Chicago porn shop in 1992.
Herbert: "I got the conversation you had with Kevin [Beechum]. I've still got appeals pending and my lawyer is even against what I'm going to tell you now. But I can only tell you so much and you can repeat this to Kevin. You're a f---ing lying bastard. I never spoke to nobody, never. You were the one. I came up to see you in your office, you were wired up. I asked you at the end of the conversation. 'Kevin, I don't like the way you're talking. Are you wired up? Let me see. Open your shirt.'
"He wouldn't do it. I called him a prick and I walked out of his office. And that didn't come out on the tapes. That was deleted from the tapes.
"[Biker bomber] Jay Brisette is a little piece of s---. He ratted out not only me but his codefendants. How do you think they caught [Joseph] Martinez? They didn't know no Martinez. He told them. How do you think they caught [Paul] Mahn? He told them. Jay did it. They even ratted on a poor Chinaman who drove them to the airport and he got three years. They're lowlife scum.
"Never did I speak to an FBI agent or any agent? They came to my home from Chicago..."
Feinberg stumbles and swallows his breath. "Excuse me, I'm so angry. An FBI agent from Chicago, an alcohol and tobacco agent came from Chicago, and the prosecutor that tried me, Mark Prosperi. He came and sat outside in the car with the other agent, Gariola. The prosecutor came in wired up. They told me they wanted to play tapes for me. Those were the tapes that I spoke to Kevin. And he gave it to them."
Luke: "Kevin says he only did this because you wouldn't pick up the legal fees for him and Jay."
Herbert: "As far as the legal fees go. Jay called me up and said that he was broke and in a hotel. It was just to get me on the phone because he was in the hotel with the FBI agent. But still, I sent over $500 to him. Then I sent over $6000 to their lawyer. Five thousand dollars to the lawyer to retain him and $1000 to give to Jay Brisette's wife. Jay Brisette's wife never saw $1000 all at once since the day she knew that pimp.
"Next. I didn't get no money because Reuben Sturman f---ed me. As far as being a smart guy, I'm the biggest schmuck you could meet. How I got wrapped up in this. This was a complete lie. I was never told that these people [Roy and Paula May, Tamara Green] were told by Uncle Sam not to give money to Sturman no more. He didn't tell me that. He told me that they don't want to pay. And he offered me a deal that I don't want to talk about, that you can't refuse. And I did not get no money from him. That $6500 that I gave them was out of my pocket.
"Jay Brisette got $20,000 [from Sturman through Feinberg] and gave me back $1500. Jay kept most of the money. And I also gave him $10,000 for the job he did in Arizona [money from Sturman]. And he lied there. I told him just to break the video machine that goes to the peep shows. Just take a hammer and break it and walk out. That's all. Even on the testimony he says, 'Why would I want to use bombs? If you use bombs, you blow up the store. Even if you don't blow up the store, who's going to go into the store after it was bombed? So how are you going to get your money. So why use bombs? That's number one.
"Number two. If I told him to use bombs, why in the same breath did he say in court, 'Feinberg said, don't touch the registers and don't touch the employees.' But bomb the joint? Does that make sense to you? How could you bomb the joint and not hurt the employees? It's impossible. They're lying. The guy that was killed [Donald Mares]. He was the one that took over everything.
"He mentioned bomb. I said, 'Why do you want to use a bomb? Use a smoke bomb if you need it. This way you can get out and nobody will run after you. They'll be scared. Or a stink bomb.
"Jay knew that. He's full of s---. But they took the job away from him. They went to do two and they done four [bombings?]. He's a little f---ing fag.
"And Kevin is the one who set up this whole freaking thing about the law. He went to his lawyer. He held Jay for five days at his mother-in-law's house until the lawyer [Jim Henderson] flew back to Chicago and made a deal. He was a big shot lawyer from Chicago at the time. He made a deal with his buddies [in the FBI agency Henderson used to run]. And the deal was simple.
"He'll give everybody up, just cut Kevin free. Give Kevin immunity from prosecution and Kevin will go to the Grand Jury and Kevin will take the stand at the trial. That's the bottom line. And if he says otherwise, he's a f---ing liar.
"Kevin was my friend. I knew him. I never trusted him. He was always a sneaky f---. He cheated his own f---ing friends. Tell him that too. The Zane brothers. He was getting his boxes from somebody he knew that worked there. Kevin had a friend who worked for Zane who backdoored him boxes. And the Zane brothers were his friends. He used to go out and eat with them.
"Frank Barbarino is a nice man. I like him. I respect his word. I'm only sorry that there was a balance left between us two. And if you see him, just explain to him that there was nothing I could do. I've been laying in jail for eight years."
Luke: "How's your health?"
Herbert: "I'm 70 years old. I've got a bad heart. I had two open heart surgeries already. I had a tumor taken off my brain, off my pituitary gland. What am I going to do? Who lives to be 70 and don't have trouble?
"But when I read that f---ing thing [interview with Kevin Beech]. Somebody sent it to me, all 16 pages. And that got into me. Believe me, I never went to a cop. I told them to leave my house. And if you want proof of that, you can call up Roger Diamond, the attorney.
"Because I called Roger Diamond from my home. I told Roger Diamond, 'They're here. I don't want them here.' He said, 'Put them on the phone.' He told them to get out and if they want to talk, talk to him. To no longer talk to me. He was my lawyer but he couldn't stay on my case because they were going to use him as an unindicted co-conspirator. Because it was his wife that brought the money to their lawyer [Jim Henderson].
"It was Kevin's lawyer. Kevin used him to make sure that Brisette didn't get clammed and put him in.
"When I went back to Jay Brisette for the second trip, for the trip to Chicago, it was done in Kevin's office. He was sitting right there [as the plan to damage porn shops in Chicago was hashed out]. He's full of s---. And I remember the exact words he used. 'Alright, how many times are you going to tell him how to do it? I got work to do. Get out of here.' And I walked out and I took them to eat."
Luke: "Kevin says he didn't know anything about the Chicago..."
Herbert: "He's full of s---. He was right there when it took place. It was Jay Brisette, Kevin and me.
"And if I told them to use bombs, why didn't they use bombs in Arizona? Why did they just go to break the machine. If I would've known that he went [to Arizona] with a baseball bat, I would never have given him the second job to do. If you're going to break a f---ing machine, why do you need a baseball bat? What did these jerkoffs think they were doing? They thought they were attacking Guadacanal?
"These f---ing morons. And Kevin even told me that his friend [Jay Brisette] was telling everybody after the second time he got in trouble [in Chicago]. I said to Kevin, 'You told me this guy is a helluva man. A good man. You know him from Bay City, Michigan. You've known him all your life. And Kevin said, 'Yeah, he's got a one-year old kid. What do you expect him to do?' Because he's got a one-year old kid, what do I expect him to do? I would love to see him die."
Luke: "Jay Brisette or Kevin?"
Herbert: "Both of them."
Luke: "Whose idea was it to use bombs?"
Herbert: "The guy [Donald Mares] who was killed in the car. He was a bomb expert. They all should've blown up in the f---ing car. Jay gave up Martinez and Mahn. How else would they have known them? They all came back together [from Chicago]. They didn't get busted. And Kevin said he had nothing to do with the second shot. He picked them up in a goddam mall and he held them for five days. You call that not knowing anything?
"Kevin's lawyer Jim Henderson went to Chicago, made a deal to cut Kevin free, and gave them up."
Luke: "And what about Russell Hampshire?"
Herbert: "Russell Hampshire was the poor bastard who was put in the middle. Reuben's wife Naomi put him in the middle."
Luke: "You know she just married Ron Braverman?"
Herbert: "Yeah, I know she just married Ron Braverman. I may be 2000 miles from there but I know everything that goes on out there. How do you think I knew about you? And she [Naomi] went to the grand jury against me too. Because I told her to tell Reuben that I can't go to see him but he shouldn't worry. Just let him take care of the legals and I will not say a word.
"And I even told the FBI, Reuben don't know nothing about bombs. It's the truth. Reuben died in the place where I am here. It's too bad that he can't come back to life again so I could watch him die again.
"One day when this is all taken care of, everything I say to you I will prove in testimonies from the courts. And Kevin and Jay know that. Be good now. I can't keep taking up the phone from these people."
I spoke to Kevin Beechum Wednesday afternoon.
Kevin: "I don't want you to print no more after you print this."
Luke: "Ok."
Kevin: "I like what this f---ing weasel is trying to weasel out on and say. Yeah right, he's got an appeal pending worth s---. He's a f---ing liar.
"It came down to us nailing him, like I told you. I called him from the house, Jay didn't call. That's how whacked this f---er is. Tell him he's getting Old Timer's Disease. I called him from my f---ing house with Jay [to ask Herbert to pay for their legal defense] and he told me he'd get back to me. And f---ing said, he wanted me to put up my house and the money for the f---ing bail and the lawyers and I said, I had nothing to do with this f---ing thing. You gave me your word you would do it [take care of everything].
"After Jay came back from Chicago and we called him. What are we going to do? We need lawyers. We need money. He gave us $5000. Think of this? Guys just got popped for a murder and a bombing case and he's saying he's sending over $5000. The case cost me out of my own pocket $150,000. My lawyer wouldn't even touch it without $50,000 down. He flat out told me there is no money, I can't get the money. You put your own house up and get the money.
"I told him to get f---ed. That's not the deal. If you're going to tell me that you're not getting it, we're f---ing you back. And that's when we f---ed him. And for him to call Jay and these guys a piece of s---, he's a big man sitting behind a f---ing jail. That's where he f---ing belongs.
"And he says I ripped off my buddy Chuck Zane. That shows how much of a bulls---ter he is. Chuck Zane will verify to you that I caught the guys stealing out of Chuck Zane's place. And he fired both of them. They were actually buddies of mine but Chuck was a bigger buddy of mine. So I f---ing told him they were back-dooring him and he fired them. They almost got killed.
"Mickey's going back so far because he's trying to cover his ass. He got money from Reuben and gave it to his wife so she could survive. I heard he got a bundle of money from Reuben. And Mickey's known for that. You can call anybody in this business and ask about Mickey Fine's name and there ain't nine out of ten who wouldn't beat his ass. Or he wasn't allowed in their buildings. He could only go into a few of us. That's because he never ripped us off. He never ripped me off. He never ripped Russ Hampshire off. He never ripped off guys he knew he'd get his ass beat by.
"But he ripped off 90% of the guys in this business by either knocking their boxes off or robbing them for money and not paying for product he'd get."
Luke: "What was his job in the industry?"
Kevin: "He was a f---ing con artist. He went around smoothing everybody and taking them for what he could. Then he'd come to guys like me for protection. He pisses me off now. He opened a f---ing can of worms. He better stay in there. Jay would love to get his hands on him for this. I'm going to print this for Jay.
"Nobody in the business trusts Mickey. If he was so trusted and liked, he'd be living like a king in that prison. Ain't nobody who will send him any money except for a couple of dudes, and they feel sorry for him because he never ripped them off. Everybody else in this business he took to the cleaners.
"I like how he writes that he never trusted me. I was the only f---ing guy he did trust and come to when he needed help."
Luke: "What sort of help did he need?"
Kevin: "When guys were after him... Somebody always wanted to beat his ass.
"When we said, f--- it, we're busting him, we went to the cops and they wired my office. We wanted to beat him but we couldn't because the feds would've gotten us. We would've killed the f---er."
Luke: "Mickey's been around a long time."
Kevin: "He's been around since the New York days with all the old timers. He used to run with Jimmy the Weasel [Fratianno]. He used to be Mickey the Weasel.
"They didn't give me nothing. They didn't give me immunity. I wasn't charged with anything. The only thing they were going to charge me on was the Arizona case but I made restitution with her [Tamara Green] so they didn't do it. I went on the stand and roasted Mickey's ass but when they asked me anything about Reuben Sturman, I knew nothing about Reuben.
"I didn't have immunity for anything. Wait, I shouldn't say that. We must've had something written for me to cooperate in setting his ass up. For me doing what I did, which was unheard of, I did it for Jay. I put myself in the middle of it.
"Mickey and I bulls---ted in my office. He buried himself. I got him to say that I had nothing to do with it. That's what got me off.
"Mickey's been playing heart problems since he was out here. He's too chicken s--- to go to a real prison.
"Mickey would kiss my ass if I pulled my pants down. He was a suck ass. If I looked wrong, he'd run. He's just a little old man. I used to like him because he was such a little hustler weasel. And he f---ed everybody.
"I liked him because he always came up with good deals from s---. But to everyone else, the way he got those deals, he just f---ed them, never paid them.
"He's such a f---ing liar. This guy's good.
"When the ATS raided and got Joe, then they came to my house looking for Jay. That was when we got out of my house, when we heard they raided Joe's house, and we went and hid at my mother-in-law's house for Easter weekend."
Luke: "What happened when Jay came back from the Chicago bombing?"
Kevin: "They called me up. All three of them were on the plane. I picked them up at Hughes Market in Chatsworth. The guy who drove them to the airport, the so-called Chinaman, was supposed to go to Chicago but he backed out at the airport. And Little Joe went in his place.
"This 'Chinaman' was at the Hughes Market when I got there in my truck. And he picked up Paul [Mahn]. Paul was hid up in the mountains, they couldn't catch him, for a couple of weeks.
"After I picked them up at Hughes, we called Mickey and said things had gone bad. And you've got me in the middle. You need to go to the source and get some money. He went to Reuben and got some money. When Jim [Henderson] told me how much it would cost, I told Mickey. Mickey came back to me and told me to put my house up. I told him, I'm not putting nothing up. Either you get the money or you get f---ed.
"Finally he came back to me and said, you've got to do what you've got to do, because I can't get it. We were downtown in my buddy's Jewely mart, sweating bullets, waiting for him to give us the answer. When he said do what you have to do, I said, ok, you're getting f---ed.
"When my buddy Jay called me from Hughes, what was I going to do? f--- you. I ain't gonna pick you up? I had to go f---ing get him. I got the phone call at 4AM from Jay's wife saying that Donny was blown up and dead and where was Jay?
"He says that Reuben's wife put Russ in the middle of it. Mickey went to Russ.
"When he says he can't keep taking up the phone, well, he must have no pull in there. I have five of my guys in prison. They don't get told to get off the phone. He must have no f---ing pull, the little sissy.
"Mickey gets all his info from his good buddies like Michael Warner [Great Western Litho]. Of course he knows about Ron Braverman getting married. They're all Mickey's buddies.
"We got a few phone calls on this story. Some people told Jeff [Steward], we knew Kevin was crazy but we didn't know he bombed people.
"A lot of people like Russ [Hampshire] are going to be pissed that you brought all this stuff back up. They wanted this squashed. We never even talked for a long time. I didn't snitch on Mickey, I f---ed him. There's a difference between snitching and f---ing.
"Mickey snowballed Michael and Ron and Russ, trying to play like we did this to him. Russ knew that Mickey got money [from Sturman]."
Luke: "Why didn't Reuben spring for everyone's defense?"
Kevin: "I think Reuben paid Mick a set amount to do the job. Mickey was supposed to pay. He never paid all the money in the first place and then went to get more money from Reuben.
"Mickey says Jay got $20,000 [from Sturman] and gave him back $1500. Mickey made both ends. Reuben paid him $10,000 for the job and then Mickey made Jay feel bad and give him some money. Mickey was known for making money on both ends.
"Mickey's problem was that on this, he bit off more than he could chew. He thought he could weasel out but it didn't work because he f---ed with us.
"At the end [of the story] say, I'm putting this to rest. I'm done playing bulls--- games with a weasel."
Lynne writes:
Old Timers Disease. I've got it too, I'm afraid. This brings back memories. Bruce knew Mickey Fine, always spoke to him at CES. Yesterday was the anniversary of Bruce's death...two years. Oh, the stories he would have told you. Did Mickey give you an address or way to contact him?
Mrs. Bruce Walker sends her regards to Mickey Fine. Bruce, who passed away two years ago this week, often spoke of you, Mickey, and the adventures in the good old days before everyone and his third cousin bought a video camera at the Wal-Mart and became a pornographer. So much has changed -- Sturman's gone, Wisner's gone. I retired from the business myself now, and I'm sad to hear that your retirement home doesn't include a decent deli and a golf course. Maybe we can get Luke to say some prayers for your health.
Real Obscenity
AVN Editor Mike Ramone writes:
Re-watching in recent days news footage of five-year-old Jon Benet Ramsey prancing around on stage in full makeup at one of those kiddie beauty pageants, I’m reminded of what true obscenity is. Perhaps instead of harassing adult companies which produce videos depicting consenting adults having sex on camera, the FBI’s resources would be better applied looking into those creepy spectacles, which I would imagine would be magnets for pedophiles, apparently just like, coincidentally enough, the suspect arrested in her murder. I also understand that said kiddie beauty pageants are most popular in Bible Belt southern red states, whose evangelical Christian base screams the loudest for the abolition of legal adult fare. There seems to be a serious disconnect there.
Quasarman's Drunken Rant
Ok, so maybe the responsible thing would be to wait until morning to evaluate whether or not to mindlessly rant but then again, I've been known to down a couple of Bloody Marys before 10am on occasion (Bloody Ceasars actually, for any Canadians who might be reading this) so there's really no specific time when I might be free of booze. That being said..... I'm sure other directors can relate to the following scenario...
Girl begins scene and almost right away it is apparent that there is absolutely no rythym and no chemistry. She doesn't look like her pictures and she appears to be counting the moments until she can leave. The scene progresses and you're thinking to yourself "This f*&king sucks!! I can't possibly put this scene in a movie" while at the same time you're hoping that some spark happens and the scene suddenly becomes watchable. Half way through the scene you're finally forced to make a decision to put a halt to this erotic farce. But then, how do you do it? Do you come right out and say "Honey, you're a big, fat pig and you've exhibited nothing resembling a pulse. You should never be without clothing" or do you do what I ended up doing: lie and then pay the girl $400 to put her clothes back on and go home. Somehow without looking like a complete asshole I would like to issue a press release that states... if I hire you for a scene and you completely suck, I'm not paying you a "kill" fee. I'm simply going to hand you the tape and thank you for your time. In the past week I have paid 3 different girls to go home. I'm tired of it. I pay your rate. I don't nickel and dime you and I have you in and out within 3 hours. Can't you return the favor? Don't tell me that you're "sore" from a previous scene. I am paying you the same exhorbitant rate as the guy that shot you before me and I deserve the same performance. As a matter of fact, don't give me any fucking excuses. If you don't feel like working, be honest and tell me up front. I will happilly reschedule and I will hold you in much higher regard for being honest. And guys, don't blame your sub-par performance on anything other than yourself. Everyone has a bad day. Your ego will survive. Just cop to it and I will happily book you again and write off your flacid performance to bad luck.
The bottom line is that I'm tired of spending my boss's money on bullshit. We are one of those companies who NEVER try to bargain on rates. We pay what you ask. In return we expect our money's worth. I shot Jenna Haze this morning and paid her a small fortune. Do you know what I got in return? A mindblowing performance. She was involved every step of the way. "Do you need more of this? Is this okay? Does this look good?" All new girls should look to her to see what they should aspire to. If you don't like sex, don't get into porn. We all know you're in it for the money (we all are) but you should try your best to make it seem like money is the last thing on your mind. If you want to phone in a scene, give me a discount so that I can put the scene in a comp or tell me ahead of time that you hate sex, males, and porn so that I may make an educated decision to send you packing. So I guess my rant is really directed at the "kill fee" aspect of the pornographic production processs. If you suck, it's not my fault. Don't expect money for your half-assed effort. I'm too inebriated to contine typing. Hopefully I made a point of some kind.
Who Bruised Cassidey?
The ex-Vivid girl has nasty bruises on her arms. It looks like some porner held her down and tried to rape her.
Remembering Elana of Exotica-2000
There was a place in NY that I used to visit once in a while. It was in an office off Madison Ave and 33rd. It was a funny building. It was real narrow, kind of squeezed in between a hotel and a couple of restaurants. It had a video camera at the door, so when you buzzed the people upstairs could see you. I would buzz one of the offices and they would open the door. Once inside they had to send the elevator or you could sit down there for a while. It was always hot and stuffy in the lobby and I swear you could touch both walls if you spread out your arms. One time I got off on the wrong floor and they were filming some Kung Fu flick. It was a Strange building. I would get up there and ring the buzzer on this large green door. Another video camera would stare down at me. This was the office of Elana of Exotica2000. There were usually two bookers, girls who set up appointments and booked the girls. They had computer programs that kept track of all the girls wherever they were. They usually had five girls in town. These girls would be scattered around Manhattan in nice hotels. They would sit until the call came in from the office. The girls would call and say..We have a regular who wants to see you for an hour. He is a cash customer and he wants to come by at say 5pm. I will call you when he is downstairs. The money this place made was huge. Elana really did it all on her own. She had Alex who would speak to the girls or drive her in to the office from her queens homes. They would also book many Adult Stars. These were their feature girls. So many girls flew out for a week in Manhattan over the years. I bet they miss the cash they made from Elana.
Kenny Gallo's Former Partner In Crime - Antonio Casselini
Kenny calls me Thursday morning. "The other day I got picked up by a Russian guy I've known for 30 years. We were talking. I pulled up your email from [Casselini's lawyer ]. I called that attorney (Newport Beach's Gary Levinson). I said, 'Does this guy look like this? About 50-something years old? Dark?' He said, 'Yeah.' I said, 'That guy was my partner. He's an organized crime guy. He laundered money for me. He cashed that check I got for $26,000 from the insurance company for Diversified Electric, a bust-out business that had gone bankrupt.' The Russian guy looks at me and says, 'Dude, that was my company.' The Russian got on the phone with the lawyer. He told him, 'I know Antonio. I sold him blow many times.' He described his house, his boat. The attorney says, 'Err, I've got to ask him about that.'
"I was going through my stuff and I found a note from Wells Fargo saying they were going to place a hold on the $26,000 check Antonio set me up with.
"The lawyer said to me, 'Can't you take that s--- down?' I said no. It's true. Why would I do that?
"I wish [Caselini] would sue. We'd make him look like a real asshole."
New York Loses Its Top Porn Star As Heather Pink Moves To Los Angeles
Heather calls me Thursday morning.
Luke: "Did you get your dog back?"
Heather: "No. My court date is September 5th.
"He wanted me to get back into porn because Madelyn Knight was in it and she'd give him all kinds of money. He thought that if I got in, I'd do the same thing. But it didn't work out that way."
Luke: "What prompts you to move to L.A.?"
Heather: "I like it here [in New York] but there's nothing for me to do any more now that I'm not with him and I'm not working for him. I can't even talk to any of my old friends any more because I don't want to hear about him. I don't want to run into him anywhere so I can't go anywhere."
HollyRandall: so this new xxx wants me to be their spokesperson/model
Luke: heehee
HollyRandall: isn't that funny?
HollyRandall: i wrote back to them thinking that they were mistaken, they'd
thought one of my models was me
HollyRandall: but no, they want me
HollyRandall: i just really hate modeling
HollyRandall: i told them that all the pics i put up are good ones of
me, and that in person i'm not that good looking
Luke: i love the love/hate thing you have with the camera
HollyRandall: i love being behind it, i hate being in front of it
HollyRandall: i like having photos taken of me, but i don't like actually
modeling
Luke: methinks you do protest too much!
HollyRandall: i'm just not bikini material
HollyRandall: and i'm not saying that to put myself down, i'm saying that
as a professional photographer who shoots nudes for a living
Luke: Anyone who says they hate modeling as much as you say it, there's
something going on.
Luke: it's like Jewish prayers which constantly mention resurrection of
the dead -- if you really believed it, you wouldn't have to keep repeating
it.
Baby Doll Bound - The Original Pain Slut
I am a bondage lifestyler. After having spent the majority of my adult life doing 9-5 jobs, I have now devoted myself completely to the pursuit of sexual and creative endeavors. I couldn't be happier. I love San Francisco. It's a wonderful city that brought me unparalleled opportunities to meet great people and explore my passions in ways I'd never dreamed possible.
Here are excerpts of my email conversations with Michelle:
>On the record. Give me something I can publish.
No way.
How do you even know who I am?
I'm not an actual porn person.
My take on you has always been that you're trying to prove some hypothesis that women in sex work are damaged goods.
I don't think that's completely the case.
A lot of women NOT in porn are also damaged goods.
I just wonder about your angle.
Do I think the industry chews people up and spits them out? No more than society in general. It's a microcosm of society. It's a symptom of the bigger disease. Women mutilate themselves, voluntarily, in droves, to fit society's vision of women with value. It happens everywhere -- not just in porn.
Sex work is one place where women can actually make good money if they know what they're doing. All of society isn't like that. At all.
I'm in the "real world" now and I'm struggling, plus keeping my identity under wraps. It's a constant challenge.
>Why on earth did you get into sex work?
It's challenging. I didn't get into "sex work" for the money or whatever. I don't have the best self-esteem, but lots of people have low self-esteem. I got into it because it is what I'm best at and it's what I loved. It's so much a part of me that to keep it a secret is like cutting off my nose. It's easier around men, obviously. The first female friend I made at my new job made no secret of her hatred for strippers, porn, etc...; yet, she loved me. If she knew about me, she could very well hate me. It's weird. On the other hand, I could come clean and bust a myth. I'm not emotionally strong enough right now to test that. I need the friend.
...if your whole angle is, "Babydoll has low self-esteem and is not emotionally ready to 'come clean'," then forget it. I'm a real, whole, educated, open-minded, open-hearted human being. If you just want to rake me over the coals to prove some theory on the evils of porn, forget it. I will debunk you as soon as you publish it. What's your angle? Remember... I wrote to thank you for your implied compassion...don't f--- it up.
>So what do you love and hate about your life now?
Be a person, not a reporter. Are you going to twist it all up or quote me accurately?
I do have strong opinions on the fact that female sexuality and youth seem to be intertwined. In fact, it pisses me off. I'm so much better now than I was at age 18--I take that to the bank. My thighs are a product of biological evolution based on survival and reproduction. They have nothing to do with the way I can make you feel. It's too visual. But that's biological, too. What can you do?
I hate the lack of freedom. I hate having to work 40 or more hours a week as opposed to just four days a month for the same amount of money--and I wasn't even a successful sex worker. I hate waking up super-early in the morning to go to a job where I'm treated like I'm stupid by people younger and not as experienced (in every way) as I am. I hate not doing what I love for a living. I say I hate numbers, but I'm good with them...I can see them in my head...it's just not what I'm BEST at or what I LOVE. I like not having to hustle to make ends meet. I like not having to worry about how I look. I like not having to starve and de-hair myself every day. I hate that I have let myself go due to the fact that I HAD to worry about my looks for years. I hate not having sex as much as I'd like to. Before, even if it was for work and not exactly what I wanted...I am so orgasmic that I got a release... I'm a little more pent-up now. DO YOU HAVE YOUR SCOOP? Don't be a butthead.
>It seems that you are pissed off with reality, that perhaps you want to blame something/someone for the reality that men prefer girls? How do you feel about modeling and the camera and the adoration of fans of your poses?
I like modeling. I don't like the camera, but I'm not phased by it. It's not really there for me. I'm not shy in that sense. (I'm shy in general, though.) I'm pissed off with MY reality. I take responsibility for that myself. Science is science and facts are facts and time is time. I come from a long line of scientists. I can't fight evolution. But, as a woman, I think men are stupid. Yeah; at 19, I could procreate a real horrorshow. But I couldn't make you feel the way I can make you feel now. There are too many humans on the planet. We are focusing on the wrong stuff, but we can't help it. It's in our DNA. I guess my dildo and me will just elaborate on what I've already done and have fun that way from now on. I really am disgusted with what passes for attractive in my age group. It seems to have more to do with who you want to be photographed with or who can further your career of choice... It's just a different form of exploitation. And it's all shallow. I'll take my dildo.
...Making someone feel ok about their sexuality vs. making the books balance for an office where they think I'm a dumbo? Hmmm..
I have never had any doubt about my brain power. I tested at the top 10 in my state before the age of five in IQ points and I was in the gifted/talented program at school. I know my brain is ok. I believe that extreme (NOT BAD) sexuality is the product of an advanced and creative brain.
FBI Conducts 2257 Inspections on Sunshine Films
VAN NUYS, Calif. — The latest stop in the FBI’s ongoing inspection of 2257 records has landed at the doorstep of Sunshine Films, XBIZ has confirmed. Owned by the brother and sister team of Rita and Joseph Duak, Sunshine Films produces mostly compilation titles...
Sheldon Ranz writes on Nina.com: "One revealing comment she makes is that she never experienced even one orgasm on the set of her 30 or so films. If true, that's sad, and I think that goes a long way to explaining her post-porn "born again" turnaround. You don't see male performers turning to Jesus because their orgasmic needs are always attended to. The industry unwittingly makes future enemies for itself by not prioritizing the female performer's orgasm(s)."
Nina Hartley writes:
Hmm, it's true that she still gets to perform, albeit in a different venue for a different audience, but perform she does. Also as in porn, she gets attention and approval from the desired audience. it's still all about her, it's just changed formats. What she says of her experience may be true for her, or it may be a story she's telling herself because of any shame or guilt she may have about what she did on camera.
Nina Hartley writes on Nina.com:
...There are lots of porn related books out there. "Coming Attractions," by Stoller and Levine (Yale University Press) is good. There is no one book that "gets" it right about porn. Each is true-ish in its own way, but each displays the ignorance/bias of the author. While it's true that a fair number of porn folks (before and behind the camera) come from backgrounds that included abuse of various kinds, the same can be said of most people. The current speculation, for example, is that one in four women, and one in five men, have been sexually molested or abused. Clearly, twenty-five percent of the American population doesn't make porn or engage in prostitution, so there are other factors that pull people into making movies. It's not so much what happened to you then as what you do with your life now. Some people do well in porn, some don't, and some are utterly ruined by it. Even it that happens, though, it doesn't mean the person in question didn't have agency in the matter. Other people whose lives are fucked up by abuse do other things: work in offices; have kids and pass the abuse on to them; have kids and stop the cycle of abuse; have strings of bad relationships; drink/eat/fuck/gamble/smoke/exercise too much; climb into university bell towers with automatic rifles and start sniping at people. People's obsession with what porn "makes" people do is all about those indivdual's weird sex trip and not really about porn. There can be no one true book about porn for the same reason there can be no one true book about Christianity: the topics are just too huge and diverse to be covered in one book.
...Think of all those office dromes who may have abuse in their backgrounds. But the regular workplace doesn't foster discussion about such personal matters, and it shouldn't.
Ernest Greene writes:
Here's a good new title from our friend Violet Blue. Check out The Smart Girl's Guide to Porn. It's slanted primarily at a female audience, but very good and insightful. Highly recommended.
For an interesting overview of the industry from an economic point of view, you might want to check out Eric Schlosser's Reefer Madness, which also evaluates the economics of recreational drugs and gambling. Quite an off-beat read.
And I think Jenna's book, How to Make Love Like a Porn Star - A Cautionary Tale - though much maligned, offers some real insights into what it takes to make it in this business.
Then there's Linda Williams' book Hardcore - Pleasure, Power and the Frenzy of the Visible - a feminist perspective on porn that is, overall, quite fair-minded and supportive to the medium. Excellent scholarship. But a really good, broad treatment of the realities of porn without ideological bias is yet to be written. I'm looking at that as a future project myself.
(Luke's books.)
Lives on the Edge: Profiles in Sex, Love and Death
Lainie Speiser writes:
Lori Wagner, can’t wait to read that one, I met this woman about three/four years ago right when I started. She wrote a story for Penthouse about volcanoes and environmental problems and had me promote it. She was totally hilarious and out of control (in a sweet harmless way that is). She gave me her CDs where she touts herself as Lori McCartney (after the Liverpudlian Paul) and her tits were as big as basketballs and shaped like them too! But she really cares about environmental issues and had an innocent quality despite her age and experience. I knew she was in Caligula and grilled her about Malcolm McDowell because I had a huge crush on him as a teenager and had my older sister rent Caligula for me so I could see him getting it on. She told me he was a Wildman, threw extravagant parties every single night and startled her in a scene by (allegedly) shoving his finger up her ass.
That really took me by surprise, I mean how many people’s assholes are that open for this to happen? He wouldn’t have gotten past my card slot before I jumped … that is jumped on his lap to make out with him.
Otherwise things are pretty good. Lots of promotions and events, its been a productive/tiring summer. I just came back from The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally with Krista (here’s me and her at her ill fated birthday party at Guest House), Charlie and Melissa. Then this weekend I have to go to the Penthouse Club in New Orleans.
Sally Can't Dance
Daniel Metcalf emails:
Hey Luke,
I'm curious about a statement you made on your site recently: "I keep trying to run this site into the ground but my readers won't let me." The reason for my curiousity is that, intentionally or not, you're echoing the same attitude concerning the notion of "career" expressed by my Spiritual Mentor during my brief stint at the Berklee College Of Music: Lou Reed.
Because Lou saw himself as a "serious" composer and an intellectually-driven member of New York's avant garde, he was so mortified by becoming a "rock star" that he repeatedly tried to sabotage his own career, initially by putting out a solo album on which he was virtually non-existent ("Sally Can't Dance"). Much to his chagrin, it was still a success. Still determined to alienate his audience, he then vowed to put out a solo record on which not only would he not appear at all, but there would be no "music" to speak of, either.
This attempt at career suicide became the legendary "Metal Machine Music: An Electronic Instrumental Composition." While its creator insisted to his record label and the press that it was a serious artistic statement and the summation of his entire career (RCA even released it on their Classical label as a deluxe - and expensive - two record set), it was in fact nothing more than an hour or so of lazily recorded screeching amplifier feedback.
While Lou's short term goals were achieved - "Metal Machine Music: An Electronic Instrumental Composition" remains the most returned release in major label history to this day, the album has ironically become one of Lou's most in-demand titles of the last 30 years, seeing re-release after re-release in pricey "Collector's Edition" CDs. It's been the subject of serious study at music conservatories (a friend of mine at Berklee even transcribed a portion of it for violin as part of her thesis) and it's been exhaustively written about in such scholarly, well-respected, and well-meaning tomes as "Electronic and Experimental Music: Pioneers in Technology & Composition" by Thomas B Holmes.
Lou hoped (in vain ultimately) that "Metal Machine Music: An Electronic Instrumental Composition" would end his career in rock and force him to apply himself more rigorously to more "serious" pursuits in poetry and the avant garde.
Are you hoping that by "running my site into the ground" you'll finally be forced to find other employment?
Is www.lukeisback.com the Fordian "Sally Can't Dance?"
Is "Lives On The Edge" your "Metal Machine Music?"
Goo Deed writes: "I think the reason for "Sally Can't Dance" and "Metal Machine Music" was the extraordinary amount of methadrine pumping through Lou Reed's arteries in the early '70s."
Mike Ramone writes: "Luke, I was just wondering if someone who reveres Air Supply even knows who Lou Reed is?"
I've heard of Lou Reed. That's it.
Mike replies: "Well, maybe Tod “Rock Around the Clock” Hunter can clue you in. Then again, maybe not…"
Strip Clubs Get Little Love From Californians
A feature dancer tells me: "Nobody comes to the strip clubs in California. Way fewer tips. In the Mid-West, they don't get to see that kind of stuff every day. In Los Angeles, people see celebrities every day."
Luke: "There are so many beautiful women around L.A."
Dancer: "Who cares? L.A. is a hard place to work. I get the biggest tips from New York and Connecticut.
Whatever Happened To Jesse Jane?
The Digital Playground contract girl sometimes drops a few pounds and looks skeletal, prompting gossip that she abuses drugs (Jesse used to hang out with Devon).
Digital Playground publicist Adella says that she knows that Jesse has been drug-free for at least a year.
Some companies (presumably including Digital) and agents drug-test their talent.
I've seen a few pictures of Jesse taken this summer. She looked great.
Here's an update on Jesse from her website. She was on Jay Leno as Cindy from Hooters.
Cindi Loftus writes on XPT: "Jay asked about her bunny tatoo and Jesse told him she was on a special issue. They showed Jesse on the cover of a Playboy Lingerie issue. He asked her a question, she didn't know the answer, he gave her so many clues that it made the answer obvious, so she finally got it. Then he asked her the question in reverse 30 seconds later and she couldn't remember the answer. She came across as DUMB."
I believe Jenna Jameson has moved to Los Angeles and that her husband Jay Grdina remains in Arizona.
I heard that Jay and Jesse Jane hooked up recently but all parties deny it.
Jay, the "Mike Ovitz of porn" according one magazine, is a wild man. Many people, particularly girls, fear Jay. He has a lot of money and a lot of connections and very few people want to mess with him.
I heard a story that he left Chasey Lain in the desert tied to a cactus after she was difficult to deal with on a shoot.
I love how this is almost a throwaway line when it is so inherently interesting, yet things such as every little nuance of his relationship with Holly are written in much greater detail.
I know it's probably just a silly rumour, but this girl tied to a cactus in a desert for being difficult on set is seriously the funniest thing ever. It's like something out of a roadrunner cartoon, i'm picturing the wile e. coyote sending off $2 to ACME to purchase the rope required for such a dastardly deed. tied to a cactus, I'm laughing so hard right now. Man oh man, Luke can you please write an entire essay on this topic, or better yet a book, i would totally buy a book entitled "Tied to a Cactus: the Chasey Lain story." Tied to a cactus, god help me.
A former stripper at Babe’s Cabaret in Scottsdale has withdrawn an assault complaint against the husband of adult-entertainment mogul Jenna Jameson.
Amanda Vasquez had accused Jameson’s estranged husband, Jay Grdina, of pulling her hair and pushing her head down on July 22 as she danced for him at the club, at 2011 N. Scottsdale Road. Former NBA star Dennis Rodman was sitting at Grdina’s table when the incident occurred.
Jenna Jameson - Dave Navarro History?
He's deleted her from his MySpace page (she used to be his number one) while he still prominently features porn stars Jessica Jaymes (who's in drug rehab for the next month), Kendra Jade and Jenna Presley.
Navarro is good friends with Tommy Lee, who also has a thing for porn stars.
From Dave's blog: "P.S. Just to set the record straight, I am currently not dating ANYONE."
At the Playboy mansion the other night, Jenna was making out with this UFC (Ulimate Fighting Championship) fighter Tito Ortiz.
"Jenna's a slave to whatever guy she's dating," says a source.
From this published report in the Aug 16 Las Vegas Review & Journal: "Suddenly single Jenna Jameson and ultimate fighter Tito Ortiz, leaving little doubt they were a couple, while partying at Body English (Hard Rock Hotel) Sunday."
Jessica Jaymes has dramatically declined over the past three years. She looked horrible at the Erotica LA show.
Virgins In Porn
yep they exist - was talking to my guy Marco today who was shooting a girl - a virgin - it's happened a couple of times before. i have a video of a girl who is having alot of pain trying to use a little dildo - finally Marco asks her what's wrong and she says it hurts - he gave her more lube - she still couldn't get in in - he was baffled - he says on the video 'well what happens when you have sex?' and she says 'i don't have sex.'
Cops: Sex ring employed 240 call girls
RIVERSIDE, California (AP) -- Two men were arrested on suspicion of running a massive prostitution ring that employed more than 240 women across several Western states and generated millions of dollars, authorities said.
Boaz Benmoshe, 44, and Ofer Moses Lupovitz, 43, were among seven people arrested last week and charged for investigation of pimping, pandering, perjury, loan fraud, money laundering, falsifying income tax returns and grand theft, Riverside County Sheriff Bob Doyle said Monday.
The suspects operated Elite Entertainment, a Palm Springs business that posed as an escort service in online and newspaper advertisements, according to an affidavit filed by prosecutors.
This is not good for the Jews. If you are going to be involved in the sex trade, why do you have to use a name like Boaz Benmoshe?
No wonder Hezbollah shot katyushas into Northern Israel.
My New Book Lives on the Edge: Profiles in Sex, Love and Death
Yeah that chapter on me isn't too flattering -- Luke sent me the chapter beforehand for my approval. Though I obviously wasn't thrilled about the way I was depicted I have always respected Luke's need to write what he wants, and as an amatuer writer myself I cannot bring myself to demand that he edit his work for my benefit. Also, like most people, I don't enjoy seeing my shortcomings glorified on paper. But I suppose that's what I get for having those shortcomings. I believe in writing the truth, and when I write my own book someday (yes, me and everyone else is writing a book, I know) I would prefer to not hold anything back and be perfectly honest myself. It won't win me a lot of friends, but I think that a good autobiography is truthful, and along those lines, often painful.
Sydney Morning Herald Cribs My Blog On Chloe Jones
Photography Fees
Penthouse (which no longer shows pink, its pictures are as tame as Playboy) pays the photographer $8,000 and the model nothing (she got a fee from the photographer). Penthouse wants exclusive contracts with all its centerfolds (the magazine goes 50/50 with the model in their websites). I expect Playboy pays the photographer more than $10,000 for a centerfold and that the model will also make $10,000 or more. Hustler magazine pays $2,500 for a centerfold layout and the model gets $1,500. Other magazines pay less than $2,500.
Pure Play Media Going Public
This AVN report simply rewrites the Pure Play filing.
Porn's newest public company, if approved by the SEC, will be Pure Play Media Holdings, Inc. They issued a shelf filing in June, meaning they are interested in selling stock to the investing public, they just don't know when. Kind of like a whore showing up for a shoot "around" her call time. Porn and finance don't mix, as whitnessed by the idiots who surmised that Club Jenna sold out to Playboy for $30 million or whatever, by Bob Friedland who got himself melted down when the Smiling Arab got on XPT and exposed the fraud of a company that JKP was, and by lowly Nick Manning wielding a whiffle ball bat to collect his A/R--even JeffMike took along a real one.
So they will sell you a piece of the company for $2.00 per share, and since you probably will have to buy in 100 share blocks, you want to know if it's safe to lay down $400 to own a slice of Pure Play Media. My answer: probably not.
If Pure Play wants to be examined against other peers in the investing public, this is a no-go. The market for $2.00 stocks is not all that great, bids can go unmatched on the OTC BB for days. Not to mention that there is no stated intention to pay a dividend. Remember that a stockholder only has a residual interest in that company, and only profits if the stock goes up in value or pays a dividend. And in a bankruptcy/liquidation scenario, only gets paid after all the federal and state agencies, secured creditors and trade vendors do. And then there is the ten ton gorilla in the room: it's a porn company and, well let's face it--while Stormy Daniels and Mary Carey think they are mainstream worthy...uhh, no, you are still freak shows who still have the porn taint. Porn businesses and the investing public are the same way.
Not to say that PP in itself isn't a decent business. They recently sold off the NinnWorx assets to Michael Ninn which basically had a neutral impact, sales have increased dramatically in some years, and that increase, coupled with a accptable but thin current ratio, put them in a working capital bind (probably causing them to consider going public). PP is not overly indebted (= low leverage) and they distribute some big titles like Danni, Score, and Cousin Stevie, pun intended.
Still, porn has yet to prove that it can generate companies with intrinsic, and profitable, stockholder value. In the U.S., consider porn's largest pubic company, Playboy Enterprise (NYSE:PLA). PLA peaked in 2002 around $16 per share, and closed an hour ago at $9.21. They pay no dividend, have a whopping price/earnings ratio of 57:1, and just announced a huge restructuring. Porn hasn't exactly set the NYSE ablaze with their performance so far.
Private is also publicly owned, revenue around $320MM and a larger market cap than PLA. They share declining share prices and a lack of a dividend with PLA, along with a high beta, negative net profit margin, and negative EBITDA. Private is also a Spanish company, and announced today that they would be moving their primary stock off the NASDAQ and on to a similar European market.
From the prospectus:
Our Company, Pure Play Media Holdings, Inc., a Nevada company, through its subsidiaries, Pure Play Media, Inc., a California company, and Deep Star Broadcasting Systems, Inc., also a California company, which is 50% owned by us, are principally devoted to licensing, developing, producing, marketing and distributing high quality multi-genre adult films. We bring together some of the best and most varied talent the adult industry has to offer, building an environment that allows the creative end of the business the opportunity to concentrate on their true abilities while assembling a professional team to support and promote their assets forward. These productions generally feature men and women in a variety of erotic and adult sexual situations in hardcore versions that are distributed primarily on DVDs, through cable, satellite hotel television programming, Video On Demand (VOD), and over the Internet. Our creative talent and experienced management team have over 50 years of combined experience licensing, distributing and producing high quality adult films meant for a broad adult audience. In the fiscal year ended July 31, 2005, we had total revenue of $8.5 million and net income of $147,613, and for the nine month period ending April 30, 2006 we had total revenue of $8.0 million and a net income of $21,854.
Our adult productions and licensed content have achieved world wide success over the past four years with the new release of over 620 movie titles and a total catalogue of titles amassing over 1,110 movie titles grossing approximately $24 million to April 30, 2006. We anticipate under our current infrastructure that our strategy of producing and licensing multi-genre content along with our experience, creative talent, scale of operations, marketing and distribution proficiency, will ultimately enable us to release up to 400 new multi-genre adult movie titles per year.
Since inception, we have won a number of industry awards including AVN Awards for Best DVD (2005), Best Foreign All Sex Release (2005, Best Art Direction Video (2005), Best Videography (2005), Best DVD Menus (2005),Best All-Sex Video (2004), Best Art Direction-Video (2004), Best Director – Foreign Release (2002-2004), Best Director-Non Feature (2004), Best Editing—Video (2003), Best Foreign All-Sex Release (2004), Best Foreign All-Sex Feature (2004), Best Foreign Feature (2003, 2004), Best Packaging (2004), Best Special Effects (2003) and Best Videography (2003)
...Our dependence on Private Media Group, Inc. and others for the foreign distribution and promotion of our films may adversely affect our results of operation should they not perform satisfactorily.
...Private currently distributes, and we expect will continue to distribute, our films in international markets. We are therefore dependent on the ability of Private to exploit our feature films in the territories in which they distribute our films. In addition, if Private were to experience financial difficulty or file for bankruptcy, our revenue could be reduced with respect to the films in distribution.
...Over the past few years, the adult entertainment industry has undergone significant change. Traditional producers of soft-core content as well as mainstream providers of media content have shifted to producing hardcore content. As a result, we face greater competition to distribute hardcore content. This shift has also led to industry consolidation, creating fewer, more financially formidable competitors.
Since our business is highly competitive with some competitors having more financial and technical resources, we may not be able to compete successfully as the market continues to evolve.
...The sexually explicit content of our productions may impede our ability to secure additional financing, create negative publicity, and lawsuits and boycotts of our products.
...We do not require our performers to use condoms in our movies because we do not believe that we are required by law to so compel them. We also believe that our films are more profitable because our performers do not use condoms. Accordingly, we could be subject to fines by Cal-OSHA similar to the fines imposed on the other two production companies. Moreover, if the Cal-OSHA fines are upheld, we could be required to have our performers use condoms in all of our movies. In such event, our revenues may decrease because such “all condom” movies may not be as profitable as “non-condom” movies.
We have been and in the future may be subject to suspensions and other limitations on the production of sexually explicit movies related to health concerns of our performers, which may adversely affect our business.
We may be subject to a temporary suspension on producing sexually explicit movies due to concerns related to the transmission of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and other sexually transmitted diseases by adult entertainment performers. In April 2004, we were subject to a suspension which prevented us from filming adult movies for approximately 45 days in North America. This was the first suspension that we know about in our industry. Because of the short duration of the suspension, we were fortunately able to mitigate the negative impact on our business by filming in Europe which was not subject to the suspension. In addition, any performer who contracts HIV or certain other sexually transmitted diseases is not permitted to perform in our movies. If our performers are prohibited from producing sexually explicit movies because of these suspensions or if a number of our performers contract HIV or certain other sexually transmitted diseases, then we may not be able to produce a sufficient amount of movies to meet the
Lisa Ann Works For Thomas Zupko
Lisa and Tom had a falling out a couple of months ago (I heard that a drunk Zupko called her some derogatory names) and soon after Lisa Ann left LA Direct Models.
Lisa is now her own agent (lisaann6969@hotmail.com).
Lisa Ann posted on ADT June 10, 2006:
Lisa Ann here, with an announcement so exciting, so HOT and so unbelieveable! Are you ready to see ME Lisa Ann Defiled in a way only the Master Thomas zupko could Defile. Yes, me, the soft, sweet, nineties porn queen is going to put it all out there for you! zupko Style. The shoot will be June 17th. We have already shot the Box Cover, Brainstormed together numerous times, and yesterday I was given my homework. Some Thomas zupko DvD's to enjoy. The most incredible part of this project is, This will be Thomas zupko as he is, wants to be and can do because he is back where he belongs, with EXTREME. YOU Know what that means. Thomas zupko back with Extreme, being himself- an incredibly passionate, creative and wild man who I have a secret history with you would all really like to know about. Over time you will. What I ask of you from here is this- What do you want? What do you want me to do for you that you have never seen, but maybe dreamed? I will do it, just ask. I have one full week from today, I will be checkinhg on your suggestions every day waiting and prepairing to show you the strongest combination of three things you have ever seen- tohose threee magical things all pulled together to bring you the fantasy of all fantasies- 1. Thomas zupko 2. Extreme 3. Lisa Ann
She calls me at noon Monday.
Lisa: "I shot with Zupko yesterday."
Luke: "I thought that was never going to happen."
Lisa: "We thought so too, but we did it behind everybody's back.
"He did one of his normal crazy religious whatever movies that I didn't want to be a part of. So I wore an angel costume that was my own and I did a blowjob scene with Brett Rockman. It was fantastic. I kept it Lisa Ann style. I fought Zupko every step of the way. Everyone was on set from 11 in the morning. I left about 1 a.m. The rest of the crew was on set until 4 a.m. for the last scene.
"Curiosity just killed the cat. He's so crazy I was drawn to doing it just to see what happens on his set. I wanted to take photos of the food and everything else because it was just so comical.
"Zupko was like, 'Spit in her face!' I said, 'Zupko, come on. Nobody spits in my face without dying. If you want this to be Brett's last scene ever, let him spit in my face. I'll murder him.'
"But I survived it, Luke, and I get to call and tell you about it.
"We've randomly talked since the fallout. Every time I gossip about him online, he calls me, 'Hey pain in the ass.' I'm trying to teach him that when you f--- with people, they f--- with you back.
"Last week he called me. 'I'm shooting this movie this weekend. Do you want to stop by? I'm screwed. One of the girls is flying in and I don't have anyone to pick her up.'
"I said, 'Where is she coming in? Burbank?' He goes yes. I said, 'I know her. Rebecca Steel. She's a sweetheart. Shy Love got her in the business. I will pick her up from the airport and bring her to your set. Then we'll just hang out and I'll leave.'
"He's like, 'Do you want to do a BJ for me?' I said, 'Sure, I'll do a BJ for you but here are the parameters of the BJ.' He goes, 'All right. No problem.'
"I picked up Rebecca, which was cool. It's always nice to pick up a girl from the airport and have a laugh with her on the way to the set rather than her being picked up by whoever...
"I got her to the set by 4 p.m. I kept joking around, 'Where's the call sheet? Where's the production schedule?' Zupko said, 'Don't worry. You're up next.'
"At 11 p.m., I'm sleeping in my car. I can't stand to be in the building any more because everybody's fighting. He just brings out the worst in everybody.
"What he doesn't realize is that laughing at religion is not funny because we don't like it when those religious people laugh at our porn. To draw attention to us in such a negative light is a bummer. That's what people view the whole industry as and the whole industry doesn't make fun of religion."
Porn in Protestant countries such as the United States rarely makes fun of religion (because religion in Protestant countries is less coercive and less monolithic than in Catholic countries) while porn in Catholic countries (such as Italy and Latin America) often makes fun of religion.
Lisa: "But you know him. He likes to push the envelope.
"I'm trying to show everybody in the industry that Lisa Ann is back with a vengeance. That I'm flexible and willing to work for different people but that I can still be myself. To teach the girls in the industry that you don't have to do what everyone tells you. Your fan base is because of you, not because the director made you do something you've never done before.
"Now I've got my Starbucks. I'm on my way to the gym to ride my 40 miles. I'm getting a 90-minute massage and some energy work done today to get Thomas Zupko out of my soul. I'll call him later and we'll yell at each other some more.
"I'm leaving for Cleveland tomorrow. I'll be dancing there till Saturday.
"Then I'm shooting my first anal for Zero Tolerance with little boy James Deen."
My Lisa Ann bio. My Tom Zupko bio.
Rob Spallone Update
I call him Monday morning.
Rob: "I'm going back to work next week. I haven't worked in six weeks. I went to New York. I went to Florida. I've got six movies to shoot. Then I'm going back to New York to get my teeth fixed. I'm getting my eyes done too."
Luke: "So you don't have to wear glasses?"
Rob: "No. So I don't have to look old."
Luke: "Plastic surgery? Isn't that gay?"
Rob: "I'm getting old."
Luke: "You're going to die soon anyway."
Rob: "I know. I want to look good in the coffin."
Luke: "How are you and your girlfriend Leah?"
Rob: "We're on and off."
Any idea how much Danni Ashe sold her web page for?
Oracle writes: "I'm curious about how much Ashe sold her web page (Danni.com) for. The talk about her paying low modeling rates makes me wonder if her web page was the cash cow it was reputed to be."
Lives on the Edge: Profiles in Sex, Love and Death
I've read the book. It may be unsatisfying to some because it does not offer a summary chapter that ties everything into a neat package. Instead it offers chapter after chapter of delusional pornstars and players peppered with Luke's dry commentary. The big finish is his relationship with Holly Randall in 80 or so pages. It's explicit enough for most porn fans but it also deals with the more mundane aspects of a relationship as well as the underlying reasons as to why it must fail. The chapter on Holly seems misplaced, but I'm not sure it needed anymore than the treatment it received. I liked the book. Don't know that it will make the NYT bestseller list but it was worth my money.
Allover writes:
I had a daydream that Norman Mailer did a write up on Mr. Ford's booklet in 'The New York Review of Books'. My mind didn't flesh out Mailer's specific comments, but I got an idea that he was very enthusiastic and fascinated by the subject and was intrigued by Mr. Ford's minimal approach to insinuate his person into the book more agressively, speculating that he either has a highly evolved and sophisticated ego or that he is a terrifyingly empty human being and thus understandably drawn to such subject matter.
Paris Hilton Vs. Red Light District
I hear Paris Hilton called the FBI on Red Light District since she feels her royalty checks haven't been big enough. Sounds similar to the stories RLD's past directors are suing them for too.
I emailed RLD about this story last week and received no reply.
The AP reports: "Of the videotape with Rick Solomon that became one of the most searched-for items on the Internet in 2003, she said: "I never received a dime from it. It's just dirty money and he should give it all to some charity for the sexually abused or something.""
How Did Danni.com Go From A Great Place To Work To A Lousy Place?
Once Layne Thr-sher was promoted to Director of Operations, he let the employees know they weren't working hard enough. Morale plummeted. Layne would make threats and then laugh them off as they were a joke.
"He has no respect for the girls [models]," claims a former Danni.com employee. "He'd say, 'They need the money. They'll do it for whatever. Most of these girls are broke.' He didn't want to pay the girls the rates that everyone else was paying them."
Most of the stars that were the backbone of Danni.com will no longer shoot for the company because it pays low and it pays late. Danni never paid very much but it had a reputation for being a fun place to work. No longer.
"[Owner] John O. M-risano refuses to spend any time out here," says a Danni.com source. "He keeps throwing people in charge who don't know what they're doing. Oh, it's porn. As long as it makes money. John O. has no idea. I have no idea if he's even gotten laid, let alone watched porn, before he got to Danni.
"Layne would give analogies to war and sports to show how we should act, but he'd mix up different sports. Layne comes from a bean-counting background. His attitude is: 'We should be able to find girls who'll take it up the ass for $500.'
"Anybody Layne saw as a threat, they were gone.
"It was mostly Layne's decision to go hardcore. In his mind, Danni is up there with Vivid and Wicked. He'd always say, 'In one year, we're going to beat Vivid.'
"I think John O. has given up. I think he thought that buying a porn company would be lots of easy cash. I think his ego won't let him say, 'I f---ed up.'
"Danni.com employees are looking for jobs because they figure the place will close. They're not getting any girls in there that Danni members will like. They have Leslie (production manager) and a computer guy logging in pretending to be the girls talking to the guys. They played Aimee Sweet's chat as if it was live."
"Bitch, be cool" is a saying often attributed to Layne and his attitude towards the models.
I ask my source: How did Layne react to my first stories on him?
Source: "He said, 'I've got to explain to John O. who's telling all these lies.' That first Friday your article came out, he was on the phone to John O. twice for 45-minutes each. They'd already been checking our emails. Models and photographers were emailing, 'Did you read this?'
"John O. first made the speech and Layne has taken it over as his own about the PBS effect -- how at some point PBS's fan base died out. That's what they hope will happen to Danni. That her loyal fan base will die off. But that didn't happen. So he figured, we should start doing anal. Layne thinkse that by doing all this hard stuff, they're going to skyrocket beyond Vivid, Wicked and Playboy with the Web, video and magazines. Layne says that by 2007, Danni will be like a combo of Hustler, Playboy and Wicked. Layne thinks that girl-girl anal will get them there.
"Layne was never comfortable with the material. He would whisper, 'pussy' or 'lube.' He doesn't even like the anal but Leslie's convinced that that is as hard as two girls can get and it will sell millions of copies. His plan is to keep going harder so that the members there now will leave and he'll get 25 year old members who like to see lesbian anal.
"The models became hesitant, saying, 'Every time I come here, there's someone new working.'
"The turnover got worse. Everything started to go downhill when they decided they wanted to run like a proper production company. They started hiring production managers. Some didn't work out. The girls didn't feel comfortable because Danni wasn't on set any more. Girls are like, 'You're not paying me well and you're treating me like s---. Why would I want to come back?'
"Layne thinks that Danni should its own talent agency. He thinks that anything he touches in porn will turn to gold. He's the porn Midas.
"When Layne is asked questions, he'll get back to you later in an email after he's had time to think of a bulls--- answer."
Heather Mac Donald - More Exciting Than Any Porn Chick
I have heard it said in the last six years that what makes conservatives superior to liberals is their religious faith—as if morality is impossible without religion and everything is indeed permitted, as the cliché has it. I wonder whether religious conservatives can spot the atheists among them by their deeds or, for that matter, by their political positions. I very much doubt it. Skeptical conservatives do not look into the abyss when they make ethical choices. Their moral sense is as secure as a believer’s. They do not need God or the Christian Bible to discover the golden rule and see themselves in others.
It is often said, in defense of religion, that we all live parasitically off of its moral legacy, that we can only dismiss religion because we are protected by the work it has already done on our behalf. This claim has been debated ad nauseam since at least the middle of the 19th century. Suffice it to say that, to many of us, Western society has become more compassionate, humane, and respectful of rights as it has become more secular. Just compare the treatment of prisoners in the 14th century to today, an advance due to Enlightenment reformers. A secularist could as easily chide today’s religious conservatives for wrongly ignoring the heritage of the Enlightenment.
Lives on the Edge: Profiles in Sex, Love and Death
My new book is dedicated to Holly Randall and has 80 pages of excruciating detail (most of which I have not published before) on the rise and fall of our relationship.
Here's the back cover:
Lives on the Edge profiles models, evangelists, writers and photographers who've spent years in the sex industry.
"For me to enjoy being a centerfold star," says Penthouse Pet Lori Wagner, "which is my right, which I worked hard for, because of that, I've been disrespected and not loved for who I am."
"If you're a woman who likes to look nice, and wears make-up, you have a hard time making female friends," says Penthouse Pet Courtney Taylor. "I'm 30-years old. I planned on being a doctor by now. But the money for modeling has been so good that I've put off my schooling."
"I wish my dad molested me," says porn star Joanna Angel. "It was the other way round. I was ignored. I would've loved for my dad to molest me. He wouldn't even talk to me."
There are 52 chapters and 360 pages in the book.
After choosing the fragility of life as my theme, I selected 52 of my best interviews.
Mallory Knox In Jail
A source writes:
Malory Knoxxx is apparently in the Century Regional Detention Facility. For confirmation, go to http://lasd.org and click on inmate information. Her real name is Jenniece Dawn Burris. Also known as Jenniece Burris Gage, and "Jenniece" gets misspelled more often than not. Her bond is $65,000.00. The charge is prostitution. This is her 2nd prostitution arrest in L.A. in the last year or so. To confirm her name, google images for "Jenniece" and you'll see her pic, and google "Jenniece Burris" and you will see her one model place page.
She and Mickey Knoxxx, real name Anthony J Vagnarelli, are true criminal sociopaths. I feel sorry for anybody who gets involved with them. Vagnarelli has been in prison for violent crime for most of the time since the early 1990's. I don't have his complete criminal record available or verifiable, but I can tell you he was charged in 1992 with petty theft, reckless driving, resisting arrest without violence, in 1994 with "shooting at within or into a building" (I think that's a drive-by shooting) and "aggravated assault," and in 1995, "armed burglary of structure" and "grand theft third degree ($300 - $20,000)," all in Hillsborough County Florida. He served time from about 1995-98 in Florida. Sometime shortly after his release, he met Jenniece. I think they met in Tampa, then went to Memphis. At the time, she was the girlfriend of one Anthony Dinaso, the father of Jenniece's daughter Devine. Anthony Dinaso is now serving 60 years for attempted murder of a police officer, and other crimes.
Jenniece's mugshot in Tampa Bay, FL.
Jenniece Dawn Burris aka Mallorx Knoxxx
Jenniece Dawn Burris aka Mallorx Knoxxx federal prison record
Anthony Dinaso
Anthony Vagnarelli AKA Mickey Knoxxx
Jenniece's biggest crimes were in Memphis.
Instead of returning his children to their mother after a weekend visit, Craig Walker and his girlfriend, Jeniece Burris Gage, cleaned out a bank account and skipped town with the kids. Gage posed as Christy Walker so the fugitive couple could cash-in assets.
For 18 months, Christy Walker had no idea where her two sons were, or if they were even alive. She traversed the United States, frantically pursuing every possible lead, but continually came up empty. The Germantown and Collierville communities rallied around her. Local and national media, including "America's Most Wanted," helped keep the case in the public consciousness. And a wide range of law enforcement agencies mounted an intense investigation.
See the Memphis Commercial Appeal stories. This crime got her on "America's Most Wanted" TV show. On AMW, she is seen committing identity theft and bank fraud on a bank surveillance camera. Her body language clearly shows, she's taking the initiative at the bank. I wont attempt to describe their activities and methods of operation in too much detail in this e-mail, but i'd try to provide more detail if you wanted it. I know that they were greatly inspired by the Natural Born Killers movie, and she frequently gets involved with men (sometimes for money) only to have him suddenly show up, threatening extreme violence, often death. This turns her on. See an example of a variation here. (No, I am not Bri-Man). This was also apparently how the Memphis crimes began. I would also say that her mail order scams were quite a bit like Bonny Blakely's, the murdered wife of Robert Blake. And not only is Vagnarelli capable of serious violence, he'll steal anything that isn't nailed down. I don't know what the norm is for the porn industry, perhaps there are many people way more unsavory than Burris and Vagnarelli. I just hope that people who deal with these kinds of people know what they're getting into.
Out Of Africa - The Luke F-rd Reality Show
A friend wants to follow me around with a camera and cut together a pilot for a reality show.
What sort of situations would bring out my best? I figured my teaching English to legal immigrants in South-Central LA.
Whatever I do, there need to be a lot of black people around or I won't feel inclusive.
Perhaps someone could invite me and my cameraman to a cool party?
Production writes:
The strategy for resolution of your dilema is quite clear, mate. Post a free advert on Craigslist (or a similar public message board) to contract an an unpaid intern for the period of photography for your pilot. State clearly in your text that persons of all religions and ethnicities are encouraged to apply.
Best case scenario: you'll be able to have the short-term assistance of an attractive, literate African-American female who will be not only a foil for episodic amusement, but a well-spoken woman with whom you'll be able to coherently discuss all of the issues of the day (politics, religion, aboriginal rights, etc.). This will raise the production value of your content from late-night syndication to a sexy, intellectual curio worthy of IFC, HBO or Showtime.
Spending Shabbat with six half-naked new friends—in one bed by Rachel Kramer Bussel.
Jewish Literature - More Blowjobs Per Page
The most comprehensive sex survery ever (University of Chicago 1994) found that Jews have more sex partners than any other group in the United States.
Jews are the only group in the United States which has a majority opposed to censorship of pornography.
As a convert to Judaism, I've found that Jews are more sexually open than other groups and that Jewish women are more likely than their Gentile sisters to give oral sex (even though this act is regarded as a sin in Jewish law (even between husband and wife) due to the spilling of seed in a non-procreative orifice).
Lauren Grodstein and Binnie Kirshenbaum come to my mind when I think about Jewish literature that blows me away.
Who Is Jerry Aharony?
On August 8, the day I first had the option to buy back lukeford.com for $1,000 (which I tried to do), I learned that Jerry Aharony of mallcom.com now owns lukeford.com.
I'd seen his name before on various Defiance and Torrid contests but never given him much thought.
So I asked around to find out more about Aharony.
It turns out he is a 50% partner in Torrid.
His company Mallcom.com boasts it is "the worldwide leader in internet fulfillment." I'm not sure what that means. Is that saying he's bigger than Amazon.com?
Aharony sponsors parties at Internext.
Jerry, an Israeli, owns thousands of domain names. He redirects the traffic to Mallcom affiliate sites. He buys more DVDs than any other online retailer -- Game Link, Adult DVD Empire, Excalibur, etc. He'd buy 10 of every Defiance title, then, when Defiance began distributing the DVDs of his company Torrid, he upped his buys to 300 of every Defiance title.
Aharony has the air of an international man of mystery.
Melissa Lauren Wants To Make A Difference
I'm looking for advices / diaries of people who went to thirld-world countries to do humanitarian work. it s something i ve been wanting to do for a while, and now is the time... i m really interested in countries such as thailand, nepal, domenican republic, brazil, south africa, india,... but anybody with good advices / stories , please let me know about your experience...
Some of you are gonna ask me why. well, some things have happened to me lately, and made me realize how superficial my (and millions of people's) life is. i want to see the world, but not the one you see on 5-tar hotels brochures. the real one. i want to feel like i m making a difference in this world. i want to help orphans, sick people, and anybody who needs it.
Why Would You Want To Marry A Porn Star?
"She did double penetration with black guys," I whined to a friend.
"At least you know she's not racist," he responded.
Ben writes:
Please compile a list of all the guys who have divorced pornstars and hookers and then compile a list of succesful marriages. It will be a short list. Why anyone would want to marry jenna jameson is beyond me. I want a one night stand and thats it, I would hate to wake up to a whore in my bed every morning unless l have kids by her. Image being the son of a porn star that everyone knows about. Junior High is tough enough without kids posting pics of your mom sucking cock on your locker for everyone to see.
How many pornstars has Paul Thomas been divorced from? Is Jim Lane still married to Gail Force?
I'm No Humphry Knipe - Rejected By Self-Publisher iUniverse
It's not been a good week. I lost a blogging gig ($333 a month). I can't get my domain name lukeford.com. And I'm impotent.
Now I get rejected by a vanity press.
I thought that in this cold cruel world of ours, I could always find solace in the bosom of a vanity press.
Wrong.
I'm starting to understand why Gene Ross wouldn't hire me at AVN in 1996. Even though I sent him an 8x10.
I published my first book through Prometheus in June 1999. It was a horrible experience. First, I failed. My book was bad. I didn't know what I was doing. Second, the editing process was horrible. I had two dates to respond to a manuscript covered with the editor's red ink and I was not allowed to rewrite the chapters, I could only write my responses into the messy manuscript. Also, the editor unilaterally decided I could not use the real names of the people I wrote about and that certain things were too gossipy and salacious. In other words, she removed much of the best material in the book.
I threw up my hands. I failed and my editor failed the book.
So I moved on to self-publish three books through iUniverse, two of them books of interviews.
Unlike with Prometheus and mainstream publishers, I did not need to get releases from all the people I interviewed.
But that's changed.
Sunday night I submitted my latest book -- Lives on the Edge: Profiles in Sex, Love and Death (a collection of my best interviews over the past decade) -- to iUniverse.
On Monday, I got an email from the publishing assistant at iUniverse assigned to my book:
After reviewing your submission, I see that it is a collection of interviews, many of which have an accompanying photograph. Please note that we will need a copy of your permissions letters for the following:
1) We will need a permission letter from each person interviewed.
2) We will need a permission letter from the rights holder for each photograph used.
Once we have a copy of each letter on file, we may proceed with publication.
OK, that made sense, but I wanted to fight it.
I've published two previous books of interviews with iUniverse and never had to provide permission letters from any person interviewed. Some of the persons whose interviews appear in this book are no longer alive and others I have no idea where they are. All of the interviews in my book have been previously published on my website. Do you still need a permission letter if the interview appeared originally on my website? I can provide the citations. If so, I'll have to cancel, get a refund, and publish my book elsewhere.
The assistant responded:
Thank you for your reply. I will submit the book to our Editorial Board for a second opinion regarding the interviews. I will let you know what they decide in a couple of days.
If you do not own the rights to the photographs, however, you may want to begin working on obtaining the necessary permissions.
That made sense. I had all the photo permissions.
Tuesday, I was emailed by the iUniverse assistant:
Luke, The Editorial Board has agreed that permissions are required from each person interviewed. In recent months various publishers and authors have been sued for libel, copyright infringement, and invasion of privacy (one publisher and author, for example, were ordered yesterday to pay $200,000 in a libel suit). Thus far we have avoided these types of lawsuits. To avoid litigation, we have been much more aggressive to ensure that our books do not violate copyright law, are not libelous, and do not violate anyone's right to privacy. This policy is in place to protect both iUniverse and the author.
In your case, we do need a permission letter from each person interviewed. If you are not able to obtain a permission letter, you will need to remove that interview from your book.
In addition, real names of people and organizations are used throughout the book. While you do not need letters of permission, you do need to have them sign some kind of release form in order to have them in the book.
Everything made sense to me except the last paragraph.
I decided to cancel and go with another publisher.
If I may, I would like to make a suggestion. Before publishing the book elsewhere, I think it would be a good idea to have the manuscript vetted by an attorney with publishing experience. With the technology available today (the Google Print program, for example), it is extremely easy for an organization or individual to find what has been written about them. In today's litigious environment, it is important for authors to be cautious and to protect themselves.
I wish you all the best, and I hope you will consider iUniverse for any future projects.
Hank Rose writes:
Luke: I've read your prose. You'd make a good fiction novelist and have a wealth of life experience to draw upon. You're too talented a writer to report on the lives of the smut set for the rest of your life. Journalism is hard thankless work. It pays the bills but does not garner the literary brass ring in life, which is why I've always shied away from it. I suggest that you take up songwriting, poetry or any creative writing under a pseudonym that might prove lucrative if you set your mind to it. Branching out as such onto to other literary genres, you can reinvent yourself and not be defined and typecast by the porn beat stigma. You have a moral slant. You should write like a preacher or a prophet, not a mouthpiece soundbite for a bummed out industry that has become cheap fast food due to the Internet Age.
Lukeford.com
I check Betterwhois.com and see that Jerry at mallcom.com owns Lukeford.com. But he's not the guy I sold the domain to. My contract is with another entity.
I want my name back.
Alex Sanders Says He Invented Donkey Punch
"There's a way to do the donkey punch where it doesn't hurt the girl," said Sanders. "There's a way to do it. Every time I've done it with the exception of once- twice- and the only reason why I ever punched a girl in the head is because she wanted it."
Batman didn't think he could do that. "After 15 years, maybe, your mind changes," Batman conceded.
Jenna Jameson - Dave Navarro
Dave Navarro told us what we already knew and revealed to you on Sunday. He and Jenna Jameson are giving "it" a go! That's right, sexy on their own and even hotter together, Jenna and Dave are enjoying each other and taking it slow, seeing as they are both still legally married to other people. Navarro recently announced his split from Carmen Electra and Jameson has called it quits with her husband Jay Grdina. Jenna recently updated her MySpace page to reflect "single" under relationship status and changed her location to Los Angeles.
Metro Owner Kenny Guarino Threatens The Lives Of Ron Levi's Lawyers During A Deposition This Summer
Kenny and Metro are suing Norman Bentley, Matrix and Anthony Simone. Ron Levi has picked up the defense of Norman and Anthony, who were/are principals in Defiance Films.
Making death threats is how Kenny most eloquently expresses his feelings.
What's Going On At Defiance Films?
I believe the company is putatively owned by Ron Levi's girlfriend -- Kristi Luhar who does the books for Cybererotica. She says she discovered theft by Keith O'Connor and Anthony Simone and booted them from Defiance. One accusation says that Keith and Anthony deposited checks from distributors into their personal accounts.
There's a police investigation. I hear accusations of forgeries and money laundering.
The whole mess is hurting Norman's relationship with Ron and Ron's relationship with his girlfriend, the Defiance Films bookkeeper who should've caught the theft months ago.
Kristi's never done the books for a production company.
I have tried and failed to get a comment from any of the principals in this case -- Norman Bentley, Ron Levi, Ron's girlfriend Kristi, Keith O'Connor and Anthony Simone.
Defiance Films is a Nevada corporation (filed February 23, 2005). (AVN June 6, 2005.) (AVN April 13, 2005.)
...co-founder Keith O’Connor told XBiz....
Both O’Connor and his partner, Anthony Simone, left Metro in February to found Defiance Films. Along with their third partner, Matrix Content’s Norman Bentley, the trio are putting together a company that regularly produces performer-directed material.
I called Kristi Luhar Tuesday 8:30 a.m. at Defiance. "I have no comment," she said when I identified myself. "I have another call on hold."
While some people hate Ron Levi, it seems that almost everybody likes Kristi Luhar.
Ron has a reputation for treating his employees well (those that don't steal from him). He pays his bills.
Levi's attorneys are communicating with Keith and Anthony and it appears that all sides are seeking a settlement.
In January 2006, after Taylor Rain didn't win an AVN award (she believes that people at AVN had assured her she would win an award), her fiance Keith O'Connor sent AVN President Paul Fishbein a threatening email. Norman and company were appalled and Fishbein was sent elaborate apologies (from Keith and others at Defiance).
Some trace the beginning of a split between Norman and Keith to that event.
Over the past few months, Norman and company at Defiance became convinced that Keith and Anthony were stealing from the company. Norman and company investigated and found things that didn't look right. They became convinced that Keith O'Connor was forging signature and depositing checks into his personal account that were made out to vendors.
If Keith and Anthony would speak publicly, they'd talk about being out of pocket $30,000 to pay bills for Defiance (through Torrid, funded by Jerry at Mallcom.com) that Defiance was taking its time to pick up.
Defiance and Torrid, two separate companies but both run by Keith and Anthony, made a lot of movies with the same cast within a day or two of each other. It's hard to unscramble where the money went.
A source says: "I know of one company who was recently offered by Keith O'Connor [the opportunity] to purchase Defiance. The asking price was $700,000. The company respectfully declined amidst a few in-house chuckles and chortles."
Another source tells me:
On the day Anthony and Keith left Defiance, they were told the company was going to file for bankruptcy as a means of ending the lawsuit with Metro. Anthony and Keith asked 'Instead of that would you be willing to sell it to Anthony and I?' Ron Levi's people replied, 'YES, for $700,000, the amount Ron put into the company.' That amount includes $200k in legal bills and Norman's movie Runway.
Anthony and Keith were pushed out of Defiance July 19.
I met Norman Bentley July 5, 2005 at Porn Star Karaoke. He told me that he was a principal owner in Defiance along with Keith O'Connor and Anthony Simone and that the company was bankrolled by Ron Levi who had invested $400,000.
Keith presided over production, the web and marketing. Anthony ran sales. I'm not sure what Norman did aside from brokering the partnership between Ron and Keith and Anthony. Norman was busy with his divorce and Matrix. And Ron Levi was rarely around. Ron was the silent partner. He gave Norman a full partnership share in Defiance.
Ron's girlfriend came in to Defiance a couple of times a week.
Ron and Norman have done business since 1999. Norman gave Ron first-use on Matrix Content (the company was started by Jon Berg and a relative, and then Mark Steyn and Norman and his wife Robbye Bentley and several other partners took over, though by now Norman has taken control and it is just Norman's company, and a silent partner, and presumably Ron Levi).
I believe that Defiance was conceived by Keith and Anthony while they were at Metro. I believe Defiancefilms.com was registered in February while Keith was still working at Metro.
Keith came up with the name of the company, the logo, and the business plan. Anthony moved to L.A. from Rhode Island to start the company.
Norman Bentley introduced Keith and Anthony to Ron Levi who agreed to fund the company.
Defiance Films started in March 2005. In June 2005, Norman and Matrix Content were hit by a lawsuit from Kenneth Guarino and Metro because Norman was under contract to deliver movies to Metro. Norman had been in AVN and XBiz giving interviews saying that he was a partner in Defiance, precipitating Metro's lawsuit.
As soon as that happened, Ron Levi called a meeting and said to Norman, Keith and Anthony, "Don't call yourselves partners anymore. You are all just employees. The company is in Kristi Luhar's name. That way Metro has nobody to go after."
Keith and Anthony never got anything on paper from Ron or from Defiance stating their position with the company.
Norman can be a cocky guy. He sent Kenny Guarino a text message, "Bring it on. I hope you have a forgiving wife."
Norman was saying that Kenny cheats on his wife.
Guarino wrote back: "Are you crazy? Instead of trying to settle this, you're threatening me?"
That's why Kenny hates Norman and will pursue him to the end of the earth.
In September 2005, Norman, Anthony Simone were hit by another lawsuit from Metro.
Ron Levi paid the legal bills of Norman and Anthony, including for Anthony's girlfriend Kelly Erikson, the former Metro contract star.
Norman goes through a big divorce with Robbye Bentley. Ron Levi essentially funded Norman's divorce, and bought Robbye out of Matrix. During this process, Norman ran Matrix into the ground to devalue it so he wouldn't have to pay Robbye as much.
Norman didn't care for some things I published from Robbye and he told people he was going to hire someone to beat me up. That never happened.
In March 2006, Norman hit Robbye with a restraining order to prevent her from "public harassment" and from contacting him or his girlfriend Jackie.
Around this time, Defiance employee Gustavo (formerly of Metro) was arrested at a bank trying to cash a check Defiance's accountant Ken Meyer. Gustavo had to serve time in prison, where he may still reside.
The same week Gustavo got busted, a check for Matrix Content got endorsed by Keith O'Connor and deposited into his personal account.
Kristi Luhar was then warned about Keith and told that O'Connor had someone at the bank helping him deposit such checks at Bank of America.
Kristi didn't pay the matter much attention. But Norman became concerned and found checks made out to random vendors, the art department, models, etc, endorsed and deposited by Keith.
Anthony had a private bank account where he too deposited such money.
Norman wondered why Defiance was spending $45,000 to make a gonzo film.
Almost from its inception, Keith and Anthony had been paying some Defiance bills out of their own monies and then when Defiance finally paid a bill, Keith or Anthony would deposit the check into their own account.
Skeeter Kerkove shot some scenes for Defiance with Defiance money. Kristi Luhar and company became convinced that a Torrid movie came out of that.
Soon after, Kristi Luhar, Norman Bentley and other began suspecting that Keith and Anthony were misappropriating Defiance funds. Norman had separate confrontations about it with Keith and Anthony (in June, July). At one point, there were even tears.
The line between what was for Defiance and what was for Torrid became blurred. Kristi and Norman are still trying to figure that out.
Kristi became convinced that over $10,000 in checks for Paola Rey (not a U.S. citizen) ended up in Keith's personal bank account.
Keith's former partner from the North-East, Gene Masto (sp?), worked on every one of Defiance's titles. Kristi and Norman are still trying to figure out what Gene did for his $1,500 a movie.
Kristi believes that Taylor Rain got paid for movies she does not appear in.
Kristi, Norman, Ron and company are sure that they are right, that they were stolen from, but they are waiting for the police to announce that there's been theft.
Ron Levi's got so many corporations, he can play a shell game for miles so that nothing ever traces back to him. He went through a difficult divorce and his ex-wife wants his more of his assets (even though she took a settlement of millions of dollars). In defense, according to Defiance sources, Ron has filed court papers claiming a substantially smaller amount of assets and income than his ex-wife claims he has.
Bringing up his divorce and his need to protect his income and assets, Ron has reamed Keith, Anthony and Norman for telling people that Levi was funding Defiance.
I believe that the net worth of all of Levi's 20 or so cars would be about $2 million.
About six weeks ago, Ron meets with Kenny to try to settle the lawsuit. On the first day of arbitration, Kenny does not even show up. The second day, Kenny showed up, but he didn't focus. All Kenny wanted to talk about was Norman. Kenny wants money for Norman's breach of contract. Kenny wouldn't settle. Kenny did not even want to talk to Norman.
Ron came back and sat down with Norman, Keith and Anthony and said, "I don't want to fight this guy. I don't want another million dollars in legal bills."
It sounded like Levi was going to bankrupt Defiance so Kenny wouldn't have anyone to sue. That Kenny would learn that Keith and Anthony were no longer with Defiance and that Norman was no longer with the company, so Kenny should drop the lawsuit.
In all the court documents Defiance has issued for the Guarino vs. Bentley lawsuit, Defiance has said that Kristi Luhair owns Defiance.
Keith and Anthony have numerous emails from Norman Bentley detailing the breakdown of the company and Ron Levi's role in Defiance.
Over the past six weeks, many porners were called by Defiance and asked if they were paid for all their Defiance shoots. Some porners say they were encouraged to say they had not been paid and that they'd sign a declaration to the effect.
Until February 2006, Keith and Anthony would run Torrid Entertainment (owned by Anthony Simone and Jerry Aharony from Mallcom with Keith as the head of production) and Defiance Films out of the same office even though they are separate companies.
Torrid had a distribution deal with Defiance. Defiance got 25% of Torrid's gross in exchange for handling all advertising, post-production, and shipping the product.
After Kenny Guarino's lawsuit against Norman, Defiance began to take its time paying people (up to three weeks). If the wait was going to be a week or more, Anthony and Keith would start paying people through Torrid.
Then, when Defiance finally cut the checks, Keith and Anthony would reimburse Torrid.
Since April 2005, Keith paid out of his own pocket over $70,000 for webmaster and 2257 work for Defiance. Kirsty did not want any of these expenses to go through Cybererotica so Metro couldn't establish any relationship between Cybererotica and Defiance.
Anthony Simone kicked in another $30,000 for these expenses.
Sources unfriendly to Keith and Anthony say the two men stole from Defiance. Sources friendly to Keith and Anthony say Defiance stole from them. That Defiance endorsed over 100 checks made out to Torrid and put them in Defiance's account.
Ron Levi had lawyers sitting in on every major Defiance meeting.
The Kenny Guarino lawsuit has cost Norman Bentley's side about $200,000.
Norman and his fiance now run Defiance (after being MIA at the company for its first 15 months). Matrix (owned by Norman and Ron Levi) will provide all the movies for Defiance.
Defiance started as a gonzo company. Then a year ago, Norman Bentley shot the feature movie Runway for $90,000 over objections from Anthony and Keith. It's not finished yet and has not sold.
As I understand it, Defiance has no debt. It has $250,000 in receivables and $200,000 in inventory and $175,000 in unreleased masters. So theoretically, Keith and Anthony own half of a $600,000 company.
Anthony and Keith packed every box and shipped every piece of Defiance product.
"The only time Norman showed up was when AVN came over for an interview," says a Defiance source. "If there was any press, Norman was there talking himself up."
In an interview in AVN June 1, Norman talks about his work at Matrix and Defiance.
I believe that when Matrix shoots, Cybererotica gets to look at the content, pick what it wants, and then gets exclusivity on that content for six months.
"Norman was not the founder of Matrix," says a source. "Norman and Robbye were brought into Matrix because of Robbye. Then Norman said, 'I shoot video. My daddy has a lot of money. I have a trust fund through a cosmetic company.' Norman got a loan from his father. He and Robbye became partners in Matrix. Then Norman kicked out the founder of the company and got rid of the other partners and Robbye. The only people left at Matrix and Ron and Norman. The same thing with Defiance. Anthony and Keith started the company but Norman's the one left with the company."
Keith and Anthony still control the website www.defiancefilms.com.
It's not clear whether Defiance is headed for bankruptcy.
Ron Levi is cursing the whole situation and dealing with his feelings through mammoth games of poker.
Who Is Claire Hoffman?
Who is the woman who nailed Joe Francis?
She's apparently 29 and the best looking writer at the paper.