7/31/05
LFP's Head Of Production Marc Kramer Vs. Kimberly Kane And Her Boyfriend Jack The Zipper
Friday, July 31st. Marc Kramer was shooting a movie (starring Jessica Jaymes) at the Hustler studio. Kimberly Kane showed up to the set. She was not invited by Kramer. He didn't believe she had any business being at the studio.
Kramer asked her what she was doing there. She said she was there to talk to Haley Page who was in make-up. Kramer told Kimberly to leave the set.
A few hours later, Kimberly sent emails to LFP's head of sales saying Kramer was rude and abusive.
Marc notified his directors not to use her:
To all- You are not to use Kimberly Kane in any of your shows. If you decide to hire her, you will no longer direct for the company. Thank you. Marc
Kramer has been shooting movies for seven years (for Digital Playground, Zero Tolerance, Third Degree Films, Colossal Entertainment, Vivid, Tera Vision, Adam & Eve and CDI) and says he has a good reputation. He says he's never been fired.
I emailed Kramer for comment on the below emails. He had no comment.
I asked around the industry about Kramer. I was told he was tightly wound and combustible.
One source friendly to Kramer writes: "Kramer is blunt, but he's a man of his word. He hates bulls---. Jack the Zipper is a pretentious, whiny bulls--- artist whose panties are in a bunch because his porn-whore gf got put in her place. Go back to art school, Jack the Hack."
Kimberly Kane and her boyfriend Jack The Zipper sent out this mass email to porn directors and producers:
By now you've received a mass email from Marc Kramer attempting to block you from hiring Kimberly Kane. As many of you have worked with KK in the past on countless Hustler productions, I think you'd agree she's a top performer with a topnotch reputation. We're still shocked that Mr Kramer would choose to abuse his authority this way, and we think it's symptomatic of what we've all been putting up with in recent months with the current mgmt. We're also guessing you don't appreciate being intimidated and threatened in that email if you choose to exercise your right to hire KK. I'm betting Mr Flynt won't stand for it, and I plan to meet with him right away. We would appreciate any support you could give to KK, she's being harassed and her income is being threatened directly by a man with a very bad reputation for this kind of thing, basically for standing up for herself. Below is the letter I sent to Mr kramer to expose this situation.
On Friday, Jack The Zipper wrote Marc Kramer:
mr kramer apparently your lack of standards knows no bounds. for you to attempt to blacklist an established performer with a great reputation...who stars in most of Hustler's top movies over the last year..... for calling you on your unprofessional behavior towards her at the LFP soundstage on friday proves her point about you...don't you think....?
I'm going to take this problem to Mr Flynt personally as I have other issues to bring up with him about what we've been dealing with in your dept....and I also plan to contact the directors personally to explain what you're up to...you should also be aware that I'm contacting my attorney and will seek damages against you for any loss of wages that kk suffers as a result of your actions.
I hear you've been fired from a long list of companies for these kinds of manipulations....you represent what needs to be weeded out of this industry....and you should realize that unlike you...kimberly kane is a vital and very well respected professional in this business....and we have a lot of methods at our disposal to bring this out in the open... you're obviously no gentlemen...and now you've made it my business to expose this nonsense once and for all...I'll be happy to discuss this further with you in person....
Marc Kramer, Dustin Flynt (Photo from AVN.com)
Marc Kramer Apologizes To Jack The Zipper, Kimberly Kane
His assistant sent out this email:
I would like to retract the previous email sent out to all Hustler/VCA directors regarding Kimberly Kane. In addition, I would like to make a formal apology to both KK and Jack the Zipper. This is a simple case of misunderstanding, and we welcome the opportunity to shoot KK again. Thank you, and again please accept my apologies.
9/14/05
Who is this Marc Kramer [LFP's Head of Production] ?
Marc Kramer was on Eon McKai's call sheet for Neu Wave as the A.D.
He shows up late the first day. First off, he barges in on Joanna Angel in the bathroom and closes the door. A few minutes later, Joanna comes out crying. He yells at everybody, frequently disappears from set for hours at a time, and falls asleep on the couch in the middle of shooting. During Pretty Girls, Marc gropes Joanna more than once.
The next day he shows up late again, and leaves early. He freaks out on Molly in makeup as soon as he walks through the door. Marc insists that the grips get food when it's hours before lunch time and no one else gets fed, even though the food is being purchased with the budget money. Again, he disappears to his car several times for long periods of time. But of course he composes himself well when Dustin Flynt stops by set.
The third day Marc only shows up for a few hours at the most in the middle of the day. Luke F-rd was on set that day, so that had to be making him nervous.
The last day he never makes an appearance until nearly midnight and it's only for a few minutes. This guy was anything but an A.D. He was just a major pain in the ass. What's up with Marc Kramer?
Kramer was doing drugs in his car during the shoot. He tried to extort money from the movie (made for four times McKai's normal budget).
A source writes: "I hear that more and more members of the production staff are attempting to get in on the gravy train of kick backs. Employees that have been the system the longest have learned the treacherous habits of those before them and will stop at nearly nothing to get their piece of the pie. If they only knew how closely they are being watched by the "group". If they aren't sweating yet, they will be...they will be..."
Kramer denied this to his higher-ups at LFP. He says that McKai didn't spend his budget and offered him a bribe.
I asked McKai for comment. He didn't have any. I emailed Kramer.
Kramer is LFP's Head of Production. He's Eon McKai's boss.
At the end of the shoot, Kramer expected an envelope of cash. He said he had to be paid in cash. McKai got in a huge fight with Kramer on-set in front of about 30 people. McKai claimed that Kramer hadn't been an A.D. That Eon hadn't had an A.D. the whole shoot.
The whole set united against Kramer. Marc got paid in cash enclosed in Swindle magazine. But he was screamed at for not being an A.D. while taking an A.D.'s money.
I call Joanna Angel at 6pm Tuesday.
Luke: "You sound sleepy."
Joanna: "I'm not doing that well. I'm just annoyed.
"Marc Kramer hired me at LFP to make a movie [Joanna's Angels]. He yelled at me a lot. I'm pretty sure that's his job -- to yell a lot. I thought he yelled at me about things that were a bit unnecessary. It was kinda stressful all summer because I never knew what the right thing to do was. He'd never tell me what the right format was. I just know that whatever format I handed in was wrong. Every week or so there was a phone call from him to yell at me that what I was doing was wrong.
"I felt like, ok, I understand that this is my first time making a movie... But sometimes he just yelled to yell. He wasn't doing anything productive.
"I was nervous to be on set with him. It made me uncomfortable when he'd say to Eon, 'Why did you let your friends direct this movie?' He made things tough between me and Eon. Marc Kramer made me look like I was Eon's stupid friend."
Luke: "What was he doing when he closed the door on you in the bathroom?"
Marc: "I'm really emotional. Most people aren't as attached to their pornos as I am. I spent all summer making this movie and it hurt my feelings that Marc Kramer yelled at me about it and he didn't even watch it. Not once did I ever hear, 'Good job,' or even 'Bad job.'
"I saw him and I had all these things in my head that I wanted to say. He came into the bathroom to talk to me. I didn't know what to say, so I just started crying.
"I know he used to have a crush on me."
Luke: "Was he groping you?"
Joanna: "He wasn't groping me in the bathroom."
Luke: "Was he groping you during the pretty girls?"
Joanna: "He just grabbed my boobs and said, 'Are these real?' I said yes, and pushed his hands down."
Luke: "I guess he was just doing his job."
Joanna: "It's not a big deal. It just kinda sucks to not be respected as a director there. I feel like it effected the way everybody [at LFP] treated me. The whole office. Everybody listens to the boss. Because he decided I was an idiot, he told everybody else I was an idiot, and so they treated me like an idiot."
Luke: "With Kurt Lockwood, were you inserting your fingers certain places?"
Joanna laughs. "Yes, I did. He said he liked it. I had to give the boy what he wanted.
I can't believe the fingers that caress my face have been up Kurt Lockwood's bum.
"Making Joanna's Angels has been one big emotional experience. It shouldn't be like that. We make porno because there's no emotions in it.
"Today I found out they changed the boxcover, which sucks.
"Did you party with Jesse Jane last night?"
Luke: "Yeah, we did a few lines of coke."
Joanna: "You and Jesse Jane?"
Luke: "Just kidding."
Joanna: "Did you tell her that I want to make-out with her?"
Luke: "I forgot."
Joanna: "You said you were going to make this happen."
Luke: I can't believe Marc Kramer touched your bosom.
Joanna: "If he would've just asked. I'm not that opposed to people touching my bosom. But people should ask first."
Luke: "What kind of world do we live in?"
Joanna: "He told me that my movie didn't pass QC (Quality Control) because there was too much violence in the movie. Rough sex."
Luke: "Rough sex on you?"
Joanna: "Does that offend you?"
Luke: "My little darling getting treated like a rag doll. It's ok when it's some random dirty whore, but this is my little Jo, yeshiva-born-and-bred."
Joanna giggle. "I'm sorry but my friend is showing me her butt.
"He said he doesn't like that stuff in his movies because he's a gentle man."
Luke: "I guess Marc Kramer and I have the same tastes."
Joanna: "You both like nice soft movies like Pirates."
An insider writes 9/15/05:
Sure, Marc Kramer was brought in to straighten up LFP Video and bring in the big budget features and get rid of all those who were robbing the LFP bank. He was "the cleaner." Sounds pretty good, huh? Well, I'm sure that's what Marc Kramer thought, too, as he's talking all over town about himself in this way, and preaching to Larry and Dustin these very things…. He talks a good game sure…. "The days of the Hustler's open bank policy are now closed." His heavy rhetoric is what any company owner wants to hear. But the truth…. All the skimming off the top and into his pocket. One of the recent LFP directors called it a "finders fee", as he paid Kramer 10% of his director's fee. All that other stuff has been known for a good while. He flies off the handle at the drop of a hat, etc, etc, etc. He's not a good manager of people. He certainly doesn't have an understanding of the creative spirit, let alone good porn vs. bad, regardless of the genre. And the only business he seems to profit is his own cheap suit pocket. Van Styles and Kat Slater were continually two of LFP's biggest money makers. They're both now gone from LFP. Would it really make sense for a company to want to get rid of the directors that make money for the company? All that stuff about Van, and Jack, and Joanna's insider LFP bad reviews… yeah, that would be called…. "They speak up for themselves." That's the problem Kramer has with these directors.
And sure, the whole Vivid approach wouldn't be terrible. That is…. If they had some contract girls, starting with knowing what the hell to do with the one they do have. Short of those names and knowing how to push those names correctly, and allowing a qualified person to do this job, does anyone really think those movies are going to stand out in the porno glut these days? Well Marc Kramer and Dustin Flynt think that you're going to buy anything to which they've slapped the Hustler name across. And that's about all the business planning those two seem to have… oh yeah… and keep everything cheap, unless it's going into Kramer's pocket. And oh yeah….. Larry doesn't think gonzos look pretty. Sure Axel Braun is happy. Kramer brought him in. I haven't heard a word from any of the directors which Kramer actually brought in on his own. And let me ask you… If you're into Axel Braun movies, and you can buy a recent one cheaper at another company…. Why bother buying the Hustler Axel Braun video? Hmmm… makes you wonder, huh?
Everyone heard about the Kimberly Kane incident. Has anyone heard about the financial statements LFP owes to Jon Dough, per a fully signed contract by then in charge Mark Hamilton, and have not made good on for at least 6 months? How about the shit they tried to pull on Denis Marti, despite his contract… threatening not to pay him, and/or trying to find a way of getting out of the contract they have with Dennis, because Dustin Flynt doesn't like Denis' looks, and didn't understand why the director was also in his video as talent? How about the $10,000 they've owed to Kat Slater since April, for three movies she directed, per a signed invoice by then in charge Noel Bloom. Kramer is still stringing her along on that payment and probably has no intention of ever paying her. And Jack The Zipper…. They still haven't paid him for the first StuntGirl! I ask you…. Who is it that doesn't have their shit together?
None of those who are speaking out or have left LFP video under Marc Kramer, are doing so because of envy. I mean, where was this envious rage when Mark Hamilton or Kat Slater were there? Kramer is a little man who is to be pitied. I, for one, hope Larry does finally get what Kramer has done and continues to do at LFP.