Dibs!

With Conan getting the shaft from NBC, he's recently been considering a turn from television to hard-core porn--"a classier business with better people."

Here he announces some of the titles we can expect from his new venture:



Alright, you're hearing it here... we're calling dibs on NBC Lawyer Gang Bang: The Backend Deal for CineKink 2011!

Where in the world...

...have we been hiding? For the past week, at least, it's been off to Germany, where we had the pleasure of attending the Pornfilmfestival Berlin!



A wonderful event with a familiar merging of independent cinema and sex-positivity, it felt quite a bit like old-home week, even if we were on unfamiliar terrain. We came across many new films and directors we'll hope to feature at the next edition of CineKink NYC. And, in a historic gathering--we finally have enough erotic/sex/porn film festivals to call a meeting!--chatted with other curators and presenters whom we'll look forward to collaborating with in the future.

In addition to presenting a program we'd specially curated for the festivities, CineKink's Kinky Bits, it was also a delight to catch up with CineKink alumni filmmakers Charles Lum, Jennifer Lyon Bell, Candida Royalle, Julie Simone and Sofia Varino, while finally getting to meet directors whose works we've featured, including Anna Span and Shine Louise Houston.

Alas, after their brilliant performance at the Pornfilmfestival Berlin party, we found ourselves too star-struck to finally say hello to the rest of the notorious Norwegian singing sensation, The Hungry Hearts, even though their piece In the Closet screened at CineKink NYC 2009.

We'll hope to resolve our shyness someday. Meanwhile, we'll continue to admire from afar. And play In Your Face (The International Lesbian Anthem), over and over and over again. (It's stuck in my head... might as well be in yours, too!)

Beyond the green door

Marilyn Chambers starred in the very first porn we ever encountered, Behind the Green Door--which we snuck into with some high school girlfriends back in the day--and it's sad to be passing along the news that the iconic adult film star has died.

Here, in a 1977 interview on Al Goldstein's cable series, Midnight Blue, Marilyn discusses her break into movies, her projects of the time and a forthright enjoyment of kinky sex and S/M...

Amuse bouche?

As we continue to tinker behind the scenes on CineKink NYC, coming up February 24th to March 1st, let us whet your appetite with this tasty morsel, a glimpse at The Auteur, a mélange of romantic comedy and raunchy satire that tells the story of renowned porn director Arturo Domingo, creative genius behind such classics as Five Easy Nieces and Requiem for a Wet Dream:



We've been admiring The Auteur from afar for quite awhile now and we're delighted to give this sweetly smutty film a stellar CineKink showcase slot--Saturday, February 28 @ 9 PM.

Hope you'll join us!

Alumni news: catching up with Madison Young

The Stagg Party, the latest web series from the prolific director Joe Swanberg--who we last saw gracing our "The Porn Police: Know the Rules" panel at SXSW--has been unspooling on IFC. Following photographer Ellen Stagg as she moves between the worlds of mainstream work and erotica, this week's episode, "Catching Up," features an appearance by CineKink alum Madison Young and a nod to her Femina Potens art gallery.

And, since we were a little distracted with running a film festival at the time, here's more of Madison, as profiled last February in $pread magazine.

All of that...AND a unicorn?!?

Somehow in the frenzy leading up to Tuesday's presidential election, we missed this item on Huffington Post from our friend, Theresa Darklady Reed, in which she points us to a prediction from the extreme religious right that an Obama presidency will lead to a nation with unfettered access to pornography.

Quoting from a Focus on the Family screed obstensibly written in the future, the as-yet hypothetical Letter from 2012 in Obama's America, the many potential dangers awaiting us down the road include a new, liberal Supreme Court that has :

... applied more broadly the “Miller test” from the 1973 decision in Miller v. California, by which a work could not be found obscene unless “the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, and scientific value.” In the 2011 decision, the court essentially found that any pornographic work had some measure of “serious artistic value,” at least according to some observers, and thus any censorship of pornographic material was an unconstitutional restriction on the First Amendment.

But wait--there's more! As "...all city and county laws restricting pornography were struck down by this decision ...pornographic magazines are openly displayed in gas stations, grocery stores and on newsstands (as they have been in some European countries for several years)."

And, natch, the court also eliminated all FCC restrictions and, thusly, "...television programs at all hours of the day contain explicit portrayals of sexual acts."

We might observe that a mere "D" by a leader's name doesn't necessarily translate into a laissez faire approach to the exchange of ideas--President Clinton was the one who signed the Communications Decency Act into law back in 1996, afterall. But if we listen to those with a proclaimed relationship to the powers on high, free speech advocates need just kick back a bit and wait for the flood-gates to open.

Fire and brimstone

And likely a somewhat noxious smoke at that, as the good Reverend Eldredge--in a ceremonial burning and "holy hose-down"-- recently set flame to a cache of pornographic celluloid that was discovered in the old drive-in theater his church had recently purchased. The ritual was intended to purify the property and "make it holy" before taking full possession.

According to a Jacksonville, Florida newspaper:
Members of Christ Church Anglican discovered reel upon reel of '70s- and '80s-vintage X-rated movies recently when they took over the old Playtime Drive-In on Blanding Boulevard a few weeks ago. The Playtime showed X-rated movies in the '70s and early '80s, prompting police raids and protests, before switching to more traditional fare.

A church member, the story continues, estimated the destroyed stash at over a 100 films, with such titles as Kinky Business and Private Teacher giving pretty broad clues as to their contents. Both cited examples are from the era when the VCR was bringing about the demise of the pornographic film business--the first an obvious nod to the '80s mainstream classic Risky Business and featuring another icon of the era, Traci Lords.

But, while no one is likely to know for sure what reels were tucked away on the premises, the vintage ads posted at the Playtime Drive-In blog indicate a rich history of exploitation and other cheap, smutty fun stretching back a couple of decades.

"Excuse me, Madame Vice President. Could you take a quick look at these briefs?"

In the interest of the fair and the balanced, we also did a quick search for any upcoming Joe Biden porn--remember, we like men in suits--but turned up mainly an obscure reference to the long-ago Clarence Thomas hearings and some legislative, law-making stuff.

So, via just every other blog in the nation, on this morn of the great Vice Presidential showdown, we bring you this casting call for what's being widely dubbed as "the inevitable" Sarah Palin porn adult movie.



And, via Gawker, confirmation that the as-yet-untitled work is in the can and was produced by Hustler Video, the company of free speech activist and political meddler, Larry Flynt.

Sadness. We were somehow hoping for the title X, the inevitable next step for political revisionist auteur, Oliver Stone.

Sweet!

While we generally prefer to think of Sundance as the PG-13 rated CineKink, we're always a sucker for the sight of our name in print, plus an opportunity to wax rhapasodic about our favorite subject... kinky cinema!

Have Highbrow Porn, Will Travel
Violet Blue investigates CineKink, the X-rated Sundance - SF Gate
... they do make good porn; it's just not terribly easy to find amid all the noise and hype, online and off -- let alone the kind of erotic cinema that film fans would dig (or get off to). That's where Lisa Vandever comes in. A producer and consultant with more than fifteen years' experience in film and television, Vandever founded the nationally touring, sexually explicit (and very popular) film festival CineKink in 2002. The festival selects, awards and tours sex-positive, edgy and, especially, arousing film and television selections from mainstream porn to indies, Hollywood and beyond.

Read more...

Thanks, Violet!

Bullshit!

The sixth season of Penn & Teller: Bullshit! kicks off tonight with the "The War on Porn," described thusly:

"Radical feminists claim porn leads to violence; rabid right-wingers claim it leads to addiction; and even former boy toy Donna Rice claims it’s hurting the children. None of these groups have any proof to back up their claims, but they’ve convinced the government to waste your money and invade your privacy while going after something that should be perfectly legal."



The episode debuts tonight at 10 pm, with multiple repeats.

(via Thomas Roche via XBiz)

Boom-chucka-oy!

What do you get when you mix madcap Jewish humor with the Superstars of Seventies porn?

Find out when CineKink proudly sponsors a Kinky Jews presentation of A Touch of Genie, director Joe Sarno's long-lost tribute to a boyhood spent at raucous Lower East Side comedies (and an adulthood spent writing and directing some of the finest adult films to ever grace a grindhouse screen).

From the After Hours Cinema description of their recently restored classic: "Poor Melvin! His meddling mother is making him nutz. His only relief is the covert afternoons he spends at New York's notorious Times Square porn theaters. One day, Melvin discovers a genie in a bottle. What does he wish? To become his favorite porno superstars and indulge in wild sexual adventures with the sexiest women in sex film."

Starring Doug Stone as Melvin Finkelfarb and Ultramax - the First Lady of New York Porn! - as his yiddishe mama, along with over-the-top performances by porno greats Harry Reems, Tina Russell and Eric Edwards!

A Touch of Genie

Thursday June 5, 2008

Bar Opens: 9:00 PM
Film Begins: 10:00 PM

Q&A with Doug Stone following the film

Location: KGB Bar, 85 E. 4th St. at 2nd Ave., NYC

Admission: $18, with advanced RSVP, $20 at the door
(Two drink vouchers included with admission)

RSVP/More Info: contact @ kinkyjews dot com

Good for you

From the folks at GOOD Magazine, a few vital statistics about internet porn, graphically detailed:



(snagged from Graydancer)

Comedy, pathos and lots of naked, dangly bits!

A stand-out at the recent Tribeca Film Festival, we've got our eyes on The Auteur, the sweet and raucous story of Arturo Domingo, the one-time leading director of art-porn cinema (Five Easy Nieces, Requiem for a Wet Dream, Full Metal Jack-Off), who finds himself at an all-time low in both career and romance.

The movie is a perfect fit for CineKink and we'll naturally be looking to include it in our next fest. But that's still a ways off - approximately 291 days as of right now, but who's counting? - and we'd love for it to find the audience it deserves in the meantime.

And you can help! Currently in the running for a slot in From Here to Awesome, a new festival that strives to cut through a lot of distribution mumbo-jumbo and make films more widely and directly available, you can take a gander at the submission trailer for The Auteur below and then make your desires known right here:



(It plays a much larger role in the actual movie, but watch for a few cameo appearances of the Clinton Street Theater, past and possibly future home to CineKink: PDX!)

Um. Pornography is in focus?

A twist on an old joke has cropped up around CineKink, surfacing more frequently around festival submission time:

"What's the difference between art and pornography?"

"Pornography arrives with its 2257 compliance properly identified."

Bah dump bump.

Anyway...an expansion on some of the topics we discussed during our recent SXSW panel, The Porn Police: Know the Rules, an article by attorney Alan Levy has just been published in The Yale Law Journal.

First tracing the history of federal 2257 record-keeping regulations and its recent judicial back-and-forths, the article then goes into the implications that they present to all filmmakers, including those working with actual and with simulated depictions of sexual conduct.

Mainstream filmmakers should be especially concerned with the language of the most recent published § 2257 regulations, in which Attorney General Alberto Gonzales wrote, “Section 2257A requires that producers of visual depictions of simulated sexually explicit conduct maintain records documenting that performers in those depictions not be minors.” Does this mean that a noted film such as Taxi Driver, in which a twelve-year-old Jodi Foster portrays a thirteen-year-old prostitute, is unlawful? What about the more recent controversial film Hounddog, which premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and portrayed twelve-year-old Dakota Fanning as a rape victim? Even a film nominated for Best Picture at the 2008 Academy Awards may be affected by § 2257A. Atonement has one scene of explicit simulated sexual conduct involving actress Juno Temple, who was seventeen years of age at the time of filming.

While filmmakers working in the adult arena are, for the most part, all too aware of the regulations, their existence seems to escape notice of documentarians who occasionally stumble into the realm of actual sexual conduct. (And again, we ask, what the hell does that mean?) And with the expansions presented by 2257A, a huge new class of fiction filmmakers is folded into the mix.

For all, it is critical to know both the rules and the risks - and to work together in protesting their chilling presence.

To read more of Alan's article: How “Swingers” Might Save Hollywood from a Federal Pornography Statute

Mom would be so proud ... 2008

Last year when we reported on these awards, it was our mother's birthday. And this year, appropriately enough, we're actually home visiting her - in our mind, the proto-uber feminist.

So, while we're still working on making the world a place where a woman’s right to determine and enjoy her own sexual pleasure is a taken-for-granted aspect of daily life, we take a few more big steps forward with the recently announced "2008 Feminist Porn Awards" presented by the folks at Good for Her:

Smutty Schoolteacher of the Year:
Tristan Taormino’s Expert Guide to Oral Sex Part 1 Cunnilingus and Part 2 Fellatio | Tristan Taormino; Vivid Ed

Hottest Dyke Film:
Crash Pad Series Volume 1 | Shine Louise Houston; Pink and White Productions Blowfish Video
(Alum CineKink 2008)

Sexiest Straight Film:
My Sex Therapist.com: The First Sessions | Kelly Holland; Chick Media

Golden Beaver Award for Canadian Content:
Bren Ryder | www.gooddykeporn.com

Best Bi Scene:
Female Fantasies | Petra Joy; Strawberry Seductress Productions
(Alum CineKink 2008)

Most Tantalizing Trans Film:
Trans Entities: The Nasty Love of Papi' and Wil | Morty Diamond; Morty Diamond Productions

Hottest Kink Film:
Bondage Boob Tube | Madison Young; Blowfish Video
(Alum CineKink 2008)

Deliciously Diverse Cast:
Trans Entities: The Nasty Love of Papi' and Wil | Morty Diamond; Morty Diamond Productions

Sexiest Short:
Want | Loree Erickson; Femmegimp Productions
(Winner/Best Documentary Short CineKink 2006)

Indie Porn Pioneer:
Estelle Joseph; Stella Films Productions

Movie of the Year(!!):
Five Hot Stories for Her | Erika Lust; Lust Films
(Winner/Honorable Best Mention CineKink 2008 for Something About Nadia)



From what Erika recounts, upon bestowing the final award, the presenters said:
“Every so often, a film comes along that reinvents what is possible within porn. This year’s winner has taken stock subjects and turned them on their head, making women and their desires the focus of the film..."

We couldn't have said it better ourselves - though we wish we had!

Congratulations to Erika and all of this year's winners, with many thanks for forging ahead.

Just 7,999,999 stories to go...

Many congratulations to CineKink alum Audacia Ray, whose new sexuality blog, Naked City, debuted this week at The Village Voice. While Audacia predicts that the blog will evolve over time, one feature that's already up and running is Naked City TV, a weekly video show intended to "document and explore the personal and professional lives of people for whom sexuality is central."

This week's episode, a profile of Porno Jim (CineKink '08/Hookin' Up) and his live, porn-clip show, manages to capture both the engaging frenetics of Jim's evangelistic presentations - and a few graphic moments of live-action Smurf-on-Smurf pornography:

Delayed gratification: Sex & SxSWing!

Going from CineKink to SXSW to Dark Odyssey has been a bit of a gauntlet - a gauntlet of pleasure, to be sure, but now that we're at the end of it, our body, sensing a respite, seems to be flirting heavily with what is generally known as the common cold. But, dammit, not before we get out this too-long-delayed SXSW recap, even through a Nyquil haze...

You can take a listen to the podcast here, but our panel, The Porn Police: Know The Rules, went off well and we managed to cram a ridiculous amount of somewhat tedious 2257 detail into our alloted hour. In addition toyours truly, the speakers included Violet Blue, deftly illustrating how the regulations play out in the real world and the problems they present for artists on both sides of the camera, attorney Alan Levy, keeping us on track with which part of the law stipulates what - and what that might actually mean in the day-to-day - and director Joe Swanberg seeming to grow increasingly consternated with the realization of how the rules could well apply to his own, er, body of work. (Lascivious display of nudity, anyone?!)

Bottom line - for all media makers working with depictions of sexual conduct, both actual and simulated (what's that?), it represents another area of calculated risk - one that will warrant further discussion in the months ahead. While the danger is probably slim for most, it's still critical to know the rules rather than blithely plowing ahead and hoping for the best.

And in other sex matters at SXSW:

Violet Blue also tackled and spurred further online discussion of a tricky subject with her lively panel, Sexual Privacy Online.

Cory Silverberg facilitated a discussion on Sexual Ethics, Interactivity and Virtual Worlds

Twanna a. Hines took on Adult Conversations: Sex, Intimacy & Online Relationships.

Elizabeth Wood and Lux Alptraum led the core conversation Pink Ghetto Blasters: Destigmatizing Sex, then Lux gave us a 20x2 rumination on the differences between porn and erotica:



Film offerings we managed to catch included Bi The Way, a look at the sexual inclinations of the so-called "whatever generation," Obscene, a documentary profile of the colorful Grove Press publisher, Barney Rosset, and the superb Sex Positive, exploring the life of activist Richard Berkowitz and his critical role in the now taken-for-granted concept of safe sex.

And, not quite sex, but about as close as you can get armed only with a Handywipe, we enjoyed reprised BBQ revelations at Iron Works and - well worth the trek out to Driftwood - Salt Lick!

Once again, we'd like to thank SXSW for their sex-positive inclusivity - along with Matt Dentler, Hugh Forrest and their respective crews for making it all happen.

The Porn Police @ SXSW !

As part of SXSW, CineKink’s co-founder and director, Lisa Vandever, will moderate a panel about the various regulations on sexually explicit content and how they may apply to all types of media producers.

THE PORN POLICE: KNOW THE RULES
Saturday, March 8 - 5-6 pm

It may seem like sex is everywhere in film, television and online, but sexual portrayals are surprisingly restricted - and getting more so everyday. Already draconian federal regulations on the depiction of sexually explicit conduct were recently expanded and signed into law by President Bush, and now apply to an even wider class of media makers. Not just pornographers, but anyone creating and working with explicit imagery of even simulated sexual conduct - bloggers, webmasters, narrative filmmakers, documentarians - needs to know the rules and the risks.
This session will touch upon:
* Overview of 18 U.S.C. 2257 & 2257A record-keeping requirements for actual and simulated sexually explicit material
* New wrinkles introduced by online access/distribution of materials
* Resources for additional information and advocacy support

Panelists:
Violet Blue
Tony Comstock
Alan Levy, Esq.
Joe Swanberg

If you're around, come on by!

We are on!

We'll check in again with even more detail on this year's wham bam program schedule for Cinekink NYC, but here's an overview to get you salivating:

Tuesday, February 26
8:00 pm - Kick-Off Gala & Opening Night Screening

Wednesday, February 27
7:00 pm - Shortbus Tribute Screening
9:00 pm - New York Stories

Thursday, February 28
7:00 pm - Triple X Selects: The Best of Leszploitation
9:00 pm - Viva

Friday, February 29
7:00 pm - Call Me Troy
9:15 pm - Susan for Now
11:15 pm - Sex Mannequin & Superfreak

Saturday, March 1
1:00 pm - Lust, Animation!
3:00 pm - Chick Flicks
5:00 pm - Women Behind the Lens
7:00 pm - Mix, Match & Mingle
9:00 pm - Give & Take
11:00 pm - The Three Trials

Sunday, March 2
1:00 pm - Annie Sprinkle's Herstory of Porn
3:00 pm - Sunday How-To Sex-O-Rama
5:00 pm - Silken Sleeves

6:30 pm - Awards Celebration
8:30 pm - AfterGlow!

Overwhelmed by indecision in the face of so many kinky cinematic possibilties? Give yourself over to our CineKink NYC All-Access Pass and prepare to submit completely!

Mingling with and/or f*cking like porn stars

(Because the "*" in f*ck totally makes it work-safe, right?)

Well, anyway... busily pulling together next month's presentation of CineKinky wonderfulness, we realized this weekend that two major award shows were suddenly descending.

But with many thanks to our friends at the WGA, we found ourselves saved from the Golden Globes, with the gift of several extra hours returned to us. And with many thanks to our other friends at Fleshbot, a mere click and a tag search later, we were able to miraculously transport ourselves to Las Vegas and the 2008 AVN Awards. Just like being there, melon body spray and everything.

But after a loving shout-out to new Hall of Fame inductee, the ever-delightful Alexandra Silk - it is AVN's show, afterall, so we'll let them make the big announcement about this year's award winners!

And maybe next year you can be among them? Pondering how, with so many possible categories and sub-categories, we're unfamilar with so many of the winners - Best Sex Scene in a Foreign-Shot Production? Seriously?!? - we point you next to Violet Blue's recent column, "How to have sex like a porn star," including a few techniques from the pros:

Porn performers occupy the small end of the gene pool: They don't look anything like you or me, and that's why they got the job. They don't need to cuddle before or after sex, they are extremely limber and can withstand holding difficult positions under hot lights for extended periods of time. They wax their balls, asses, vulvas, chests and backs. They get surgeries you've never even heard of to plump or sculpt everything from labia to breasts to calves. They have sex with total strangers every day, and the successful ones make it look like it's not a job.

More of Violet's illuminations on the subject are found here.

But you'd better get cracking. Just 363 days to go, now!

The Cabinet of Maria Beatty

Just a little taste of the delights in store for those of you joining us tonight!

An evening of elegant kink

Join us tomorrow for a New Year's double-header of works from Maria Beatty, each offering up the director's signature "erotic noir" style and depictions of a ride between pain and pleasure at the hands of a beautiful temptress. And then around the corner for a cocktail or two.

The Elegant Spanking







The Seven Deadly Sins








"Beatty makes porno into fetishistic film noir; imagine a kinky Louise Brooks, a sadistic Marlene Dietrich (who's the top?), and some nipple clamps and hot wax, and you're beginning to get the idea."
- Tristan Taormino, The Village Voice

Screening:
Tuesday, January 8 @ 7 pm
Two Boots Pioneer Theater
155 E. Third Street (@ Avenue A), NYC
212.591.0434

Cocktails:
China 1
50 Avenue B (@ 4th Street), NYC

More info and tickets are here!

We're shocked, absolutely shocked we tell you

We've previously noted highlights of the Fox news team's lurid obsession with all things lascivious, but the folks at Fox News Porn have put it altogether in one hot little package:



(hat-tip Viviane's Sex Carnival via Fleshbot)

CineKink @ Midnight... tonight!

Back by popular demand after its recent sold-out screening, the Pioneer Theater and CineKink team up to bring you these special midnight encores - Friday and Saturday night - of Pornology New York.

Don't miss out this time!

O-O-Oprah...

The talk show maven who regularly bashed the viewing of pornography and seemed perplexed by the purpose of various sex toys seems to be turning over a new, er, leaf. Last year she welcomed swingers into her midst. Lately she's been sporting a whole new cheerful moniker for referrring to her genitalia. And this week's show, Let's Talk About Sex, did just that, opening the gates to the consideration of sex for older women, the possible enjoyment of pornography erotica by women in general and, truly mixing it up, a look at committed, open relationships.

A computer programmer and a stay-at-home mother, the couple profiled for the show, Greg and Hollie, appear to be - bless the producers! - aggressively "normal:"

Hollie enjoys reading, playing violin and knitting. Gregg's hobbies include reading, hiking, camping and fencing. They love their two children, and their marriage, they say, has never been better. But there's one thing about Hollie and Gregg's life together that's a little more unconventional.

Like 7 percent of women and 14 percent of men who answered a poll on Oprah.com, Hollie and Gregg say they have an open marriage.

Starting with lots of talking and a bit of outside dating, the discussion of how their particular arrangement transpired is continued on the show's website. Along with pages and pages of viewer comments - many of them, presumably, from the percentile of Oprah's audience not in an open relationship. Not yet, anyway.

Action alert! Feds move to restrict sexual content. (Yep. Even more than now!)

Apparently, we've had our head in the sand about the pending deadline to submit comments on proposed federal regulations effecting the production and distribution of sexually explicit content. That pending deadline is now very pending, as in Monday, September 10th.

In a nutshell, obstensibly intended to prevent the use of underage performers in adult entertainment, 2257 regulations have been on the books since 1988 and in effect since 1995. To comply with the regulations, producers are required to complete a records keeping compliance form for every model/performer who appears in any work, ie photo, film, video, including depictions of "actual sexually explicit conduct." This form asks for all kinds of personal information, including the performer's legal name, date of birth, any and all stage, webhandles(?!?) or pseudonyms used, and it asks for personal ID numbers, along with an attached photocopy of the performer's ID. These records are to be kept on file by the producer, cross-referenced so that they are easily retrievable by performer name and/or title of the work, and readily available for inspection by the attorney general or "his or her designees."

Recent amendments to 2257, which were proposed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush on July 27, 2006, expand these regulations to:

* Cover a new class of so-called "secondary producers," meaning anyone...
"(ii) digitizing an image, of a visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct; or, assembling, manufacturing, publishing, duplicating, reproducing, or reissuing a book, magazine, periodical, film, videotape, digital image, or picture, or other matter intended for commercial distribution, that contains a visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct; or ‘‘(iii) inserting on a computer site or service a digital image of, or otherwise managing the sexually explicit content, of a computer site or service that contains a visual depiction of, sexually explicit conduct."

Sound like anyone you know? Probably closest to home, this will apply to websites, many of which you possibly visit on a daily basis, including, as the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force recently pointed out, adult social networking sites such as Gay.com, AdultFriendFinder, Bondage.com and SwingLifestyles. Anyone who is a "secondary producer" will now need to have copies of the 2257 record for each and every model/performer depicted and keep those readily available for inspection, as above. That's alot of forms.

* Cover simulated sexual conduct in addition to actual sexual conduct. While there is apparently some provision for a safe harbor that might protect mainstream (aka non-adult) entertainment producers from the regulations, that provision is yet to be defined. And whether the largesse will extend behind the coffers of big-business Hollywood to embrace independent producers will also need to be seen. And aside from all that, what precisely equates simulated sex?

* Lump in the "lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of any person" as a new, fifth type of regulated depiction. You can probably guess where we're going with this, but in whose eyes is something determined to be lascivious? In case you're wondering, the regulated depictions already covered are "sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex; bestiality; masturbation; sadistic or masochistic abuse" (In case you're wondering, as we certainly were, what the hell is "sadistic or masochistic abuse?" - and for the switches among us, shouldn't it be and/or - it's another one of those terms that could mean nearly anything. For instance, a recent Google search turned up a city code with this definition: "...flagellation or torture by or upon a person clad in undergarments, in a revealing costume, a mask or bizarre costume, or the condition of being fettered, bound or otherwise physically restrained on the part of one so clothed.)

Overall, a burdensome series of hoops that will do little to nothing to protect children and serve only to chill the open expression of sexuality. (We're certainly feeling chilled!)

So, bottom line?
If you're a producer, secondary producer and/or consumer of any depictions of sexually explicit conduct, actual or simulated, produced for the adult entertainment world or not - and/or you're a supporter of full sexual expression for all - submit your comments protesting these regulations by Monday, September 10th.

Address your statements to: Admin.ceos@usdoj.gov .

IMPORTANT : Be sure to include the following in your email subject line: (Section 2257 Docket No. CRM 104).

For some samples of what you might write:

From the Gay Lesbian Task Force a letter focused largely on the rules' effect on adult-social networking sites

From the Free Speech Coalition, some guidelines on submitting comments that relate to the rules' effect on the adult industry, including economic impact; look also for the 2257 FAQ talking points available for download at the bottom of the page.

From the Pro-Porn Activism Blog, letters - main body and comments - from a pro-porn, free speech perspective

Whichever works best for you, just make sure it's in by next Monday, September 10th!


(Oh, yeah. Please note that we are not an attorney and none of the above should be construed as anything resembling legal advice.)

Pick me, pick me!

It's perhaps not the same level of trepidation that used to descend as the teams were divvied up for sixth-grade slaughter-ball, but we had a wonderful time at SXSW last year and we'd love to ensure our return in 2008. To that end, we've suggested a panel discussion for the festival, inclusion of which will be partially determined by the results of the SXSW Panel Picker, which is live and online now! (Pick me, pick me!)

Inspired by the cheerful oblivion to current and pending restrictions on sexual content demonstrated by most non-porn media makers, we've proposed:

The Porn Police: Know the Rules
Already draconian regulations on depictions of sexually explicit conduct were recently revised and now apply to an even wider class of media makers. Not just pornographers, but anyone creating and working with explicit imagery, bloggers, webmasters, narrative filmmakers, documentarians; need to know the rules and the risks.

Last year we noted SXSW's sex-positive inclusivity and the possibilities for this one again look promising. While you're in the picker giving us your vote, also give a nod to:

Violet Blue -
Sexual Privacy Online

Deb Levine -
Online Sex Advice

Cory Silverberg -
The Future of Sex in Interactive Narrative and When No Means 01001: Sexual Ethics and Interactivity

Elizabeth Wood -
Pink Ghetto Blasters: Destigmatizing Sex via Online Community Building

But don't forget to pick me, pick me!

Tonight...

CineKink @ Pioneer/Tuesday, July 31st – 7 pm

"Pornology New York reinvents a time when anybody could go to Plato's Retreat, the Hellfire, Mindshaft, The Vault, the Anvil, Le Trapeze and even Show World, to indulge in their dirtiest, wildest fantasies and fetishes."
- Stephanie Sellars, New York Press

More info and tickets are here!

End July with a bang!

Namely, with a very kinky movie, plus pizza and beer...



CineKink @ Pioneer/Tuesday, July 31st – 7 pm

Audience Choice Award - Best Documentary/CineKink 2005
Pornology New York
Directed by Michele Capozzi, 2005, 85 minutes.
A paean to the New York sexual underground, circa 1970-85, this engrossing documentary brings together four of its most colorful protagonists. Our guide to the action is Michele Capozzi, urban explorer and self-titled pornologist, with an up-close introduction to Neville Chambers, founder of the infamous porn-producing Fuck Factory; Lenny Waller, long-time front-man of the meat-packing district's now-defunct Hellfire Club and renowned pornstar/mistress/shaman, Porsche Lynn - for a look back in time, an assessment of where we are today...and one very wild farewell party.

Free pizza and beer reception follows for all ticket holders!!

"Pornology New York reinvents a time when anybody could go to Plato's Retreat, the Hellfire, Mindshaft, The Vault, the Anvil, Le Trapeze and even Show World, to indulge in their dirtiest, wildest fantasies and fetishes."
- Stephanie Sellars, New York Press

More info and tickets are here!

Mom would be so proud...

Actually, she would. A whichever-wave feminist who instilled her values by both word and example, she would no doubt be thrilled to have her daughter creating the type of pornography that helps make the world a place where a woman’s right to determine and enjoy her own sexual pleasure is a taken-for-granted aspect of daily life, right up there with equal pay for an equal day.

Especially if it were award-winning pornography.

Well, maybe next year. Instead, we’ll take our mother’s birthday as the ideal time to belatedly congratulate the winners of Good for Her's 2007 Feminist Porn Awards

Hottest Group Sex Scene
Under the Covers | Candida Royalle; Femme Productions
(Alum CineKink 2006)

Hottest Trans Sex Scene
In Search of the Wild Kingdom | Shine Louise Houston; Blowfish Video

Hottest Straight Sex Scene
The Bi Apple | Audacia Ray; Adam and Eve
(Alum CineKink 2006)

Best New Star
Simone Valentino, Afrodite Superstar | Femme Chocolat

Hottest Gonzo Sex Scene and Hottest Diverse Cast
Chemistry 1 | Tristan Taormino; Adam and Eve

Hottest Love Scene
Matt and Khym | Tony Comstock; Comstock Films
(Alum CineKink 2006)

Hottest Couples Scene
Burning Lust | Skye Blue & Kelly Holland; Playgirl

Best Smutty Schoolteacher (educational)
Hearts Cracked Open | Betsy Kalin
(Alum CineKink 2005)

Hottest Dyke Sex Scene
Superfreak | Shine Louise Houston; Blowfish Video

Best Feature
The Masseuse | Paul Thomas; Vivid Video

Indie Porn Pioneer
Anna Span; Easy On The Eye Productions
(Alum CineKink 2006)

And CineKinkster’s mom will likely be extra proud of Audacia Ray (see above), whose book Naked on the Internet: Hookups, Downloads and Cashing in on Internet Sexploration was just published (a movie and a book in one year?!?), an overview of the many ways that women are utilizing the Internet to explore and expand our sexuality.

Also grounded in feminism and drawing upon her own personal and professional experiences, Audacia talks to women about a range of interactions on the web, fro m those that exist solely in the online world to those that culminate in an actual meeting of the flesh. She considers the new audiences and markets that have opened up for adult products, with Internet commerce providing an anonymous and attractive alternative to the raincoat-infested – perceived or otherwise – brick-and-mortar outlet of yore. And she looks at some of the women who are using the web as a place to commoditize their own sexuality, both literally and in the representational sense as producers and purveyors of porn.

With a healthy dose of realism, Audacia paints an online world that is neither sensational menance nor utopian bliss. Detailing both potentials and pitfalls, she provides an engaging and balanced look at the particular vagaries – ie finding oneself oddly compelled to write in a somewhat stilted first-person plural voice? – of a slightly newish medium, along with the advances it might afford in realizing the progressive possibilities our mothers (literal and otherwise) put into motion.

Now, about that Equal Rights Amendment...

A little 2257 clarity?

Over at A Savage Place, there's a good bullet-point overview of last week's ruling in Free Speech Coalition v. Gonzalez, the organization's challenge of the revised 2257 regulations. (Hat tip Viviane's Sex Carnival)

In many ways a set-back for the FSC, the ruling does provide several points of clarity, giving definitions for several terms that have had many producers (and even so-called secondary producers - whatever those are) scratching their heads in wonder. Perhaps most immediately significant:

While producers do have to keep copies of the IDs of performers on file, they're allowed to blot out the day and month of the performer's birthdate and the performer's SSN and home address on those copies. That's a huge deal -- otherwise, think of the potential for identity theft and stalking if and when those records are released to "secondary producers", including retail outlets -- and I think it'll make the new 2257 regs a lot more palatable to people.

Meanwhile, a bit more eye-crossingly detailed, a memorandum on the ruling prepared by AVN's legal correspondent carefully emphasizes the most pertinent elements of the ruling and explains the implications of the case's rather convoluted "procedural posture." Bottom line?

...The court allowed FSC until April 16th to show why the law, as amended, is unconstitutional; and until the end of April for the government to reply. Therefore, any time after May 1, 2007, the court may rule that secondary producers are required to have copies of the records, have them indexed, and be subject to inspections.

Can we just go back to talking about our favorite kinky movies now?

COPA smackdown!

Last week a federal judge struck down the Child Online Protection Act, ruling that it was overly broad and unconstitutional. As reported in the New York Times: “Despite my personal regret at having to set aside yet another attempt to protect our children from harmful material,” Judge Reed wrote, he was blocking the law out of concern that “perhaps we do the minors of this country harm if First Amendment protections, which they will with age inherit fully, are chipped away in the name of their protection.”

The decision is the result of a legal challenge, filed by the ACLU and several other plaintiffs, which had been underway since shortly after COPA became law in 1998. Under the provisions of COPA , websites would face severe penalties for failing to restrict access to "materials harmful to minors," with such a broad definition as to go beyond the usual (already suspect) standards of obscenity to possibly include mere nudity.

(Alright, we know the old adage about laws and sausages, but we just had to look. Here's an actual COPA passage: "...depicts, describes, or represents, in a manner patently offensive with respect to minors, an actual or simulated sexual act or sexual contact, an actual or simulated normal or perverted sexual act, or a lewd exhibition of the genitals or post-pubescent female breast; and...")

With the growth of web-based video sites and online distribution, the ruling is a definite positive, not just for our friends in the porn adult entertainment industry, but for every filmmaker looking to push even the slightest provocative edge - "Oh, my. Is that a post-pubescent female breast?!?" - in their work.

But before you start getting too jiggy on the internet, keep in mind that, despite seeming beliefs to the contrary, a particularly onerous obscenity provision of the Communications Decency Act still remains on the books, along with the lingering possibility of receiving an unexpected and most unwelcome greeting from a western Pennsylvia-based prosecutor's office.

And, of course, there's all that 2257 rigamoral to be sorted out.

But still, a smackdown is a smackdown. Prost!

We miss all the cool parties

Well, not all of them. Last night's CineKink shindig at the Pioneer was a fabulous time, even if we didn't have any naked people. That we know of, anyway. And it's not like we never have naked people at our parties, but...anyway, Saturday night was the big release party for CineKink alum Audacia Ray's brand new porn opus, The Bi Apple. A party that apparently featured many naked people.



For Audacia, who produced and moderated the panel, The State of Smut: NYC for last fall's CineKink NYC, the new project represents her move from in front of the camera to producing and directing. As chronicled in her blog, Waxing Vixen, that move included many of the perils and tribulations one might encounter making independent movies of the non-explicit kind - excepting, of course, for all of those naked people. From a recently posted Q&A with her production manager:

This being a much smaller set, I didn’t really have the luxury of sitting around and doing any one thing for any length of time. I had all the bookkeeping responsibilities of a production manager, but when I wasn’t up to my elbows in receipts and model waivers, I was helping the PAs schlep cases of bottled water or holding the ladder for the set designer or setting up the lighting and backdrop for the photographer or installing an air conditioner or ordering lunch or, after several hours of frenetic activity, finding the coolest room in that sauna of a set that I possibly could and sitting with most of the crew in utter silence for an hour or two so that you could make smu.. er, art in a room down the hall. And occasionally bitching at the director for going overbudget.

It's an interesting, ongoing discussion of the process and you'll find many of Audacia's moviemaking experiences of the past year, now moving into the distribution phase, detailed in the blog.

Along, of course, with many pictures of naked people.

Thank you, mum, may we have another?

While we still think of her most fondly as Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison from the Prime Suspect series, we're delighted that this year's Oscars have brought new attention to the prolific hotness that is Helen Mirren.

Of course, there's another infamous role that most likely won't be a topic of discussion when she has dinner with the QE2. Back during that brief era when it was a risque but acceptable move for a "legitimate" actor to appear in an explicit bit of filmmaking, Mirren portrayed Caesonia, wife of the crazed emperor and "the most promiscuous woman in Rome," in Gore Vidal's 'Caligula'.

Perhaps instead they can chat about the bit of video that's been making an on-again, off-again appearance around YouTube the past year, namely Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal’s 'Caligula':



From our extensive research, we understand that the trailer, featuring a stunning and good-natured Mirren, is but a spoof (or, "art", if you really must insist). We'd like to suggest that some savvy investor consider otherwise and step forward with the funding for what could surely be Helen Mirren's next Oscar-worthy vehicle.

Chronicling a kerfuffle

We were traipsing through San Francisco ourselves when we heard the news that Kink.com had purchased the city's long-abandoned armory building for the tidy sum of $14.5 million, with the intent of spiffing it up and turning it into a production center for works both pornographic and indie. How lovely!, we thought - then turned our attention back to determining which weekend activities we'd pursue in a metropolis so apparently teeming with sex-positive joie de vivre.

But that sale has, in the words of the New York Times anyway, turned into a bit of a kerfuffle, with a group of neighborhood activists sounding the alarm - “The new owner said they would create jobs. But what kind of jobs are we talking about here?” (It should be noted that the NYT article also mentions that activist challenges, over various concerns, have helped keep the building empty for the past three decades.)

And this week the kerfuffle went meta, as Violet Blue, who, among other things is a sex columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, took on what she sees as an anti-porn bias in mainstream media - including that recently exhibited by her own employer.



From her column this week:

But the most interesting example was the presentation of unchallenged material in the form of quotes from people on the street as anti-porn pundits -- with no weigh-in from pro-porn pundits. Protesters were quoted as saying, "This neighborhood is already plagued with enough violence and prostitution as it is" and "Kink degrades the neighborhood, degrades women and offers 'dead end' jobs that no decent person would want." Such statements bracket the piece -- with no counter-opinions about pornography -- and are presented in such a way that readers could interpret opinions as fact. Kink.com was indeed quoted -- but only about their use of the space."

As to those jobs that "no decent person would want"? A few employees have weighed in on the matter on the Kink.com website's press page.

Alumni News: Candida Royalle

Just out from director Candida Royalle is Under the Covers, following a plucky, young journalist as she investigates the sex industry and - wouldn't you know it! - gets more than she bargained for. (Or "more than for which she bargained," more likely? A mere mention of journalism and we start getting all grammatical.)



Reknowned as a pioneer in producing erotica intended primarily for women and couples, Candida was last seen around CineKink as part of "The State of Smut: NYC" panel, educating up-and-comers on the sexiest bits of any indie filmmaking scene ... finance and distribution.

As for other CineKink alumni gracing the hot new project, the trailer features a glimpse of our perennial favorite, actress Sativa Verte (Alice in Footland, CineKink '04, Audience Choice Award/Honorable Mention).

And a cameo appearance by director Michele Capozzi (Pornology New York, CineKink '05, Audience Choice Award/Best Documentary), himself putting in an unusually soleful performance.

Blurb-o-rama!

Fresh from our final, sell-out screenings at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, we're finally back from San Francisco with some great memories, a few new friends, several extra pounds - and a nice batch of blurbs for the collection:

"More like Wild Kingdom than Girls Gone Wild, the CineKink 2007 series ...neutrally observes sexual transgression: the forms it takes, the relief it offers, and the privacy it (often jubilantly) breaches."
- Sara Schieron, San Francisco Bay Guardian

"CineKink's entries are often injected with a refreshing dose of camp and playfulness...Equal parts raunchy and sexy, the festival succeeds because it never loses sight of sex's potential for absurdity and transcendence."
- Nirmala Nataraj, SF Weekly

"Seeing all those body parts at the AVN expo is analogous to the separation between sex and sensuality evident in AVN's typical lineup of winners. We're only going to find sexual authenticity and really hot porn when we reconnect those parts to actual people, like those behind the indie efforts found at CineKink."
- Violet Blue, SF Gate

(And there's more. Speaking of yours truly, CineKinkster ourselves, Violet Blue also deems us a "...superlative blog." We're totally blushing!)

Thanks for the kind words. And thanks to YBCA, film/video curator Joel Shepard and all of you who came out for the SF screenings, for such a fabulous welcome.

Oh, we're so very, very bad.

Our friends over at Shooting People are currently hosting a short film competition to mark the launch of Destricted, the "most controversial and sexually explicit film ever to receive an 18 certificate from the BBFC." (It's a British thing.)

Part of the intent behind the competition is to continue pushing at the boundaries of what constitutes art vs. pornography and what is a "certifiable" onscreen depiction in the UK - and the contest guidelines include some interesting delineations of how that's currently defined.

Given that intent, it's no surprise that some of the works are a bit outrageous for the sake of outrageousness. And several more have that horribly annoying trait of somehow equating kinky sex (or mere sex) with severe mental dysfunction (and/or castration, take your pick.)

But several are quite hot and lovely, such as Eva Midgley's Footsie. And all are definitely worth a quick look-see.

Investigating "The State of Smut: NYC"

We're losing sleep these days in our breathless anticipation of "The State of Smut: NYC," a special CineKink panel taking place on Saturday, October 21 at 4:30 pm.

No longer the hub of porn production it was in the 1970s, New York City has become a haven for filmmakers who are forging new paths in adult entertainment. A panel of NYC-based directors will discuss what it is like working in this sector of the film business, also considering whether the city itself inspires a unique approach to the subject matter and whether the movies made locally are all that different from those produced in "Porn Valley."

Moderating the panel will be Audacia Ray, an executive editor at $pread magazine and Fleshbot contributor, who recently directed her first adult feature, "The Bi Apple."

Our illustrious panelists include:

Tony Comstock of Comstock Films, specializing in explicit documentaries of real-life lovers (including the recently banned-in-Australia "Damon & Hunter: Doing it Together," which will have its US Premiere later that evening in the CineKink NYC schedule, October 21, 8:30 pm);

Tony Dimarco, art director for Lucas Entertainment, which produces glossy films for the gay adult market, and art director/director of photography of their most recent feature, "La Dolce Vita;"

Joe Gallant of Black Mirror Productions, whose gritty, East Village-based productions are touted as "sleazy NYC sex;" and

Candida Royalle, whose pioneering Femme Productions was founded in 1980 to make erotica intended primarily for women.

Questions from the audience will be encouraged and - need you ask? - film clips will be included!