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Why Isn't Eric Danville Cresting The Wave Of Inside Deep Throat And The Other Hollywood?

Eric Danville probably knows more about Linda Lovelace than anyone. He wrote the book The Complete Linda Lovelace and befriended Linda in her final years.

I emailed Eric about the new Legs McNeil book and the new documentary and he replied:

I was cut out of both projects after being interviewed about 90 minutes for each. Not that I'm one to believe in cause and effect or anything, and not that I'm inordinately conspiracy theory conscious, but, as far as IDT goes, the archivist for the project called me up not long after my interview, requesting to see my Linda Lovelace archive (which is vast). I offered him the same deal that I gave the Museum of Sex in New York City, when they borrowed some for an exhibit: Come to my apartment, take a look at it and list what they're interested in, and then we'd talk about it. No pictures of the stuff and nothing leaves my apartment.

He said he'd like me to send him everything -- books, original magazines, many hours of video, etc. -- so they could get a look at it. They also wanted phone numbers, contacts, etc. I countered with what I thought was a fair offer: either hire me on as a research assitant (which had been suggested to them by several of my friends whom they interviewed) or pay me X amount of dollars for archive rental (I knew they were working with a $2 million budget, because a friend who has done documentary work for HBO knew their funding).

Archivist countered with A). that i was shilling for his job (making his reluctance understandable) and B). no money in the budget, which was of course bulls---. So i stopped returning the next few phone calls he made. Months go by and around Christmas (sort of the Christian Hannukah) I get a letter from them saying thanks to the "embarrassment of riches" they encountered interviewing so many wonderful people, I was being cut out but might resurface as a DVD extra. But at least they wished me a happy holiday. They didn't invite me to the New York City premiere or have me on the panel discussion afterwards, which included Judith Regan, who's never even seen Deep Throat, and Catharine Mackinnon, who Linda told me in interviews twice was among the group of feminists who used and abandoned her, just like the pornographers had ten years earlier. Yeah, I guess with all my access to Linda and my history with her, I was a pretty poor choice to be interviewed...

As far as Legs' book goes, he did have the good sense to pay me for use of my archive (not as much as he had promised and it took about a year to get it out of him, but at least he gave me something). He also interviewed me for about 90 minutes. Then many months later I run into him in a local bar, where he buys me a beer (Heineken) and tells me that the thrust of the book has changed, and I was no longer included. That didn't surprise me, knowing Legs, who had also cut me out of the Court TV series he did a few years back as well. But he also assured me that there would be a "great mention" of my book, The Complete Linda Lovelace which, all humility aside, frankly jumpstarted this whole Linda retro thing, and everyone knows it.

Okay, I think to myself; great mention in a book loads of people will read? Heineken in my hand? The end of my relationship with Legs in sight? Cool. So I get the galley... No great mention. Fine. It should be in the finished product (the galley was uncorrected and such). I get a copy of the finished book... no great mention aside from a few copyright notices (some for stuff that wasn't even mine). In fact, the title of my book, which is The Complete Linda Lovelace, by the way, wasn't mentioned that I could find.

So I basically help all these people out, whether they know it or want to admit it, and I get a couple of thank yous (and there's only one, from Leggsie's co-author, Jennifer Osbourne, that i consider sincere, because she's a really, really sweet girl).

If I didn't know better, I'd think the people in this business were scumbags.