Extreme Associates chillin' on ice

[Marshall Stack]

Ashcroft seems to be getting things into gear. I figured, it was a matter of months before the crackdown on these Gonzo type producers would begin in earnest. I was not wrong. Number 2 for 2003: Extreme Associates. Not that they didn't deserve it... My question was simply: what took so long? Wonder who's next. Perhaps Mayhem (they're new - Skeeter's imprint for Sin City). Anabolic/Diabolic perhaps? In any event, the first amendment is about to be challenged but once again...

Here is what JimmyD wrote on http://www.simplyjimmyd.com : "I'm on the phone as I type. At this very moment (it's now about 1300 hours, PST, on Tuesday, April 8, 2003) the offices of Extreme Associates are filled with approximately 30 Federal Officers. The officers have served a search warrant and, according to eyewitness reports, the Feds are tearing the place apart, confiscating computers, records, and product.

This information is from an inside source who was just released by the Feds after about 30 minutes of questioning. According to the source, the Feds showed up in old, beat-up, non-descript vehicles, served the warrant, detained everyone in the building, and began their search.

The source learned from the officers that the raid stems from a federal complaint lodged in the State of Kentucky and targets three Extreme titles.

More as this story develops. Stay tuned!

 

[legmann]

Marshall, any updates on this situation at all?

thanks

 

[Marshall Stack]

Updates

Forced Entry (courtesy The Real Gene Ross)

It appears that PBS is ready for another visit to Extreme Associates to open new rounds of questioning concerning the "Forced Entry" bust. You'll remember the last visit which stirred loads of controversy and resulted in one of the highest rated shows ever for that station.

Courtesy:Jimmy D

PLAYING TO THE FEDS
jimmyD's Opinion jimmyd _writes "Ya gotta hand it to them: those Extreme guys seem to be of single-minded purpose when it comes to being the architects of their own demise.

I just read Gene Ross's review of Extreme's latest offering, "Extreme Teen #24," and if this videotaped dramatization of some of the most reprehensible sex acts human beings can engage in doesn't attract the attention of the same law enforcement officers currently investigating the company, I'll be surprised.

One of the most universally abhored sex practices known to man is incest. Especially incest that occurs between a father and his daughter. And of course, that's exactly one of the sex acts Extreme's director, Stanley Ferrara (who?) chose to include in this erotic-less endeavor.

Here's what Gene had to say: "Ferrara opens with jacks or better in the poker game of the damned by depicting a scene of Rod Fontana fucking his luscious daughter Clarissa in the ass. Blond and strong of butt, Clarissa's being ragged on because she doesn't have dinner ready for Fontana who uses this as an excuse to bring up her grades and other salient points that will somehow be cantilevered into a sex scene on the kitchen counter top. Like a hand held vac sucking up all the vestiges of popcorn kernels, Fontana's in her mouth deep but figures why stop there. Bending her over the kitchen counter, Fontana pulls Clarissa's white panties aside and takes all sort of sexual license with her ass managing some phenomenal gapes along the way. The "oh daddy" ass fuck in the doggie position is particularly strong and the best in this medley. The river Avon never flowed as sweet as the cum lingering and swelling to a white tide in Clarissa's shit hole."

Gene--How's that crack habit? "The river Avon never flowed as sweet...?" The river Avon never seemed so polluted with shit and toxic waste would be a better description.

Gene goes on to say, "Granted, implied father-daughter relations are not for everyone."

No shit Gene. And thank God for that. You and your Extreme buddies must take great pleasure knowing you're playing to the absolute lowest form of porn freak. I guess when you're incapable of putting out anything that could actually compete in the marketplace, that's all there's left to do. You guys must be proud.

Gene later writes: "But it's with the next scene that Stanley hits for the dysfunctional cycle with Valentino giving an absolutely creepy and chilling performance as a pedophile masquerading as a magazine salesman. In pajamas sucking a pacifier, Black Cat isn't just jail bait, she's a school of tuna. She's not supposed to let strangers in the house, Cat tells Valentino who obviously never let no for an answer get in his way. But give the man extraordinary credit. Valentino's' got the smarmy patter down and pretty soon draws Cat into a conversation about "Pokeyman" with a disturbing rhythm that inches onward to the inevitable."

Hey, why don't you guys just put out an informative educational tape on "How to Seduce Children?" Oh, wait, I almost forgot. You can't 'seduce' a child because even if you trick them into agreeing with what you want to do to them, it's still rape. Ok, so how about an informative educational tape on "How to Rape Children?" You see, whether you want to cop to it or not, that's pretty much what you're fucking doing.

Personally, I think I'd rather watch some girl lick the shit out of a homeless guy's ******* than this shit.

"Extreme Teen #24" is directed by Stanley Ferrara (who?), and stars Ryan Meadows (who?), Black Cat (who?), Clarissa (who?), Terri Hendrix (who?), and Brie (who?), and is brought to you by the soon-to-be-indicted Extreme Associates.

Marketing Tip: If you're a storeowner, you might consider clearing your shelves of Extreme product unless your accountant says you need to expense some hefty legal fees for tax deductions.

 

[Marshall Stack]

A reader writes to Mike South

My friend and associate Mike South has been commenting rather vociferously on this matter (and justifiably so) as it concerns all who earn their living in the adult industry. Following are just some of the comments and responses from his readers.

Bob Weighs in on Extreme (courtesy: MikeSouth.com)

Mike:

Just read your thoughts on the impact of the Extreme bust on the rest of the porn industry, including the line that it will make all production companies look bad.

You're right. It will. I'm 47. I've watched porn off and on since I was a teen -- I'm a fan. And I cannot watch the material from Extreme, even when it starred actresses I was really fond of, like Ashlyn Gere's brief return (they ruined her); Kristi Myst (and what ever happened to her?); and Jewel D'Nyle. I popped the first Cocktails into my VCR, having no idea what it was about and thinking it was going to be something like the Dr. Fellatio tapes. I nearly threw up during the first scene. Couldn't watch it.

Porn isn't in a no-win situation. To the contrary, the industry should let the Max Hardcores and Rob Blacks hang out to dry and separate what they do from what those guys do. It's acts of extreme physicality -- I don't want to call them sex -- that will bring a crack down on the industry.

And when folks tear their hair and say: but you're stifling the first amendment, or, you're trying to stop the creative process, I say, bullshit. What you're stifling is the abuse of women, even if some of them are willing women, by hiding under the first amendment and the notion that these are professionals who are doing these acts for money.

Just because someone is willing to accept money to do some of these things doesn't mean they should be done, just like we don't allow people to sell their organs for money, even though there are people who would gladly do so. And just because someone can imagine a thing doesn't mean it ought to be a vision realized.

They are giving the feds an excuse to crack down. The industry might notice that Vivid isn't getting raided.

continued...

 

[Marshall Stack]

...continued

[Bob Again on Extreme (Mike responds: He sent the first one yesterday but I wasn't here to post it, I was having sex with Trixie Kelly....)]

Mike:

I enjoyed your post today on Extreme. I always find your remarks thoughtful and provacative.

Companies like Extreme and product like that from Max Hardcore create a real dilemma for folks who believe in free speech, and who understand the importance of free speech.

Unlike a lot of the writers to your site or RAME, I'm actually a professional writer. It's how I've made my living for 20 years, and it's my only source of income. I've written television movies for the networks. I've written and continue to write for the kinds of national magazines you find on the newsstand in your local grocery store. I've won awards.

There's something else to add: I've actually been sued on a five occasions over things that I've written, and went through a five-week-long federal trial on one occasion. Not obscenity -- that's not what I do -- but for libel. I know what it's like to have someone attempt to silence you. And I've won on every single occasion, not so much because of the First Amendment but because in all cases, I was actually right on the facts.

However, I learned from those experiences that words and images have an impact beyond what we imagine when we're creating them. I've also learned that as creators, as writers, photographers, and artists, we have a duty to use our words responsibly.

Yes, the First Amendment protects irresponsibility to some degree. It gives jerks the right to be jerks and stupid people the right to say really stupid things as loud as they can say them.

But there are limits. The First Amendment is not absolute. To use the classic example, you can't stand up and yell fire in a crowded movie theater, even if you don't want anyone to put limits on what you say or do. Advertisers are not allowed to go on television and claim that a product does something it doesn't do -- there are limits on commercial speech.

In my view, a lot of what Rob Black has been putting out is not just offensive smut, it's the pornographic equivalent of standing in a crowded theater and shouting fire.

And maybe it's because I'm getting older, and that as a parent I become more conservative, but I think that what he does is more of a danger to the adult entertainment industry than silencing him.

You can argue that if they silence Black, who's next. Certainly his lawyers will make that argument, and they'll make a powerful argument, I'm sure.

The counter to that argument is this: Black gives the authorities the opportunity to go after everyone because, as you pointed out the other day, you will all be tarred with the same brush.

continued...

 

[Marshall Stack]

...continued

The argument that the men and women who participate in his films are consenting professionals who have agreed to be assaulted and abused just doesn't wash for me, which is the argument I think he and Lizzy tried to make on the Frontline special. Well, you can extend that theory out forever and say, for instance, that selling your organs should be allowed if it's a consensual commercial transaction. You could argue that it would be fine to film an actress getting her finger amputated while having sex (I'm sure that's someone's fetish) if she agrees to it, is compensated, and there's a medical staff on hand to treat her after.

You're absolutely right that filming the acts isn't illegal -- but only if you stumble upon them. That is, if I happen to be walking through my neighborhood with my camcorder and see a guy murdering another guy and film it, I'm not committing a crime.

But, if I'm hired by a producer who has conspired with a bunch of folks to murder someone, and I know in advance that my job is to film the murder, then I'm an accomplice, just like the guy who drives the getaway car in a bank job.

I guess what I'm saying is: if I were the feds, and I was serious about going after the Rob Blacks of the world, I'd also go after their cameramen, their sound people, their PA's, and anyone else who worked on the productions. And I wouldn't be surprised if that's where the feds go next.

At the end of the day, I have qualms about 18 year old girls being mature enough to make a decision to get paid for having sex on film. You learn as you get older that actions have consequences, and there are some acts that you can never take back. I don't think the young girls getting into porn realize the deal with the devil they're making. Once they do it, it's on film and out there forever. For that reason, I have personal qualms about viewing some mainstream porn that features really young but legal girls.

But that battle has been decided by someone else, so I won't argue with that. But, those girls aren't mature enough to agree to be beaten, double-analled, peed on, choked, made to throw up, and all the other crap that goes on in some of Black's, Max's, and a few others productions.

Maybe I'm getting too old for this stuff.

I've rambled for too long.

Best regards.

 

[Marshall Stack]

Mike responds

BT

Thanks for your very well written email, it is absolutely right and in the end I agree that some of the girls in this biz are not making responsible decisions but on the other hand I have found that age has almost nothing to do with it. I carefully interview the girls that I am going to shoot whether they are 18 or 28, I have to be comfy that they are not going to regret this somewhere down the road. I have refused to shoot some beautiful 25 year old and older girls becuase I felt a boyfriend was pushing them into it, or they were doing it as a quick fix to a financial problem that would only be back in 30 days.

On the other hand Trixie Kelly who just turned 19 doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, doesn't do drugs, she is sane and she has acted responsibly in my dealings with her, so I had no qualms about shooting her at all. I do realize that most people in this biz do not do what I do, they take whoever Jim South sends them. I have to answer to myself and because I am dealing with girls who are doing this for the first and usually the only time I have to make sure that I am comfy that they are doing it for what I consider to be the right reasons. Because it's fun, it's an adventure or maybe they just want to see themselves on Television without doing something totally degrading like going on Jerry Springer. I have plenty of very pretty girls who want to do this who are doing and wont hate themselves for it. And I sleep very well at night.

 

[Marshall Stack]

Mike South's thoughts on Extreme

A Few Thoughts on Extreme:

The boyz over at AVN are analyzing this one to death with Joe Obenberger and Jeffery Douglass and the like offering views on what this means to the rest of us. For once I actually agree with Douglass...a little...Hell Stevie Wonder coulda seen this one coming. But before y'all are too sure that this is all about obscenity you better wait and see what actually comes down in the indictment. It's a fact that Rob's daddy has bailed him out many times and the records that were seized could land federal charges of anything from collusion to laundering to RICO violations. The sad thing is that will probably be the case and guess what? It's gonna get LOTS of press and guess what else? It's gonna make us all look bad. It's gonna make us all look like we do the same stuff, all because nobody but AVN had the balls to say fuck Extreme and completely refuse to do business with them. So now Rob is going to wrap himself in the flag and cry that his first ammendment rights are being violated and that he will be the next Larry Flynt, in a despearte attempt to align himself within the herd that is the adult industry, instead of outside of it like he has always been.

Guess what else? looks like AVN is playing right along with it.

This imbecile has now put the adult industry in a no win situation. No win because if we don't help Extreme we could be next, and if we do it makes it appear that we condone this way of doing business. But who is to blame for that? We are, because we could have prevented this all along by simply not purchasing this product. By letting Rob die the death he should have died long ago. We have no self control and the one organisation who should have been at the forefront of preventing this, The Free Speech Coalition, instead had it's hands in everyone's pockets looking for change.

Will we ever learn?