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He operates Acidrainvideo.com. We chat Tuesday morning, August 16, 2004. "I think we've spoken once. In 1999." "When I was young. You too for that matter. "The business in the last two years has been through a seismic shift. All the big companies, such as Vivid, Wicked, aren't relevant anymore. The little companies are the big companies. I saw a window of opportunity to jump in [to the hardcore gonzo market]. I'm trying to be more aggressive. "For the longest time, Vivid, Wicked, VCA, Playboy/Spice, Adam & Eve, had it locked. You couldn't do a cable deal. You were always on the waiting list." "When did you start working in the porn industry?" "When I was three. I'm kidding. "My father started [in porn] in 1970. I kinda new what was going on. My first thing, officially, I guess I worked on the crew during Sex World (1978)." "How old were you then?" "You have to say 18, I guess. "In my family, instead of getting bar mitzvahed, you'd go on dad's set and you got laid. It happened to me and my brother. "My first time was with a beautiful girl named Claudia. I was very shy. I was like 17, I mean 18. It was August 1977. Elvis had just passed away. To be a teenager and on set with these beautiful women in their 20s... I kept looking at this one girl. Joey Silvera finally whispered in her ear. Then he whispered in my ear. Then he whispered in her ear again. Then she whispered in my dad's ear. Then my dad came and whispered in my ear, 'Claudia wants to kidnap you tonight.' "She took me to Berkley. We shot all our stuff in San Francisco. Best night of my life. Except my honeymoon, I should say. "Betsy Ward was a vixen [from 1979-84 under the porn name T.J. Carson]. Gee. Gosh. Who else? "It was like Boogie Nights. The Golden Age. My dad's shows cost a minimum $100,000 and he did stuff up to $600,000. We'd rent towns. "The first official thing I did with him was write Talk Dirty To Me. From then on, we just formed this Lennon-McCartney partnership. I wrote all his stuff until he couldn't work anymore (1994, when Anthony got Alzheimers). Our last thing was called The Face with Jon Dough and Sarah Jane Hamilton. "The business started to change. You didn't even need stories anymore. "In junior high school, I used to make films for class projects. My uncle was an actor, Jack Weston. My aunt was a theater actress. It's always been in our blood. We took the wrong turn, I guess. "I started writing these scripts in 1977. It was late at night. My father had his head in his hands. He was in despair. It was 3 a.m. I said, 'Dad, what's up?' He said, I just can't write these things anymore. I've written hundreds. You've got to help me out. I've got a twist on Of Mice and Men with John Leslie and Richard Pacheco.' That became my first script." "You were the big director in the early '90s." "It was more of an endurance thing. It was myself, Stuart Canterbury, Jim Enright. "Gene Ross called them morality videos. We had incredible little stories. Between five sex scenes, we stuck a lot of sensuality, depth in character... My dad did a take on religion in Ashlyn Gere's first show -- True Sin. He did stuff about Vietnam with Sean Michaels and Jon Dough. Stuff I am really proud of. If I were a director or actor or writer, I edit it as part of my reel. "I think the first film I directed was In the Bush (1993) with Jon Dough and Sean Michaels. I saw my dad was overwhelmed." "What happened to Plum?" "My dad was sick. I felt like I had to sell it and get out of the business for a couple of years. It was a stupid move but at the time it felt right. "We took a two year hiatus and came back with Rain. My mom works with me. And my wife." "Is your brother [Michael] in the industry?" "No. He's a civilian. We call him Marilyn. Remember the Munsters? Marilyn was so normal, she thought to be the odd one. That's my brother." "Have you ever worked outside the industry?" "Not really. I was born into it. I was raised tight with my dad. We had this instant connection. A roll of the dice, I could've been Michael Douglas today because he did this thing, One Potato, Two Potato in 1964... It was nominated for an Oscar and won at Cannes. He produced it. He just made some bad decisions and it could've been the other way. I could've been sitting down with you but this would've been for Newsweek magazine. "He didn't have good business sense. He was an artist. People took advantage of him." "Are you a good businessman?" "I could be a much better businessman. I tend to look at things short-term. Guys like Steven Hirsch, they see 15 years down the road. I make a comfortable living. I made a good living with my dad. When we made Sex World and Talk Dirty, he had pieces of it. For whatever reason, he let people come in and take it from him. He ended up being an employee. On paper, he was partners. But they found ways tto take advantage of him. Which was his fault. He has no regrets. He blames nobody. "Video was positive and negative. It was negative in that it brought anybody who wanted to do something into the business. It was positive in that it let guys like myself and my father be finally independent. "My father was the first guy to put stories to scripts. He was the first guy to fight for rehearsal time. He served as a rabbi and a father to guys like John Leslie, Joey Silvera, Randy West, Jamie Gillis. These were kids in their early 20s and my dad was their buddha. He gave them advice. He taught them how to act. "They might not admit it today, but these guys are where they are because of him." "How sure are you that they wouldn't admit it?" "I'm going to sound a little bitter here, but when he got sick, and he couldn't write the checks, when he couldn't hire them anymore, they never paid their respects to him. When he passed away, they never [sent] a card or a letter. He would be broken by that. "I started Rain in 1997. At that time, it was cutting edge. But when things started changing two years ago, Rain became antiquated. For a long time, if you put a pretty girl on the cover, you got a winner. Before the Internet, people didn't pay much attention to what was inside. I had good looking covers with girls such as Tera Patrick, Brianna Banks, Mary Carey... That was good enough. But about two-to-three years ago, I saw my numbers started to fall. "You had guys like Red Light, Platinum, Zero Tolerance... They have an edge on what people are watching. With the Internet, the consumers are totally wise now. They know who's in what, how many anals. You can't fool 'em anymore. They just created this new kind of product. Its spawned by Evil Angel, the template of porn. Anabolic. "I saw my numbers fall from maybe 2000 out the door to maybe 500. I got panicky. I took a trip around the country and talked to distributors and found that boxes of Vivid and VCA were going back and tons of Red Light was coming in. "Old timers such as myself felt it was a badge of honor to say we never watch these things. We brag about it. "I got home. My wife and I for a month watched gonzo. We saw how terrible Rain was as far as the lighting and sex and how good Red Light was. I took myself out of the equation. I took my name off the box and tried to reinvent myself as Acid Rain which is aggressive, hardcore, in your face, ass-to-mouth take no prisoners." "How do you feel about shooting ass-to-mouth?" "I've got no problem with it if everybody agrees. If it sells tapes, that's ok with me. "I've probably been involved with over a thousand movies, and probably directed a couple of hundred." "How are the girls different today?" "They're younger. They do nastier stuff at a younger age. They're a little harder. Back in the old days, 25 was young. Anal was taboo. My father never did anal in his shows. Ever. It's like television. Nobody wants to see Murder She Wrote nor NYPD Blue. They want to see Punt, MTV's Boiling Point. It's frightening. If you want to return something to a store, the person behind the desk is a ringer. They try to piss people off until they slug somebody. Then they say, you're on camera. They would swipe somebody's credit card and say, we've charged you $700 by mistake. Punt with Ashton Kutchner. They have cops flying through windows. Doing false arrests on people. It's in your face. That's what today's gonzo is. And that's what the girls are. They're younger and totally nasty, but in a good way. "To be an old company today is a negative. I bet people like Video Team are having a hard time." "What does your wife think about you working in the porn industry?" "She just gave me a banana, to eat, I mean. She works with me. I met her. She was going to college. CSUN (Cal State University at Northridge). I go there every couple of months to the library to check out books. I saw her in the library. She's a nice Vietnamese girl. I thought she was cute. I had enough courage after the third time checking out books to ask her for a date. Now she's my assistant. She's fitting right in. She's 30 yo now. I met her when she was 24. "We take things for granted. We're so desensitized. I had a bunch of dildos in my trunk. Strap-ons. Black ones. White ones. Big huge dildos. I think we'd gotten back from Doc Johnson and we needed them for a shoot. "I forgot I had them. They'd been there a couple days. I open the car. She sees all these things. I don't think she knew what they were but they definitely looked like penises. I said, honey, let's have dinner. I've got to tell you what I do. "At first, I told her we do stuff for Playboy. That kinda breaks you in. Then she looked at me and long pause. Six out of ten girls would walk. She thought about it. Then she ordered dessert. She was cool about it. "She was very practical. She knew I didn't do drugs. I come from a good family. She said, you don't kill anybody. You're trying to make money. I'm up for that." "Had you been married before?" "Never. Had a great time though." "Have you had a relationship with a girl in the industry?" "I had just gotten out of a long relationship with a civilian. Sometimes that was a problem. It was 1995. I figured I would get crazy. I said, I'm going to ask Kimberly Kummings for a date. Do you remember her?" "Oh yeah. I got a BJ from her. She was great." "She was great but if you wanted to date her on a personal level, and get to know her on a personal level, it was one adventure after another." "She had a boyfriend who beat her." "Her car had a breathalizer. They got caught on the freeway at 2 a.m. I got calls. The three days I tried to date her, I was exhausted. I said, never again, as far as a relationship goes. "She was a beautiful girl." "Classy. Her father was a millionaire executive." "I got a call at 2 a.m. Her car had just died. She couldn't start it. She'd been drinking. Her boyfriend was after her. The cops were after her. It just went on and on." I remember I was on a shoot in January 1996 and she showed up an hour late. She claimed the cops and had pulled her over and hassled her. "I guess she got busted [for drunk driving] a couple of times. If she had any alcohol on her breath, her car wouldn't start. "Jim Holliday was close to her. I asked him a couple of years ago and he had no idea. She was trying to do some wardrobe stuff on straight movies. She meant well. She was just f---ed up. "I think I saw a psychiatrist after that. I went to detox. How does anybody put up with these girls? Most of them are like that. "The best blow jobs are from porn chicks." "That's true. I have had oral sex from them. I will not date them. Kimberly was amazing. I didn't realize a woman could do those things." "That's what they get paid for." "Gregory Dark has done about 500 of them." "I'm sure. Back in the day, it was free pickings. No AIDS. You could do anything you wanted to do. The worst that you got back then was gonorrhea. "We used to stay in San Francisco for a month. I'm 18. I have my own hotel room. It was great." "How many woman have you slept with in your life?" "Not many. Maybe 20-30. Fifty at the most. They were pretty much in my teens and 20s. My father said I was a late bloomer." "How did it affect you to live your life in the porn industry?" "My father and my mom were married for 45 years. My dad was the coach of my little league team. It was always a normal life. From the little league field to the set. My friends have always been from baseball, little league, or college. I really only have two or three friends in the business that I socialize with. Two that will come over to the house for dinner. It affected me only because I had a good foundation. But it affected me positive. It's provided a good living. I think it's built character. It's made me responsible. "I remember in the old days, we used to have these award shows. We used to get out of our limos and always be confronted by Christian people. Placards in our face. You're going to hell." "What do you tell civilians about what you do for a living?" "In the old days, it was taboo. We kept it a secret. There was no HBO, MTV, nothing. My dad did documentaries. When I dated girls, at first I tried to keep it a secret. When they found out, they were totally shocked. Because I'd kept it a secret, I must've been ashamed about it. Then after five years, I decided to tell them straight out. Eight out of ten girls would not date me. "Then, in the early '90s, it started to loosen up a whole lot. It was no big thing. "One day in 1987, the girl who cleaned my condo found a box of pornos. She didn't come back the next week. I used to have that stuff lying around all the time." "What do you love and hate about working in this industry?" "I hate the saturation in the market and the cheap product. I remember when you were getting $40 a tape. It doesn't have to be like that but it is. I accept it. I hate it. "I love the creative process, if there is such a thing anymore. That I own it from conception to box. I'm the final say. I love working with my family. The people are great people." "Who are your best friends in the industry?" "Jack Michaelson. He used to be the VP for Cinderella. He's in and out." "Paul Fishbein always speaks well of you." "We don't socialize as much because I'm married and I have a little boy, but he's been a godsend to me. When I came back with Rain, and I said, Paul, I need your help. He said, whatever you need. He gave me six months of free advertising. I didn't even ask him for that. I said, could you call some distributors for me. Let them know I'm back. "The last two years, I've been taking 20-by-20 booths at the show. I've been taking road trips across the country, seeing distributors." [Tyler writes: "Maybe I was wrong about Fishbein. Maybe he's not a grasping, scheming puppet master. Sounds like he's a saint who beneficently walks among us..."] Mitch used to date Steve Hirsch's sister Marci. "We're still very close. She was knockout. We would go to a club or dinner, and she would turn heads. The most beautiful eyes. She was definitely a little sexpot." "How involved are you in industry politics?" "Zero." On Set With Mitchell Spinelli Sunday Afternoon, August 22, 2004 Gene Ross reports on I Like 'Em in Pig Tails:
Lynn at the end of her scene with Lee Stone, Leah Love Tianna Lynn Tianna Lynn, Lee Stone Tianna Lynn, Lee Stone Leah Love, Lee Stone Lee, Leah Lee, Leah Lynn Lynn Lynn Lynn Leah Love Leah Love Leah Love Leah Love Leah Love Leah Love Leah Love Leah Love Jessica Sweet Mitch Spinelli Jessica Sweet Jessica Sweet Jessica Sweet Jessica Sweet Jessica Sweet Sasha Avy Lee Roth Avy Lee Roth Avy Lee Roth Avy Lee Roth Avy Lee Roth Avy Lee Roth Avy Lee Roth Avy Lee Roth I walk into the home of Raven Touchstone at 12:40 p.m. Two blonde girls (both 20 yo, Tianna Lynn and Leah Love, who wears braces) are loudly going at it with Lee Stone. He holds one girl in the air and on his waist as he goes at it. They're all screaming. Mitch Spinelli walks over to girls old enough to be his daughters and says he needs more aggression. Muscular brute Lee Stone bends Leah's arm the wrong way. She stops the scene for about ten minutes. She's in agony. "What are you trying to do?" asks Leah. "Break my arm?" "They wanted a rough scene," Lee replies. "If someone doesn't leave injured, we're doing something wrong." Tianna stares at me. "Who are you?" "I'm Duke Floored. I write on the industry." She's satisfied. She can't see properly without her glasses. She usually begins her scenes with them on but then takes them off. They get spotty with bodily fluids. The scene resumes. They're all sliding around on the floor that has been made wet from the exchange of bodily fluids, particularly Tianna Lynn's squirting. "It's a long way from Nothing to Hide," says Mitch. He says Jessica has the greatest breasts in the business, natural 34Ds. They suddenly sprouted when she was 16. She turns 19 on September 26. 34D-24-36. She did anal for the first time on her first porn shoot. Duke: "When you said people have seen a vast improvement in you in the past six months, in what respect?" Tianna: "In my emotional, spiritual, physical wellbeing." Duke: "Tell us about your spiritual wellbeing?" Gene chuckles. Tianna: "I know that fornication is a sin but I know that I am a good person. Believe it or not, this has gotten me off the streets. This has got me going for my goals. I still have my relationship with God and that is all I need. He will always be in my heart and I will always believe in my Savior. He did die for my sins. Yes, I do sin. "I believe my church is within me. I like to go to church on occasion. I don't think going to church should be a chore. It should be something you want to do. I don't think people should be forced to go. They should have their own relationship with their God." Duke: "Which porn star would you most like to father your child?" Tianna: "Jean Val Jeane. "There are certain companies who will not hire me because I have done anal before [but won't do it now]. Jessica Sweet, 18, is sipping a Blue Ribbon beer. She's done 30 movies in her eight months in the industry. She just broke up with her boyfriend two days ago. He was a slut. A cheat. Most of the girls are repped by Naughty Modeling run by the brothers Tim and Chris. In porn for a year, Leah Love has done about 60 movies. She sits in the sun with us and then runs off to get a haircut at Melrose and La Jolla. I'm just starting to notice that Wankus and Brian Holt have dropped out of contributing to Adultfyi. It looks like it is Gene Ross's solo show now. Gene Ross and Leah Love and Tianna Lynn and I sit in the sun and chat after their scene. Tianna Lynn: "I am a former addict. Porn changed me." Gene: "I've heard that from a couple of people, like Chloe." Tianna: "I got so much of it [drugs] that it made me sick. "I graduated high school in two years. I had everything lined up. Then I freaked out. Where did my life go? I need to be a kid. I lost a year-and-a-half of my life because of crystal methamphetamine. "The drugs I did make you horny but it was self satisfying. When I did coke, I didn't want anybody touching me." Leah protests: "I used to get so horny when I did coke. I love to f--- when I was on coke." Tianna: "These guys are so horny and they're all over you but you know they're not going to get hard." Tianna lost her virginity at age 15. Tianna says porn will pay for her schooling. "In anything I do, I want to be the best I can be. "I cum on my face when I cum. It sprays upwards." Gene: "That happens to me too. I can never avoid that." Tianna: "I tried porn a year-and-a-half ago for three weeks. They [my agent DK] booked me for everything I didn't want to do -- gangbang interracial anal. I was in the hospital three times. Allergic to lube. Being pounded too hard. My cervix closed up. My ass got torn up. "I ended up doing a shoot at DK's house. I had never lived in a house like that. He showed me this lifestyle that I could live. I ended up getting back on drugs in that house. "I'm from Tucson, Arizona. I swore I'd never do porn again. "I don't have time for a serious relationship. Yeah, it would be nice to have someone to hold at night." Tianna's roommate is Vanilla Sky (looks like Serenity). "She has got herself so together. I'm just going for whatever. Trial and error." Tianna looks at me: "You're making me nervous." Gene: "He makes me nervous." Duke: "I'm a gentle soul." Gene: "Read the book. Oooh, what he writes about me. Gives me the chills." Tianna to Duke: "Do you think I'm a nut? The way you look at me." Tianna says that when she has a question about life, she opens her Bible and puts her finger on a text and "it applies to me somehow." Tianna wants to write a book about her life. "I've been through a lot in 20 years but I still wake up every day with a smile." Duke: "How old were you when you lost your virginity?" Tianna goes silent. "Eight. That wasn't my [choice]. I don't really count that. I didn't have my first conscious sex until I was 16. People say I should kill those people. I say, why? They have to live with themselves. I believe God will take care of them. "I've been through such hell with guys yet I'm comfortable in my sexuality. I feel like I'm in control now. That was a problem. I've been in a lot of abusive relationships, yet I will go and have sex and have the guy choke me." Duke: "Because you want to recreate that abuse." Tianna: "Yes and no. I'm dominant to the point where I will let you know what I want and when I want it." Duke: "Do you disassociate during sex?" Tianna: "I do. I put myself in a mental mindframe. That helps me enjoy it. I don't see a problem. Unless I touch myself first and get pleasure, I feel scared. "You're giving me that look again. What is that look? I'm starving." I hear Larry Flynt is sellling the Larry Flynt building on Wilshire/La Cienega Blvds for about $200 million. Jessica says she's done three enemas because she "ate something last night." Mitch asks her if she wants another beer. She says yeah. This will be number three. "I like to get loosened up before a scene," she says. Mitch chuckles: "My dad [Anthony Spinelli] had the wrong idea. He expected his actresses to show to the set sober and knowing the script. I like to have them more relaxed on my set. I give them roofies and Bud." Jessica: "I'm so uptight. I'm an uptight person." She has another beer to loosen up. We chuckle over stories of fathers dropping their girls off at World Modeling to go to work. Zenza, tall male talent from Morocco, watches from behind his blue glasses. The other stud is Sasha from Germany. Mitch asks Jessica if she'd like to do a double penetration today. She says she's fine with just one guy. "Ok," says Mitch. "You're fired." Everybody laughs. Jessica begins her scene with Sasha. Mitch wants it aggressive. Jessica complains to Sasha that he is too rough. 3:13 p.m. "Give me another beer," says Jessica. "I'm serious. That's the only way I can do it. Seriously, it's helping me get through this. I'm really a lame person." Sasha wants to take his penis from her anus to her pussy. Jessica says no. A discussion ensues. Mitch Spinelli never forces his girls to do anything they don't want to do. Mitch: "When you normally do a scene, do you have a couple of beers?" Jessica: "Yes." Mitch: "Fine." Sasha wants to resume sex. Jessica: "Just a minute. Let me finish this [beer]. "I can't do the really hardcore stuff unless I have a few beers." I'm smiling at Sasha, 27, and he's stroking his erection and smiling at me. I hate it when that happens. I walk away. He runs after me. I run faster. "Get away from me!" I cry. "Get away from me!" "If I lose my wood," he says, "it's your fault." "It wasn't me who created it. Duke Floored did not create his hard-on." Paolo the cameraman is impressed to see someone do anal at age 18. During her scene, Jessica cries, "F--- my 18-year old ass." Shayan, from Persia, is the gaffer and still cameraman. Jessica screams out in pain, "It hurts when you do that! "Stop, stop, stop. Do vaginal first. That will turn me on. Then we can do a slow anal. "I'm sorry to give you guys trouble." Mitch: "Do you want another beer?' "Sure. "Can we do another position?" Mitch: "No, if we don't do this position for a few minutes, I can't get anything." "All I ask is that you go slow." It's good seeing Mitch Spinelli, a Jew, bossing a German, Sasha, around. Jessica has trouble taking more than half of Sasha's manhood up her back door.
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