US Sex Sells News

A federal appeals court has upheld the convictions of the fetish filmmaker Ira Isaacs who was sentenced to four years in prison for producing obscene material and mailing it across state lines.

A Los Angeles jury convicted Ira Isaacs in April 2012 of five counts connected to the production, sales and shipping of the films Mako's First Time Scat , two volumes of Hollywood Scat Amateurs and Japanese Doggie 3 Way . Two earlier trials were declared mistrials.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena rejected Isaacs' arguments that the lower court made errors in regard to jury instructions and abused its discretion by excluding the defendant's proposed expert testimony.

Defense attorney Roger Jon Diamond said he would discuss with Isaacs whether to file a petition for rehearing before the full 11-judge appeals panel. Diamond said:

This case is a relic from the George W. Bush days. It's been a big waste of money and resources.

The case against Isaacs was originally brought in 2007 by Department of Justice prosecutors with the now-defunct Obscenity Prosecution Task Force. Isaacs was charged under an updated indictment in 2011. Isaacs has spent no time behind bars since the convictions.

For the past 16 years, John Stagliano has made time in his busy schedule to produce not only his own movies but also Buttman Magazine.

Now he's moving on to other projects, with the result that the current issue of Buttman Magazine will be the last. Evil Angel Operations Manager Lissa Baren said:

John [Stagliano] chooses all of the layouts for the magazine. ... It's just very labor intensive for him because he's got to get all the production stills from all the directors and he goes through everything and figures out what he wants to use. ... But it was a labor of love---he really, really loved doing it and that's why even in the last six, seven years, when a lot of the brick-and-mortar bookstores started closing down and we weren't doing the circulation that we had been doing, he still continued wanting to do it. And it was a good promotional vehicle for Evil Angel in general.

He just couldn't make enough time to fit everything in, so he decided that this first issue of this year was going to be the last issue. And he's very sad about it.

Assemblymember Isadore Hall III's latest mandatory barrier protection bill, AB 1576, which states, in proposed new Health Code Section 6720(h)(2)(i), that This section shall not be construed to require condoms, barriers, or other personal protective equipment to be visible in the final product of an adult film.

That section of the bill suggesting the removing the condoms by post-production special effects techniques, intrigued adult producer/director Axel Braun, who's also the owner of Level 5 Post, a large post-production company that supplies editing, authoring, graphics and special effects to many adult and mainstream companies. Braun told AVN

Digitally removing condoms would be extremely difficult, time consuming, and impossibly expensive. You would need to rotoscope each individual frame, delete the condom, and then add artwork to match the color, texture and wetness of the genitals. Given that a sex scene is on average 20 minutes long, and even subtracting a generous 10 minutes for the oral and climax, which are always condom-less, you'd still have 10 minutes left. At 30 frames per second, that's 18,000 unique frames per scene, times five scenes per movie, for a total of 90,000 frames that would need to be altered.

The cheapest quote I've been able to find for rotoscoping is from India, at $2 per frame, he continued. In the L.A. area, the average is between $8 and $10 per frame, so we're talking well over $100,000 as Level 5's cost at zero profit for the company.

The adult video site Pornhub is planning its first ever national advertising campaign, and it's asking the public to help.

The limelight, the site is holding an open contest asking people to submit their best ideas for clever, safe-for-work advertising to run on television, in magazines, and on the Web. The winner will be awarded a one-year contract to be the site's first creative director. Pornhub.com Vice President for Marketing Corey Price said. He said that users frequently email him with their own marketing ideas.

PornHub is a sort of YouTube for porn, a place where people come to upload and watch free adult content. According to the online tracking company Quantcast, the site was visited by around 15 million unique users each month as recently as this past fall.

In the past year or so, Pornhub, one of a handful of adults sites owned by the company MindGeek, has worked to bring itself out of the shadows and into the mainstream. In early 2013, it ( perhaps facetiously ) sought to purchase a Super Bowl ad, but CBS rejected the ad on the grounds that CBS' policy prohibited it from promoting pornography.

Chauntelle Anne Tibbals , a sociologist who studies the pornography industry, said major corporations are unlikely to touch an ad for adult content, and that Pornhub's contest was likely a publicity stunt.

The contest will accept applications through March 31, with submissions being posted for the public to see at pornhubcampaign.tumblr.com. As an idea of what the site is looking for in a creative director, Price said the image above right had the appropriate level of humor without being explicit:

A San Francisco porn producer that specializes in BDSM films was fined more than $78,000 this week by state safety officials claiming dangerous workplace conditions, among them allowing performers to have sex on camera without using condoms.

Cybernet Entertainment, the parent company of Internet porn producer Kink.com, pointed out that many of its performers prefer not to use condoms and that the fine is the result of a long-running campaign by those who oppose the adult film industry. Cybernet founder Peter Acworth said:

The fines are excessive and, we believe, politically motivated. The complaints which prompted the inspection were not made by actual employees, but by outside groups with a long history of opposition to adult film. We'll be appealing the decision.

The largest part of the fine, $75,000 of $78,000, targeted Cybernet's policy allowing its performers to choose whether or not to use condoms.

The inspection was prompted by a formal complaint filed against Kink.com by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, a Los Angeles-headquartered anti-porn group. The foundation filed the complaints after two Kink.com performers who were romantically involved tested HIV-positive last year.

Porn production is struggling in California. Since the passage of Measure B in 2012, which strictly imposes the use of condoms on all porn sets in Los Angeles, adult movie production has largely begun to move out of the San Fernando Valley. However, gay porn company Falcon Studios is now attempting to hearken back to the days before the measure was passed. In their latest release California Dreamin' 1 , the studio filmed all its scenes with condoms but managed to digitally remove the prophylactics in post-production.

Director Tony DiMarco stated on the Falcon Studio blog that the film is meant to tap into fantasies of bareback sex in the 1970s and 80s, while also aligning with the safe sex ethos that is currently being enforced in LA:

With this movie I really wanted to capture the essence of that time, when life seemed more carefree and spontaneous. In keeping with this concept, I felt that condoms need to be addressed. The decision to go with this technique appears to strike a middle ground between Measure B and the porn industry's belief that scenes without condoms are a better sell with consumers.

Nevertheless, while Falcon Studios seems committed to their new style of filming, it's unclear if it will catch on. The company doesn't make clear how expensive it is to painstakingly remove condoms during sex scenes.

A previous report on 18th January suggested that the adult production companies , previously based around LA were on the move to Las Vegas (See article from globalpost.com )

However the LA weekly points out that news of the porn industry's flight to Las Vegas is premature, to say the least:

Porn's not actually legal in Vegas. And the one production facility at the center of the false headlines, Mission Control Studio, has booked only four productions since opening this month, its owner told us.

That's hardly an exodus.

That's not to say some business isn't threatening to go to Sin City. Derek Hay, owner of adult talent agency LA Direct Models, estimates that 20% of the industry will have moved here by the end of the year. Remember, though: it's January. And he's guessing. And , the piece says, Several producers ... are talking about moving to Las Vegas.

The following are a small selection from the many winners of the 2014 AVN Awards and the 2014 AVN Fan-Voted Awards:

Best Cinematography, Francois Clousot:
Best Director, Brad Armstrong:
Best Drama:
Best Screenplay:
Movie of the Year:

Underworld by Brad Armstrong for Wicked Pictures

Best Actor: Tommy Pistol

Best Actress : Remy LaCroix

Best All-Girl Release Meow! 3 , Jennaration X/Jules Jordan

Best All-Sex Release Slutty & Sluttier 18 , Manuel Ferrara/Evil Angel

Best Amateur Release 100% Real Swingers: Meet the Rileys , Vivid Entertainment Group

Best BDSM Release The Submission of Emma Marx , New Sensations Erotic Stories

Best Comedy Band Sluts , BurningAngel/Vouyer

Best Foreign Feature The Ingenuous , Marc Dorcel/Wicked

Best MILF Release MILF Revolution , Lisa Ann/Jules Jordan

Best New Starlet Mia Malkova

Best Parody -- Comedy Grease XXX , Adam & Eve Pictures

Best Parody -- Drama Man of Steel XXX , VividXXXSuperheroes

Best POV Release The Hooker Experience , Jekyll & Hyde/Evil Angel

Best Romance Movie The Temptation of Eve , New Sensations Erotic Stories

Director of the Year Axel Braun

Female Performer of the Year Bonnie Rotten

Female Foreign Performer of the Year Anissa Kate

Mainstream Star of the Year James Deen

Male Foreign Performer of the Year Rocco Siffredi

Male Performer of the Year Manuel Ferrara

Fans' Favorite Female Porn Star Riley Steele

Fans' Favorite Male Porn Star James Deen

Fans' Most Promising New Starlet Christy Mack

The recipient of this year's Legacy Award -- which recognizes innovation, successful business practices and contributions to the industry as a whole -- will be presented to Vivid Entertainment founder Steven Hirsch.

The Positive Image Award is presented to performers that have helped to dispel negative stereotypes and misconceptions connected to work in the adult industry. This year's award goes to performer James Deen.

Man and Woman of the Year Awards are given to business professionals that have shown exceptional leadership in building solidly established businesses, as well as within their communities. 2014 Woman of the Year is Honey's Place owner Bonnie Feingold, and Man of the Year is Pipedream's Nick Orlandino.

Novelty Company of the Year will be presented to California Exotic Novelties for their many years as a leader in the pleasure products sector, and for their continued innovation, high standards and ethics.

Retailer of the Year will be presented to the Lions' Den chain of adult stores for many years as a leading retailer of adult products, innovative marketing and ethical standards for customer service.

Production Company of the Year goes to gay studio Hothouse Entertainment. Founded by Hall of Fame director Steven Scarborough , Hothouse exemplifies creative innovation, high standards and ethical conduct.

Internet Company of the Year will be presented to Gamelink. The award recognizes excellence, innovation and contributions made to the adult industry overall.

Benefactor of the Year has been awarded to Wicked Pictures. The recognition is for unwavering support, through philanthropy and advocacy, of adult industry and mainstream causes. As well as setting a good example, the company also has diligently attempted to protect the adult industry business community from legal challenges, business risks and critics.

Finally, the Leadership Award -- to be presented at the XBIZ Awards gala on January 24 -- is given to an individual or individuals that have demonstrated leadership by example. This year's award will be presented to performer Nina Hartley and director Ernest Greene for their outstanding work in advocacy, education and community service.