LÖVESTADT, Sweden—After fighting for legitimacy for more than two years, Spanish artist Carlos Bebeacua, Cardinal of the Madonna of the Orgasm Church, has had his petition rejected by Sweden's highest administrative court, apparently because the church's name would be offensive to Christians.

The church, which shares its name with a painting that Bebeacua exhibited at the 1992 World's Fair in Seville, Spain, was founded in the early 1990s, but when he attempted to register it as a religion in his adopted country, Sweden’s Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency (Kammarkollegiet), which oversees such matters, rejected the bid. However, Bebeacua appealed that decision to Stockholm County's Administrative Court, which allowed the registration to go forward.

But the Kammarkollegiet wasn't about to take that insult lying down, and appealed to the Administrative Court of Appeals, claiming that the church's use of the word "Madonna" would offend Christians, even though Bebeacua had already consulted with local Christians in Lövestadt and even the Church of Sweden parish priest, all of whom had no problem with his church's name. Bebeacua further pointed out that the word "Madonna" simply means "my lady" and doesn't necessarily refer to the Virgin Mary.

But the Administrative Court wasn't having any of it, ruling that, "In the opinion of the administrative court of appeal, the intention of such a combination of words, even in relation to the registration of a community for religious activities, must be to offend, not only for those within the wider circles of the general public who have Christian leanings, but also in society in general."

But apparently, the church will continue to exist, though in a non-registered capacity, with its members continuing to worship God through their orgasms.

"The orgasm is God, the orgasm should be worshiped," Bebeacua said. "The orgasm is the ultimate feeling of lust, it shouldn't be limited to ejaculation. You can reach it through art or by looking at a landscape and thinking 'Wow!'"

Posted Sep 6th, 2010 09:51 AM

LONDON, England—Lingerie company Ultimo has found an interesting way to showcase the durability of its bras: Have beautiful women wear them without tops on a high-speed roller coaster.

While women might not get the concept or be willing to rush out and try the same experiment for themselves, men seem to be in love with the idea as well as the videos that are popping up on websites throughout cyberspace.

In the commercial, several women are wearing bras with matching panties as they board a coaster at the U.K. resort Alton Towers.

See the clip here, and judge for yourself the support the bras offer.

SAN FRANCISCO—Not a month after 17 state AGs sent a letter to Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster asking that the site's adult services section be removed because of allegations of illegal prostitution and sex trafficking taking place within its presumably monitored confines, the company has relented; the section has been closed, replaced with a jet black bar with the word "censored" in stark white lettering,

If there is any question about how Buckmaster and founder Craig Newmark feel about having to do away with a section that exactly two years ago this Labor Day was the centerpiece of a joint announcement by Craigslist, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and 43 state attorneys general on agreed measures to prevent illegal activity and improve safety, that symbolically bitter gesture with the section name will have to do. There has been no other direct comment on the closure from either man in the media or on their respective blogs.

While the decision to not pick a public fight with the AGs may have been prudent, neither man has felt a similar reticence in recent blog posts on the way the story has been covered by the media.

On Aug. 28, Newmark added a post to his blog titled "Amber's 'Ambush' - the Point Was What?" regarding an unscheduled attempt by CNN reporter Amber Lyon to interview him at a Washington, D.C. conference May 20. The segment on the adult services section has aired several times on CNN over the summer, and includes the awkward video showing Lyon introducing herself to Newmark during a break in the conference, and peppering him with questions about the adult services section and alleged instances of trafficking. Newmark, who is clearly caught off guard and unwilling (or unable) to engage, eventually turns away and walks back into the conference area.

"[Amber] said because 'I'm the Craig in craigslist,' she expected me to have all the answers on the spot about anything to do with the company. Well, I don't. Jim Buckmaster, our CEO, has been running craigslist for the last 10 years. I am a customer service rep, and I still love being connected to our users and trying to help people," Newmark wrote on his blog. "If Amber had done her homework, she would have known ambushing me with questions I am not qualified to answer, or even the right person to ask, would not get CNN's viewers the accurate information they deserve."

He added, "I know our folks have worked very hard to identify and do the right thing with legitimate versus illegitimate adult service ads. From what I can tell that's a lot more difficult to do perfectly than is being portrayed by CNN and other media."

Objecting to being depicted by CNN and others as a profiteer "oblivious to the welfare of women and children," he said that in the future he would try to be "a little more perceptive about the true intent of reporters I talk to."

Buckmaster's post two days later—"For Amber Lyon, CNN"—on the occasion of an official interview request by Lynn and CNN, was far less restrained.

"There is a class of  'journalists' known for gratuitously trashing respected organizations and individuals, ignoring readily available facts in favor of rank sensationalism and self-promotion," he wrote. "They work for tabloid media. Your stunt has veteran news pros we know recoiling in journalistic horror, some of them chalking it up to a decline in CNN’s standards, which is unfortunate. Seeing how you’ve pinned your career hopes on butchering this story, I’ll have to pass. If Anderson Cooper would like to come out to SF and sit with us for an interview worthy of CNN’s viewers, we’ll consider it."

Not the warmest of invitations, but one Cooper will probably accept. The story opened Saturday's newscast of the CBS Evening News.

Posted Sep 3rd, 2010 06:00 PM

HOLLYWOOD, Calif.—Director Carlos Batts channels his inner Russ Meyer for Sugar Sisters, an upcoming movie that features popular adult stars as “ultra violent, weapons toting” badasses.

April Flores, Nina Hartley, Syd Blackovich, Sunny Lane, Kimberly Kane, Nicki Hunter, Ashley Blue and Kelly Shibari are all set to star.

A trailer for Sugar Sisters is available by clicking here.

Batts is positioning the Sugar Sisters as a classic exploitation-style revenge film where women run the underground world of street justice. The Sugar Sisters run an agency lead by “fearless women who use their sex appeal and street smarts to help assist people who are having problems they may be experiencing in life—money problems, relationship problems, bill problems, beat a mother fucker up problems.

The plot revolves around Mai Tai (Flores) who struggles to investigate the kidnapping of her best friend, Shirley Temple (Kane) by Bloody Mary (Hunter), who was rejected by agency owner/operator Martini (Hartley). Mai Tai only has very limited time to find Shirley before Mary kills her. Mai Tai enlists the help of her crew, Hot Totty (Lane), Mimosa (Blue) and Cosmo (Blackovich) who have violent encounters throughout the film. We come to learn that Mai Tai’s relationship with The Sisters and Bloody Mary are deeper than expected as she deals with unexpected obstacles in search of the truth.

Batts’ original story was assisted by screenplay writer Darryl Wharton and collaborator Nathan Carlisle.

The film also features an original score of electronica, hip-hop and hardcore music.

Sugar Sisters is set for release next year.

For more information, email Batts at cbattsfly@gmail.com.

CHATSWORTH, Calif.—Adult studio Muffia (or the "Cooza Nostra," as some like to call it) returns to its AVN Award-nominated Asian line Cum Fu with volume five arriving in stores Tuesday, Sept. 14.

"Cum Fu has been one of our top-selling series under the Muffia product line," said David Peskin of Muffia distributor Antigua Pictures.

The targets of the Cum Fu action this time around are Asian hotties Evelyn Lin, Ka Lee, Miko Sinz, Tia Lee Liam, Asia Zo and Tara Kali.

To order Cum Fu 5, contact Peskin at (818) 709-7400 ext. 302 or davep@antiguapictures.com.

SANTA MONICA, Calif.—In response to a call from AVN seeking further clarification on the sudden suspension by Visa of the ability by ePassport’s West Indies-based bank—St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank Ltd.—to process Visa transactions, ePassporte’s business account manager called to comment on the situation.

“The problem,” he said, “is not our bank. Our bank is perfectly fine. Everybody’s money is safe. The issue is literally with Visa. Visa functionality is the only thing that’s down, which means eCards and vCards. We are working to resolve the issue and we will have a resolution by next week, but at this point in time we don’t have any more information and we will contact everyone as soon as we do have any update at all.”

When asked about the increasing concern among some ePassporte clients that their money might remain inaccessible for some time to come, leading them to seek alternative means of delivery, he said, “I think the most important thing right now is for people to be patient until we have a solution. I wouldn’t move any [funds] at this point, because by the time you would receive a wire we’ll either have Visa functionality back up or we will have found another solution.

“The problem,” he added, “is that yesterday we were given about an hour’s notice of the situation, so there really wasn’t enough time for us to prepare any sort of documented statements other than the message that came from our CEO and owner, Christopher Mallick.

“There’s nothing to worry about," he stressed. "It’s an issue with Visa, not with our bank. All of our functions outside of Visa are working perfectly. If people’s funds are in their wallets, they can feel free to contact customer service and do a wire disbursement, but if they can wait, that would be my recommendation. I wouldn’t make any hasty decisions. But we’re not going anywhere; there’s nothing wrong with the business. This was an unforeseen issue, and we’re not exactly sure where it came from on Visa’s side.”

Before hanging up, he once again expressed his hope that calm would prevail over the long holiday weekend, after which the company expects that the situation will be quickly resolved.

“There really is nothing to be panicked about,” he said. “We just have to be patient and see what the solution is. All I can say is that if we had been given more notice, we obviously would have been better prepared and would have contacted all of our clients beforehand.”

In the meantime, AVN has learned that several affiliate programs have sent letters to their affiliates notifying them that they are temporarily suspending the use of ePassporte until the Visa issues are resolved, and recommending that people log in to their accounts and change their payment options to either checks or wire transfers.

Check back with AVN for more updates as this story unfolds.

Posted Sep 3rd, 2010 01:39 PM

VAN NUYS, Calif.—Within just three weeks of being posted online at BodyHeatXXX.com, the trailer to Digital Playground’s big fall movie already has garnered more than 1 million views.

Additionally, a record number of users have downloaded the trailer for Body Heat on their iPhones and iPads.

BodyHeatXXX.com allows users to watch the trailer, download wallpapers and photos, view the latest news on the movie and buy it.

Digital Playground also reports that Body Heat pre-orders have exceeded expectations by 138 percent, causing the company to order a second pressing of the title before it even streets. To date, sales numbers for the movie have surpassed its bestselling titles Fly Girls, Teachers, Babysitters, Cheerleaders and Nurses.

"Body Heat has such broad appeal,” Digital Playground founder and director Joone said. "Movies like this in the adult industry have never been done before now."

The Robby D.-directed Body Heat streets Sept. 21, and features the first scene between Jesse Jane and Riley Steele. The pair is joined Digital Playground contract stars Raven Alexis, Riley Steele and Katsuni for an orgy atop a fire truck to cap the action.

"This is truly a movie that you can watch with your significant other," DP CEO Samantha Lewis said.

For sales information, email sales@digitalplayground.com.  

http://business.avn.com/articles/ en Copyright 1983-2010 AVN Media Network. All Rights Reserved. AVN is a registered trademark of AVN Media Network, Inc. webmaster@avn.com (AVN Webmaster) http://business.avn.com/articles/Stars-Shine-on-Sunset-Strip-for-FSC-Freedom-Party-410708.html The Sunset Strip is legendary across the world for sex and rock ‘n’ roll. Last night’s Freedom Party at the Whisky a Go Go, presented by Hustler Hollywood to benefit the Free Speech Coalition, added yet another chapter in the Boulevard’s debauched history. webmaster@avn.com (AVN Webmaster) http://business.avn.com/articles/Stars-Shine-on-Sunset-Strip-for-FSC-Freedom-Party-410708.html Thu, 02 September 2010 19:53:21 PDT http://business.avn.com/articles/Utherverse-Launches-Casino-for-U-S-Users-410705.html 3D virtual world platform Utherverse has opened a casino in Red Light Center for users in the United States. The Tiberius Casino launched in early August, but the company has started to promote it only recently. webmaster@avn.com (AVN Webmaster) http://business.avn.com/articles/Utherverse-Launches-Casino-for-U-S-Users-410705.html Thu, 02 September 2010 17:29:28 PDT http://business.avn.com/articles/Mr-Marcus-40th-Party-Set-for-Fri-Night-410547.html Renaissance cocksman Mr. Marcus turns 40 this Saturday, and plans to get the celebration started with a bash Friday evening at H.Wood nightclub in the center of Hollywood. webmaster@avn.com (AVN Webmaster) http://business.avn.com/articles/Mr-Marcus-40th-Party-Set-for-Fri-Night-410547.html Thu, 02 September 2010 16:16:03 PDT http://business.avn.com/articles/Let-the-Games-Begin-2011-AVN-Awards-Pre-Nom-Site-Now-Open-410309.html AVN Media Network has launched the pre-nomination site for the 2011 AVN Awards Show. webmaster@avn.com (AVN Webmaster) http://business.avn.com/articles/Let-the-Games-Begin-2011-AVN-Awards-Pre-Nom-Site-Now-Open-410309.html Thu, 02 September 2010 16:00:00 PDT http://business.avn.com/articles/Aussie-Anti-porn-Legislator-Embroiled-in-Porn-viewing-Scandal-410527.html Australia’s answer to Pat Robertson, the Reverend Fred Nile, has been accused of visiting pornography and gambling websites on his parliament computers. webmaster@avn.com (AVN Webmaster) http://business.avn.com/articles/Aussie-Anti-porn-Legislator-Embroiled-in-Porn-viewing-Scandal-410527.html Thu, 02 September 2010 14:59:41 PDT http://business.avn.com/articles/Ca-Assembly-Passes-New-Anti-Paparazzi-Law-Arnie-s-Signature-Expected-410429.html Amendments intended to curb the excesses of the paparazzi will soon become law, if, as expected, Governor Schwarzenegger signs the just-passed legislation. webmaster@avn.com (AVN Webmaster) http://business.avn.com/articles/Ca-Assembly-Passes-New-Anti-Paparazzi-Law-Arnie-s-Signature-Expected-410429.html Thu, 02 September 2010 12:25:20 PDT http://business.avn.com/articles/Pleasure-Dynasty-Inks-HD-Distro-Deal-with-Coastline-Licensing-410425.html Pleasure Dynasty has inked a deal with Coastline Licensing to distribute the studio’s high-definition catalog worldwide. Coastline will manage the company’s exclusive broadcast rights and non-exclusively across all other content delivery platforms. webmaster@avn.com (AVN Webmaster) http://business.avn.com/articles/Pleasure-Dynasty-Inks-HD-Distro-Deal-with-Coastline-Licensing-410425.html Thu, 02 September 2010 12:19:31 PDT http://business.avn.com/articles/Zero-Tolerance-Announces-Ambitious-Slate-of-Thriller-Parodies-410412.html Zero Tolerance aims to corner the thriller parody genre by releasing a slew of movies in this burgeoning niche. First up is The Official Friday the 13th Parody, streeting Oct. 25, just in time for Halloween. webmaster@avn.com (AVN Webmaster) http://business.avn.com/articles/Zero-Tolerance-Announces-Ambitious-Slate-of-Thriller-Parodies-410412.html Thu, 02 September 2010 11:55:51 PDT http://business.avn.com/articles/Topco-Sales-Introduces-Six-New-Sensual-Sets-410391.html Leading adult novelty manufacturer Topco Sales welcomes the newest additions to its Penthouse branded line of products: Penthouse Secrets Bath Bliss and the Penthouse Couples Satin & Scented Bondage Kit. webmaster@avn.com (AVN Webmaster) http://business.avn.com/articles/Topco-Sales-Introduces-Six-New-Sensual-Sets-410391.html Thu, 02 September 2010 10:58:00 PDT http://business.avn.com/articles/A-Hollywood-Film-Based-on-the-Life-of-Reuben-Sturman-410370.html A biopic on the life of legendary pornographer Rueben Sturman is reportedly in the works, according to an article in the Hollywood Reporter. webmaster@avn.com (AVN Webmaster) http://business.avn.com/articles/A-Hollywood-Film-Based-on-the-Life-of-Reuben-Sturman-410370.html Thu, 02 September 2010 08:46:03 PDT

Posted Sep 3rd, 2010 12:35 PM

SAN DIEGO, Calif.—Naughty America, home of My Friend’s Hot Mom, has announced its first-ever MILF Week. Starting Labor Day, the freshest new scenes from the hottest MILFs in the adult industry can be downloaded every day until Sept. 10.

“While the college students are away, the MILFs will play,” said Lauren, show host on Naughty America.

MILF Week debuts with legendary porn star Nina Hartley, who returns to Naughty America for her first fantasy scene in over a year. Naughty America members agree: “Oh yeah, Nina Hartley is back! This is going to be a great week!”

During MILF Week, My Friend’s Hot Mom will update every day, starring fan favorites, blonde bombshells and Latin MILFs, including Nina Mercedez, Diana Doll, Monique Fuentes, Tanya Tate, Tyler Faith, Indiana Jaymes and others. The week is topped off on Friday with porn scenes from famous big-name blonde MILF porn stars Dyanna Lauren and Emma Star.

“MILF fans are going crazy over the lineup of MILF Week, but they may need resuscitation after Friday’s finale: My Friend’s Hot Mom Bake-off,” said Dallas Lowe, host of Naughty Americans Live.

The MILF Week grande finale bake-off features porn stars Julia Ann, Deauxma and Holly Halston with fetish model Darla Crane.

More info can be found at NaughtyAmerica.com.

Posted Sep 3rd, 2010 11:15 AM

SANTA MONICA, Calif.—ePassporte sent a letter to account holders late Thursday that notified them that Visa International had suspended the ability its banking partner in the West Indies nation of Saint Kitts—St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank Ltd.—to process ePassporte through Visa.

As the word has circulated through the adult online community, a number of affiliate programs are already contacting their affiliates to alert then to the situation and put into place alternative means of making payment transactions.

The letter from ePassporte chief executive Chris Mallick is, as follows.

“Dear ePassporte Account Holders,

“Please be advised that, at 12:00 PM PDT today, September 2, 2010, we were notified that effective immediately, Visa International has suspended our banking partner’s (St. Kitts Nevis Anguilla National Bank) ePassporte Visa program. The ePassporte e-Wallet program continues to be up and running, except funds cannot be transferred between your Visa Account and your e-Wallet. At this time ePassporte can no longer issue Visa Cards, and the ability for our Account Holders to make point of sale purchases and withdraw funds from ATMs has also been suspended.

“At this time we do not know why this drastic action was taken by Visa. To us, it is unconscionable that such action would be taken without the opportunity for ePassporte to fully understand Visa’s reasons and to be able to take all steps necessary to keep our program running the way it has so successfully done for over 7 years. But that is what Visa has done.

“As soon as we have more information we will be in contact with you.

“In the meantime please be assured that your funds are safe.

“We are very sorry for the short notice and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. The ePassporte team is working diligently to rectify this situation.

“We kindly ask you to bear with us while we work through this issue.

“Please feel free to contact us via the message center or at our call center, should you have any questions, comments or concerns.

“Thank You,

Christopher Mallick.”

AVN has contacted all of the relevant parties and will report on this developing story as it unfolds.

PORN VALLEY—At a rough count, according to the Internet Movie Database, there have been at least two dozen attempts to tell the story (more or less) of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's Frankenstein and the monster he created. (Um ... you knew Frank was the doc and "The Monster" was the undead thing he sewed together out of fresh body parts, right?) The first was a 1910 silent from the Edison Manufacturing Company, which not only filmed the thing but also built the camera that shot it and the projectors that showed it. But certainly the most famous version is Universal Pictures' Frankenstein's Monster (later shortened to simply "Frankenstein") starring Boris Karloff. There was even a 3D version, Andy Warhol's Flesh For Frankenstein; a Japanese TV attempt, Kyofu densetsu: Kaiki! Furankenshutain; and, of course, Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein.

So are there any "Frankenstein" worlds left to conquer?

"I'm going to do Frankenstein," announced Paul Thomas for his company, Paul Thomas Presents. "I don't want to do The Munsters; I don't want to do a silly parody; I want to do Frankenstein."

"That's why I did Twilight Zone," he continued. "I was able to treat it in a serious way. Frankenstein is similar. Number one, it's not a parody. I'm doing Frankenstein; it's an homage. I've figured out a way to handle it in a very dark and very somber way, and that is the challenge when you're doing a classic subject and a purposeful story, especially something like Frankenstein. It easily gives itself over to ridiculous camp; easily. I promise it will not be ridiculous. The subject is essentially, inherently a very sexual thing, and I don't need to twist and turn it out of its original shape; in other words, to keep it sexual."

Hell, even Universal knew Frankenstein needed a “bride”—but, we asked, isn't it going to be tough "keeping it real" in a universe where the dead can be brought back to life with a little catgut, a Wimshurst machine and a Van de Graaff generator or two?

"To have an element of fright in an erotic film has also always been tricky," Thomas admitted. "But if you frighten people the right way, it can be very sexually arousing. My aim is to make it as dark and erotically meaningful as possible, and again, that's a huge challenge, but I've pulled that sort of thing off more than most. So just as I was able to tie up Jenna Jameson in The Masseuse and have hardcore sex when it was traditionally against the rules—you can break the rules if you couch it in a story that will support the behavior, so it's not just extreme sex for extreme sex's sake. Traditionally, you can cross the lines, and that's what I have done and I will be doing with Frankenstein."

But for a taste of what Thomas will be able to do with the world-famous literary classic, why not try Paul Thomas' Pervert, due to be released by Hustler Video on Oct. 31?

"I've also finished Pervert," he said. "It's in the can and is about to be released on Halloween. It stars a newcomer named Lily LaBeau, a 5 foot 9 inch 19-year-old in the blush of her youth, as well as Samantha Ryan and Eric Swiss and the quintessential pervert, Otto Bauer. And what I've done with this is, I'm trying to go into areas that are much more twisted and much darker than areas that I have gone to during most of my career. I just find it fun to treat it really seriously, to find the darkest edge to it and make it work as a motion picture."

"People who know me know that I'm one demented motherfucker," he continued, "and the trick, again, since you can't get too extreme on camera or the lawyers won't let me distribute it, what I've done in Pervert is, I've given you the impression there's all sorts of ungodly things going on, but if you look carefully, you'll see it falls well within the bounds of accepted propriety, but they're very dark, very twisted, very extreme."

"I think we all would like to raise the human spirit with our films and there are many ways to do that and still keep the film well within the bounds of the erotic genre," Thomas reflected. "I want to become the O'Henry of pornography. Pervert is a collection of short stories. I've always thought that the vignette form was the very best form of erotic entertainment. Vignettes don't have to be just sex. Vignettes can be truly a short story, a very well-developed short story strung together in an incredibly clever and creative way, so one can watch one story for a half an hour and turn it off. I've always held that just to arouse is not enough to hold an audience for two hours; we have the chance to make people laugh and cry as well as cum. This is what I have wanted to do for a long time. Even this title was something that came up in my years at Vivid but it didn't get done, so Pervert is now done, and then my next show is Frankenstein."

Thomas also shared some of his thoughts on what it takes to make a successful parody or homage.

"The trick with any of these, whether it's a parody or an homage, is to keep the elements of the original that were appealing," Thomas explained. "I was about to do The Wizard of Oz before Jeff Mullen said he was going to do it, and I said, 'Fine, you do it.' The trick there was to keep Dorothy, keep the Tin Man, not rewritten as inner-city youths like I was going to do it, because it would lose something. You've got to keep the Yellow Brick Road, you've got to keep the Emerald Forest, and certain other elements you've got to keep. And that's tricky, because for the most part, big-budget projects these days are not going to be as big budget as big budgets were when I did big budgets. You need to take the essential elements of the story that appeal to people and keep them and figure out what you can get rid of."

Frankly, we'd trust Paul Thomas to make classy eroticism out of Vladimir and Estragon waiting for their buddy on a park bench.

HOLLYWOOD, Calif.—An article in the Hollywood Reporter Wednesday noted the upcoming writing projects for Hollywood screenwriter Adam Mazer, who just won an Emmy for the Al Pacino vehicle You Don't KNow Jack, about Dr, Jack Kevorkian. Following a project on car-maker John DeLorean, Mazer, a Philadelphia native, is set to pen a biopic about Reuben Sturman, the legendary porn king who built an empire from the 1960s to the late 1980s, when he was finally jailed by the feds on tax charges.

The picture is currently titled Rube, and according to HR, will be "based on the late Reuben Sturman, who in the 1950s began selling 'girlie magazines' in Ohio, imported porn from Europe and brought peep shows to America. Despite legal challenges, he became a billionaire in the 1970s but got into business with the Gotti mob in New York, ended up in jail and died penniless."

Sturman died in a federal prison in Kentucky on Oct. 27, 1997, while serving a 10-year sentence for tax evasion. His status as a First Amendment hero in the adult industry is so great that AVN named its free speech award after him.

According to many accounts of the government's persecution of Sturman starting in 1964, when the FBI made its first raid on one of his warehouses in Cleveland, federal prosecutor Bruce Taylor is the man most responsible for targeting and finally getting Sturman.

But in a 2004 article in AVN on Taylor, legendary defense attorney H. Louis Sirkin said the truth lies elsewhere.

"I don't believe he was directly involved in the convictions on Reuben Sturman," Sirkin said. "The one who was responsible for convicting Reuben was Craig Morford, who was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Ohio. Bruce was not one of the prosecutors on the case."

Morford, the article states, was the prosecutor on Sturman's tax evasion case; the first time the government had managed to convict Sturman of anything. Sturman and attorney J. Michael Murray faced Taylor in a federal obscenity case in 1991, which Murray remembers well.

"What happened was, the case went to trial for almost three months, and the jury came back with a not-guilty verdict on one count, and it was a hung jury on all the other counts," Murray stated. "As I recall, the split on the jury was, there were more for acquittal than conviction, so Bruce Taylor tried that case on the other side of me and he got nothing out of it. What happened was, later on, rather than go through a retrial—and I think I negotiated this with Mary Speering, but Taylor might have been involved—at that juncture, Reuben had lost his tax case, and so we entered a plea in the obscenity case and got a concurrent sentence, which meant that he basically didn't do any punishment for that case."

Sirkin, of course, was a part of the legal team—along with Paul Cambria and Allan Gelbard—that just won an important victory against the government in Washington, D.C., in the John Stagliano/Evil Angel obscenity trial, which ended in an acquittal. And Murray is also still very much in the saddle, currently working on an appeal in the Free Speech Coalition challenge to the government's 2257 regulations.

As Mazer, who recently referred to Sturman as "a nice Jewish businessman" from Cleveland, dives into the project, apparently using Eric Schlosser's book, Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs and Cheap Labor in the American Black Market, as one piece of source material, it will be interesting to see whether this biopic reflects the reality of Sturman's life, and not just the most sensational headlines.

Considering Mazer's love of biography—he refers to himself as a "biography kind of guy"—it may have a better than even shot.

CHATSWORTH, Calif.—New Sensations has introduced a new line aimed at fans of real lesbian sex called the Sappho Series. The new series debuts with the release of The Interns.

Directed by Eddie Powell and Chloe Sampson, The Interns chronicles the sex and struggles of a group of interns for a haute couture fashion magazine. The high-end lesbian feature stars Julia Ann, Samantha Ryan, Sara Stone, Charlie Laine, Allie Haze, Zoe Britton, Avy Scott, Zoe Voss, Violet Monroe and Michelle Lay.

To view the trailer for movie, click here.

“Since the first stages of production on The Interns, it was extremely important to us to involve consumers in the movie making process,” co-director Sampson said. “We've been active on blogs and forums immersing ourselves in what the lesbian community wants from their erotica. It's that connection which makes the outstanding reviews we've received all the more exciting, and we are moving into the production on the second Sappho Series title with great confidence."

Initial buzz on the movie is extremely positive. LezLoveVideo.com, an online authority of lesbian erotica called it a “landmark release.”

“Okay, stop the presses,” the site said in its review. “Every once in a great while, a pause is needed to observe a landmark release in the world of lesbian adult video. The release of The Interns marks just such an occasion.  I can only hope this is kicking off the first of many such releases from this production label from New Sensations.”

The movie’s plot follows Julia Ann, editor-in-chief of Haute Couture fashion magazine, as an icy woman who constantly tests the resolve and desire of her interns to succeed.  Samantha (Ryan), one of the lucky girls to land the exclusive internship, will do anything to get ahead. Ruth (Zoe Britton), Samantha’s main competition, sets out to use the naive Allie (Haze) to set Samantha up for a fall from grace. Little does Ruth know she has stepped on one too many toes, and sister interns Zoe (Voss) and Violet (Monroe) have it out for her. Who will break their heel and fall off the runway?

The Sappho Series, named after the lesbian Greek poet Sappho, from the island of Lesbos, is written for women by women.  According to New Sensations, the series offers an alternative in lesbian adult entertainment—premier, high budget, all-girl erotica.

For more information, call the company’s vice president of global sales Belle Casten at (800) 748-6767, ext. 307, or email sales@newsensations.com.

Posted Sep 1st, 2010 02:25 PM

CHATSWORTH, Calif.—AVN Media Network has launched the pre-nomination site for the 2011 AVN Awards Show. Producers, manufacturers and retailers should immediately request access to the site in order to submit their movies, products, outlets and other entities for awards consideration.

The 28th AVN Awards Show is scheduled for Jan. 8 at The Pearl Concert Theatre inside the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. This year, for the first time, the AVN Awards will include categories honoring adult retailers, distributors and novelty manufacturers.

In order to be eligible for a 2011 award nomination, a movie or product must be released by Sept. 30. To qualify for consideration, it must be in stock with either 10 wholesale distributors or 100 retail stores. The eligibility period includes any movie or product released between Oct. 1, 2009 and Sept. 30, 2010.

To access the pre-nom site, candidates must first establish a user account on AVN.com (if they do not already have one) by entering their email address at this link: https://secure.avn.com/account/register/. Once you submit the form a confirmation email will be sent to you at the address you entered. You must click the link in the confirmation email to activate your account.

Once you have an activated AVN.com user account, you must request access to the pre-nomination site by clicking this link:

http://www.avn.com/prenom-request-form/

Users will be notified of their access with an email. If approved for access, they will also be provided a link in this email to the secret pre-nom site address. The site will remain open until 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 1.

AVN strongly suggests you begin submitting your nominations now and continue to do so through the month of September as there will be no extensions of the deadline. Once a password is activated, you can go to the site as many times as necessary.

“Feel free to start entering your pre-noms for all product released to this point and then just add the September material as it’s ready,” said Paul Fishbein, AVN founder. “This way you are not struggling to get everything in at the last minute."

AVN asks producers and manufacturers to be judicious in their pre-noms, submitting only those titles and items they strongly believe have a chance at being nominated rather than submitting all product released during the eligibility period.

Production companies must supply AVN with all pertinent information in their pre-nom entries, including the full stage names of all the performers in the sex scenes and the names of all the behind-the-camera professionals in the technical categories such as editing, cinematography, music and others.

By Oct. 1, AVN asks that producers send two (2) DVD copies of each movie or series it would like considered, as well as sample materials used in marketing campaigns if seeking consideration in those categories. Novelty companies should also provide two (2) samples of each product they would like considered. All items should be mailed or hand-delivered to:

AVN Media Network

9400 Penfield Ave.

Chatsworth, CA 91311

Attn: Nominations

Retailers are welcome to pre-nom any wholesale distributor they feel is worthy of being nominated. Similarly, manufacturers and distributors are free to pre-nominate retailers in the various categories for consideration.

The award categories are as follows, though they are subject to change:

Video/DVD Categories

Best 3D Release

Best Actor

Best Actress

Best All-Girl Release

Best All-Girl Series

Best All-Girl Couples Sex Scene

Best All-Girl Three-Way Sex Scene

Best All-Girl Group Sex Scene

Best All-Sex Release

Best All-Sex Series

Best Alternative Release

Best Amateur Release

Best Amateur Series

Best Anal Release

Best Anal Series

Best Anal Sex Scene

Best Animated Release

Best Art Direction

Best BDSM Release

Best Big Bust Release

Best Big Bust Series

Best Big Butt Release

Best Big Butt Series

Best Cinematography

Best Classic Release

Best Comedy

Best Couples Sex Scene

Best Director, Ethnic Video

Best Director, Feature

Best Director, Foreign Feature

Best Director, Foreign Non-Feature

Best Director, Non-Feature

Best Double Penetration Sex Scene

Best DVD Extras

Best DVD Menus

Best Educational Release

Best Editing

Best Ethnic Release, Asian

Best Ethnic Release, Black

Best Ethnic Release, Latin

Best Ethnic Series, Asian

Best Ethnic Series, Black

Best Ethnic Series, Latin

Best Feature

Best Fem-Dom Strap-On Release

Best Foot/Leg Fetish Release

Best Foreign All-Sex Release

Best Foreign All-Sex Series

Best Foreign Feature

Best Gonzo Release

Best Gonzo Series

Best Group Sex Scene

Best High-End All-Sex Release

Best Interactive DVD

Best Internal Release

Best Internal Series

Best Interracial Release

Best Interracial Series

Best Makeup

Best Male Newcomer

Best MILF Release

Best MILF Series

Best Music Soundtrack

Best New Line

Best New Series

Best New Starlet

Best New Video Production Company

Best Non-Sex Performance

Best On-Line Marketing Campaign, Company Image

Best On-Line Marketing Campaign, Individual Project

Best Oral Release

Best Oral Series

Best Oral Sex Scene

Best Orgy/Gangbang Release

Best Orgy/Gangbang Series

Best Original Song

Best Overall Marketing Campaign, Company Image

Best Overall Marketing Campaign, Individual Project

Best Packaging

Best Packaging Innovation

Best Parody

Best POV Release

Best POV Series

Best POV Sex Scene

Best Pro-Am Release

Best Pro-Am Series

Best Renting Title of the Year

Best Screenplay

Best Selling Title of the Year

Best Sex Scene in a Foreign-Shot Production

Best Solo Release

Best Solo Sex Scene

Best Spanking Release

Best Special Effects

Best Specialty Release, Other Genre

Best Specialty Series, Other Genre

Best Squirting Release

Best Squirting Series

Best Supporting Actor

Best Supporting Actress

Best Tease Performance

Best Three-Way Sex Scene

Best Transsexual Release

Best Transsexual Series

Best Vignette Release

Best Vignette Series

Best Young Girl Release

Best Young Girl Series

Clever Title of the Year

Director of the Year (Body of Work)

Female Foreign Performer of the Year

Female Performer of the Year

Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame (Founders Branch)

The Jenna Jameson Crossover Star of the Year

Male Foreign Performer of the Year

Male Performer of the Year

MILF/Cougar Performer of the Year

Most Outrageous Sex Scene

Reuben Sturman Awards

Transsexual Performer of the Year

Unsung Starlet of the Year

Unsung Male Performer of the Year

Novelty Categories

Best Fetish Product

Best Lingerie or Apparel Company

Best Overall Sex Toy Line

Best Packaging

Best Party, Game or Gag Product

Best Sex Accessory

Best Sex Toy Company

Best Sex Toy for Couples

Best Sex Toy for Men

Best Sex Toy for Women

Hall of Fame (Pleasure Product Branch)

Retail Categories

Best Adult Distributor (East)

Best Adult Distributor (West)

Best Boutique (East)

Best Boutique (West)

Best Retail Chain

Best Retail Store (East)

Best Retail Store (West)

Web Categories

Best Alternative Website

Best Dating Website

Best Live Chat Website

Best Membership Website

Best New Web Starlet

Best Porn Star Website

Best Retail Website

Best VOD Website

Hall of Fame (Internet Founders Branch)

Web Starlet of the Year

For a description of each category, click here.

Posted Sep 1st, 2010 02:24 PM

CHINO, Calif.—Summer may be drawing to a close, but California Exotic Novelties continues to turn up the heat with feature-packed new products, released this week.

The new Automatic Precision Pump is totally automatic: No more pumping, no more squeezing … just push the button and the motorized pump does the rest. With a pistol-grip controller, seamless flanged 3-inch (8 cm) oversized diameter cylinder with measures, and a flexible non-crimping hose, what more could a man ask for? Additionally, a free point-of-sale sign designed to show off this new item is available.

The new Lover's Delight Ele enhancer provides double support for him, and resonating triple-point vibrations for her. The Lover's Delight Nubby provides sturdy support for him, and tantalizing vibrating nubbies for her. Both of these new items are perfect for couple's play, and the Safe and Pure TPR/TPE is a sure bet for durability and secure use.

The new super slim, soft, and flexible Pure Silicone B.O.B. (Battery Operated Buddy) features 10 extreme functions, and a powerful motor in the tip. A state-of-the-art memory chip resumes the last function used, and the added ticklers at the base add pleasure beyond compare.

Be sure to call your CalExotics sales representative today for these, or any, California Exotic Novelties products, or visit CalExotics.com.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.—If its application is approved by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, Scores Atlantic City will become the only gentlemen’s club operating in a casino in the gaming hub, an advantage that could reap big rewards for the company. The application to open a club in the Trump-owned Taj Mahal Casino Hotel was submitted Aug. 27 by Starlight Events, which, according to the application, is operated by the same individual who owns a controlling interest in New York City gentlemen’s club Scores New York, which opened 18 months ago, and Penthouse Executive Club, which has been in existence for eight years.

As of the filing of the application, Starlight is reportedly still negotiating with the Taj Mahal, but the details of the planned club are laid out in the application, and is imagined as being similar to the Scores New York club. The physical location will be in the former Stage Deli space, on the second level of the Taj Mahal, taking up approximately 9,800 square feet of inside space with an adjacent outdoor patio area of about 5,400 square feet.

“It will be a richly furnished, first class, exceptional facility consistent with the Scores brand,” reads the application. “A significant admission fee and dress code for patrons will be enforced. However, unlike the New York facility, the Atlantic City operation will not include a restaurant, and the entertainment offered will be only as permitted by the rules and regulations of the New Jersey licensing and regulatory authorities.”

In fact, the differences will be significant. New York allows topless dancing in adult entertainment clubs, but New Jersey does not in any business dispensing alcohol. To comply with the law, the application states, “Entertainers start their performance in an evening gown, and by the end of the dance, generally will be clothed in a g-string or thong bottom and pasties.”

Lap dances will be allowed, but within clear parameters that include the same clothing restrictions as dancers on stage, and prohibit patrons from touching the dancers other than to put money in “a garter worn by the dancer. Entertainers are permitted to tastefully touch patrons as part of the table dance routine, but only with their hands, only in passing, and only on their shoulders, arms, neck and head.”

According to pressofatlanticcity.com, “Starlight expects to create 80 to 100 full-time jobs for hosts, bartenders and service staff, as well as 150 to 200 contracting jobs for entertainers and DJs.”

A timeline for a decision by the commission is unknown, but a Starlight attorney said the project would require about six months and $3 million worth of construction before the club would be ready to open.

A copy of the application can be read here.

Posted Sep 1st, 2010 01:56 PM

LOS ANGELES—SexToy.com is launching two new content series that will include top lists of everything you need to know about sex toys as well a series of correlation graphs based on the company’s adult toy sales data.

This content series provides a fun way to look at the world of sex toys while giving customers and industry analysts interesting editorial information on sex toys as well as the adult toy industry.

“I’m extremely excited by this new content series we’ve produced because they’re not only interesting, but also entertaining,” said Sex Toy Dave, CEO of SexToy.com. “The first of the content series is organized into top 10 lists based on sex toys. These lists are somewhat tongue in cheek, like our ‘Top 10 lists of sex toys you can use to accent your home.’

“The second set of content is sales data graphs from SexToy.com itself,” he continued. “We take a look at events that happen around the world and we show how they affect our sales data in a line graph. Did you know that toy cleaner sales increased in Louisiana during the BP oil spill? Correlation does not imply causation, but facts like this can be interesting.”

This content will be updated on a weekly basis and may be syndicated by affiliates as well as bloggers and news sources.

For more information about these series, email Dave@CNV.com or call (310)-358-0932.

CHATSWORTH, Calif.—For the producers of HBO's Entourage to lend a little verisimilitude to Sasha Grey's portrayal of herself on the show, it was only natural that they would eventually enlist other adult talent to appear. (Albeit any concern over accuracy apparently took a swan dive out the window when it came to the pivotal plot point of Sasha's commanding $200,000 for a gangbang movie.)

In this Sunday's season-closing episode, 2007 AVN Male Performer of the Year Tommy Gunn fills that slot, so to speak ... though unlike Sasha, he plays an altogether fictional character. The name of the character—an ex-boyfriend of Sasha's working with her in the lavishly budgeted gangbang movie—happens, coincidentally enough, to be Vince; that, of course, being the name of the show's main character, played by Adrian Grenier, with whom Sasha took up in episode five of this season.

"What's funny was, I got a call from somebody who said, 'They're looking for a Tommy Gunn-type porn star,'" Gunn told AVN. "A guy who's rough around the edges and somebody who can intimidate Vince."

Marking his first outing on a mainstream production, Gunn compared the operation to those in Porn Valley as being "tremendously organized, and a lot more people. But everybody was tremendously kind, and even expressed, 'Yo, I'm a fan!' The experience was great. I just hope it's the beginning of some other stuff, because I'm just yearning for more of a challenge."

Gunn was quick to note that in no way does he harbor any intentions of turning his back on the XXX business.

"The adult industry is wonderful, but I just don't feel like there's enough things that are challenging," he explained. "I'll always come from adult, I'll always know where I came from. I'm just going to really gear up to try to keep this momentum going and try to get well received in the mainstream. The lines are getting more and more blurred, and we're seeing it happen. I just hope mainstream does their homework, in the respect that when they do call upon somebody from the adult industry it's not some guy who just started, or a female for that matter.

"Some of the people in the industry could care less—'Yeah, I'm in porn 'cause I want to be in porn.' And that's great, and me too, but for myself, this many years later, I just see it as a natural progression for me to try and move to the next level," Gunn asserted.

Some might hastily laugh off such ambitions as so much pie-in-the-sky folly, but let's be perfectly frank here: if The Rock can do it—or Ice Cube, or, well, Sasha Grey—why in the world can't Tommy Gunn?

"People ain't even ready for what I'm capable of," he proclaimed, "in terms of, not even the acting, [but] the physicality of certain things. I want to be an action guy. I want to do the action stuff, the Jason Statham, Crank-style stuff, and I can do that. I've been real quiet about a lot of things because of a number of reasons, but I'm hooked up with top Hollywood stunt guys and a Toronto-based guy, the guy who just did Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. These are the relationships that I'm cultivating and they have told me, 'We see a mainstream appeal to you.' And the way the times are happening, it's pop culture for porn stars to be crossing over."

Again, Gunn stressed that, "I'm trying to be a spokesperson for our industry, not say, 'Oh, I hate it and want to get out.' That's certainly not how I feel. It's just, from an actor's or an artist's point of view, there's a thing called 'unfulfilled.' It's like, the day I won Male Performer, I was already like, 'What's the next thing?' Everybody else is like, 'Revel in this, enjoy this moment,' and I am, and I have, but I just hope that I continually get the opportunity. And as a guy, it's tough, because we're always fighting for recognition and some sort of acknowledgement in our industry, 'cause more often than not, we go by the wayside. But I'm still here. I'm still relevant."

Hear Gunn discuss his Entourage appearance and other projects tonight on Playboy Radio's Night Calls with Nicki Hunter and Christy Canyon, broadcast on Sirius and XM Radio.

CHATSWORTH, Calif.—New Sensations today released its latest parody offering, Sex and the City: The Original XXX Parody, a spin-off of the hit HBO show.

Directed by Lee Roy Myers—his last parody for the company—Sex and the City: The Original XXX Parody stars Kayla Paige as Carrie Bradshaw, Bobbi Starr as Charlotte York, Zoe Voss as Miranda Hobbes and AVN Hall of Famer in her comeback role Brittany Andrews as Samantha Jones.

“While the stars of the movie are Kayla, Bobbi, Zoe and Brittany, [designer labels] Cavalli, Dior and Cartier have a large supporting role,” Belle Casten, New Sensations’ vice president of global sales, said. “Sex and the City: The Original XXX Parody offers all the shoes, dresses, purses and gossip, which made the HBO show so popular with women. It also reveals we can be just as racy and sex-crazed as the boys. The mix of class and crudeness appeals to both female and male consumers—a key to our huge pre-orders.”

To view a trailer for the movie, click here, or for a safe-for-work version, click here.

“The trailer is amazing,” Andrews said. “It shows off all the sexiness and humor that motivated me to make a comeback. I couldn’t turn down the role; I was born to play Samantha!”

The plot follows Carrie, who’s asked by longtime beau Mr. Big to move away with him. Her entire sexual life flashes before her eyes. How can Carrie leave New York City? The city is where she had her first threesome … and foursome … and train. Carrie refined her oral techniques uptown and discovered the thrill of handcuffs and whips on the Lower East Side. Is existence outside of NYC even possible without Carrie’s three best friends, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha? Despite all of Carrie’s reasons to stay, she does have one big reason to leave—10 inches big.

For sales information, call Casten at (800) 748-6767, ext. 307, or email sales@newsensations.com.

CHATSWORTH, Calif.—Chi Chi LaRue, Sister Roma and Jason Sechrest will vie for the first-ever Personality of the Year award during the 12th annual GAYVN Awards celebration. During the gala evening, the three seasoned entertainers will stamp the proceedings with their own personal touches, doubtless giving new dimension to the term “spectacle.”

GAYVN Hall of Fame director, DJ and drag diva LaRue possesses one of the most recognizable names and faces in the adult entertainment industry. She began her career in the late 1980s working in the publicity department at Catalina Video, a label she later acquired under the auspices of Channel 1 Releasing, which she co-founded in 1998. LaRue directed her first gay adult film for Catalina in 1988, and since then has directed more than 100 others for her own companies and straight adult studio Vivid Entertainment. In 2008, she opened an eponymous boutique on Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood, Calif.

In addition to producing and directing award-winning porn, LaRue is known as an outspoken advocate for safer sex in the gay and heterosexual realms. Her larger-than-life DJ persona frequently rocks the house at events worldwide.

“I think fans should vote for me [for Personality of the Year] because I’m everywhere!” she exclaimed. “I am the party. And I want everyone everywhere to have fun. I’ve spent my entire career helping people get off and get down in the bedroom and on the dance floor.”

Sister Roma! There’s No Place Like Rome—who explains her name as a “The Wizard of Oz meets the Pope kind of thing”—has been one of the most outspoken and visible members of San Francisco’s benevolent Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence since 1987. She is an activist-fundraiser and champion of free speech, speaking publicly at demonstrations, colleges and universities, on television and radio and in print about topics including human sexuality, homophobia and the adult entertainment industry. Together with her Sisters, Roma has been on the front lines in the war against HIV and AIDS, raising awareness and funds for various HIV service and educational organizations.

Like LaRue, Roma is everywhere. Whether hosting red-carpet events at awards shows or frazzling straight-man Tim Valenti on their web-based talk show, The Tim and Roma Show, “the world’s most photographed nun” is a one-queen tour de farce. She also serves as the art director for Hot House Entertainment.

“I’m thrilled to be nominated for personality of the year...and just between you and me, I feel like I’ll probably win,” she said. “Everybody knows that I have a fantastic personality. Hell, I have five or six fantastic personalities. It’s true—I’ve been diagnosed.

“I’d like to remind everyone that I will exchange sexual favors for votes,” she added. “Which means if you vote for me I’ll do you a favor and not have sex with you. Otherwise, watch out!”

Sechrest has been called both the Oprah and the Perez Hilton of porn, depending on his mood. Published in entertainment tabloids since the age of 15, he began penning profiles and personality pieces about the men and women of gay and straight porn in 2001 when he launched one of the first adult entertainment blogs, JasonCurious.com. Unabashedly sexual, tremendously difficult to embarrass and annoyingly energetic, Sechrest has snagged half a dozen awards for his site, and Arena magazine labeled him one of the “Top 50 Most Powerful People in Porn” alongside industry luminaries like LaRue, Hugh Hefner and Larry Flynt. He parlayed that success into gigs as a web-based talk show host, nightclub emcee, director, talent agent and publicist.

 “A clown…a clown that is a nun…and me,” he said of the Personality of the Year nominees, tongue firmly in cheek. “I don’t think this should really be a very difficult choice. Clowns are scary. Clowns are evil. I don’t know if you ever saw the movie Stephen King’s IT, but I’m gonna be honest: It made me pee my pants a little when I was a child. Chi Chi LaRue and Sister Roma still make me pee my pants today. And then they lick it up. Sick, twisted, child-eating, pee-loving clowns.

“And me? I’m just a guy who started a little site called JasonCurious.com to try to show who porn stars really are behind the scenes, de-objectifying them by portraying them as human beings instead of objects so…. Your call. Vote it up.”

The Personality of the Year trophy will be awarded to the nominee who, in the eyes of fans, embodies the sexiest, zaniest, most over-the-top non-sexual performer in the gay adult industry. All three nominees will appear on stage during the GAYVN Awards gala, scheduled to take place Sept. 24 in San Francisco’s historic Castro Theatre in conjunction with the annual Folsom Street Fair.

Other events scheduled for the weekend include a bar crawl through the SoMa district, the massive Magnitude party, NakedSword’s “Lockdown” after-party and the fair itself. For a complete schedule of events, visit GAYVNAwards.com.

Industry admission is $100 (email Beth Noonan for details). General admission is $145; VIP admission—which includes priority seating and entrance to the exclusive after-party—is $175. Both general and VIP tickets are available at GAYVNAwards.com.

Posted Aug 31st, 2010 02:08 PM

WASSERBILLIG, Luxembourg—The gay and lesbian market represents a key group of customers for pjur’s core products. Right from the very beginning, the GLBTI community has chosen pjur Original as their preferred silicone lubricant and for 15 years has remained loyal to it. pjur values this relationship with the community and it has been taken into consideration when developing new products.

More than two years ago the pjur Man Series was successfully introduced to the international gay market in addition to the top-seller Original, and together with pjur Backdoor glide and spray plus pjur Power, the line has found true fans.

With such a long history it was an easy decision to support the Gay Games in Cologne. In addition to supplying the 12,000 lanyards each athlete and volunteer received at registration, more than 20,000 product samples were distributed to the local shops along with banners, posters and pjur products.

Gay star Alex Baresi from Titan Media teamed up with pjur staff to distribute pjur Original sachet cards and condoms as give-aways to passersby in Cologne. Baresi also took center stage at the wrestling competition, where he awarded the prizes to some excited recipients.

Ingo Toenges, marketing director for the VIII Gay Games Cologne 2010, said, "We are very thankful for pjur’s support of the eighth Gay Games Cologne 2010. Without the commitment and support provided by companies like pjur, we wouldn’t have been able to finance the Gay Games in Cologne. We hope that pjur will continue to show its commitment to events in the gay-lesbian community in the future and thus serve as a positive role model for other companies."

David Newnham, COO of the pjur group, added, “pjur was delighted to contribute to the experience of 10,000 participants from over 70 countries around the world. We have a long history of supporting the gay community and are very proud to be a part of this great success.”

The Gay Games—the largest sporting and cultural event of its kind worldwide—took place between July 31 and Aug. 7 in Cologne. According to the motto “Be part of it!” everybody could participate—regardless of sexual orientation, gender, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, political convictions, athletic prowess, physical capabilities, age or health status.

For more information, visit pjur.com.

Posted Aug 31st, 2010 02:00 PM

CHARLOTTE, NC.—AEBN, a leader in adult video-on-demand distribution, has obtained exclusive VOD rights to the High Definition version of Inside Little Oral Annie, a 1984 production that will be the first classic adult film to be released in HD.

The painstaking conversion of the film to HD from the original 35 mm negatives was done by Video-X-Pix, owner of an extensive collection of older "sexploitation" films. It will be available exclusively on www.aebn.net beginning in mid-September.

"The conversion to HD of this beautifully preserved master is a really remarkable achievement and AEBN is honored to have the exclusive VOD rights to one of the great adult movies from the golden age of erotic entertainment," said Jerry Anders, vice president for sales and marketing at AEBN. "The star of the movie, who was known as Little Oral Annie, was a world-class talent in lingual stimulation, as her name implies, and this movie demonstrates skills that are unsurpassed even to this day."

According to Steven Morowitz of Video-X-Pix, "The performance of LOA made Linda Lovelace look like a schoolgirl, so this remastering was a work of love. In converting the original master we even had to upgrade some of our equipment to be able to handle the large HD files, which are so big that without the proper connection, the system just chokes up. The HD re-mastering takes up 800 gigabytes of space on our hard drives. It now has a clear picture, crisp edges and true color.

“It was shot by sexploitation veteran Joseph Sarno, who made dozens of ’80s films and video features,” Morowitz continued, “so having good film stock and a talented person behind the camera certainly helps to make a successful picture. Inside Little Oral Annie is a great example of smut in the ’80s and it happens to be our all-time best-selling DVD in the adult market."

Side-by-side comparisons are available at http://distribpixblog.wordpress.com/2010/08/19/35-mm-classic-hd-the-blow-job-queen/.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.—Cole County Circuit Court Judge Jon Beetem has ruled in favor of a sweeping law that would impose unprecedented restrictions on adult businesses in the state. In denying a temporary restraining order request Friday afternoon by a consortium of adult businesses, Beetem cleared the way for the law to go into effect Saturday.

Among other restrictions, the law prohibits full nudity and the serving of alcohol, forces semi-nude dancers to remain on a stage and at least six feet from patrons—rendering lap dances impossible—prohibits closed-door booths for the viewing of movies, requires that patrons remain within the clear view of employees, and mandates that adult businesses close by midnight.

According to the Associated Press, Judge Beetem said the coalition had failed to show their lawsuit is likely to ultimately succeed or that they will suffer irreparable harm by allowing the law to take effect. The operative word there would seem to be “irreparable.” Thursday, during a hearing before Beetem, lawyers for the businesses insisted that the harm could very well be irreparable, and would certainly seem that way for the employees who will now certainly lose their jobs because of the severe restrictions that are about to be imposed.

But while Beetem acknowledged in his ruling that "the law will undoubtedly change the business practices" of strip clubs, adult video and book stores and other businesses of a sexual nature, and that "they will likely suffer some economic loss,” he added that “economic loss alone does not alter the analysis of the legal issues.”

While that may be true, the economic repercussions will be immediate, according to Gene and Nellie Gruender, who own Passions adult bookstores in Colombia, Marshall Junction and Booneville. The moment the law goes into effect, they will have to lay off two employees who currently work the night shift. The reason is simple. They normally stay open 24 hours a day on Fridays and Saturdays, and will now be required to close at midnight.

Other businesses expect to be similarly impacted, or even more severely.

Rob Call, who owns Rumors Cabaret in Columbia, told the Associated Press that he may have to close on Saturdays altogether. Considering he used to remain open until 4 am, and features between six and 15 dancers a night, the new regulations make business as usual all but impossible.

"By the letter of the law, a great deal of things about the way we operate will have to change," said Call. "We can't have nude dancers anymore, we can't do lap dances anymore, we can't be open after midnight anymore—that alone is going to take a large chunk of our business away."

Despite the cutbacks and forced closures, the plaintiffs are determined to fight on.

"We're not going down without a fight," Nellie Gruender, a former board member of the Free Speech Coalition, told the Daily RFT. "We are going to aggressively fight this. We are going to file a federal appeal.”

AVN has a call into one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs, and will follow this case as it develops.The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Sept. 3, during which a trial date will be set.

BERLIN—HustlaBall Berlin, scheduled to take place Oct. 21-25, has lined up a slate of top-shelf adult and musical talent to delight attendees during the weekend-long event.

“And most certainly they won’t be just standing around like statues, but deliver extreme action as it won’t be possible in any other city in the world — not just on stage,” said Stephan Müller-Bardone, chief executive officer of organizer SMB-Berlin Events GmbH.

Among the international erotic guests scheduled to appear are gay adult stars Ricky “The Hammer” Sinz, Men Magazine Man of the Year 2010 Samuel Colt, Grabby Award winner Kyle King and Adam Killian, all of whom are Americans; Lucas Entertainment founder and CEO Michael Lucas, a Russian-born naturalized citizen of both the U.S. and Israel; Jordan Fox of France and Germany’s Kriss Stahl. In addition, ethnic studio Flava Works' Breion Diamon, DeAngelo Jackson and Baby Star will attend, as will the men of BerlinStarFilm and “Stallion of the Year 2008” Tony Rosselo. The boys of YoungBastard, Spritzz and EroCreations plan to be on hand, along with Cristian Torrent, Jason Torres, Che, Paul Stagg and the go-go group Luchini Base from Zurich. Rentboy.com models plant to put on a special show.

A number of sought-after European DJ’s also have been contracted to perform during the weekend.

“For our parties the best are just what we need,” Müller-Bardone said. “This goes especially for our jubilee, so  once more we booked the best European DJs. Never before so many top DJs were in Berlin for a Cicuit Party weekend.”

Among those scheduled to appear: Steven Redant from Barcelona, resident DJ at La Demence in Brussels; Fabio White from London, resident at Rapido in Amsterdam; Phil Romano from Rome, often at CIRCUIT in Barcelona; Mike Kelly, resident at Greenkomm in Cologne and a regular at the Mardi Gras in Sydney; Chris Bekker from Berlin, resident at GMF; Ricky Sinz from Chicago, who also is taking part as an erotic star; Flash from Berlin, regular at the Piep-Shows at Kit Kat Club; Christal Coke from Ibiza; Hatem, who has filled the dancefloors of Bangaluu, Tresor and KEN, and HustlaBall’s own resident DJ Redtomcat.

A weekend pass costs 71 euros for regular admission or 151 euros for VIP admission. The passes include Thursday’s opening reception at Hotel Axel and the after-party “Testosteron”: Friday’s HustlaBall Awards show and the HustlaBall itself; Saturday’s HustlaBall after-hours party and the parties FUCT and Salvation; Sunday’s Extasy and Monday’s GMF.

For more information or to obtain tickets, visit HustlaBall.de.

LAS VEGAS—Up-and-coming adult site network DirtyHardDrive is making moves to become a major player in the porn star site realm. The program has added official sites for Andy San Dimas, Tiffany Tyler and Kayla Carrera.

San Dimas, who’s one of the industry’s most buzzed-about performers, known for both her intense sex scenes and juicy feature roles, is working on AndyXXX.com, which is currently home to her free blog and will be the future home of her paysite.

San Dimas stars in Cal Vista’s Alice, X-Play/Digital Sin’s Not Charlie’s Angels XXX and as Lois Lane in Vivid’s upcoming Superman XXX: A Porn Parody.

“I met Rick [Barcode] and his partner Katie Kox at a BBQ at Casa de Teagan in Vegas, and I knew my member site would be a great fit on their network,” San Dimas said. “I couldn’t be any more pleased with the work done for me already.”

In addition to San Dimas, Barcode and DirtyHardDrive is building out sites for starlets Tiffany Tyler and Kayla Carrera. Their two sites currently host free blogs as well, until the full members area launches.

“I want DirtyHardDrive to add the features and advantages for both fans and on the business and technology side to make us a strong competitor to any of the biggest guys, while maintaining the great personal service I give each and every client,” Barcode said. “I work day and night with my team to make each site the best it can be. The future is bright for us.”

The company also has relaunched “Blasian Porn Princess” Jayla Starr’s site.

The DirtyHardCash.com affiliate program features a slew of promo tools, galleries, banners and more. The company is running a special 70 percent revenue share program through Sept. 4.

For more information, email Josh at RockStarPRM@me.com.

Posted Aug 27th, 2010 11:43 AM

VISTA, Calif.—Paradise Marketing and Astroglide revealed today that there have already been multiple winners in the Astroglide Golden Ticket Giveaway, which debuted July 1. All products ordered before Aug. 30 could contain one of the winning tickets, which provide $100 of credit on an American Express Gift Card.

Each carton of the brand's best-selling varieties—original Astroglide, Astroglide X Premium Silicone, Astroglide Strawberry, Astroglide Glycerin and Paraben-Free, Astroglide Warming and Astroglide Natural—is labeled with a Golden Ticket sticker. If the sticker is a winner, the shopper can redeem it for the $100 card.

"We've already had several winners redeem their prizes," Paradise Marketing CEO Dennis Paradise said. "And we can say the stores that have so far sold winning tickets include some of the top adult novelty chains in the country, and we'll continue shipping winning tickets until inventory is depleted. We'll be hearing from new winners for at least the next few months."

The Astroglide Golden Ticket Giveaway was developed to entice shoppers to try a new Astroglide formula or select Astroglide over other brands.

The Astroglide Golden Ticket Giveaway applies to select product ordered until Aug. 30. For promotion details and a full list of participating stores, visit Astroglide.com/goldenticket/.

For order details email info@paradisemarketing.com.

For product details, visit ParadiseMarketing.com.

Posted Aug 27th, 2010 10:52 AM

PITTSBURGH—A “Mailing Obscene Matters” case that stretches back to 2007 was settled Thursday with a plea deal. Right Ascension Inc., operating as AdultDVDEmpire.com, agreed to the terms in federal court, and was sentenced to a two-year probation term and fined $75,000 after pleading guilty to Count One of the charges.

The charge of mailing four obscene DVDs from its Warrendale warehouse to undercover FBI agents in Erie was a mistake, said AdultDVDEmpire’s attorney, Gary Zimmerman, who told the court his client has strict procedures in place to prevent just such an occurrence.

“This isn't a company that's in the business of trying to push the envelope of the First Amendment. The films distributed in this case slipped through those guidelines,” Zimmerman said. “These films negligently went out.”

He added that the company had cooperated with investigators from the beginning of the case and has since removed the sadomasochism category that the charged films were apparently listed under.

“The way they're running the business, this should never happen again,” Zimmerman said.

The federal prosecutor in the case, Pamela Satterfield—fresh off the government’s stinging loss in the Evil Angel/John Stagliano obscenity case—countered that the videos were not your everyday “run-of-the-mill porn.”

The company faced fines of more than $500,000, but the government accepted the much lesser fine of $75,000 because of the fact that the company had made less than $500 from the sale of the DVDs.

According to court documents, Right Ascension owner John M. D'Arcangelo appeared in court yesterday morning for the hour-and-a-half hearing, to hear the terms of the sentence and agree to them.

ERIE, Pa.—Pro-am studio Maddy G Productions has partnered with online portal GameLink to provide its Inside Marie's Play Place series and other titles for full-length VoD download in high-definition.

"Our fans love shopping at GameLink.com," said Maddy G owner and performer/director Marie Madison. "The site is so easy to use, and they offer our films in all the most popular formats. Quality is always our number one priority, so when we decided to offer HD downloads, going to GameLink was the obvious choice."

Added GameLink director of online sales Jeff Dillon, "We are proud to partner with Maddy G Productions to utilize our state-of-art technology to deliver their HD content to their customers. Our platform is geared toward full movie consumption, and Maddy G Productions are movies that you definitely must see from start to finish."

Maddy G downloads are available as full-length 1080 HD downloads in the Adult VoD section of GameLink.com, priced at $24.95. Over 30 standard def titles are also available there for streaming, download, iTunes ready and pay-per-minute viewing.