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Gram Ponante Interview

We speak Friday morning, February 4, 2005.

Luke: "When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?"

Gram: "President of Warner Communications, after starting out as a reporter. I never thought I'd be writing DVDA (double vaginal, double anal) or ATMs (ass-to-mouth) or fisting.

"I went to most colleges on the East Coast. I'd go for a while. I'd run out of money. Then I'd go again. I went to Emerson, Williams, Harvard. I graduated from Emerson with a degree in journalism. Then I did a masters at Columbia Journalism School. I did interships at the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald.

"I got out of journalism because it didn't pay well. I was making $5 an hour as an intern. I wasn't interested in being a beat reporter. I fooled around with web pages and I got into IT (Information Technology) consulting.

"When I finally, against my own wishes, moved to California, I wanted to upend my own sensibilities. I didn't have a marketable skill. I was a writer, but so was everybody.

"I got a job with MTV. I was their IT director. I worked on reality shows like Real World and Road Rules. Speaking of having your sensibilities upended, I found that the reality shows are scripted.

"I had an option of hanging out a freelance IT shingle or a freelance writer shingle.

"The [San Fernando] Valley was unlike anywhere I'd lived before. In 2001, there was a big movement for the Valley to secede from Los Angeles and call itself Avalon or Camelot.

"I pitched a story to various publications about what would the Valley be apart from Los Angeles. I assumed that the Valley got most of its money from the airline industry, Rocketdyne, the Budweiser plant... I spent a lot of time at Boeing and Budweiser. More and more people would say, well, you know the big business in the Valley is porn.

"I'd say, hahaha. I had no idea. Regardless of what inflated numbers you hear from industry sources, it is such a big business.

"On a whim, and with the promise of an article on Salon.com, I called a couple of people [porn publicity folks], tittering like a little girl, asking to come in on a porn set.

"But there I was. The first set (Sin City's Whoriental Sex Academy) I went to was a revelation. It was fun.

"I wrote a big article. I cut it into different pieces and had it published in various forms in various places.

"Then I found myself submitting things to setgo.com.

"I had met Stephen Ochs at AVN. He let me know the managing editor job [at AVN.com] was available. I sent a couple of things in and got hired [working for AVN from November of 2002 until April 2003]."

Gram has written freelance pieces for AVN, mainly for AVN Online magazine over the past 20 months.

His wife of two years, Rebecca Gray, an actress, has worked for AVN for years. "I loved the people I met there. There were a lot of youngsters there who were good at what they did. They didn't a stigma about them that they were slumming by writing for porn. They had broad insights.

"The thing I hated about AVN is true for the industry in general -- the lack of commitment to excellence. You get press releases with names spelled wrong. There are people advertised on the boxcover who aren't in the film. You can't be sure that the press contact one week is going to be the press contact another week. It became representative for porn.

"When I was a kid, people would say, 'Good enough for government work.' In porn, people say, 'Good enough for porn work.'"

Luke: "Why did you get fired?"

Gram: "That's a good question. I think it was a personality issue but nobody ever told me why. Any number of people might've hated me there."

Luke: "What have you been doing since then?"

Gram: "Commercial acting. Web design. I write plays."

Luke: "How do you balance having friendships with people in the industry and having to write on them things they might not like?"

Gram: "I haven't gotten to the point where I'm writing things I know have offended anyone. I don't think that's going to be the focus of GramPonante.com. Other people do that better. I like the humorous aspect of porn. I think it is a fun industry. That there is so much misery in the business side of it has always surprised me.

"Porn reminds me of a microcosm of Hollywood in the '20 and '30s when people really felt they were pioneers. They might be wrong in every aspect. They might be deluding themselves on a massive scale, but they still feel they are pioneers. They feel they are an exclusive rip-roaring community.

"Things I hate about porn? Not enough people can get rich in it."

Luke: "What do you say to strangers about what you do for a living?"

Gram: "If you say you are a writer in Hollywood, that pretty much shuts people up.

"I don't apologize for writing on porn. You should only apologize for it if your writing is s---."

Luke: "Which of your articles has gotten you in the most trouble?"

Gram: "I wrote one on the Tera Patrick show still being called the Tera Patrick show, even after she left it (when Digital Playground was still attempting some spin control that got me in trouble). That was around the week I got fired. It might've been that."

I asked a source at Digital Playground if they had anything to do with Gram's firing from AVN. The person said no. The person said he/she had no memory of Gram's article.

3/1/07

Kurt Lockwood Blows Up On Egoist 'eXXXtra' Set Thursday

Email Luke a caption (the winner gets a dinner for two with Kurt):

Jim Jones: Lockwood and Gram battle it out like men...while Luke hides like a pansy.

Luke simpers: "I'm not about to get in the middle of that dust-up, mate! Those two were like a couple of tightly coiled death adders! Besides...I'm gay!"

Jed emails: Don't you know who I am? L.A. Vice? The Real Boogie Nights? err.... Mixed Nuts? C'mon! Steve Martin was in that.... No he didn't f--- me in the arse!

Abby Ehmann emails:

You called me a fag!
C'mon, pussy!
How ya gonna spin this?
Don't ya just love my new tribal tats?
Do ya like my new pec implants?

Kurt Lockwood finds out the morning of March 1 that his latest movie will not be released by Sex Z Pictures because much of its script was stolen from P.T. Anderson's 1998 movie Boogie Nights.

11:10 a.m. DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES: Arriving an hour late with his dog, Kurt tries to park in the cramped building lot.

The building manager has a dog and tells Kurt he can't park there with his dog.

Kurt threatens the manager: "I'll kick your ass."

The manager tells the movie crew that he does not want Kurt in his building.

Kurt backs out on to the street.

Jennifer James and some of the crew walk down to the street to try to sort out the problem.

Gram Ponante and Abby Ehmann walk up.

Kurt screams at Gram: "You want to fight?"

Jumping out of his car, screaming threats, and pulling off his shirt and jacket, Lockwood shoves Ponante several times, spilling Gram's coffee all over his shirt. (Video)

Nursing a $1200 laptop, Gram tries to apply his Harvard education and superior intellect to defusing the situation but Kurt is not to be appeased. (High-res picture.)

Lockwood gets back in his car but keeps yelling.

Director Jennifer James tries to calm him.

Kurt repeatedly screams at Ponante: "Call me a fag now!"

A van stuck behind Lockwood on the street honks. Kurt threatens the driver.

Three crew members and the building manager chat with Kurt. (Video, Video)

Lockwood eventually shakes hands with the manager.

Eventually, Gram has a sit down chat with Jennifer James and Egoist owner Brian Scott. Gram says he'll press charges of assault against Lockwood.

Jennifer and Brian are apologetic but they need Kurt for this shoot and so Ponante is asked to leave.

A few minutes later, Kurt tells Brian that either I leave or he leaves.

Brian and the production manager ask me to leave.

I do.

Video of Sunny Lane, hair in curlers, rehearsing with James Bartholet. Video.

An Adult videographer emails:

As a camera guy, I've worked alongside Kurt a few times. I have nothing personally to gain by making comments pro or con about him. I've seen Kurt exhibit extremely bad judgment on a set. At the same time, I've also seen him treat crew and talent with absolute class on occasion. It goes both ways (no pun intended)...

After working alongside porn "actors" for quite a while, I think I pretty much have the psychology down as to why some of them act the way they do. In my opinion, porn is a magnet for people with self-esteem issues. The attention that these actors receive working in porn is probably the most amount of "acceptance" they've ever received in their entire lives including family or anyone else. Therefore, certain types of people process this porn attention into meaning something more than what it actually is. Being the best porn actor around doesn't really amount to anything in Hollywood or the rest of the mainstream world.

Johno Rogers posts to XPT: "I love it how Kurt Lockwood sticks it up the morons and cretins who attack him like cowards over the internet He's one of the few guys who can defeat a ton of haters with a few choice words. While he's out having sex with tons of gorgeous women, many of the haters are sitting at home wasting away."

Conky posts: " I can add nothing more to this awesome story illustrating the pressures modern performer/directors find themselves under."

Kurt Lockwood emails Willie D and the XPT crew:

Date: Nov 18, 2006 2:19 AM
Subject: TO MY NUMBER ONE FAN!!

Body:

HEY WILLIE D "Steve, don't forget that you're pushing middle age, and that ultra-hot sex you brag about happens because other people pay those whores to allow you to penetrate them. But I wouldn't excpect you to understand...you're Caligula...Caligula was a sociopath, too."

YAWN... OKAY NOW I AM STARTING TO GET BORED. THIS JUST GETS REPETITIVE AND I'M REPEATING MYSELF NOW. BTW, I LIKE HOW YOU DIDN'T POST MY LAST RESPONSE TO YOU. CHICKENMASTER DID THE SAME THING. YOU HATERS ARE SUCH COWARDS. I PUT YOU IN YOUR PLACE IN THAT LAST POST AND YOU COULDN'T BRING YOURSELF TO POST IT, HUH, COWARD? NOR DID YOU ANSWER ME BUT YOU STILL TAKE POST SHOTS AT ME ANYWAY LIKE THE PUSSY THAT YOU REALLY ARE. SO OKAY HERE WE GO... AGAIN...

YES, I AM PUSHING MIDDLE AGE AND WHAT? FATHER TIME COMES FOR US ALL MY FRIEND. I THINK I"M DOING BETTER THAN MOST IN THAT DEPT. I'M LOVING GROWING OLDER AND THE WISDOM THAT COMES WITH IT. PLUS, IT TURNS ME ON THAT THE HOT CHICKS ARE 18 AND I'M 36. PLUS, WOMEN WILL TELL YOU MEN GET BETTER LOOKING AS THEY GET OLDER. EXCEPT YOU OF COURSE. BTW, ONE LOOK AT YOUR FAT, GRIZZLED, UGLY MUG AND I UNDERSTAND COMPLETELY WHY YOU HATE ME. IF I LOOKED LIKE YOU HATERS I WOULD HATE ME TOO. WE ARE THE SAME AGE AND YOU LOOK 20 YEARS OLDER THAN ME AT LEAST. AS FOR THE GIRLS WHO HAVE ULTRA HOT SEX WITH ME ARE PAID BY SOMEONE TO... WHO GIVES A f---? I'LL TAKE IT, HAHA!

IT SURE BEATS THE HELL OUT OF NOT GETTING ALL THAT HOT PUSSY THAT I GET TO f---. I'LL TAKE THE HOT f---ING GIRLS WHO ARE PAID TO HAVE SEX WITH ME OVER WHATEVER NOTHING SEX LIFE YOU f---IN' VIRGINS HAVE (OR DON'T HAVE) ANY DAY. YOU HATERS ARE MISSING THE POINT. GUYS LIKE YOU WHO PAY SO MUCH ATTENTION TO OTHER GUYS' SEX LIVES ARE G.A.Y. AND THERE'S NO WAY AROUND THAT FACT. YOUR BEHAVIOR IS GAY!! AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, THE CALIGULA LINE? AT LAST, YOU ARE FINALLY BEGINNING TO UNDERSTAND ME. GOD, YOU HATERS ARE JUST DUMB. LAST BUT NOT LEAST. USING MY REAL NAME? EVEN FOR A SCUMBAG LIKE YOU THAT IS A NEW LOW, ESPECIALLY SINCE YOU HIDE IN ANONYMITY, ASSHOLE. GET SOME f---IN' PERSPECTIVE, DICKHEAD.

I'LL SEND THIS BELOW TO YOU BECAUSE I KNOW YOU WILL PASS IT ON TO CONKY ON XPT. HEY CONKY ZZZZZZZZZZZ.... OH ARE YOU DONE? I MUST'VE DOZED OFF.

YOUR OBSESSION WITH ME IS TRULY REMARKABLE. SEVERAL POSTS FROM YOU ABOUT ME A DAY? GOD, I MUST BE THE FIRST THING YOU THINK ABOUT WHEN YOU WAKE UP. YOU ARE TRULY THE ULTIMATE FAN. I KNOW YOU SAY THE CONTRARY BUT IT'S TOTALLY A CASE OF "THE HATER DOTH PROTEST TOO MUCH METHINKS." HERE'S YOUR FATAL FLAW. YOU CAN'T SAY YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT ME WHEN YOU POST ABOUT ME EVERY DAY. THERE IS AN ORGY OF EVIDENCE TO SUGGEST THE CONTRARY. I IRRITATE YOU? EXCELLENT! I WANT TO IRRITATE STUPID HATER ASSHOLES LIE YOU AND YOUR ILK DUMBASS! THAT'S MY WHOLE f---ING PURPOSE FOR RESPONDING TO THESE THINGS! DON'T YOU GET IT YET? AS FOR MY EGO BEING MY DOWNFALL. WHAT DOWNFALL? LET ME TELL YA TRUE CONKY, I WOULDN'T SWAP LIVES WITH ANY OF YOU LOSERS. NOT FOR A SINGLE f---ING SECOND! YET I THINK THERE ARE MANY OF YOU HATERS WHO WOULD SWAP LIVES WITH ME IN A f---IN' NANO-SECOND. AND YOU KNOW THAT'S THE TRUTH. ABOUT IMPRESSING YOU AND AFFECTING YOUR LIFE? WHO GIVES A f---? WHO EVER SAID I WAS OUT TO IMPRESS YOU? I'M JUST WAVING MY DICK IN YOUR FACE AND LAUGHING AND WATCHING YOU HATERS SQUIRM. I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR SMALL LIFE. IT'S YOU WHO POST ABOUT ME MR. OBSESSIVE NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. I COULD GIVE TWO s---S ABOUT WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU DO. OF COURSE YOU DON'T OPEN YOURSELF UP TO EQUAL SCRUTINY BEHIND YOUR HATER WALL OF ANONYMITY NOW DO YA PUSSY? ANYWAY, I STOPPED READING YOUR SECOND PARAGRAPH ABOUT HALF WAY DOWN BECAUSE I'VE HEARD IT ALL BEFORE AND IT'S BLAH BLAH BLAH. AND KURT'S A FAG AND WHATEVER.... NEENER NEENER. THAT'S WHAT YOU DON'T GET. MY RESPONSE TO YOU AND THE REST OF THE HATERS IS: I GET IT. YOU HATE ME. AND WHAT? IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY? DID YOU GET IT ALL OUT? COZ I'M STILL GONNA RUB IT IN YOUR FACE. SO SAVE YOUR UN-SOLICITED DIMESTORE B.S. PSYCHO-BABBLE, DR. PHIL. I MEAN, I LOVE THAT YOU STUDY ME SO HARD THAT YOU TRY TO PSYCHO-ANALYZE ME. (GOD, I AM THE MOST EXCITING THING IN THE WHOLE WORLD TO YOU, HUH?) AS FAR AS YOU BEING IN THE BIZ LONGER, THAN WHY HAVEN'T YOU GROWN A f---IN SAC IN ALL THOSE EXTRA YEARS? WHY HIDE YOUR PORN IDENTITY? WHY? BECAUSE YOU ARE A FULL OF s--- WANNABE LOSER NOBODY DELUDING YOURSELF THAT YOU ARE NOW IMPORTANT BECAUSE YOU ARE POSTING ON A STUPID WORTHLESS HATER BOARD? CONGRATS! YOU MADE IT! AS FAR AS MY CINEMATIC QUALIFICATIONS GO, WHO GIVES A f---? I GOTTA JOB DOING WHAT I LOVE AND BEING CREATIVE AND IT'S SELLING WELL AND THAT'S THE BOTTOM f---ING LINE.

PLUS I WILL LET YOU IN ON A LITTLE SECRET. I'M ABOUT TO SIGN AN EXCLUSIVE FEATURE DIRECTING CONTRACT WITH SEX Z PICTURES WORTH SIX FIGURES. THAT'S IN ADDITION TO THE SIX FIGURES I ALREADY MAKE, ASSHOLES. OH SNAP! YOU REALLY HATE ME NOW, HUH? YOU'RE s---TING YOURSELF RIGHT ABOUT NOW, RIGHT? YEP. YOU'LL BE HEARING ABOUT IT SOON. GONNA BE MAKING CLOSE TO A QUARTER MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR SOON. HOW ABOUT HAT? PLUS I WILL f--- ABOUT 400 GIRLS THIS YEAR. HATE ON THAT $UCCE$$, YOU HATER MOTHERf---ERS. AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST. HEY JRV, I SEE YOU'VE JOINED IN THE FRAY. JESUS, YOU LOSERS ABOUND. TO MY KNOWLEDGE WE'VE NEVER MET, I'VE NEVER SAID A WORD ABOUT YOU. BUT YET YOU TALK s---. FUNNY I SAW YOU AT THE PARTY THE OTHER NIGHT AND YOU DIDN'T SAY A WORD. WHY NOT SAY SOMETHING THEN? WHAT COULD BE PREVENTING YOU? SELF-PRESERVATION I THINK. BUT JUST LIKE ALL THE OTHER COWARDLY HATERS YOU LOVE TO TALK s--- WHEN I AM NOT IN FRONT OF YOU. TELL YA WHAT. NEXT PARTY I SEE YA, YOU OLD, UGLY, IMPOTENT, FAT, f---. I'LL GIVE YA CHANCE TO REPEAT YOUR COMMENT TO MY FACE. FAIR ENOUGH? SEE YA SOON. ANYWAY, LOVE TO ALL THE HATERS. IT'S COOL. I GO ON MYSPACE AND THERE'S MY POSTIVE RABID FANS (WHO THANKFULLY COMPLETELY DESTROY YOU HATERS IN SHEER NUMBERS AND LOVE) AND THEN I CHECK XPT WHICH IS LIKE MY NEGATIVE FANS, BUT MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT, YOU CAN DELUDE YOURSELVES ALL YOU LIKE, BUT YOU HATERS CAN'T POST THIS MUCH ABOUT ME AND NOT ADMIT THAT YOU ARE OBSESSED WITH ME. FOLLOW THE LOGIC, ASSHOLES. ANYWAY, I'M TIRED AND GOING TO BED. TOMORROW I SHOOT THE THIRD AND LAST DAY OF FILMING "COCK ROCKERS #2" OUT ON SEX Z PICTURES. TOMORROW I'M f---ING BRITNEY AND WHITNEY STEVENS...TOGETHER, HAHA! BEST, KURT f---IN' LOCKWOOD

Nov 10, 2006 4:59 PM
Subject: RE: RE: TO MY NUMBER ONE FAN!!

Body: Hey Willie D Glad to see you have a sense of humor. One that you have never allowed for me, btw. Let's see Jamesn has given me his stamp of approval, Chickenmaster threw in the towel (and like a true Chickens--- didn't post his side of the conversation where he complimented me and told me I was "alright" in his book and said that my talking to him was a "complement (sic)." But rather than admit it in XPT he fell on his own sword, er, chickenclaw, haha. So who is next? Lockwood 2 Haters 0.

Willie perhaps I should call you into question next. How about this post from you on xfanz.xom When I joined here I said I enjoyed the drama, backstabbing, and something else I forgot how to spell, but I left out one crucial element to my enjoyment of modern pornography: the gossip. There wasn't a whole lot of drama in my high school, except when one of Barry Goldwater's relatives got kicked out for drinking on campus...so porn is filling that void in my life which was lacking. - Willie D Dude!! This speaks volumes about you and your life and your hate! Not too mention, porn "filling a void in your life??" Weak. A "gossip void"? Dude. Seriously, I may like strap on sex, but you sir, are a F.A.G.! A grown, successful man does not bemoan the "gossip void" his high school left him with. Jesus Christ! f---ing grow a pair! Is the D. in Willie D. for douchebag or what? What are you? A little old lady in a sewing circle? Waaah, no gossip in my high school! I'm a little bitch! Still, this speaks VOLUMES about you and what cheap thrills you get out of this and why. Do you feel like you have an identity now, "Wiilie D"? Do you feel sexier as "Willie D?" Do you delude yourself in thinking that your internet hate carries any real-world weight at all? Seriously? Or are you too, just sucking your own dick and kidding yourself into thinking that bonding over the impersonal safety of the internet over shared anonymous hatred of others is somehow making real human connections and makes you noteworthy? Truth? It won't and it doesn't.

I told all you hatersl, my responses seem to be making their way to xpt just fine from here. I'm responding because it gives me pleasure. It's like mooning all you haters right to your faces and none of you can do a damn thing about it. Hey, I don't expect you to understand what I'm saying, I mean anyone who is that satisfied with themselves for so little has really lost perspective of what is important in life before we even start, know what I mean? Who knows maybe you can come up with some bit of oh-so-clever hatred that Smeely Monkey will compliment you on and make your whole f---in' hater life! That's pretty thin and noticeably pathetic. But you go and enjoy that. As for me, I just f---ed Luscious Lopez and I've got six scenes over the next three days to go shoot. Count dat money, bitches! Best, Kurt f---in' Lockwood

Kurt Lockwood - Orgasmic Analyst

Proving that XRCO members, indeed, do have a sense of humor, Kurt Lockwood received an honorary mention in the Orgasmic Analyst category. "Lockwood did have more than enough actual nominations to be listed," XRCO co-chairman Dirty Bob revealed. "However, we decided that this award is best served for females – hence he is listed, but in a non-voting capacity."

Conky writes:

I think we at XPT should take the moral high ground from this point. It's time to start the healing. I think this appalling act by XRCO will only heap more pressure upon Kurt to appear ultra macho. Unless we now step in and embrace him as one of our own, he can only be days away from demonstrating his strength by ripping up phone directories and pushing nerds around at his local high school. It's time to stop the hate, people. Like his black lab, Kurt needs to be rescued and re-housed. I think he should become a Moderator here at XPT and usher in a new dawn of metrosexuality and compact SUV ownership.

Egoist 'eXXXtra' Shoot

Jennifer James responds:

hi luke, I am sorry about the upsetness that happened that day, and the resulting abrupt departure of yourself and Gram... after all I did invite both of you. I did not know anything about the problems, and was caught totally off guard. I am sorry about what happened to gram, after all I invited him as well, but i had torn up my right shoulder just days before the shoot and had gotten a cortisone shot in my shoulder, could not move my right arm and was shooting, in great pain, left handed. And i was not about to jump in the middle of the two of them, and risk any more damage.

After everything, Kurt came on set and delivered a breathtaking performance, I wrote the role with him in mind and it called for a guy who was a bit "over the top".He did a great acting job , requiring few retakes and gave a white hot sex scene with Sunny Lane. and I would love to workwith him in the future.. I wish you would have come back at the end of the day to see the blistering anal sex scene between Audrey Hollander and hubby Otto Bauer, I think it will be an award winner..both Lynn Lemay and Sunny lane stayed around just to watch, and were blown away, as were the rest of us, amazing performance on their part.

We have a great movie in the can, and with Hustler handling the DVD distribution it's a great way to launch Egoist Entertainment, a company that, like myself, believes in all those things our business seems to have forgotten, romance, seduction, beauty, sensuality, great production values, doing business in an honorable way and paying on set with checks that don't bounce!

AdultDVDTalk Locks Discussion Of Kurt Lockwood's Jihad

Moderator Hardware posts: "I don't see what this has to do with porn, besides the guys in whatever this incident is being in the biz. Rather than move it to another forum, where I doubt it would be any more appreciated by the mods than it is here, I'm locking it."

It won't take much escalation in Kurt Lockwood's feuds for somebody to get killed, but I guess that has nothing to do with porn. Nor did Wonderland Avenue, I suppose.

Here's an ADT thread on Lockwood that has not been locked.

Von Swine posts on ADT:

It's become apparent that the ideals of 'restricting' ones opinions is becoming commonplace thesedays in/on adult message boards. No longer is one free to rebuke others statements no matter how slanderous or mis-informed, without running the risk of having said retort erased completely, never having seen the light of day. I ask you fellow posters/ADT bretheren, would you agree to such practice here on your beloved and frequently contributed to public message board? I think not! For XXX breeds one of the last domains of freedom and expression in our current era, and we should not have this form of censorship! Do not expect your voice, or opinion to be represented, or even displayed here after your fingers toils since every single thing that you write/type, is subject to anothers approval, regardless of validity. Communism works in many places, but not where I reside. Not now, not ever. Free me from these shackles if you can, by any means neccessary, so I can live free and proud like America gives promise to.

Drew Black, owner of ADT, posts:

Moderators are volunteers. They are not paid employees. Often moderation actions are taken simply to make their jobs easier. When a thread starts like the Ponante/Whywood thing it's obvious that a s---storm-and-a-half is brewing and those things tend to spread like cancer.

I find it entertaining that people have finally figured out that they can pretty much post anything they want in WN & N cuz the moderator of this forum is asleep at the wheel.

Thursday, March 8, 2007, I published these two satirical stories (some of the time I labeled them as satire and some of the time I did not):

Kurt Lockwood - American Sex Idol

LOS ANGELES, March 3 — Three of the leading candidates for Playboy TV's American Sex Idol on Saturday denounced one of their industry’s best-known commentators for using an antigay epithet on actor Kurt Lockwood.

Speaking at the XBiz Political Action Conference before an overflow crowd on Friday, Mr. Gram Ponante said, “I was going to have a few comments on Kurt Lockwood, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word ‘faggot,’ so I — so kind of an impasse, can’t really talk about Lockwood.”

“Kurt was singled out for a personal attack because the porn blogging establishment knows he poses the greatest threat to their power,” said Sex Z Pictures owner Bo Kenney. “Since they have nothing real to use against him, Ponante’s resorting to the classic right-wing strategy of riling up hate to smear a progressive champion.”

Mr. Ponante, asked for a reaction to the criticism, said in an e-mail message: “C’mon, it was a joke. I would never insult gays by suggesting that they are like Kurt Lockwood. That would be mean.”

Mags Drop Ponante Column After Lockwood Slur

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Three magazines said this week they will drop Gram Ponante's column after the conservative author referred to American Sex Idol candidate Kurt Lockwood as a ``faggot.''

Adult Video News in Chatsworth, Hustler magazine in Beverly Hills and Adam Film World in Los Angeles said they would stop running Ponante's syndicated column because of the comment he made last week.

``We will not continue to publish the columns of someone who uses people as a punch line to get a cheap laugh and who so freely uses an offensive term to describe another human being,'' Hustler Editor Bruce David wrote.

AVN's editorial board said it would halt the column following Ponante's ``crude characterization of Kurt Lockwood as a homosexual.''

Tod Hunter emails me:

I remember reading an autobiographical work, I believe Scoring by Dan Greenberg but I wouldn't swear to it, in which the author said that he was working at Playboy on editorial staff and they had a quandary. At Playboy, everything is labeled: Humor, Memoir, Ribald Classic, Pictorial. whatever. They had something satirical that was not typical Playboy material but was going into the magazine as a humor piece -- Girls of Amish Country with everybody in ankle-length dresses and bonnets or something equally atypical -- and they were in a big debate whether they should label it Satire or not. The author argued that it shouldn't be labeled as Satire, part of the point was that they were presenting it straight.

Bottom line: If you have to label something as "Satire," you aren't doing it right.

Egoist's Version

Brian Scott emails:

Luke,

Love the new pic of you in the plaid shirt!

I am with Egoist Entertainment, the producer of "eXXXtra eXXXtra".

I was told some time ago, that life is not about what happens to you, but how you deal with what happens to you and I wanted to thank you and everyone on the cast and crew for the way they handled what could have been a bad situation. I have not responded because I thought this would all blow over, but it does not seem to be going anywhere and I wanted to make sure that some of the facts are corrected.

Any issues between Kurt and Gram had nothing to do with Egoist Entertainment. Any altercations took place outside before they entered the set. As you can see from your video the altercation happened on the street, not on the set. I wish you would have been able to come back at the end of the day to see the amazing sex scene between Audrey Hollander and Otto Bauer. After you left we went on to shot some great footage with no issues whatsoever.

I have read that Gram wanted more of an apology from Jennifer James. I want to know why Gram has not apologized to Jennifer? or to Me? When Jennifer invited Gram to the set, he knew that Kurt was going to be on set that day. If he had any idea there would be tension between the two of them, he should have mentioned that to Jennifer or showed up at a different time. It was Gram who could have put "eXXXtra eXXXtra" in jeopardy.

Brian Scott

PS. The Satire is hilarious!

Willie emails:

Has Brian Scott ever had a real job? One where people who hold different opinions have to learn to get along? Implying that Ponante is the responsible party here insults the intelligence of everyone in the room. He jeopardized a porno shoot? How, by attempting to show up and publicize it? Brian, people in the real world often come into contact with people they can't stand. But the vast majority of us handle it without resorting to ripping off our clothes and physically threatening people. You can put James Carville and DIck Morris in the same room. You know they hate each other's beliefs to the point of spitting, but strangely they maintain some type of composure. Just quietly own up to the concept that you hired a self-admitted mentally unstable performer to work, and he flipped his lid. Trying to throw it back on someone else will only further the negativity generated by this simultaneously hilarious and tragic event.

I do give Brian credit for a well-written, albeit misguided message, a rarity in porn these days.

Bornyo posts on XPT: "Now that's ridiculous. It's pretty clear from all reports and from the video that Ponante had NO IDEA he was going to be attacked. Truly, I'd bet that Gram wouldn't go to a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant if he suspected two nine year olds might mix it up."

Conky posts:

Wow. That email is just... it's just stunning. I thought I was up on the concept of denial. Until now. Gram should apologize? Yes, Gram should apologize here and now for never, ever featuring one of their products in anything he ever writes (except police statements) from this point onwards. I'm still just plain amazed that there is no blame here. No sense of shame. No one suggesting that this kind of behavior should be seen as unacceptable in a so called civilized society. Gram, I suggest you send them all Hallmark cards to apologize for your frankly outrageous behavior. Picking fights with the talent before they're even on set? Shame on you, sir!

Conky posts:

It's pretty standard to have journalists from magazines or websites on-set these days, along with a photog who shoots bts pics and posed action shots for the layouts. If you think about it, it's pretty obvious why sets are open to the adult press: with hundreds of new releases a month, the best way to get coverage is an on-set report in a skin mag or leading website. And it can make a huge difference at both wholesale and retail time if the people you're trying to sell to are aware your product exists in advance.

Assault on the Media

Gram Ponante blogs:

If I were writing for the news departments of either of the trade magazines I would frame this story, in descending level of importance, thusly:

* Unethical business practices. The defendant (allegedly) verbally threatened one employee and (definitely) physically assaulted an invited guest. Despite this being witnessed by employees of the troubled movie in question, the defendant was allowed to work.

* Assault on media. Yes, yes, I know: Is what is written on these sites really news? Often enough not, but the difference between these blog sites and other advertiser-supported publications is really a matter of degrees rather than substance. These publications and blogs are the only games in the business except every so often when the L.A. Times or LA Weekly drops in.

* Trade publication writers: have you ever been sold out by your management in favor of an advertiser?

* Is something not newsworthy unless it is written in a press release? Porn publicists write most of the news in this business; editorial departments are often reduced to copyediting.

* Media representatives sent home at the demand of the defendant (Mike South speculates on why the director in question hasn't had any work released in some time).

* Talents' views on media, particularly the idea that writers "take potshots under cover"

* An ordinary fracas on a porn set (and yes, in that all parties involved moved from the street to inside the building, and in that the assault happened under the auspices of this troubled movie, it was on the set).

LAPD Wants To Talk To Kurt

Gene Ross writes on Adultfyi:

"This has gotten a little crazy," says James who was directing a fight in downtown LA when a movie broke out. Basically there was a shoving match involving Lockwood and journalist Ponante. And we're saying shoving match because Ponante's, now, evidently, showing bruises as evidence from the altercation.

"It's escalated to the point where the law has been brought in," James continues. "I thought this whole thing was silly and no big deal but I got a call from the LAPD- she was a detective and very nice," continues James. "She wanted details of the episode and said assault and battery charges were going to be filed. She said Gram had gone in and had spoken to the police dept. He had shown them pictures of bruises and bruises on his chest which I find hard to believe considering I was standing right there. It seems hard to believe that the little shoving match could have caused anything that would have been noticeable."

In the shoving match, James said Lockwood pushed Ponante and Ponante in turn threw coffee on Lockwood. "Things started coming off of Gram, like his glasses- it was stupid," continues James. "Kurt's point was that this guy had said bad things about him and he should have at least said them to his face. This was one of those situations where both people were at fault. You can't go around shoving people who say bad things about you. In this business we all have targets on our backs. On the other hand, to be able to say anything you want against anybody, to insinuate and hide it in cute words and clever analogies- that's really not fair, either. One should be responsible for what one says."

Calvin writes on XPT:

This may work at recess for a 2nd grader, but in the adult world it does not excuse assault if your victim allegedly wrote bad things about you. It just makes it premeditated assault.

What a radical political agenda. If the founding fathers had wanted us to be able to write whatever we want with impunity, they surely would have said something about it in the Bill or Rights or somewhere.

I don't know if it has ever been established that Gram actually used the "F" word with reference to Kurt. But even if he did, Kurt is, in this context, what he has always wanted to be: a public figure. This means that it is only libel if it is known to be a falsehood. One does not even need to prove that the printed claim is true, only that it is consistent with their public persona.

Dragging everyone into court in order to prove whether one person called the other a fag, and whether the other person was then justified in assaulting them, complete with showings of "Put Your Finger in my Ass #4" as evidence is just what porn needs to prove that it really is the "adult" industry.

Conky writes on XPT:

At least this goes to show that if you want to be part of a civilized society, you have to follow society's rules. The insistence of so many people on this production that it was all just nothing still amazes me. Jennifer James has done herself absolutely no good whatsoever in PR terms with her little speech to Gene. Claiming that Ponante wants to write "whatever he wants with impunity" is just a load of horse puckey. Gram simply doesn't feature gossip on his site. He's one of the straightest, funniest writers in the industry. If James had a clue about this business, she'd be aware of that. She would also know that he's far more popular with most companies because of that; he doesn't just print rumors or gossip. It's not his market. And with Fleshbot, that's a far larger market than she perhaps realizes.

Regardless of the legal outcome, it's high time someone took a stand and just said, "No! That is not acceptable behavior."

Full marks to Gram for not being cowed by a porn director and her crew into silence. Jennifer, please remember your main professional aim in life is male ejaculation. It's your buyers who are important, and you court them through people like Gram, Luke, Gene and the wider adult press like the web, skin mags etc.. Alienating them is just a bad, bad idea.

In a perfect world, I'd like to see Fishbein's take on this (yes, I know he's not universally popular, but...). If this industry is ever to achieve public acceptability or shield itself from the government, the perceived 'leaders' need to address this sort of behavior, drug abuse and the crooks and hang them out to dry.

Gram Ponante Files Assault Charge After On Set Altercation

“The police have decided not to pursue this and I’m content with leaving it at that,” Lockwood told XBIZ. “It’s really hard to believe everything you read and anyone who has been so overly concerned needs to get a life. There are guys dying in Iraq and some people are worried if I pushed Gram or not. It’s ridiculous.”