Tuesday, June 1
Kevin Blatt Socks It To Consumption Junction's Rick Latona
KB, who represents Red Light District for its Paris Hilton video, writes on GFY about Rick: "He most certainly should be doing his homework. It's not like he doesn't know what's going on I would have never let the "cat out of the bag" had he not made such a ridiculous statement. Truth be told Rick's [Solomon] attornies are very interested in his comments and monitor this board quite regularly."
Rick Latona is partnered with John Bennett (JB) on dollars.com and JB is apparently another big copyright infringer with the Paris Hilton sex tape, just like John Atherton in Brisbane.
Xpays (Evan and Michael) are handling the Internet sales and streaming of the Red Light District - Rick Solomon video.
Rick Latona replies:
Perhaps I was informed wrong. I thought that was the case. Should I beg for your forgiveness? I was told that she was suing him. May the lord take me away from this world now as I don't deserve to live.
What's up your ass anyway? If you are looking for enemies you should try picking someone you stand a chance against like possibly Smurfette. Are you working for Red Light District now as your signature suggests? If so, did you know I was trying to cut a deal with them to develop my domain theredlightdistrict.com into a private label site to promote the DVD with my traffic?
You're a complete f-cking bonehead. You look like a bonehead, act like a bonehead and therefore must be a complete f-cking bonehead. I have so little respect for you that it pains me to have to type such a large response. I'm doing it though because I've worked hard for my own respect from others on this board. I'm talking about respect that you feel is worth attacking.
If you want to battle me, I'm up for it. I've done something in this business worth bragging about. In fact, I do something worth bragging about on a daily basis. You're a nobody with a famous brother. Your only act most people know about is stealing a list and selling it to Brad Shaw for 17,000 dollars.
I am being sued by Rick Solomon. And you know what? We are fighting it. Ok, say what you will about it but it is irrelevant. I have nothing to hide. He has his side of the story and I have mine. A judge will make the decision. I won't comment more on it here because my attorneys wouldn't let me. Now as to why you would freak out and attack me for incorrectly thinking that Paris is suing him means that you are on someone's payroll because even you must have the intelligence to know I could eat you for lunch at will.
Brad, I thank you for the kind words. I've got Sin Empires back when needed. For K Fizzle to attack me in a thread complimenting me on another issue is wrong on many levels.
Kevin Blatt responds:
Rick - You are a copyright infringing, asshole. That's all I need to say- And while I you may think I am famous for having a brother that is famous maybe you should do YOUR homework pal- I have made a lot of people MONEY in this business- you can ask Rick Muenyoung about the sale of YNOT that I facilitated- It was only close to $5 million dollars, but hell being a HUGE PLAYER LIKE YOU ARE that's probably pocket change for you.
Secondly I haven't found one person that likes you in this business.... How can that be? I mean you are so smart and know so much how can people not LIKE YOU? Also as far as anything web related for redlight district video DID you work out a deal with David or Richard the webmaster?
You should also know by now that XPAYS is handling everything web related.... I guess once again you didn't read your paperwor from your attorneys'....
Rick LATONA- You can hide in Panama, til David Lee Roth writes another song about the place- it won't change the fact that your site is notorious for copyright infringing and you are an asshole. But then again- you can have me for lunch so what are you so concerned with? Exposing the truth?
KRL writes:
FYI, most Fortune 500 companies are served with between 100 to 500 lawsuits per day. You aren't a player if you don't get sued on a regular basis. Copyright infringement? Face facts, we all have dirt on our hands in that arena.
Rick Latona responds:
You certainly won't meet many of my friends hanging out with X Pays. Evan and Michael clearly don't like me because I'm a threat to them because before Dollars.com there was no other program with a banner management system. I personally would like to compete with them but they are lawyers and want this to get ugly. Any legal issues I have, I'm confident they orchestrated.
I wanted to promote the "DVD" for the video which is why I attempted to contact Red Light District. Thanks for telling me X Pays would make money, I will now back off the project.
Regarding making other people money, I don't respect that. Try making yourself money. If you've been in this business for so long why are you still working for the man? Jesus Christ, we are selling tits and ass to people that want to wack off. I won't comment on who likes me and who doesn't other than to say, I hope you are wrong.
Other issues: I'm not hiding in Panama. We opened an office there for low priced labor. Right now I'm typing from my office in Atlanta which is incidentally registered under a U.S./Georgia Limited Liability Company, Consumption Junction, LLC. All payments to and from our company come out of this address through our U.S. bank account.
Furthermore, if you can find one line in that song by Van Halen about Panama other than the word Panama I'll give you 1000 dollars.
There are no truths that you can expose about me that I'm afraid of. I'm a f-cking pornographer. I make money off of evil things. I feel dirty getting out of bed in the morning as I sold my soul long ago.
Kevin Blatt writes:
DID YOU OR DID YOU NOT TELL Rick's attorneys' that you were too broke and couldn't pay a settlement??? I believe the quote was " I am so broke I can't afford to pay my taxes."
If you could eat me for lunch and you are so successful why are you BROKE?
Also as far as I am concerned I make money and have made money in this biz longer than you. I have been around since 1997- working a myriad of positions for not only myself , but for others. Money may buy you cars and Panamanian hookers and blow Rick- but it will never buy you class.
PS aren't you infringing on XPAYS patent with Dollars.com? Maybe that's why they don't like you ?
Rick Latona responds:
You are a f-cking retard. I'm sure your boss is now pissed off. You just let me know about a few important pieces of information. Thanks. You and X Pays are now officially on the top of my sh-t list. You have proven they are behind all of this. And I'm not infringing on anything. If they truely think they are, they should sue me a second time.
The bottom line is they are scared and they are using Paris Hilton getting a blow job to distract the real issue which is X Pays is a bull sh-t spammer program that has dominated the market for webmasters that want a banner managment system. They take 10 dollars out of a 40 dollar payment from the webmaster for the sake of convinience. They own a patent on the agregation of affiliate networks. What the f-ck is that? Bring it the f-ck on. I'll gladly fight that one in court.
As I stated before, with X Pays the relationship is between the webmaster and X Pays wereas in Dollars.com the relationship is between the webmaster and the chosen Sponsor with Dollars.com acting only as an exchange. It's like when you buy a share of Hewlett Packard, Nasdaq only fulfills the transaction.
I strongly suggest you keep the attacks on copyrights or you are only going to give me a chance to air my beefs with X Pays and pitch to a listening public why Dollars.com is a better system. You should stop talking before you cause your employers more problems.
Candflip writes: "KB what is your background with regards to Communications and Public Relations? I have friend in the Publicity biz and he said that he would NEVER ever get as personally involved in the publicity that he generates for his clients. You seem to like to get your face and name in the picture as much as possible...what's the deal with that?"
Does your work screw up your normal life?
Are you so used to the porn world that it seeps into your non-work life? I'll give you some examples: -last night we were watching some dumb show and a woman came on the screen and we both called 'tranny' at the same time. -we refer to my Arizona realtor as 'the milf' -at Ikea in the tiny glasses section we were comparing dishware to see what would make a good scene for a cumshot video You get the idea... 5 years ago I never would have thought this stuff...I think I need a vacation.
Boogie writes: "Me and my wife were at the grocery store yesterday and we saw this gorgeous little 19/20 year old with legs to her neck. Later we bowling and we both remarked that this girl was content. It's funny. We see people all the time that we just look at each other and say "content.""
Janell writes: "I do know that when watching videos that I start saying things like the lighting is all wrong."
Trax writes: "Sometimes when there is a hottie in a club i imagine what great selling content she would be, how it could effect retention."
Sex and the celebutante
Tuesday, June 01, 2004 Michael Heaton Plain Dealer Reporter
Kevin Blatt is trying to make Paris Hilton the world's biggest name in adult video history. But she won't be thanking the former Clevelander anytime soon.
Hilton, the celebrity socialite, heiress and star of the Fox reality television show "The Simple Life," is the subject of a new sex video made and sold by her former boyfriend Rick Salomon. The DVD and VHS tape entitled "1 Night in Paris" will be on the market Wednesday, June 9.
Blatt, public-relations specialist for the distributor, Red Light District Video, said preorders for the tape have reached half a million. He has a history with the sex tapes of the hotel heiress.
The former Beachwood resident was doing promotions for Seattle-based Sex Brat.com when the first Paris Hilton video flooded the Internet last summer. Salomon claimed a friend stole the tape from his house without his knowledge or permission and sold it to Sex Brat for $50,000.
Lawsuits followed, and Sex Brat ultimately dropped the project in November after learning Hilton had not consented to the tape's sale.
During the media frenzy, Blatt became a media go-to guy on celebrity sex tapes. He appeared on ABC's "20/ 20," VH1, "Access Hollywood" and Howard Stern's radio program to talk about the celeb sex-video phenomenon.
Blatt, who has his own company called KB Consulting, is now with Red Light District Video, which bought the second tape from Salomon. This time, Blatt is confident it will be a big success.
"The attorneys here have done due diligence . . . Rick Salomon is the clear copyright holder. This is unprecedented, groundbreaking stuff," Blatt said.
Adult industry journalists say that the new Hilton video is on track to be as big as or a bigger seller than the Tommy Lee and Pam Anderson tape, which is generally considered the No. 1 selling tape in adult-video history.
"It's going to be big. The word is that advance sales for this tape are between half a million and 600,000," said Gene Ross, who has written about the adult industry for 20 years and has his own Web site, Adultfyi.com. "And that's just DVD. I don't know what the VHS sales are."
Tim Connelly, publisher of the Web site Adult Video News (AVN.com), said, "People want to see this privileged person compromised. It's what they call added value."
Blatt, 35, grew up in Beachwood, graduating from Mayfield High School in 1987. He attended Ohio State for a couple years, he said, but left without a degree and worked at a variety of jobs around Cleveland, selling aluminum siding, radio air time and working security at music clubs in Cleveland.
In 1996, he moved to San Diego and into the adult Internet world. He distances himself from the term "pornographer." "I consider myself a broker for adult-themed entertainment. I'm an information provider," Blatt said.
How Will Paris Hilton Profit From The New Red Light District Tape?
I predict she will sue her ex-boyfriend Rick Solomon. I bet she was in on this sex tape scam from the start and she's going to get her share of profits.
She has NEVER sued Rick. You must be ill informed, or read YOUR subpoena wrong. You know who has been served better than anybody Rick, and Paris is not suing him for anything.
Body Miracle Says Chasey Lain Is A Happy Hooker
Why do you need to know this? Because knowledge is power. If you are better informed, you will make better decisions and you will be a smarter shopper.
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Ginger Thomas
A friend in the industry needs to get in contact urgently with former porn star Ginger Thomas.
Stern Q&A Raises Questions
Did he or didn't he? The folks at Razor magazine have been making a big deal about their "exclusive" Howard Stern interview purportedly conducted by former Daily News gossip A.J. Benza. But Stern insists the alleged interview never happened.
It's part of Razor's June cover story on the blue-tongued radio jock's troubles with the Federal Communications Commission.
I'm told that Razor's editors got very anxious the other day when Stern went on the air to deny that he ever gave Benza or anyone else an interview. According to MarksFriggin.com, a fan site that summarizes Stern's shows, "Howard refused [Razor's interview request] and it never happened. ... He thinks it's kind of funny that the magazine is putting out a press release saying that they have an exclusive with him when they don't."
I hear that the Razor editors' anxiety level increased when E-mails to Benza, who has written for the mag on and off since 2001, were bounced back with the message that the address was invalid.
"I have a hard time believing that A.J. Benza would make up quotes about somebody as prolific and newsworthy as Howard Stern," Razor publisher Richard Botto told me. "I think it would be career suicide, and I think A.J. knows that."
But while Benza told me he didn't make up any quotes for the article, "I never interviewed Howard. I made some calls to him personally as a friend," he explained. "We spent about 30 seconds talking about the FCC, but it wasn't under the guise of an interview. But then the magazine put out a press release about an 'exclusive interview.' It's just stupid. It's ridiculous."
When I relayed Benza's comments to Botto, the publisher wasn't happy. "He's clearly flip-flopping his position," Botto said. "That wasn't the way he presented it to our editors. It's a shame. I hate to see him take what I think is a terrific piece and turn it into something negative."
Benza, for his part, told me: "They still owe me a check."
A.J. Benza: The Hole Story?
10/12/99
L-ke F-ord Wire Services, Ltd.:
“When I see a girl I know I really want to f-ck, my asshole tightens
for a second,” revealed flamboyant smartass A.J. Benza--who currently
hosts E! Channel’s “Mysteries & Scandals---in New York Magazine,
dated 3-18-96.
Concurrent with Content magazine’s observation
in the October ‘99 issue that Benza’s “Mysteries &
Scandals” offered “a seedier view of Hollywood,” the Village
Voice, dated 9-28-99 , reported that “ A.J. Benza was finishing up
his cautionary tale memoir.”
Benza’s work-in-progress, allegedly entitled “The
Half of It,” is reportedly being published by the Disney/Mirimax/
Hyperion org.
The following items offer a cautionary glimpse into
the mysteries and scandals of A.J. Benza’s momentous life and times:
“Right now, we’re the sh-t,” observed
Benza in New York magazine, dated 8-1-94.
An accompanying photo of “the clog-footed, jewelry-wearing,
dude-about-town”--his thinning coif moussed and ponytailed, his extremities
wound with at least four weighty metal bracelets plus rings and earlobe
accessories-- bore distinct clinical signs of phase-three Saturday Night
Fever. Not visible were Benza’s three tattoos: The word “Pope”
on his right shoulder; a wolf’s-paw print on his right forearm, and
a Gypsy flag on his left shoulder.
“I’ve met more beautiful women in the last
two years than I met when I was married and lived on long island....Every
girlfiend I’ve had in the last two years has been a person in that
scene, y’know? When you go out in that scene, you end up dating bartenders,
hostesses, models,actresses, publicists. I would never go back to dating
a girl who works in a bank in Levittown, not with this kind of lifestyle....The
problem is you do tend to meet the girls you dated last month and they
see you with someone else, and so you gotta be really cool. There are
worse things in this world! My friends who are married with two kids and
a white picket fence all call me to hear about the stories, y’know?
“..More recently, Benza got into a fight with
one of the club’s [defunct Times Square nitery USA] doormen...Vindictive
items about the club’s owner, Peter Gatien, started appearing [in
the Benza co-written Daily News column]....
[New York, 3-18-96; accompanying the profile are photos
of Benza, attired in head-to-toe leather, grasping his crotch and grimacing
suggestively for the camera:] “.....Hot Copy” isn’t neccessarily
considered the best column in the city, but A.J. and Michael [Lewittes,
a former publicist and Dr. Ruth Westheimer assistant]--”the Fonz
and Richie”, as one colleague described them--have made it a contender...
The “Hot Copy” office is strewn with Playboy and Penthouse magazines,
and as any viewer of [E! Channel’s] The Gossip Show [canceled for
low ratings] can tell you, the wall behind A.J’s desk is littered
with photos of women with large breasts....’...You got the publicists
who’ll sell out their clients, and you’re set,’ chuckles
A.J.. ‘It’s all a trade-off: I run some bullsh-t thing, then
they give me something hot....’
...A.J. leans back. He’s wearing silky black pants
and a gray untucked shirt hanging to his knees. “My flowing look,”
he says of the outfit, delivered to his office via messenger from Donna
Karan at, A.J. smiles, [the following in italics] a greatly reduced price.
“
“A.J. has confided to his readers a ‘“concern
over male-pattern baldness’...’but it’s funny,’ he
says. ‘ If I want to know if I think a girl’s really pretty,
I try to imagine what she’d look like bald.’
....Then there was the time a few weeks ago when A.J.
threatened Nick Paumgarten, a writer who’d made the mistake of going
a ahead with a profile of him for The New York Observer after A.J had
told him he’d already pledged his loyalty to a New York Magazine
profile. ‘I said that
if he went that low on that story, he was going to have to look over his
shoulder for the rest of his life. New York Magazine...
“A.J. has stories: backyard weenie roasts with
Warren Beatty, party-hopping with Mickey Rourke and Abel Ferrara, naked
swimming in the grotto at Hef’s mansion...breakfasts at the Carlyle
with Dan Rather. ‘Dan knows I have a f-cking edge.’
Daily News 3-25-97: In Hot Copy, A.J. Benza and Michael
Lewittes announce sighting of Robert Downey Jr at the L.A. Mondrian Hotel’s
Sky Bar back from rehab with a beer in hand.
New York Times, March, 28, 1997: “Pete Hamill,
the new editor of The Daily News...accepted the resignation of A.J. Benza
and Michael Lewittes, who have written the ‘Hot Copy’ gossip
column for four years [plus A.J. Benza’s] Sunday column on the city’s
youthful night-life scene, ‘Downtown’...[Benza reported said]
Mr. Hamill was unhappy with the sometimes smart-alecky
tone of both columns, and in particular with the Sunday column’s
narrower, youth-oriented definition of celebrities worthy of mention..
New York Post, 4 - 1-97: “... this week comes
Michael Fleming’s story in Variety that has actor Robert Downey Jr.
threatening a lawsuit against Benza and the News for the columnist’s
report that he saw Downey drinking beer in the Sky Bar in the Hotel Mondrian
in L.A. recently. (Benza retracted the story after Downey said he wasn’t
even in L.A. he said he was in Savannah, Ga...)...”
“Had Downey been drinking a beer, he’d have
been in vbiolation of parole and wwould face jail. So this was no small
matter...
“...the gossip industry has been polluted with
too many people who think they have a hook into every rumor out there,”
wrote Benza in his farewell to journalism in the Daily News, dated March
30, 1997. “ And they don’t. And it makes those of us who do--those
of us who’ve worked hard at making contacts and honing our intuition--seem
like vicious hacks.....
Daily News, 5-16-97 : “...A.J. Benza was charged
with punching and slamming a car door on a cabby in midtown yesterday
after the driver apparently refused to pick him up.... Benza was arrested
after witnesses flagged down a beat cop...”
The former Daily News gossip columnist, appears on
the E! network's [now canceled] ‘Gossip Show.’
“The cabby, Collin Osei Tutu, 45, of the Bronx,
was treated for a bruised face and a leg injury at St. Clare's Hospital,
police said.”
“The dispute flared about 4:30 p.m. after Benza
tried to flag down the cab at 41st St. and Fifth Ave... The cabby told
police that because he was off duty, he kept driving, stopping for a red
light at 40th St. Benza ran after the cab and allegedly punched the driver
in the face through the open car window...
When Tutu got out, Benza slammed the car door on him...
Benza was booked last night on a charge of third-degree assault...
“...I had penetrated a group most gossip columnists
cannot, “ noted Benza in his Daily News swan-song. “ I got beyond
the velvet ropes... I did the things. I became the item.”
According to Los Angeles New Times, dated 8-13-98,
A.J. Benza “plays a drug dealer in the next Steven Seagal film, a
psychopath in a new digital indie project called Bug Night and a slimy
Hollywood agent in an upcoming comedy called Chump Change...along with
[the] U.S. President’s brother, recovering coke addict and ex-con
Roger Clinton...
“Benza admits his lifestyle in L.A. is something
of a fish-out-of-water tale, although he’s moved on from Vinnies’s
couch to a $750 -per-month one-bedroom in West Hollywood’s Normadny
Towers.
Because he hasn’t paid his cable bill for months, he goes over to
Vinnie’s to watch baseball...”
Fame: Ain’t it a bitch?
List Your Lovers
A friend writes: "Not since L-ke F-ord's masturbation diary have I been so enthralled by someone else's narcissism." A woman who is half black and half Jewish writes about her previous sexual experiences.
Hollywood Animal
I had a wild time celebrating my birthday this weekend. I drank too much. When I came to Sunday morning, I found myself atop a church in Westwood next door to a sorority house where I knew a girl who wouldn't sleep with me.
I was hanging on to the cross on the roof of the church, bare-chested, a bottle of Jack Daniel's in one hand, a big cigar in the other.
I was yelling very loudly so the girl I knew in the sorority house could hear me.
I was yelling, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." (pg. 24)
Contemplating D.H. Lawrence On A Nude Beach
I'm going to a nudist beach in Malibu tomorrow with this chick (Dr Suzy, the love doctor). I've NEVER been to a nudist beach before, nor contemplated ever such a visit to a place. I'm greatly flummoxed if I should bring my volume of Jeffrey Myers' D.H. Lawrence biography? In all seriousness, I do have a lot of work to do. But can a man read Lawrence while sporting wood? Did Lawrence ever contemplate this of his own work? One has to wonder.
I went to the beach today for a couple of hours to get my mind off things. Sublime. It was not a nudist beach. (Rather, this snotty beachclub -- but sublimely devoid of riff-raft -- to which my parents belong). Toes in the warm sand, sitting under an enormous beach-umbrella, watching the perfect surf, I phoned a few people, one of whom was the great Mason. Left her a voice-mail, that I planned to return again to the beach tomorrow and wouldn't be wonderful if she would please join me then. However, in light of tomorrow's unexpected locale, I scarce imagine the faire Mason inclineth to unabashed nudism.
Lean, Mean Scooping Machine
Lukeisback.com is a Maoist-style living off the land counter-revolutionary insurgency based in Porn Valley but spreading across the United States, embarked on an ambitious program to win hearts and minds in nothing less than a cultural revolution which will turn upside down the way an entire generation wanks. If you want to get in on the ground floor and advertise on this "porn for the thinking man" column, email Email Luke. He wants to be your oral needer.
Strip Clubs Increase Crime?
May 3, 1998
In an article by Daniel M. Weintraub of the Orange County Register, Assemblyman Scott Baugh is once again trying to link strip clubs to crime. In case you didn't hear already, Baugh is the politician in Orange County who is trying to close down all strip clubs in California.
The studies that Baugh cites are a 1991 analysis by two professors at the University of California, Irvine, which examined X-rated bookstores, not dance clubs. According to the article, this study was a microscopic look at crime in the 1980s along a stretch of Garden Grove Boulevard.
Two UCI professors compiled data on 34,079 crimes and pinpointed them to within 40 feet of where they occurred. Then they used a computer to match those offenses with the locations of seven adult businesses.
Their conclusion: The businesses posed a major "public safety hazard."
Though the study did not look at dance clubs, the authors said that the difference shouldn't matter. "I can't think of any reason why the results wouldn't be the same," said Richard McCleary, a UCI sociology professor and statistician who co-conducted the study.
According to the article, the study did find that crimes against people and property, including violent crime, rose when new bookstores opened or existing ones expanded. More robberies, car break-ins and auto thefts, for example, were reported in the immediate vicinity of the businesses. That sounds ominous. What the study doesn't mention, yet the authors acknowledge, is that in the vast majority of the crimes, the adult-business patrons were probably not the perpetrators. They were the victims.
Politics Of Porn
Greendog1@earthlink.net from zbone.com writes:
Los Angeles to Tighten Restrictions
The Los Angeles City Council met at the Encino Community Center on February 18, 1998. One of the proposals, co-sponsored by Cindy Miscikowski (11th District) and Rudy Svorinich (15th District), was a motion to amend the Los Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) to: (a) broaden the scope of definitions of adult entertainment businesses, and, (b) require a CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT for the operation of any new sexually oriented adult entertainment businesses within the city's zone located more than 500 feet from a religious institution, school or public park. This permit would allow the City Council to set conditions on hours of operation, design, security, etc.
According to THE DAILY NEWS, this comes in the wake of Los Angeles Zoning Administrator Dan Green's closure of a sexual encounter club called the Prowl in Hollywood because it was operating near a residential area. At the council meeting, Ms. Miscikowski cited numerous loopholes in the current LAMC which allowed certain facilities (presumably including massage parlors and sexual encounter clubs) to skirt city regulations.
When the floor was opened to public testimony, Don Schultz of the Van Nuys Home Owners Association and Geoffrey Saldovar (sic?), a member of a local watchdog group, called for action to protect their community from the detrimental effects of such clubs.
A counterpoint was brought by one audience member (me!) who suggested that the almost prohibitive steps currently required to open a gentlemen's club were sufficient and, if anything, have backfired by creating a "survival of the fittest" environment where the only clubs left now are chain-owned, backed with enough legal and financial firepower to make exterminating them impossible.
It was also brought to the City Council's attention that the pattern of harassment on these clubs includes expending otherwise important L.A.P.D. manpower on ensuring that no lewd acts are committed by young women during lap dances when (perhaps) these officers might be better utilized fighting crime elsewhere.
Hal Bernson (12th District) said that he supported the intent of the measure, but voiced his concern that the current standard, based on a Detroit ordinance from 1981, had already been tested in the Supreme Court and further modifications might not be able to survive in the higher courts. He then chastised yours truly for implying that no one was injured by these consensual acts (because, he reasoned, personal freedom could not take precedence over the greater good of the community, which was damaged by the presence of these businesses).
Mike Hernandez (1st District) took the microphone and bemoaned the detrimental effects of adult clubs in his district. (You may recall that Hernandez reportedly had a sizable pornography collection discovered in his City Council office in the aftermath of his arrest for buying cocaine from undercover cops.)
Mark Ridley-Thomas (8th District) then waxed poetically about the community remaining "eternally vigilant" against the adult entertainment industry, drawing applause from the (mostly) older, WASPy crowd in attendance.
Finally, Richard Alacorn (7th District) expressed his feelings an amendment should be included to somehow group businesses which attract children (such as McDonald's) in with the other prohibited sites.
Amid the discussion, it was made clear that the City Council realized that much work was left to be done with the City Attorney's Office and L.A.P.D. advisors to eliminate any possible loopholes that (Beverly Hills attorney) John Weston could exploit later in court. Ironically, in the course of their debate, the window to such an opportunity may have been opened when Ms. Miscikowski discussed that potential violation of First Amendment rights if vendors of books and/or videos were besieged under this new code.
Without rendering a legal opinion, based on their comments, it does stand to reason that ANY adult establishment that sells such materials as part of its business would enjoy a different level of legal recourse than those that do not. Furthermore, should the council be successful in passing this municipal code into law, such establishments could then force the city to draw up a map which would locate the specific areas where they COULD legally locate their businesses (lest the vendor's right to free trade be restricted). Not surprisingly, the council members present voted unanimously to move forward with the measure.
The Cambria List goes Kosher
Nathan's Parable writes: An inside tip informed me of some changes taking place in the porn industry, changes you may not be aware of. Porn is going kosher but with not much publicity.
You can find kosher porn by looking for the seal of approval on those movies approved by the Union of Orthodox Congregations. The symbols will appear on boxcovers, either front or back and will be a simple (K) or (U) with a circle around it. You can easily find these labels on many of the canned and packaged food items. Take a look; Proctor and Gamble, Folgers, Kelloggs, they all are kosher.
I found this hard to believe that porn is going kosher and raced home to see if it were true. Upon inspection of the many movies in my collection, I found NOT ONE certified kosher porn. I will later this week visit a local distributor to check out his inventory. I'm set on finding one kosher porn.
I did call a major production house to find out more about kosher porn. I spoke the the head of marketing and he did, inform me, based on demographics and changing attitudes, the limited marketing of kosher porn but only available on non sabbath days at your local video/dvd rental stores. This change is the result of new guidelines in labeling due to the fear of government crackdowns on certain movie genres and the fact that they believe John Kerry to be the next president, a president more friendly to jews and Heinz Katsup.
Certified kosher porn but at what cost? Its estimated that a (U) porn will cost an additonal $20 dollars per movie for various reasons. This symbol is managed by the The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations with headquarters at 333 Seventh Avenue in New York City. It is estimated that the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations, which manages the (U) symbol protection controls about 85% of the certification business.
Their Rabbis will be required and charge a fee to inspect each porn both in production and context to conform to kosher standards. Amongst the details, porn sets must have a Rabbi on duty during filming, and only on non holy days. Saturday filming is forbidden. Catering must be from a kosher deli like Abes, Jerrys, or Brents, and all products used, be it lube, condoms or toys, must also have the kosher (U) seal of approval.
Glad plastics, being kosher certified, has been approached to manufacture the condoms and the word is still out on what lubes may be used. For now, shmaltz, kosher chicken fat, MAY be used but only on a scene by scene basis. You can see how the costs add up.
The lighting manager on all sets must be skilled in orthodox practices to conform to jewish faith regarding intercourse, namely dimly lit or no lighting at all. For the larger porn production companies, a full time Rabbi will be on salary to oversee production and to bless each shipment of kosher certified porn, as required under the (U) kosher guidelines.
So next time you are at your local rental store, ask for (U) kosher certified porn. It may cost more, but it will cure you of your addiction to sleeping pills.
Village Voice Profiles Pornischer Sect
Wordlessly, the negotiation has already begun. The Jewish man, a member of the ultra-orthodox Pornischer sect, looks tentatively at the Polish woman, approaches her uncertainly. The Polish woman ignores him, but monitors his advance out of the corner of her eye. The Polish woman has mouths to feed in her country. The Pornischer man needs talent for his latest porn movie. They come to do business on the Van Nuys south side, at the corner of Van Nuys and Ventura Blvds.
"You busy, busy? You want to work?" asks the Pornischer man, looking a bit forlorn in his shorts and sandles. The question begets a question:
"How many hours?" asks Teresa, the Polish woman.
"Four, maybe five."
"How much you pay?"
"Seven."
"No, I charge eight."
"I pay seven, my regular woman is sick today."
"Bye," says Teresa, turning her back. The Pornischer man works his way through the crowd of Polish women, but other potential employers are arriving: housewives, husbands in long black coats, even young girls-children, really-proffering scraps of paper with their grandmother's address. Demand is high today-the Sabbath begins at sundown; the local housewives have shopping to do, dinner to cook, numerous young children to care for, and porno that needs to be shot. Those who wait too long will have to settle for one of the brown-skinned women who stand near the light pole, speaking Spanish, or even Marie, the Haitian woman who sits by herself on a milk crate and is always the last one chosen.
The Jewish man works his way back to Teresa, "OK. Eight," he says. "I pay eight. But only if you'll do bukkake."
"No, I change my mind," says Teresa, and turns her back again, leaving the man staring at her platinum-blond dye job, a stunned look on his face.
Loud enough for the Pornischer man to hear, Teresa says, "He tell me four to five hours, that means three and a half. And he's a liar; I see it. I finish and he pays me seven, then we fight. You like the Jewish people? I hate them. When I see them on the street, I feel nauseous. He like a witch."
Teresa's attitude is not unique. Resentment is high between the Pornischer Jews of Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley and a hundred or so Polish day laborers who fornicate for them. A half-century after the war, the slaughter of their brethren burns the Jews like a live wire. Ask nearly any Pornischer to define the neighborhood and he or she will tell you, "We're a community of Holocaust survivors." They're keenly aware that Poland's large Jewish population was annihilated during the war.
Ask the Polish women how they like their work, and many ignore the question: "The Jews blame us for the death camps in Poland," they say. Echoing the Polish government's longtime position, they add, "It was the Nazis that killed the Jews. Not the Polish people."
"We want to be respected," the Polish women say, fairly seething as they talk about standing on the corner like prostitutes, about scrubbing someone else's knob, about the good jobs they had in Poland before the end of Communism. ("How can they say they are so religious? God doesn't want you to be so cheap about money," says one disgruntled woman.)
Now the Poles are on the street corner, asking the Jews for a job, Jews with numbers tattooed on their arms, Jews for whom the names of Polish towns-Auschwitz, Treblinka, Sobibor-are etched in memory. The irony is lost on no one.
Many of the whore-women are divorced or widowed. They come to Los Angeles on tourist visas and so do not have green cards. The corner supplies work, friendship, and referrals-where to find an apartment, a doctor, or a cheap meal-and it keeps them off the government's radar screen. Most are of a certain age; some, like Kaya, are elderly. Her hair is thin and her teeth are bad.
"I wouldn't be here if the Communists were still in power-everybody worked, we had free health care," she says, speaking through a translator. She first came to New York two years ago on a tourist visa.
"The work was so hard, and I missed my family. I cried every night. I lost 20 pounds. They give everyone a false view of how life is in America," she says. A nervous breakdown sent her back to Poland.
She arrived home to find her children unemployed, her grandchildren unable to afford college. She remembers thinking, "My life is over, but my family still has their life ahead of them." She returned to Encino, where she lives in a single room with three other women. Her share of the rent is $130. She makes about $1200 a month (mainly working for Ed DeRoo's Totally Tasteless Video), never eats out. Worn-out dresses hang off her bony frame. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 2:30, she waits with the alcoholics and the infirm at the Temple Beth Porno for the free lunch. Every available dollar is sent home.
Her grandchildren are back in college. She pays for their education with 60 hours of work a week. She cleans schlongs with a matchstick, as she is asked, but won't scrub Ron Jeremy lookalikes on her hands and knees with a shmatte (rag), as the Jews request. She insists on using a mop. This costs her work and is a major source of tension between the Poles and the Jews. The Polish women speak almost no English.
On a recent morning, a street corner argument went like this:
"No shmatte-mopo, yes," says the Polish woman.
"Yes shmatte, shmatte, no mopo," replies the Jewish woman.
"Yes, mopo, yes mopo. No shmatte," The Polish woman makes a face and points to her knees.
The Jewish woman makes a circular wiping motion. One last "Yes, shmatte," and the Polish woman folds, following her new boss sullenly down Lee Avenue.
The Pornischers seem genuinely bewildered, even wounded by the Polish women's complaints. "We clean our own on our hands and knees; it's cleaner that way," says Sarah Stern, a local resident who has used Polish cleaning women for years. As for the wages: "They get off the boat and the next day they are making more than minimum wage. We usually pay them seven dollars an hour. We are poor people; the average family here has 12 children; many of the husbands make less than they're paying the cleaning woman. How can we pay them more?" A prominent local rabbi asks simply, "If they can make more elsewhere, why are they here working for us?"
Pornography is the standard route into the economy for Polish women. The younger women-and those who speak some English-work through agencies like World Modeling or word of mouth.
Van Nuys and Ventura Blvds is the corner of last resort. All through the day the Polish women come and go from the corner, finishing one job and returning to find another. An hour before sunset, the sidewalks are filled with men in black coats, and the Sabbath warning siren blows, sounding out across the rooftops. The Polish women work more quickly now, finishing the last of their scenes. If the sun has already set, and the Jews are proscribed from touching switches or machinery, they ask the cleaning women to turn off the lights and camera before they leave. The Polish women oblige, and then, with throbbing hands, pocket their money and head back to rented rooms.
***
Hatchet-thin, in pants too short and a threadbare sweater, the Mexican farmhand's almost embarrassingly earnest and friendly attitude stands out on the corner of jaded men, many of whom have been cheated of wages, or injured and abandoned by pornographers. At 7 a.m. on a damp June morning, he is in the shape-up. He passes the time studying a list of English words he thinks might be useful: bukkake, double penetration, wood, dollar, the numbers one through 10. The other men begin to drift in, moving wraithlike through the San Fernando mist along a seedy stretch of Van Nuys Avenue, past the rolled-down gates, used furniture shops, and a dozen storefronts where you can send money to Mexico.
They gather in small groups. The Chilangos from Mexico City stand in front of No. 1 Chinese Food, the Oaxacans near the bank. Up the block, the cholos-down-on-their-luck gangbangers, all baggy pants, bandannas, and dead eyes-are blowing a joint in a doorway. The sweet smoke washes over the others as they watch for a van or a beat-up pickup with a telltale video camera and extra douches lashed down in the back.
A few minutes past 8 a.m., a gleaming black Lincoln drifts to the sidewalk. The driver, a middle aged white man named Regan Senter, with a brush cut and a gold chain, holds up five fingers. Javier and two dozen others bolt from the wall like sprinters leaving the blocks. In an instant the car is surrounded by a mass of pushing, shoving bodies.
"Off the car, off the car," shouts Senter. Then, to no one in particular, "Geez, it's like a zoo around here." He leans toward the window: "I need five guys. Anybody speak English, English? First you have to make a compliance video with me. Then we make a bukakke video for Jim Powers."
***
A burgundy minivan veers out of traffic toward the curb, setting off a commotion among the 20 or so men standing on the corner. They charge forward, weaving through a line of cars at a dead run.
"Who wants to star in American Bukkake?" shouts the driver, Jeff Steward. The men jostle for a spot at the window, calling back, "I'm a good worker," and "I'll work hard."
The driver points to five men; they quickly climb in. Names and pleasantries are skipped: "How much you want?" The day laborers speak to each other in Spanish. "Twenty dollars," someone says.
"No, I pay twelve out here all the time." Everyone in the van knows this is a lie-fifteen is the norm-but the men are angling for extra.
"You want twenty, I offer twelve, we agree on fifteen." The negotiation is over. The driver pulls away from the curb, tires screeching.
One of the workers won't give up. "No, I want $18."
Steward stops the van. "OK, get out. There are plenty who will work for less."
The man climbs out; the others stare through the windows at the idle workers on the curb.
Silently they decide fifteen dolars will do.
Minutes later, the four workers are in a Van Nuys bukkake factory. The work site is a union shop steward's nightmare: piles of rotting garbage; hundreds of burned-out lightbulbs; and an open elevator pit, exposing the workers to a 40-foot drop. Unbeknownst to them, the building has been ordered closed because it contains asbestos. Before the day is out, two of the laborers will be involved in a workplace accident, and the others, covered in sweat and dust, will be witness to another. One Mexican is accidentally squirted in the eye with radioactive cum.
The Mexicans dumbly nod yes and get to work on the three comely Puerto Rican whores.
There are no breaks, no unions, and no taxes-the men don't even know the girl's names. Yet, at the end of the day, they will go home $15 richer. Tomorrow they'll be back on the corner, looking for another job.
Mike South Appalled
Mike writes: Hey Luke, I am appalled that the Village Voice would run that obviously fabricated piece of nonsense. For starters the Jews in this biz dont shoot the movies, there is no corner where porners go to pick up polish immigrant talent, nobody in porn has a "regular" woman and I would love to see the so called "crowd" of polish women waiting for work...what a crock. Tell me this is some sort of a hoax and that the village voice did not really run that story...or at least tell me they immediately retracted it and fired whoever wrote it.
The Ultimate Rob Spallone Interview
All about Paul Fishbein, AVN, AIM, Sharon Mitchell, LFP.
The Ten Reasons Men Fail With Women
(I was emailed this list, I do not know the author.)
MISTAKE #1: Being Too Much Of A Nice Guy.
Have you ever noticed that the really attractive women never seem to be attracted "nice" guys? Of course you have. Just like me, I'm sure you've had attractive female friends that always seemed to date "jerks"... but for some reason they were never romantically interested in YOU. What's going on here? It's actually very simple... Women don't base their choices of men on how "nice" a guy is. They choose the men they do because they feel a powerful GUT LEVEL ATTRACTION for them. And guess what? Being nice doesn't make a woman FEEL that powerful ATTRACTION. And being NICE doesn't make a woman CHOOSE you. I realize that this doesn't make a lot of logical sense, and it's hard to ACCEPT... but GET OVER IT. Until you accept this FACT and begin to act on it, you'll NEVER have the success with women that you want.
MISTAKE #2: Trying To Convince Her To Like You.
What do most guys do when they meet a woman that they REALLY like... but she's just not interested? Right! They try to "convince" the woman to feel differently. Well, I have news for you... YOU WILL NEVER CHANGE HOW A WOMAN "FEELS" WHEN IT COMES TO ATTRACTION! Never, ever, EVER. You cannot CONVINCE a woman to feel differently about you with "logic and reasoning". Think about it. If a woman doesn't "feel it" for you, how in the world do you expect to change that FEELING by being "reasonable" with her? But we all do it. When a woman just isn't interested, we beg, plead, chase, and do our best to change her mind. Bad idea. One that will never work.
MISTAKE #3: Looking To Her For Approval Or Permission
In our desire to please women (which we mistakenly think will make them like us), us guys are always doing things to get a woman's "approval" or "permission". Another HORRIBLE idea. Women are NEVER attracted to the types of men who kiss up to them... EVER. Don't get me wrong here. You don't have to treat women BADLY for them to like you. But if you think that treating a woman well means "always getting her approval and permission for things", think again. You will never succeed by looking for approval. Women actually get ANNOYED at men who seek their approval. Doubt me? Just ask any attractive woman if Wussy guys who chase her around and want her approval annoy her...
MISTAKE #4: Trying To Buy Her Affection With Food And Gifts
How many times have you taken a woman out to a nice dinner, bought her gifts and flowers, and had her REJECT you for someone who didn't treat her even HALF as well as you did? If you're like me, then you've had it happen a LOT. Well guess what? It's only NATURAL when this happens... That's right, I said NATURAL. When you do these things, you send a clear message: "I don't think you'll like me for who I am, so I'm going to try to buy your attention and affection". Your good intentions usually come across to women as over-compensation for insecurity, and weak attempts at manipulation. That's right, I said that women see this as MANIPULATION. MISTAKE
#5: Sharing How You Feel Too Early In The Relationship
Another huge and unfortunate mistake that most men make with women is sharing how they "feel" too early on. Attractive women are rare. And they get a LOT of attention from men. Most men don't realize this, but attractive women are being approached in one way or another ALL THE TIME. An attractive woman is often approached several times a DAY by men who are interested. This translate into dozens of times per week, and often HUNDREDS of times per month. And guess what? Attractive women have usually dated a LOT of men. That's right. They have EXPERIENCE. They know what to expect. And one thing that turns an attractive women off and sends her running away faster than just about anything is a guy who starts saying "You know, I really, REALLY like you" after one or two dates. This signals to the woman that you're just like all the other guys who fall for her too fast... and can't control themselves. Don't do it. Lean back. Relax. There's a much better way...
MISTAKE #6: Not Getting How Attraction Works For Women
Women are VERY different from men when it comes to ATTRACTION. You need to accept this fact, and deal with it. When a man sees a beautiful, young, sexy woman, he INSTANTLY feels a sexual attraction. But does the same apply for women? Do women feel sexual attraction to men based mostly on looks? Or is something else going on? Well, after studying this topic for over five full years now, I can tell you that women usually have their "attraction mechanisms" triggered by things OTHER than looks. Have you ever noticed that you see a lot more average and unattractive men with beautiful women than the other way around? Think about it. Women are more attracted to certain qualities in men... and they're attracted to the way a man makes them FEEL than they are to looks alone. If you know how to use your body language and communication correctly, you can make women feel the same kind of powerful sexual attraction to you that YOU feel when you see a hot, sexy young woman. But it's not an accident. You have to LEARN how to do this. And ANY guy can learn how...
MISTAKE #7: Thinking That It Takes Money And Looks
One of the most common mistakes that guys make is giving up before they've even gotten started... because they think that attractive women are only interested in men who have looks and money... or guys who are a certain height... or guys who are a certain age. And sure, there are some women who are only interested in these things. But MOST women are far more interested in a man's personality than his wallet or his looks. There are personality traits that attract women like a magnet... And if you learn what they are and how to use them, YOU can be one of these guys. YOU DO NOT have to "settle" for a woman just because you aren't rich, tall, or handsome. Let me say this again: If you know how to use your body language and communication correctly, you can make women feel the same kind of powerful sexual attraction to you that YOU feel when you see a hot, sexy young woman.
MISTAKE #8: Giving Away All Of Your Power To Women
Earlier I mentioned that it's a mistake to look to a woman for approval or permission. Well, another similar tactic that a lot of guys use is GIVING AWAY THEIR POWER to women. Said differently, guys try to get women to like them by doing whatever the woman wants. Another bad idea... Women are NEVER attracted to men that they can walk all over... Women aren't attracted to Wussies!
MISTAKE #9: Not Knowing EXACTLY What To Do In Each Type Of Situation With Women
Now I'm going to blow your mind... A woman ALWAYS knows what you're thinking. Women are approximately TEN TIMES better than men at reading body language. That's ten TIMES. I know, it might be hard to believe. But for example, if you're out on a date with a woman, and you want to kiss her, she knows it. And if you don't know exactly what to do and exactly HOW to kiss her, and you just sit there looking at her and getting nervous, she won't help! And this goes for ALL aspects of women and dating... Approaching a woman, getting her number, asking her out, kissing her, getting physical... everything. If you don't know what to do in each situation, you will probably screw it up... and LOSE EVERYTHING. And you KNOW it. It is VITALLY important that you know EXACTLY how to go from one step to the next with a woman... from the first meeting, all the way to the bedroom.
MISTAKE #10: Not Getting HELP
This is the biggest mistake of all. This is the mistake that keeps most men from EVER having the kind of success with women that they truly want. I know, guys don't like to make themselves look weak or helpless. We don't like to ask for help. Hey, I've been there myself. Let me tell you a little about me and how I figured out how to be successful with women... About five years ago I became fed up with the fact that I didn't know how to approach, meet, and get dates with women that I was attracted to. It frustrated the hell out of me. One night I was out with a friend, and I saw a woman I wanted to ask out, but I just couldn't get up the nerve to do it. I can still remember that night... right on the spot I made the decision to do whatever it took to learn how to be successful with women and dating. Well, after a lot of hard work and trying all kinds of crazy things, I finally figured it all out.
LA City Councilmen On Take?
This is hush hush, on the QT, and strictly off the record.
I wonder how many Valley representatives of the Los Angeles City Council take money from pornographers, and if this accounts for the lack of city interest in porn's HIV problems?
Fifth District Councilman Jack Weiss (Sherman Oaks) was asked six months ago by a reporter why the city wasn't doing something about porn's HIV problem. Jack said he'd never had a complaint from a constituent. I don't believe him.
If I were a real journalist, I'd investigate:
* Twelfth district LA City councilman Hal Bernson. He fought vigorously to ban adult strip club in the 90s on Corbin Ave. Most of the major porn producer warehouses are within his constituency. Reason: Bernson's Porter ranch development going in. Who kept him from going after the porn companies in Northridge/Chatsworth? Bernson okayed porn but not adult live retail entertainment; conflict of interest if he's taking money from porners.
* LA CITY PERMITS; huge payola going on to keep the cops off locations while they shoot. Also, there are dozens of movies where unpermitted sex scenes occurred on public streets and back alleys, all identifiable, yet no prosecution. I know of a few times the back alleys west of Vivid's Van Nuys offices were used for stills, full hardcore, full daylight, and no one seemed to mind. Earl Slate lived blocks away and would shoot lots of stills around his neighborhood.
* I wonder how a billion dollar porn industry stays alive in LA? Try Jim Hahn starting back when he was DA and now Mayor. Anyone with some investigative skills (that excludes me) will find some good stuff there.
Patricia Kennedy's Yahoo Group
When porn wasn't the revolving door that it is now in terms of female performers you kind of got to know the girls in the biz, at least from the standpoint that you recognized names and could put a face with them, you also knew what to expect performance wise, there were maybe ten releases a week instead of one hundred.
I had a few personal favorites, one was a red head with a killer body named Patricia Kennedy. She wasn't your conventional beauty but she had the prettiest eyes, long legs, a killer body and great lips. She also had an enthusiasm that was a bit more evident than that of her contemporaries who were more popular, like Ginger Lynn, Amber Lynn and Christy Canyon.
I met her once when I was first getting into the biz at the CES Show in Vegas. It was a brief meeting and I don't even remember what I said, probably wasn't memorable anyway. She had gotten out of the biz at the time and was living in Atlanta, that much I do remember. I happened across a story about her and found that she had a yahoo group I joined the group and emailed her asking if she was still in Atlanta and offering my services as a photographer or even if she wanted to shoot for me.
As You can see she still has those great lips and bedroom eyes. She also still has a rockin body. PK Then (Left) and PK Now (Right) She wrote me back, she remembered meeting me, she doesn't live in Atlanta anymore but she is working on getting her own website going. She was very nice, gave me her home phone number and we exchanged a few emails. She was one of those girls I always wondered What Ever Happened to...Well now I know, and it looks like I made a new friend to boot. Patricia is a class act and I wish her nothing but the best!
The Sweet Smell Of Butt Sex
I sat around with civilian friends Saturday night thinking up titles for gay pornos. How about, "The Boys in the Bubble"?
Asia Carrera: Why did Michael Jackson's lawyers quit on him last week? Anyone? Anyone? Well, the lawyers finally realized they were too old to get him off!
The Party's Over
I've written before about "the end of the gold rush," but today, it seems that we've gone beyond all that, and if asked for a sound bite, the quote would be "the party's over - all that remains to be seen is who will stay to help clean up, and who will be stuck with the bill."
It's not that opportunities no longer exist, it's not that money can no longer be made (even in "the same old ways"); but the meat has definitely been stripped from the bones, and all that remains on the plate of pornographic prosperity is a few crumbs and a little gristle - a far cry from the abundant feast the online adult banquet once was...
The reasons are simple and myriad: increased competition, increasing costs, lowering prices, an uncertain regulatory climate coupled with the imminent threat of renewed federal obscenity prosecutions, billing issues and credit card processing woes such as implementing the required steps needed for chargeback reduction and escalating bank fees - the list goes on and on...
Darnit points out: "Quote from fhgstore.com (free hosted gallery store): Surfers Check thousands of picture galleries, movie galleries for any category, and find the best female, male or even tranny escort services available in your city just by clicking the links below! No blind links, no pop-up hell here! You don't have to pay for our service, and you even don't have to register for it! Everything is so simple and FREE."
Victor-E writes on GFY: "I think if enough adult webmasters and the governments got together to rule out free nude or hardcore images on the net it will happen and will be beneficial to all. TGP's can still post images but they'll all have to be covered. The surfer will have to start paying again for porn, the kids will be protected from porn and the overall quality of porn will go up. I have a feeling (at least a hope) this will happen, because like I said, I think it will be beneficial to all in the end."
Criticizing Lara Roxx
Michael writes:
People seem to be taking a little bit too much pleasure in criticising Lara Roxx. The girl has HIV, which (despite what some whack job without a medical degree might say) will eventually turn into AIDS which will, in turn, kill her. Everything Mike Albo said on AdultStarsNews is essentially true, but what pleasure it to be gained from pointing it out? A girl who didn't know any better got exploited by a bunch of men without morals and is going to die because of it. Is this the best comedy material Mike can come up with? There are a lot of good people in the porn industry who don't pimp out broke arse new girls for double anal (no pun intended) but when the industry turns to laughing at her so quickly, barely a month after the scandal broke, for people on the outside, the bermuda shirt-wearing, orange all-over tan male scumbag run image of pornography is only perpetuated.
Now hold on there a minute, Sporty-Boy. I wasn't the only one to offer a bit of criticism and commentary on Lara Roxx's Primetime appearance, so why single me out? If "everything" I said is "essentially true," I fail to see the problem. I'm not here to be an apologist for Porn, Incorporated. Lara Roxx "exploited by a bunch of men without morals," and led to XXX's killing floor like a lamb to slaughter? Boo-freakin'-hoo! If the stories that have appeared in both the mainstream and adult presses about Roxx's stripper/escort lifestyle in Canada and in the U.S. before the HIV story broke contain even a shred of truth, I'd say this girl bears a certain amount of personal responsibility for her current state. Finally, I probably could come up with better comedy material, but this is porn. Nobody has a sense of humor, so what's to be gained from extending myself? Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going shopping for some Bermuda shorts and some tan-in-a-can. Obviously, I've fallen dreadfully behind the times as far as my "scumbag" image goes. It's time to update my look.
Quick Traffic Tip of the Day -- Generating Traffic via YAHOOGROUPS
NOTE: To view the full archive of all the helful webmaster tips/tricks we've posted in the past, please check out http://www.webmasterlabor.com/articles/
Here's a quick traffic generation tip courtesy of http://www.webmasterlabor.com
+++ For informational use only. If you plan to use this advise, you agree to abide by all of Yahoogroups' rules and regulations. You also agree to abide by Yahoo's TOS +++
Yahoogroups allows webmasters and non-webmaster porn fans to create email distribution groups to share picture and movie files. Yahoogroups are all located within the same Yahoo infrastructure so ALL collected lists are in one central location. This is a great source for newbie traffic since members of one list may not know of the universe of porn outside their list.
How to get traffic from this source?
Yahoogroups stopped listing adult groups in their main groups directory a long time ago. However, there are many adult group directory sites and lists available on the net. One of the bigger lists can be found at http://www.bitchnporn.com
Step 1:
Create a yahoo ID.
Create a profile and put your age (You must be over 18). Don't put any adult pics unless you mark your profile as an adult profile.
Log in to www.yahoogroups.com using your ID.
Step 2:
Start a New Group
Fill in the step by step details of your group. In order to maximize your chances of getting more list members, IMG SRC some graphics to your description page.
Step 3:
Go to http://www.bitchnporn.com and join the groups with the following criterion:
Open membership
Unmoderated
Attachments permitted
Always select NO MAIL for your email delivery preferences unless you want a full mailbox daily.
Collect your posting addresses eg. YOURNAME@NAMEOFTHEGROUPYOUJOINED@YAHOOGROUPS.COM
In your outlook or other mail client-- create contact listings for these posting addresses.
Group these contant mail listings into groups--MAXIMUM of 8 addresses per group
Step 4:
Go to your mail preferences and put your POP mail address as an alternate address where you can send list mail from.
Step 5:
IMG SRC your pics and paste them onto an email composed in OUTLOOK or other HTML email clients.
Open your address book and send to your mail groups.
After sending batch 1, go to your SENT folder and forward it to group 2 (remember to take out all text indicating the email is a forward)
Marketing Tips:
Don't be too obvious with your advertising. Your initial goal must be to grow your OWN yahoogroup first. So just put your GROUP'S JOIN URL on your emails to other groups. Once members of other groups find your email and click on your link, they can join YOUR group. Once they're in YOUR group, you can blast them with your messaging.
Keep in mind that attachments are too bulk. So use only HTML attachments with IMG SRCED pics or EMBED the emails with IMG SRCED pics. You can send more pics while taking up less space.
Build a Hub site system. Create a directory on your MAIN yahoogroup which enlists your members to NICHE-SPECIFIC yahoogroups you create. Alternatively, you can segment your master list of yahoo adult groups by niche and send emails targeted to them. These emails then enlist the reader to join your niche-specific group.
Don't get banned. Yahoogroups has differing levels of strictness--to prevent getting banned, send only up to 2 times a day. Don't put commercial ads on your emails. Always use a clean profile or no adult pics in your profiles. Try to be niche-specific as possible. And follow other list owners' rules.
Can a man last 40 days and 40 nights on a boat with the world's sexiest farm animals and still stay faithful to his wife?
More Credulous Sex Reporting From NY Times Sunday Magazine
I don't believe much of this article about teen sex in the NY Times Sunday magazine. Why would the reporter Benoit Denizet-Lewos accept as gospel truth what secular teens tell her online about their sex lives? When I was in high school, we lied all the time about our sex lives. I used to boast about mine and it was non-existent. It reminds me of the Times magazine similarly credulous and crappy story about sex slaves. For a contrary view, read this interview with the author of Generation S.L.U.T., Marty Beckerman (a 21 year old author of two books).
I had lunch at the Continental on Wilshire Blvd in Beverly Hills October 30, 2002, with producer Eric Mittleman. We each order 12-inch pizzas that we consume in their entirety (minus some crusts). I drink four lemonades and Eric has a couple of Cokes.
I've known Eric for five years, since his days producing Nightcalls and other shows for Playboy, through his tenure at Danni's Harddrive to his present position at Creative Light Entertainment.
Eric: "Creative Light started out as a distribution company and expanded into production. They acquired the rights to distribute the animated movie AirTroopers that needed a full audio redo. If any of my relatives anywhere in the world ask what I'm working on, I don't have to candycoat, spin, or do any of the things I did while working at Playboy. Then I couldn't tell my four-year old niece about female ejaculation. It's not socially acceptable.
"That helps you ease into a more normal life, as normal as Hollywood can be. It's a lot cooler being stopped on the street because you are walking down the street with Mark Hamill than Jenna Jameson. If it's a picture with Jenna Jameson, I'm ducking out of the frame. There's so much of life that comes back to you when [you work in mainstream as opposed to adult entertainment]."
Luke: "It's like a burden off your shoulders."
Eric: "Yeah. You don't realize..."
Luke: "The strain that you were under..."
Eric: "The stuff you would do to compensate... Even just sitting here like this in a restaurant talking about Hollywood entertainment. It's not like looking up to see someone's shocked expression because you said 'anal.'"
Luke: "How does your girlfriend [of five years] feel about your switch?"
Eric: "She likes it. I met her while we both worked at Playboy. She worked in post-production. Even then there was a certain amount of 'ohmigod, look at what he does for a living.'
"There are friends from that business that I would keep in touch with but I don't know if it's the flake factor, or if they feel out of their element around non-adult stuff, but they don't keep in touch. Once in a while I'll talk with Gary Gray at Playboy. There's some overlapping crew that I know. I keep in touch with some of the executives at Playboy.
"I know the principle partner at Creative Light, Scott Zakarin, from high school. Scott brought me into Playboy in 1991 because he was running the on-air promo department. Scott left in 1993 to join an advertising company. He created The Spot in 1993, the first online soap opera. It was just text and pictures. He left The Spot and started Lightspeed Media, which also does online entertainment. He then formed a partnership with Brandon Tartikoff called Entertainment Asylum. It was bought by AOL in 1995. Brandon passed away. Six months later, they laid everyone off and bought out their contracts.
"With some of his AOL money, Scott and Rich Tackenberg started Creative Light Media in 1998. Peter Jayson (former producer of Dateline and TV documentaries) came in as a partner. They pursued production and distribution deals, making the kids video The Adventures of Cinderella's Daughter.
"In October of 2000, as my contract with Danni's Harddrive was coming to an end, I talked with Scott. They had a movie called Magenta, an erotic drama, which sold well for them. With my Playboy background, it made sense for me to produce a movie in that genre (became Forbidden) - something for late night cable TV, softcore, Showtime, Cinemax, HBO. HD24P technology was just coming on the seen. It's high definition digital video that George Lucas used for Star Wars episode two and Robert Rodriguez used for Spy Kids. Almost all the CBS primetime shows are shot in high def. It looked as good as 16mm and approached the quality of 35mm.
"We then pulled the trigger on another movie in that genre - Voyeur Beach. I wrote and produced both erotic flicks. Then the bottom fell out of that marketplace in 2001 because of competition from hardcore. Playboy bought the hardcore cable channels. Our profits halved.
"While making these movies, we made some straight-to-video reality programs. We produced a 90-minute interview show with Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner called Mind Meld. It's Nimoy and Shatner sitting down and talking about Star Trek and how it influenced their lives. It's a nice warm show. If you like Star Trek, you'll love the show. An interviewer could not do an interview with either of these men as well as they interview each other. The success of the video opened up many distribution avenues for the company."
JLS writes on imdb.com: "Shatner and Nimoy couldn't be more different. Yes, they were born four days apart -- as we find out at the beginning of the film -- and their careers following similar arcs, but their professional concerns and personal problems diverged radically. Nimoy, the actor's actor, and Shater, the comedian, approached the roles from different perspectives. Their Trek journeys, although documented in more detail elsewhere, are discussed with benefit of age-weary hindsight."
Eric: "Scott is friends with Stan Lee [created Marvel comics in the 1960s]. Spiderman was coming out and getting a huge marketing push. We decided to do an interview show with Stan Lee and Kevin Smith [director of Dogma, Chasing Amy, Clerks] and then we enhanced it with Marvel images. Sony bought the show from us and it is going to be part of the Spiderman gift pack coming out.
"After that, we started production on a low budget horror film [Inhuman] which I co-wrote and co-produced. Actress Chase Masterson, who has a huge following among the sci-fi audience, signed on so we decided to make it as a SAG film. We shot over the summer and we're in post-production now. It's heavily inspired by classic horror movies like Creature From The Black Lagoon.
"William Shatner was doing a charity event in Jolliet, Illinois, to benefit the Hollywood Horse Show, a charity for kids. He sponsored a 1500-person paintball tournament in a $5 million paintball park. He went to Paramount and got permission to use the team names Federation Klingon and Borg and use jerseys that look like uniforms. He plays a Captain Kirk-like character in charge of the Federation in this battle. It was too good of an opportunity not to bring out a whole bunch of cameras and shoot. We brought 12 cameras and created William Shatner's Spplat Attack. It's Star Trek meets Survivor with a paintball twist. That will show on pay per view December 10 and in stores December 12.
"We have a longstanding relationship with Sid Caesar. We remastered all his Show of Shows. We interviewed many of his old writers like Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Neil Simon... We've released these as DVD sets, websites and merchandise.
"We're looking for other icons to develop relations with. I'm connected with Mark Hammil through mutual friends. He has a huge passion for collecting comic books. We've developed a project called "Comic Book: The Movie." It's an unscripted movie shot on digital video over four days during Comic-con in San Diego in August. We shot over 80 hours of material that we're now trying to edit down to a 90-minute movie."
Luke: "Why do you think Playboy.com hasn't made money?"
Eric: "It's too big. It's an old company. Try explaining the internet to your parents or grandparents. They'll get it eventually but they won't be surfing like a 15-year old in an hour. When I was at Danni's, which is hugely profitable, they tried many times to get meetings over at Playboy to pitch some managerial consulting deal. Playboy didn't know how to manage that business, especially with the huge amount of free content available to the web site from other aspects of the business.
"As Playboy sinks more into hardcore, it becomes just another hardcore company with a good reputation. Hef did a cameo in Comic Book: The Movie. We did a 50-minute interview with him about comic books. I've never seen Hef more alert, alive, witty and fun than during this interview, just because he was talking about something other than Playboy. I realized that for eight-and-a-half years, I'd been watching the man regurgitate poorly written press releases. Here he's finally talking about something he has real expertise in. He's not just trying to put a dollar in his pocket.
"The company has strayed so far away from what the magazine was... I think the company will coast until Hef passes away and then AOL/Time Warner will buy them."
Luke: "What was behind your move to Dannis?"
Eric: "I was really unhappy at Playboy during my last two years there. Just the bad management decisions they made and being forced to work with some incompetent people. I met Danni when we did a show called "Playboy's Hard Drive," which was a show we did looking at sexy websites. We stayed in touch.
"I didn't get into entertainment to do erotic material. My work for Playboy had a false prestige for it. I used to say to myself, 'If I'm going to do this kind of material, at least I'm doing it for Playboy. I'm not doing it for Vivid or Wicked.'
"Eventually, Danni and her husband came up with such a good offer. Did I want to make less money working for people I can't stand or make more money working for people I liked? It was no choice.
"It was November 1999. We were shooting in Jamaica. Somehow Playboy had developed a policy that significant others weren't supposed to go on field trips. My girlfriend wants to go to Jamaica. My life is going to be a lot more difficult if I don't take her to Jamaica.
"I decided we would go down a week early. She stayed the entire time. My executive producer [Tamara Wells], who tried to fire me a number of times and was basically the reason I quit, was on the phone to LA from Jamaica complaining that I'd brought my girlfriend down. I get off the plane in LA, go to the office and quit. Cut to a year later, a new producer they hired is now living with Juli Ashton, and Flower, host of Nightcalls 411 is pregnant with the director's child. So much for the policy against fraternization.
"In late 1999, Danni had just built a huge production facility and they didn't know how to work with."
Luke: "You had a dream of doing a lot of special things at Dannis?"
Eric: "Some of those became impractical because of the way the internet went. While I was there, I started 24/7tv.com. It was going to be short-form programming for the internet. This was the time of companies like DEN (Digital Entertainment Network) were collapsing. I realized I could do better by myself, with a $1000 camcorder, and a Mac and my rolodex.
"I called celebrity friends like [rapper] Ice T, [actor] Billy Dee Williams, and Steve Schirripa, then the entertainment director at the Riviera in Las Vegas and now an actor on Sopranos. I just knew that someone one day would point a camera at Steve and make a lot of money. We shot a lot of short web interstitials and the plan was to pursue sponsorship. As the web fell apart, things like that totally fell apart.
"We found at Dannis that the stuff that got the biggest response wasn't bigger productions but it was more intimate home movies. People would rather see home movies from Cancun than a more expensive elaborate parody production."
Luke: "Like Bra Wars."
Eric: "That was made by Dean Guilotis who has been with Dannis a
long time. He worked for me. He did all the work. When my contract was
coming up at Dannis, I had nothing against anyone there. It's just that
they were paying me a lot of money to do very little. It was time to move
on. A lot of people like me were derailed by the internet. I was happy
to get back to mainstream big productions on a big screen. I couldn't
be happier than what I'm doing now. I'm working with friends. We're doing
shows that I would actually watch."
From Daily Variety 10/30/02: "NEW YORK -- The Sci Fi Channel has
signed a two-picture deal with actor Bruce Campbell, who will not only
star in "The Man With the Screaming Brain" but will write, produce and
direct it. Campbell, known to sci-fi fans as the star of Sam Raimi's "Evil
Dead" feature film trilogy, will do "Screaming Brain" and the second original
movie "Earwigs," with Creative Light Entertainment. Prexy-CEO of Creative
Light Scott Zakarin will be co-executive producer of both movies with
Campbell."
Luke: "You're like Elie Samaha. You've found a niche forming good relationships with celebrities and finding projects they really want to make and making it happen. You're like John Travolta with Battlefield Earth. You need to start making some Scientology films."
Eric: "It's not an immediate plan but if Travolta knocks on our door... The difference between us and Elie Samaha's company (we do have a lot of similarities) aside from that he knows bigger stars because he was in the nightclub business, is that we're a distribution company. A lot of what we do is greenlit based on marketing costs. We knew before we greenlit Inhuman that Japan was looking for monsters that were big and scary."
Luke: "Are there any star vehicles for [porn star] Juli Ashton planned?"
Eric: "If I was going to pull anyone from that world for something, it's probably be Juli. We had a scene in Comic Book: The Movie where we needed some girls, not nude, for a party scene. I invited Juli at the last minute through a mutual friend but I have a feeling that the invitation did not get to her in the way it was intended. The response was, 'No, she just turned down American Pie 3.'"
Luke: "If you had to cast a porn star, aside from Juli, in an acting role, who would you choose?"
Eric: "The adult business is so different. I've never seen an adult actor, aside from Steven St. Croix, analyze a character. I just think of the research real actors do for a part. I just read an interview with Selma Hayak who did the movie Frida. She spent months painting reproductions of the paintings Friday painted so she could get into Frida's head space. Could you imagine a porn star who has to play a pizza delivery guy working as a pizza delivery guy for a week? 'Oh, I play the sexy pool woman, so I am going to go dredge pools for a month.' Getting into character in the adult world means something entirely different.
"If you need a hot sexy actress to play a porn star, it's a lot hotter to see Jennifer Love Hewett try to do it than a real porn star. What have been the big porn star crossover roles? Jenna Jameson in the Howard Stern movie playing herself. Kobe Tai in Very Bad Things playing a hooker who gets killed. Ginger Lynn in Young Guns. The only one who has come close to crossing over is Traci Lords and she went through a stage where noone would hire her. After she put in the work to become an actress, she got good and booked bigger roles. In Blade 2, I didn't even realize I was watching Traci Lords."
Luke: "How's Greg Dark?"
Eric: "He's making 12-15 big budget music videos a year. He's promised features but nothing's been finalized. I've always wanted to do something mainstream with Greg, something action-oriented. I asked Greg two years ago what he would do if he had money and didn't have to work. He said he'd be a martial arts instructor. Greg is holding out for a feature with a guaranteed theatrical release. That's difficult. Seagal can barely get a guaranteed theatrical."