Of the many compelling seminars featured at the upcoming XBiz360 forum (January 8-11 at the Sofitel Hotel in Beverly Hills), none will be more intriguing than the On the Set: Behind the Scenes of “The Other Hollywood” which I will be moderating. Why? The guests.
As Bilbo Baggins said before his disappearance, 50 minutes is far too short a time to spend talking about slipping on Lauren Phoenix’s ass water during the filming of “Riding the Curves.” Still, I will use that time to illuminate that particular combination of fun, chaos, thoughtful choices, creativity, horror, and hard work that is life on a porn set.
My guests represent a diversity of porn personnel, each well-versed from years in the adult business at its low end, high end, and marketing.
Why talk about porn set shenanigans at a Business-to-Business forum like XBiz360, where everyone’s income is at least partially dependent on pornography? Because many attendees are so far removed from the front-line production of porn that they will be exhilarated by tales of how it got made, and shocked, after hearing my panelists speak, that it got made at all.
Because only a fraction of pornographers view nudity in person; the rest represent concerns like billing services, overseas cable marketing, age-verification providers, and affiliate programs.
Prior to the seminar, I asked panelists Ivan and Lee Roy Myers to talk about a couple of things outsiders think they know about porn but actually don’t.
“Not everyone likes each other on set and bangs everyone,” says Ivan, who got his start with the ancient and controversial Extreme Associates and now runs the website Puba.com. “Plus there are no fluffers.”
Then Ivan reconsiders. “Well, maybe on Porno Dan’s set.”
“Porno Dan” Leal runs Immoral Productions, a low-budget, low-end, but hard-working and debaucherous company. Immoral Productions doesn’t concern itself with the weightier issues facinfg sex work, unless one of the participants is actually obese. IP is responsible for numerous gangbangs and “Fuck A Fan” movies. If anyone lives a porn lifestyle recognizable to people who know nothing about porn, Porno Dan is the man.
While Dan occasionally performs in his own movies, James Bartholet has twice been recognized by AVN for his acting in porn movies. I profiled Bartholet last year, and you will not meet a more earnest supporter and shameless self-promoter, both of which are hallmarks of the porn lifestyle.
Lee Roy Myers has directed and produced dozens of movies for companies from New Sensations to Wicked Pictures to Adam & Eve, Hustler, and Brazzers. The affable Canadian is also launching the adult portal WoodRocket.com with the help of some serious investors. His take on porn misperceptions is, like Ivan’s, an historical one:
“Male pornstars rarely have mustaches anymore,” he says. “This is probably because they get in shots and cause shadows.”
I expect the panel to be a rollicking good time as well as informative. The ability to keep a sense of humor and perspective is essential to negotiating a porn set, and the panelists will share their hard-learned life and work skills.
Previously on Porn Valley Observed: Bartholet on Porn Acting; If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of Anjanette Astoria; Labor Day in Porn Valley; Ivan—the last man working in porn; “The Office XXX” just chills until the next webisode
See also: XBiz360
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