I began my work day at Star World at 10AM. Rob Spallone, who drove his wife's big black 420 SEL Mercedes, was hosing down the drive way in preparation for a barbacue that afternoon. Inside Gourmet Video, I found a pile of crayon drawings from inventor William Housell who resides at a mental institution (Chatham Oaks) in an Iowa City, Iowa. Housell requests monthly spending money and support for his inventions. He writes regularly to Gourmet, sending his latest art work. Joe Spallone collects his work, convinced that once this man becomes a serial killer, he'll own something valuable.
Luke asks the salesmen at Gourmet whether Housell's art is modernist, post-modernist or just abstract but they are clueless. "Some f---ing wacker."
Gabe then explains how Housell uses the "female representation of the fish thing…"
Vince and Julie Rage drive up to do a box cover shoot for Greg's Steel's Thunder Pussy.
Rob: "I'm going to train BJ [Rob's Rottweiler puppy] to s--- on Jim South, so long as that Reb doesn't try to f--- her."
Rob's trying to help a friend of the family set up a large bookie operation in Venezuela.
Julie Rage admits that Director Greg Steel makes her suck his dick to get work. Rage retired from porn in April because of the HIV outbreak. On the road dancing, she found out about Marc Wallice testing HIV positive. Rage was scheduled to do her first scene with Marc for Thunderpussy.
Today is her first time in make-up for a month.
"I know all the girls [who tested HIV positive]. I worked with Brooke three years ago on a Jim Powers shoot. I knew the girl was in trouble. She was on something. She seemed spacy.
"I worked with Tricia [Devereaux] two years ago on the movie Abuse of Power. She talked me into it. I didn't know who Rob Black was. I wanted to leave [the set] as soon as I got there. It was a girl-girl-girl. They took breakaway bottles and hit me on the head with them. And they didn't know what to do with them. I blacked out.
"Tricia seemed normal. Rob Black wanted her to quit [porn]. They were supposed to get married. She was in puppy dog love [with Rob]. She was very submissive [to Black].
"I've been hearing [HIV] stories about Rocco… It makes sense, with him doing all that European stuff. I never worked with Rocco. I heard horror stories about him.
"I think that new people should have to have three months worth of negative HIV tests before they are allowed to work. [Porn] right now is a fad. It's popular and cool. All these new people coming in…thinking they are going to have a blast, party, make money… They are not responsible.
Julie stands 5'5" and weighs 105 pounds (down from her high of 117 when she was a body builder), which looks painfully skinny to me. Julie says she is naturally skinny, and neither on drugs nor sick. Julie's mom stands 5'3" and weighs 80 pounds.
"I am healthier than I have been in a long time because I'm not working [porn]. I'm not as tired. It's draining to get up early in the morning and be on the set 16 hours and eat crap food.
"I'm happy that Greg's able to make movies on his own terms. He wasn't very happy where he was before [Wicked]. The company was telling him how to edit the movies and write the scripts. They're businesses, they're not artists. The business side is to sell and market the stuff, and the artist side is to make it. Last movie he did for Wicked was Lost Angels 18 months ago.
"About two years ago [just before she married Greg Steel], I got pelvic inflammatory disease, like Stephanie Swift. I almost died from it. I was in the hospital for several days. The doctor figured out that it was from doing an anal. Lube dripped from my anus to my pussy. Greg had [to leave Julie in the hospital] to go to Cannes [Film Festival]. Why do you guys want to see anal anyway? Yeah it's nasty. It makes you sick."
Julie rarely performed anal sex after that, and when she did, she did it in the missionary position, to reduce the likelihood of any nasty matter dropping into her vagina.
***
10:50 AM, 7/24/98: Director Cash Markman leaves me this phone message: "I saw the Brooke Ashley interview. You're just getting one side… Brooke has made no effort to contact me. I only had one number for her and that was at Legend, and she refused to talk to me. The other number she gave me was Steve Austin's number. She's playing a game.
"I understand her upset. What she's going through is terrible and my heart goes out to her, but that does not excuse her behavior, laying the blame on people who were not responsible. I was not the producer on that show. I did not hire her. I did not pay her. I did not inspect the [HIV] tests. I was only a hired gun, like her, except that I got paid a lot less money."
11AM: I sit in the sun with Sal and his 24-year old friend Danny Gotti, a bodyguard. Danny's uncle is the famed Gambino family gangster John Gotti.
Vince, Greg Steel's partner in Kryptic, says: "We're in post-production now on our first feature for LBO - Breathless. Kryptic and LBO have acquired Thunderpussy from Elegant Angel… We're getting ready to shoot our third movie for LBO in about ten days [for about $12,000]. We're talking with Bobby Genova about financing our feature film Tribal."
Vince, a good looking hip young man, says he's been enjoying lots of dynamite sex with women lately, some of them in the business. "Every position you could think of, including anal."
Rob Spallone, who routinely carries around thousands of dollars in cash, has traded in most of his gold jewelry for silver. His dad Joe retains his gold chains and expensive watches. They introduce me to their new gay black assistant, make-up artist Eddie Pierce, who stands over 6' tall, weighs over 200 pounds, sports purple hair and multiple piercings, rings and tattoos. His white T-shirt reads in big black letters "Bottom."
He speaks in a flaming gay fashion. "I'm very secure in who I am, so I can be colorful. I like to be noticed. I attract attention, including from females… If they have a kinky side, I bring it out. They feel more comfortable talking to me about getting into the business [porn] because I'm gay.
"I got my tongue pierced to lose weights. I've lost 17 pound so far."
The three-year porn veteran longs to get under Rob Spallone's desk: "Rob's scared of me getting under his desk because he knows that he will lose all of his masculine juices within minutes. His hair would be purple when I got through. I'd lift his nuts and eat them like grapes."
Rob helped Eddie buy a car. "I don't have the best credit in the world, like most of the people I know. We're all home boys…"
Rob says Pierce is his partner with the black talent.
Eddie: "I used to be bisexual, but that's not what I want. I'm 46 now. I only do what makes me happy. I like dick. I'm a bottom. I play the passive role.
"Larry Flynt has this new magazine - Hustler's Brown Sugar. I've got the cover [Eddie did the makeup].
"I do makeup for men too, except that it is called grooming."
Eddie shows me a picture from bi movie he did make-up for. "Kitten put on a strap-on and f---ed the s--- out of him up the ass while he gave him head in the pool."
Eddie says girls interested in performing in porn fall into two main categories - those primarily motivated by money and those who want to "freak. The girls who want to freak are going to make money anyway. Their scenes are going to be better. Those who just want to make money, I have to talk to them. There are other ways of making money aside from porn. If you're just in it for the money, you're scene is going to reflect that.
"I have [female] friends who only do videos for the European market. One is a school teacher but she's a freak. She loves to get f---ed in the ass while she plays with her clit. With European features, she's a black girl with a white girls body except for her ass, with the long hair and small waist. She could be a star. She's had her nose and breasts done."
Eddie finds the porn industry fascinating. "It fills a need. It keeps a lot of motherf---ers from going out there and raping somebody. Instead they watch girls on TV and jerk off. It's mind candy.
***
In June 1998, Carol Cummings graduated with a Masters Degree in Theater Arts from UC Santa Barbara. She plans to proceed with her doctorate.
Mark Spiegler says Kimberly Kummings retired a year ago.
Noon. The parking lot is filled with cars as pornographers crowd in for the barbacue. Rob acts as chef. Larry Fields and Pinky Stohlbach are first in line for the sausage and hamburger.
Joe Spallone predicts that within ten years, Hollywood will make porno movies.
Joe complains about low prices for his product and how difficult it is to get paid. "If a store doesn't pay, I call the DA and Attorney General of that state… People are supposed to pay in 30 days, but they pay in 60, 90… It's not worth it…"
Rob boasts how salesman Barry came by last night and left 60 watches and 80 rings on his desk and walked away. "I did not steal one thing."
Barry returns for the barbacue and sells his watches which duplicate famous brands like Omega at bargain prices.
A veteran of 18 years in porno, Bruce Walker (his real name) directs bargain porno with his wife (Lynne aka Diana Roth), primarily gay (like Handsome Ransom).
He's doing a high-end black gay series for Video Team called Tales From The South Side. He's developing projects with Adam & Eve (such as Hawk Squad and Mood Indigo). "We mainly do high-end comedies, movies that cost $30-$40,000.
"I ran Gourmet for six years. I made a lot of low-end stuff for years."
Chris Cannon, who has 100 videos under his belt, arrives with busty blonde Randi Storm. "The last couple of weeks I've just been hanging out [not working]," says Chris. "I went to the VSDA and then went back to Vegas this last weekend for the Lifestyles [swingers] convention. I had a good time playing there. I did a whole bunch of women. I went up there with 18 condoms and had to buy more. I got to play with Nina Hartley, Shayla LaVeaux, Alexandra Silk and a little dancer out of Texas, Honey Bear.
"I might have the starring role in a Chi Chi LaRue feature for VCA, playing opposite Juli Ashton."
Bobby Hollander drives up in his big Cadillac. Tanned and with a wide smile, Bobby always looks happy. He regards his best movie as New York Babes, a 1979 production for Arrow. "Big cast. We had 100 extras. It was about two softball teams - the New York Babes and the San Francisco Dolls. Vanessa Del Rio, Marlene Willoughby, Serena, Gloria Leonard.
"The other big 35mm never got released. It was ahead of its time. Pregnant…"
Star World now hosts about 25 pornographers, most of them Jewish.
Bobby remembers the day he met Gloria Leonard on a Cheri magazine shoot for the Best Blowjob contest. "I was doing the video and she was doing the makeup. Peter Wolfe edited the magazine and Peter Hurt was the photographer. Wolfe died about three years ago.
"Vanessa Del Rio still looks great. She will be out here July 6 for the Night of the Stars [FSC dinner].
"Samantha Fox's husband was my dentist. I put her in the industry. She weighed 95 lbs. We gave her the name Samantha Fox. Then Chuck Vincent took a liking to her."
Rob interrupts. "John Decker is on the phone…[trying to find out who's been spreading rumors about his wife Roxanne Hall]."
Bobby: "Jason Russell was also a partner of Howie and I. Damiano used to live upstairs with his mother. Then Gerry married Paula, and his mother passed away, and Gerry moved out in the late '70s. Vince Benedetti moved in.
"Armand Weston wrote New York Babes for me. He died in his sleep in his home in New York about three years ago.
Rubin Gottesman, Joe Spallone and James DiGiorgio enter the room. We talk about the recent murder near Coldwater Canyon, the same street where John Holmes was involved in the "four on the floor" murders.
Bobby remembers how Holmes burglarized the home that he and Gloria owned.
Rubin: "He was a kleptomaniac."
Rubin remembers his vacation to Australia in 1986 with Tracy Adams. Both his sons are dead. One was murdered by drug dealers in 1987. He was shot and left in the trunk of a car that wasn't opened for 19 days. Rubin's other son died of natural causes in 1994. "I've got some beautiful granddaughters."
Rubin received an 18-month sentence for copyright violations following the MIPORN investigation. Gottesman copied mainstream movies onto videotape and sold them across state lines.
We talk about Walter Gernert, a founder of VCA with Russ Hampshire and one of the Dark Brothers. Walter now supposedly makes legitimate movies with Axis Productions.
DiGiorgio to Luke: "The only way that you are not going to end up floating in the LA River is because there isn't any water in it. You've got everybody going with this mob thing."
Joe Spallone: "He loves it [mob stories]."
Luke: "Would I use controversy to bring visitors to my site?"
James: "When you start charging people to enter your web site, you owe vig to me and Rob, because before us, you were nothing. We brought you into the forefront. Now it's Luke F-rd Superstar, which means you'll end up nailed to a cross."
Rubin to Luke: "Why did you convert [to Judaism]?"
James: "To piss his dad off [a Christian evangelist]."
Luke: "I listened to this Jewish talk show host named Dennis Prager. That got me interested and started reading books on Judaism."
Bobby Hollander now produces for Circle B Video, at 18606 Parthenia St, Units 3&4, Northridge, CA 91324.
We talk about Tommy Sinopoli who lived with Christy Canyon for five years. Bobby says he has Christy's cat Crackers.
Bobby has five web sites including http://circlebvideo.com and two based in Europe.
Rob plays with his 357 Magnum. We can't talk about his special illegal bullets.
James remembers the time he stuck the bullets in Skye Platinum's pussy. "Rob turned crimson red."
Mark Spiegler: "In your interview with Roy Karch, did you ask him if he f---ed the talent?"
Luke: "Yes, and he said no."
Widespread laughter.
Rob: "Roy Karch has been caught in the bathroom with the girls.
"I got a phone call one day. She said she looked like Marilyn Monroe. I say come on over. She says, I can't. I don't have a car. I say, jump in a cab. She says, I can't. I just had a baby last week. Don't worry, I had a C section and I look great. Roy Karch walked in. He shot 3-4 movies a month. He used to hire the talent until I took over. He was hiring some ugly girls. I've seen Roy do the pop shots more than twice.
"I asked Roy to stop by the girls house and take pictures. Next morning he brought in two polaroids. The girl was ugly.
"Four months later, somebody was shooting here. There was a scarey looking blonde in the lounge. She was here for four hours. She said that she'd told her mother that she was going to the store to get cigarettes and that she would be back in a half hour.
"Roy Karch suddenly walks in. The girl looked at him and said, 'you look familiar.' I stood up. 'That's Roy Karch. He's the biggest director in the business.'
"The girl says: 'You came to my house and took my picture. You told me that if I blew you, you'd get me work. I blew you and you never got me work.' My mother freaked. Roy Karch ran out of the room. The next day they fired him.
"Ronny caught him in the bathroom several times. A girl will say, 'I have to take a piss.' And he'll follow her into the bathroom. Rebecca [red head] turned him down. Go ask my mother."
Luke walks into Barbara's office (Rob's mom). "Your son wants me to ask you if Roy Karch ever fooled around with the talent?"
Barbara: "Yes."
Luke: "He made women suck his penis?"
Barbara: "Yes."
Luke: "Was he ever caught in the bathroom with women?"
Barbara: "Yes."
Luke: "I'm shocked."
Barbara: "Are you appalled?"
Luke: "I'm appalled. There's fornication going on around here?"
Barbara: "We put a stop to it. That's why he doesn't work here anymore."
Three years ago, Joe Spallone had a quadrupel bipass. He was walking around the night of his surgery and played golf two weeks later. Joe thinks his son Rob is a wimp.
Julie Rage says she has never had a porno director hit on her, aside from the hugely obese Thomas Paine (Paul Parco) who asked her to suck his dick. "I was supposed to sign a contract with Sin City, but when he pulled that, I said forget it, and walked out."
Paine was later fired from Sin City because of hitting on too many porn girls.
Don Fernando walks in and confers with Damien Michaels.
Rob Spallone says that he tries to talk his girls out of doing anal sex on camera. "It's disgusting, that's how you get this disease [AIDS]. When all the other people tell the girls, 'you've gotta take it in the ass. It's the only way you'll make a living."
Speaking of taking it in the ass, Nikki Sinn walks in.
A soft spoken gentle man, Don says he's shooting a line called "Don Fernando - I Love Asians" for Hollywood Video as well as "Over 18" for Heatwave.
Fernando entered porn 9/29/77 in San Francisco for director Jay Gladstone. He earned $40 for a 12-minute video. "No sound. For the 25c [peep] machines. For Habib Karuba's theaters."
Don says he's done 968 full length porno features and about 4000 sex scenes.
I meet chocolate skinned Guy DeSilva, 42 y.o., widely recognized as "the nicest man in the business." A veteran of about 700 scenes over six years, he stands about 6' tall. "A lot of people have approached me to do a line, but I haven't yet.
"The most popular stuff I've done is the Buttman stuff like Buttman's Inferno. That put me on the map.
"I was pursuing a regular acting career. I was sending out head shots. Someone in the adult industry got a hold of my picture and I guess I sold out."
Sal calls Guy "the doggie man" because of his aptitude at that position.
Vince gives Rob $500 cash.
Guy's older brother performs in porno under the name Will Ravage. They do not get along. Will is one part of the "Bogas Brothers" with Alex Sao Paulo.
DeSilva: "Most of the time this business is fun. Sometimes its stressful and disorganized. The most frustrating part - those who make promises and don't live up to them. And those who don't look after their hygiene."
Guy, whose mother is Portugese and his father black and American Indian, has experimented with drugs but says he was never a drug addict nor an alcoholic. He has no tattoos and no children.
"I don't like doing anything to girls that they don't like done to them. If they like it, I like it."
4:50 PM I begin talking with JD Ram until I am politely asked to take my interview out of the AIM office. With his numerous tattoos and drug and prison background, he exemplifies the stereotypical porn star.
JD denies that he stole Ron Vogel's credit card, as his ex-girlfriend, ex porn star Raven McCall alleged. "First, I can't drive a car. I don't have a license. Second, a handwriting analysis will show that I did not…[sign for the purchases]…
"There was an apartment in Van Nuys which supposedly used this credit card. But I lived in that sober living house. And before that, I was working for the carnival. I was going from city to city for B&B Amusements."
5:15 PM: I meet Jay Ashley who rightly reproves me for the biggest screwup of my reporting career - that Kaitlyn Ashley had tested HIV positive. NOT TRUE! My sources (around 4/20/98) confused the real name of HIV positive Hungarian porn star Caroline (Katalin) for Kaitlyn.
Solidly built, Jay stands about 5'8". Standing next to his pregnant girlfriend (ex-porner Monti), he speaks with a lisp. "I'm directing for FutureROM entertainment… I'm partners with Cameron Grant and John Resnick. I'm doing a couple of things for Vivid. Right now I'm just coasting. I'm going to the College of Oceaneering, developing a career as a commercial diver."
Jay has been with Monti for 18 months. "Everything is good. I'm finally clean [from drugs]. We're not talking about marriage."
Bill Margold, 54 yo, says that my hee-hee evil cackle reminds him of a character from the 1930s William Weldon film Beaugeste. "That cackle of yours is exactly like the man who climbs up into the watchtower and gets shot down. This man [Luke] wants to be punished. He wants to be the most hated man in this business."
Bill talks to several people including Luke, fan Bob, and porn newcomer Elizabeth X. Because of sore ribs, Bill has taken several weeks off his Saturday routine of flag football.
Luke: "Maybe you could speculate irresponsibly about something and I will quote it?"
Bill: "Our mutual cohabitation of irresponsibility on the net will produce lots of irresponsible children. I notice that my beloved sister Brandy Alexandre is setting up her own newsgroup."
Luke desperate for a story, harasses newcomer Elizabeth. "Hasn't anyone in this business said to you, 'Suck on my dick?'"
Liz: No.
Luke: Suck on my schlong? Cock, willie, wiener, peepee?
Bill: Luke is deranged. He is suddenly enamored with this new world [of blow jobs]. He just got his first one a few weeks ago [true].
I chat with John Decker, still week from a cold. He's trying to track down the source of recent rumors that his wife Roxanne Hall recorded this week a false HIV positive. Not true. That happened in 1995. I heard the rumors at Star World and Pretty Girl on Wednesday.
5:30 PM. A veteran of 86 videos, Brandon Iron walks by on his way to Jim South's office. A soft spoken, gentle, muscular, short, golden-haired performer, he performed in Air Tight 2 with Christian Wolf, Jake Steed and Dave Hardman as the anal interrogator.
Luke: I thought she was born again and was quitting the business.
Brandon: "I don't know. She was a wild one today. I had to strap her down…
"Last night, for Stuart Canterbury, I worked with Brittany Andrews. Condom. Earlier in the day I worked with Julian and Stacy Valentine for VCA's Sex Commandos. A hottie. She's the biggest star I've worked with. My first contract girl.
"I was weaker than Julian. He really took control of the scene. It's all good experience. You have to be delicate with the contract girl.
"My brothers thinks this is great.
"I triple-booked myself one day, knowing full well I'd be late for everything. The first one started late and it was a chain reaction. But I am not going to miss out on an internet shoot. They are easy to do. In and out in an hour. $200. As I was going to that first shoot, I called the other people, saying, 'I'm running a little bit late… I'll be right there…' even though I was hours away. They were pissed… My biggest pay day yet, $700."
Brandon is a boy next door, with no drug habit nor prison record nor background in gay porn.
Luke eats vegetarian chili and salad at the Hughes Market across the street from Jim South's World Modeling, changes his clothes, and drives off to Stephen S. Wise synagogue to welcome in the Sabbath.
I spent Saturday afternoon at Venice Beach with fellow congregants of my synagogue. Walking along the beach, I ran into El Cid, Reb's new boy from the UK, and Kathryn, who also lives with Sawitz. Reb and Geri were at a restaurant near the beach.
I then ran into a couple of porners who offered me a joint.
I talked to Brooke Ashley Saturday night, 7/25. She seems confused. She's feeling herself tugged back into the adult industry while she also harbors much resentment against it for its sloppy handling of HIV infection.
Ashley is still talking to different lawyers. She is not yet sure about whether she wants to press ahead with a lawsuit.
She's annoyed at receiving phone phone calls from Marc Wallice and other harassment from other sources.
She's angry with comments made by Kevin Beech to Luke F-rd.
Brooke seeks grounded reliable people but some of the folks in her life seem flakes.
Ashley exemplifies ambivalence.
AVN managing editor Mark Logan (enmity4u@aol.com) writes on RAME:
As I said once before (and I think this is important, just to keep my personal RAME involvement in perspective), I read the postings in this group about once every three-to-six months, mainly because I simply don't have the time. I also usually don't find it that interesting. On the rare occasions when I do check in, I tend to find the exact playground mentality that Tina Tyler cited in her recent post about the Ed Powers radio show. Often, the lion's share of posts are by the same 8 people, pissing back and forth on each other. Many of you seem pre-occupied with wasting a lot of bandwidth explain to each other how full of s--- we are at AVN. I have a simple solution: stop reading the magazine. If you truly believe that our rag is old, tired, and filled with puff pieces designed to kiss the ass of the major video companies, why torture yourself? You never need to crack the cover. If the news isn't worth reading, you won't miss it, will you?
Now, I'm not naive enough to believe that anything I post here will be given any weight, being that I am the editor of the Great Satan AVN, but I was always the kind of kid who couldn't back down from a playground fight, either. Will anyone pay attention to this? No. Will I be following the thread (if any) that results from this post? Certainly not. But I will be able to check in, six months down the road or so, and know that I said my peace.
Once upon a time, I was every bit as sure as you all seem to be that every word in AVN was fixed. I knew that it was all rigged, from the reviews right down to the awards. Deep down I'm an anarchist-nihilist who sees conspiracies in everything. Believe it or not, then, when I tell you (and I know, for many of you, believing this would just take some of the fun out of life) that this just ain't the way it works 'round here, kids. In a way, it's flattering that you believe we're that organized. I wish we were... it would mean I wouldn't be at the office until ten quite so often. Imagine if we could just say, "hey, here comes Vivid's new movie... great... write up a 10." God, life would be so easy.
Problem is (swallow that bile, mister) most of us here care very deeply about what we do, and even though we make a lot of mistakes - I freely admit that - we do try, as hard as we possibly can, to get the story right. And for those of you who think we're in the hip pockets of Metro, or Vivid, or Wicked, or VCA, I invite you to pick any average business day, and hang around to listen to the complaints pile in... not because we got something wrong, but, more often, because we got something right..
In the July issue, I published a long piece about the next generation of porn consumers, and named the people I believe are producing work/product that is ahead of its time. No one ever suggested that I add names to, or subtract them from, that list. The people and companies listed are there entirely at my discretion. When the piece was published, I expected to field a ton of complaints from all the companies who weren't listed. To date, none have complained. What I wasn't ready for were the four calls I got from people who WERE included, complaining about pieces which I though were universally positive. The fact is that there's simply no winning. Anything we write is bound to be scrutinized with an eye towards finding an excuse to be insulted. I accept it as part of the job, but thought the anecdote might be illuminating.
Believe me, when Metro complains that Vivid got the company profile in our first DVD supplement instead of them, despite the fact that Metro had released ONE DVD at the time the supplement was written, as opposed to Vivid's 50+, or when Vivid complains because "Mobster's Wife," a mediocre movie, gets a 6, it becomes pretty f---in' obvious that the people who are SUPPOSED to have us in their pockets obviously don't think they do.
I'll be the first to admit that we report a lot of lightweight stuff. If someone calls to tell us they've signed a new contract girl, we report it. Is it Earth-shattering? No, but we attempt to be the magazine of record for the adult industry, so we have to report that stuff. No one else seems to want the job, and believe me, it matters to the company that signed the girl. Every mass-distributed printed publication in the world operates exactly the same way, from Time magazine to Mother Jones. Look hard enough, and you'll find the news that's printed to fit. It's a boring job, but someone has to do it.
For those who think we gloss over ugly stories, I wonder if perhaps you're mistaking corollary journalism for gloss. We don't call people f---ing assholes, but if someone else does, we'll print it. Then we'll call the f---ing asshole to allow him to comment. Then we call the first asshole to let him comment on what the f---ing asshole said, then we let the f---ing asshole comment on the comment. We even do it for our gossip. That's what journalism is all about. Sometimes it makes for less fiery reading, but in an industry like this, ANYONE who accepts one side of ANY STORY (this post included) is being massively naive.
Which brings me to Luke F-rd. Let me start off by saying that I can't speak for Mark & Gene's performance on Ed Powers' show. A: I didn't hear it. B: They're both big boys with their own opinions, and if they want to defend themselves, they can. I can only say that I don't know Luke, have never met him, and the only time I see his stuff is when it drifts through my transom via someone else, or on my sporadic jaunts to this newsgroup. I absolutely support and defend Luke's right to write whatever the hell he wants, here, or anyplace else. Personally, I don't share Mark & Gene's assessment that Luke is dangerous. What he IS is sloppy.
In my mind, a journalist's job is to check the veracity of a story to the best of his or her ability before disseminating that information to the public, and then to report the story in a factual manner without being needlessly destructive. From what I've seen and read, Luke is truly an abysmal journalist.
He simply vomits whatever information is given to him as if it were the gospel without doing any research whatsoever. In this regard, I find Luke both despicable and laughable in equal parts. Gene Ross' editorial about Luke was his personal project. I almost pulled it - I personally prefer to ignore people like Luke whenever possible - but then reconsidered. After all, it was Gene's editorial (i.e., his opinion, yes?), and I wasn't about to censor him.
What strikes me as funny is that apparently, most of you hold the same opinion.
I guess agreeing with Gene & Mark about something was just too big a pill to swallow. Once the wake of Ed's show has subsided, I assume most of you will return to bashing Mr. Ford over the head with his own ridiculous innuendo.
Until then, let me leave you with a few thoughts:
-- I applaud Luke for getting Brooke Ashley to open up. We reported what she said to us. I can only assume he reported faithfully what she said to him (though there seems to be some question about this). I assure you, had Brooke been that forthcoming with us, you would have read the same comments here.
-- Luke is currently reporting that Rocco is HIV+, an unfathomable deductive leap made because it's rumored that Rocco hasn't performed in the last month (could it be that he's busy doing post on "Rocco Never Dies," the biggest movie of Siffredi's career?), and because rumors have long been flying that Rocco was HIV+. There are only two problems with this assertion: 1-The girl who reports that Rocco isn't performing, also reports that he was pissing in Kelly's mouth... sounds like part of a scene to me. 2-If we're assuming Rocco has been HIV+ for quite some time, obviously, he has no compunction against performing.
Why stop then?
-- Will you see any of this reported in AVN? Hell no. Why? Because it all consists of rumors and vague innuendo. If the rumor is substantiated at some point, we damn sure will report it. Until then, we'll leave all groundless gossip right where it belongs... with Luke F-rd.
Pornographer JBHunter69@aol.com writes on RAME:
I've been slammed mercilessly in these pages for stating that I was able to write incisive, revealing and entertaining pieces about people in the porn industry while being unapologetically pro-porn. "That would make you a good shill for AVN" "So you did "entertainment tonight" pieces.." etc. etc.
I argue that it is entirely possible to have a pro-porn bias- or at least pro- 'people-in-the-porn-industry' bias- and still do good gonzo journalism.
Marv Albert, pre-bite incident, was made pre-eminent as a sportscaster by his combination of skill and unabashed enthusiasm for the game (what after all is "Yesssssssssssssss"?? objective reporting?). Howard Cossell, whose ambivalence about boxing was well known, nonetheless did the best pieces on Muhammed Ali ever done, and he obviously, unashamedly loved the guy. My own hero of the non-fiction written word is Bill Goldman, who never wrote an uninteresting word about the movie industry of which he has been a part of for 25 years. Is he ambivalent about it? You betcha. Does he see its warts? Every one of 'em, in technicolor and Todd-A-O. But do you just know in your heart that in a Hobbsean war-against-all he'd be on the side of his movie cronies against the civilians if forced to take a stand? Won't take a "no" bet on any odds. His fan-ness is written all over his incredible writing. Does his journalism suffer? Not for a minute.
I've been slammed for suggesting it would be nice to have someone "reporting" on the industry who had a little more sympathy and, yes, gasp, love and understanding for the people in it, at least most of the time, and for suggesting that's what I've tried to do. You can be a sojourner, at least some of the time, and not be writing fluff pieces, Patrick Riley's opinion to the contrary. Luke, on the other hand, follows them around with his tape recorder scratching his head going "what are these people doing?" and publishing the unedited transcripts, passing them off for writing. When he does put himself in, editorially, however poorly, you can feel the judgements crawling out of the pages.
And on the question of style…
You know how some girls just have… something… that makes you want to jerk off to her and not the girl in the scene with her? And you can't quite put your finger on it?
Same with style, babe. You either got it or you don't and it would take a far better writer than me (I know what I'm asking for with THAT one..) to explain the difference cogently.
Luke ain't got it.
Period.
Sorry.
I somehow feel that all the personal slams at me would never have occurred had I not come late to the NG and screamed- or at least spoken loudly- "Hey, but he's not wearing any CLOTHES".
Dithering@usa.net replies:
Wrong. You aren't being manhandled because you criticized Luke F-rd. Don't overstate your uniqueness in that respect. Instead, your limited record-to-date is that of yet another, tiresome, propagandist.
You would have had less trouble had you not entered this newsgroup broadcasting the great-guy status of William Margold. People in this forum are familiar with Margold from insider comments by Hart Williams and Brandy Alexandre; just to name two. Moreover, Ford's postings of transcripts of interviews with Margold sealed Margold's reputation in the minds of many non-industry readers. Margold is just another smarmy con-artist. (And spare me the "how could you know as an outsider" routine.)
Anyone trying to sell a different story --which you tried-- to this newsgroup rightfully encounters a hornet's nest. Do you hear buzzing sounds?
You outed yourself as an untrustworthy (or naive) industry shill from the opening whistle, and are now digging yourself into a Kernes-like hole with each subsequent post. Is that Luke F-rd's fault? Were you a call-in last week on the Ed Powers Show?
Let me give you a hint. What many readers in this forum want is an unvarnished, fact-based picture of the industry, good and bad; much like what Nick Long and Mike South and Eden Rae and Rocking-Rodney Moore provide. Most RAME readers aren't looking for puffery and outright lies.
So what exactly is your product Hunter; puffery, lies, or old-fashioned snake oil? You say you want to present a best-case picture of the industry, yet your original post on Regan Senter was as nasty as anything I have seen one insider post about another. What exactly are you selling in this newsgroup? Do you anticipate many buyers?
Oh, and do everyone a favor. Please lay off this writing style nonsense. This is not misc.writing or alt.useage.english. Anyone can buy the "Elements of Style." There are expert writers in this newsgroup and second-grade dropouts. Big deal. If your goal is to undermine Luke F-rd, do so on his content or lack thereof, not his writing style.
Apparently, he writes well enough to get under your skin and the skin of your associates, wouldn't you say?
Essex9999@aol.com replies to JB Hunter:
In other words, you promised not to tell the full, unvarnished story, but rather to focus on cheerleading for the sexual avant garde. That's very nice, but it's not the same as reporting the news, which is what Luke claims to do.
(Whether he succeeds at this goal is a matter for debate -- seemingly endless debate, in fact :-) -- but that isn't the same question.)
>> And I >>still managed to write meaningful, serious pieces that entertained and >>illuminated.. Why did I have these two "rules"? Because there are enough>>people out there who do not understand sexworkers, who would like us all>dead.
You practice advocacy journalism. That is not Luke's stated aim.
The most amusing thing about this entire "Luke vs. Everybody in Porn" debate is the horror that industry denizens claim to feel at Luke's failure to cast a rose-colored light on everything he sees. This from a group of people who cannot allow an issue of AVN -- an industry-friendly source by definition -- to go to press without someone calling someone else a "cocksucker" or insisting that his former business associates are all crooks and thieves. I'm sorry, "f---ing" crooks and thieves. This from a group of people who casually acknowledge that check-kiting is SOP in their business and express astonishment that anyone would find that newsworthy. Amazing ...
The last thing Luke should do is be more "pro-porn." The next-to-last thing he should do is continue trying to be buddies with the Mr.-T-starter-kit set. (How many rame-isms is Voyager responsible for, anyway? :-) Good reporters know that you can't be friends with the people you cover. Lukus-of-porn-borg (ooops ...there's another!) ought to learn the same lesson.
An observer writes to Luke:
At first I thought you were incredibly stupid for going into the Ed Powers show with a 6:1 deficit. Then when I read some of the transcripts I realized that you had pulled a f---ing brilliant move..... you just let them show their true colors. Its amazing how the porno industry has so much contempt for its consumers. As for Kernes, he emailed me once with a an attempt to call me down on some information I had. I was right, he was wrong and he still acted like a dick. I could feel his contempt. Apparently, since I don't live in porn Valley I know s---.
***
9:30 PM. German TV (Time Zone) comes over to my place. I told them that I could not talk to them on the Sabbath… They interviewed Rob Spallone and Felecia Ann at Star World for a piece on HIV infection in the American porn industry. Correspondent Silke Gondolf also interviewed Mark Wallice Saturday. The program will air on TNT network 7PRO on Tuesday night at 10PM.
Brooke Ashley would not talk to Silke. Ashley is scheduled to talk to CNN this week but she is having second thoughts, considering its implications for her possible court case.
For the first time in five years, Luke will see his father at the airport Monday.
***
By Norman Kyle
According to one of the industry’s lead men, body building aficionado, Colt Steel, is allegedly willing to take drastic measures to ensure that adult entertainment adopts a non-negotiable, safe sex on the set policy. "He told me if we don’t go condom only, he’ll give information to the department of health, labor, or whatever to bring this industry to its knees." The performer, who requested that his name not be disclosed, expressed support of the individual’s right to choose. "Me, I’ll do whatever the woman wants," he explained. "If she wants a condom, I’ll wear a condom; if not, that’s ok, too as long as she has a current test." He went on to state that condomunity males believe that he and others who share similar attitudes are costing them work.
Mr. Steel has not been reached for comment at this time.
***
Freelance writer, DK Stanton, better known to RAME newsgroup posters as Maestrodks@aol.com, was denied inclusion on AVN’s gratis mailing list. Stanton, who has been approached by several internet magazines interested in adult entertainment pieces, had intended to take advantage of the publisher’s policy of sending courtesy copies of their high-gloss monthly to individuals with a vested interest in current industry trends. A complementary issue, complete with a Christmas-is-just-around-the-corner marketing supplement, was graciously provided; but the convenience of being taken seriously was adamantly withheld.
"Tod Hunter told me to come back when I can show him something in a ‘real publication.’ Evidently, my bought and paid for fiction pieces (one of which is currently running in a national magazine) didn’t count." Stanton added that Hunter was not at all interested in contacting the high profile references she attempted to provide. "He told me that anyone could get on the net and call themselves a journalist," she continued. "I found that to be a reactionary response—more and more people get their information from cyberland every day. Besides, good writing is good writing no matter what the medium."
Stanton now believes she was more surprised than she should have been. "AVN has openly exhibited disdain for denizens of the net," she explained. "Some of it is probably warranted. AVN is often under attack from members of its own consumer base—they’ve come to expect a cutting-edge publication. But more and more Americans are used to getting their information NOW! Monthly distribution just doesn’t allow that to happen. Non-industry readers seem to be expressing their disappointment and disillusion through the hostility of accusation, and turning daily to cyber sources for their news."
"AVN should be concerned," Stanton continued. "The internet isn’t going anywhere--except into every home and workplace in the US; and carrying with it that glorious institution known as advertising." She raked the unruly bangs back off her forehead. "I’m not sure if they realize it yet," Stanton grinned, "but I think Luke F-rd is only the beginning of their worries."
By DK Stanton
Porn’s five year veteran, JD Ram, is ready to spread more than just the legs of his leading lady. This often mischievous, sometimes sullen, male performer is ready to develop his own video line. "I want to have a variety of styles," he stated. "You know, with scripts and plots--I’ll do a comedy series, a horror series, that sort of thing." Ideas and concepts, as well as talent and tech resources, appear to be well thought out. A large share of the funding, however, has not yet been secured. Ram does have a fairly sizeable amount of money available for the project, but is still looking for investors. "I want you to do something that no porn star should ever do," he said. "Post on the internet that anyone who wants to talk about investing can page me at 818 327 7950."
Son of a quasi-Christian mother and absent father, JD Ram entered adult entertainment in his early 20’s. "I called Jim South for the first time when I was 15, " he recounted. "Jim just kept saying, ‘Do not do this,’ so I left it alone. As soon as I turned 18, I called him again. He told me they were overstocked with guys and to call back in a couple of weeks. I kept calling back and kept getting the same answer. One day I just said, ‘Look, I’ve been calling you for 2 years, and you always say the same thing.’ He told me to come and see him the next day."
Ram’s mother, a self-professed Christian who worships on television rather than attend any organized church, does not approve of his choice of career.
"She asked me what I’d do if Jesus came to earth while I was making a porn film. I told her I’d tell him to get off the set."
Often arrogant in his approach to women, announcing that they should be grateful should he ever deign to grace them with his sexual prowess, the roguish man masks a more tender side. "My former girlfriend said she couldn’t deal with a porn actor, but an ex-porn actor would be ok, so I quit. I still hung around the business and went to all the things, FOXE and stuff. She went back to stripping. I don’t know, it just didn’t work. I really loved her," he added. "I still sort of love her in a way."
Does the budding interest in video development mean he’ll abandoned his performance career? Not in the least. "I would f--- most of these girls for free," he responded. "Getting paid for it just makes it better."
Ram’s work in Kris Kranski’s
Sin City production, The Models, is being considered for a 1998 best
supporting actor nomination by AVN.