Congrats to the XRCO Hall of Famers!

This Thursday, April 12, the X-Rated Critics Organizationwill induct 9 industry folk into their Hall of Fame.

On the performer side, the honorees are: Rhonda Jo Petty, Vince Vouyer, Julia Ann, Jenna Haze, and Jesse Jane

On the production side: Miles Long and Luc Wylder

Lastly, representing the Fifth Estate: Tristan Taormino and Den

I’m happy to be personal friends with two of the honorees and wanted to take a moment to congratulate them…

Luc Wylder was one of the first industry people I ever met, back in the mid-90s at the East Coast Video Show in Atlantic City.  He has been a big supporter of ours from way back in the RAME days, and we’re very excited to see him back in the director’s chair and now, in the Hall of Fame. Luc pioneered the pro-am genre with his Dirty Dancers series, did some great MTV Cribs style work with Adult Stars at Home series and fun travelogues in the Sex Across America series, and this is to say nothing of his B&D work epitomized by his Master’s Choice series. I always worry that Hall of Fame status comes at the end of a career, but I think with his new entries in the Amateur Angels series, he’s put those fears to rest.

Almost 4 years ago to the day (where has the time gone!?) Luc was the first of our IAFD Interviews.

 And I also need to take a moment to say a word or two about my friend and colleague, Den, who is being honored posthumously.  He’s my second friend (the first being IAFD’s co-founder, Peter van Aarle who was honored in 2011) to be accorded such an honor, and if I had a choice, I’d prefer he stay out of the Hall if it meant one more phone call or review…

In the mid-80s, Den produced his own mail-order adult content, being one of the first amateur producers (if not THE first) to shoot on S-VHS.  For his troubles, he got into a legal battle for free speech rights and spent some time in jail for his role in producing adult material.  In 1996, Den founded his site, Cyberspace Adult Video Reviews or CAVR.com.  Every day he diligently watched almost every type of porn imaginable, noting down his observations and publishing them on the web.  He posted more than twenty seven thousand adult movie reviews until he retired from reviewing in April 2011.  Den was easily the most prolific writer of on-line adult film reviews we have seen. A pioneer whose career spanned more than two decades, Den influenced a generation of reviewers and ushered in the era of independent, on-line critics. He was a tireless voice for the industry he loved right up until his passing last year.

Not only was Den a reviewing machine, but he was a giant fan of the industry, and we miss walking around AEE with him; he was like a kid in a candy store.  In an industry where its possble to become jaded very quickly, Den had an enthusiasm for the girls that was unmatched.  If there ever was a reviewer who deserved to be in the Hall of Fame, it’s Den.

As caretaker of his website, I was hoping to accept Den’s award on his behalf, but scheduling conflicts will keep me on the east coast this week.

Congrats to all the honorees.

Logrolling in our time…


Spy Magazine
used to have a feature called “Logrolling in our time…” which would grab book jacket blurbs by authors patting each other on the back via each other’s book jackets:

So, I’m going to do a bit of logrolling and point you to The Dr. Chauntelle Show (iTunes), since she was nice enough to give us a shoutout in her latest episode.

Dr. Chauntelle is (in her own words) “a sociologist specializing in gender and labor issues. She has spent almost ten years researching the adult industry, working to complicate popular understanding of the adult business, its enterprise, and its socio-cultural significance.”  Sounds kinda brainy and dry, sure, but she’s an incredibly charming voice in the porn wilderness.  She looks to dig deeper beyond “what’s your favorite position” in her interviews, and she’s started a podcast where the discusses various topics of the day.

In her most recent episode, she covers the marketing genius of offering to go to a high school prom, the problem with Rick Santorum’s anti-porn stance, and a good primer on the paperwork nightmare that is 2257.

The good Doctor also runs Porn Valley Vantage, which also looks at the industry from a sociological point of view which makes it a nice change of pace from all the news or gossip sites, as it offers some analysis and perspective on the industry and the events happening inside of it, as opposed to dry reporting or salacious speculation.

Lest this sound too nerdy, there are also movie reviews and in-depth interviews (Back Stories, she calls them) and an interesting little section she calls “Shift” where she talks to adult industry persons who have shifted out of adult into another phase of their lives.  It’s a little bit exit interview, and little bit “where are they now.”

So, go check her out… we’ll still be here when you get back. :-)

Some Free Market Research

Got an email today that asked me to pass along some info, so here goes:

PLEASE LET THE FILM MAKERS KNOW

HEY YOU KNOW THESE MOVIES WOULD BE MORE ENJOYABLE

IF YOUS DID NOT FOCUS SO MUCH ON THE FEMALES !!!!!

THERE ARE WOMEN, LIKE MY SELF WHO DON’T LIKE LOOKIN AT OTHER WOMEN AT ALL I AM NOT A LESBO

I WISH YOUS WOULD LEARN THAT AND TRY TO BE FINE TO STRAIGHT WOMEN WHO MIGHT WANT TO ENJOY THESE TOOOO

TAKE THE ATTENTION OFF THE FEMALES AND PUT MORE ON THE MEN IN THESE FILMS !!!

Use it as you will…

AVN Adult Entertainment Expo 2012

Another year another AVN convention. Except this time it was at new venue, the Hard Rock Hotel,  that seemed more appropriate and receptive to hosting porn stars. The physical layout was at first confusing with multiple halls around the hotel. The number of exhibitors seemed to be about the same, the number of people that attended seemed to be about the same, but the physical space shrank making this the most cramped porn convention I’ve ever been to. Thursday was especially bad when they let the fans in even though they would not open up the fan hall until Friday.

Due to the crowds I was much more selective this year in choosing who to shoot concentrating on people that I like or people that I found attractive, which are sometimes mutually exclusive. I also didn’t bother with anyone where I couldn’t get through the hordes of crowds like the girls at the Wicked booth. The most popular people this year seemed to be the celebrities, Bree Olson and Ron Jeremy, and Jynx Maze was the most popular besides those two.

Bree Olson Jynx Maze

I decided to shoot my first AVN Awards since 2009. I was asked to do it as a favour for another photographer and I would only agree if I didn’t have to do the red carpet. So I was given ability to roam around and pull random people that I liked to set up one or two shots instead of doing the usual pornorazzi machine gun fire. Pictures seemed to come out better that way. I was happy to see Bobbi Starr, one of my favourite people, win Female Performer of the Year and was pleased to see Brooklyn Lee win Best New Starlet since she was so nice and sweet to her fans upon meeting them for the first time at the convention.

Bobbi Starr being interviewed with Princess Donna Brooklyn Lee interviewing Toni Ribas & Tarra White

So of course the reason I go to these events year after year is to be able to see my friends again. Whether it’s my crew at IAFD, Mark Spiegler and the Spieglergirls, or the guys of adultdvdtalk.com, I always have a great time with them especially with the social lubricant known as alcohol.

Some highlights (or lowlights depending on your perspective):

  • Bonding with Ela Darling and being introduced to the concept of wizard rock.
  • Arguing with my friend, Malte, that it’s classier to put Missy Rhodes on top of the toilet rather than on the toilet seat.
  • Crashing this awesome penthouse suite because the bartender there thought Malte would make a good gay guy for one of her friends. #takeonefortheteam
  • Meeting Mariah Mars, Tracey Sweet, and Ana Foxxx at a hot tub at the suite. I’d post photos but they’re not flickr friendly.
  • Having April O’Neil guest star on my tumblr. There is something nerdy fierce in her sexuality in such a little package.
  • Having Chyna threaten us in an elevator for some unperceivable slight. I kept my mouth shut since I don’t argue with people that have guns bigger than the size of my head.

I guess you want to see the pictures then: