California is the only state to date where a high court expressly has given the green light to porn. If you shoot in any other state, you may find yourself facing criminal charges. It's unlikely, but it could happen. The charge would most likely be pandering.
The specific case in question is California V. Freeman. It legalized the production of pornography in California. It is not legal to shoot anywhere else in the US, however the more liberal the city/state the more likely it would be ignored (ie Miami, NYC).
...or ask the 20-30 porn clerks I worked with in Dallas that have Obscenity convictions on their permanent record, myself included. Shooting - you can do it, but you are taking your chances.
Your model releases may not be valid as well. People always think of the possible criminal aspects of making porn, there is also the problem with enforcement of contracts for sex. Contracts for sex are void and unenforceable in most states. Therefore, if a model challenges the model release at a future date, for example, if she gets a boyfriend and wants the content removed from the site or wants a share of the profits, she may be able to challenge the validity of the release. I encourage my clients outside of California to shoot their content here and run their business from their home state. California was/is the epicenter of the porn world for a reason. Michael www.AdultBizLaw.com
wasn't he busted to for tax evasion and stuff and not for porn, or did i misread the page that I saw on him? thanks everyone for the responses also. i appreciate it. what exactly IS legal to shoot in Texas...like nudes, softcore, etc but just not any hardcore porn? this pisses me off. would i still get in trouble if i shot in Cali and then did everything else, ie - distribute on the web, etc - from Texas or is that still illegal? thanks for the responses. ...and i wonder where Houston sits on the Liberal scale when compared to NYC/Miami, etc...
I guess you can shoot a gun in Texas anytime you please. Just don't take pictures of naked people. I guess they get kinda mad if you shoot a person (hence the death penalty) but who knows. Why else would you carry a gun?
omg i fucking wish man. i was just thinking about getting into shooting and stuff. i'd be too busy fanboying out on adrenalynn if we ever met. that and playing with her earholes. hahaha. she's awesome.
I went to jail 11 times and have 9 counts of Pandering Obscenity on my permanent criminal record. You might say that I was lucky and was only an "in and out" prisoner which means I spent no more than 4-5 hours in jail each time, but I was strip searched and on one occasion I was leg-shackled to another prisoner. And I was just a clerk at a porn store that sold completely legal stuff. There were clerks there longer than me that have 30 to 40 charges on their record. Probably 1/2 my charges were Nylon videos that one particular vice cop liked to buy. I've been denied renting apartments and turned down from jobs because of that criminal record. That's Texas for ya! Luckily there was a recent major decision in Reliable Consultants (Dreamers) / PHE Inc (Adam & Eve) vs. Earle, that made selling obscene devices legal throughout the 5th circuit. So maybe the porn clerks of the future won't have to go through this mess.
http://adrenalynn.tumblr.com this industry has made me cold 570 Posts 2/08
Posted - Jun 26 2008 : 3:01PM
what is up your sleeve chodemasterj? perhaps if i get some spare time to get to htown we can swang through 5th ward together :] ah, yes the "bible belt" didn't legislation recently change and vibrators dont have to be "birthday cake decorations" and can be more phallic :/ the one and only
i was just brainstorming and thinking that maybe I could shoot porn in the Houston area...i used to film skateboarding stuff back in the 90's and love photography, porn, and hot chicks so I thought that maybe that would be a viable option or something to look into. guess that's kinda crushed now. :'( if money was no option, flying to Cali periodically wouldn't be that bad of an idea but we all know how money is a bitch at times... dude, if you're ever coming to htown and you know about it ahead of time let me know and we can maybe get sushi and tattoos or something? that would be memorable and probably waaaaay safer that swangin' through the 5th Ward. haha. i could snap a few myspace pics to make my friends jealous, too. that would fucking rule all. maybe a podcast or something, too. :D
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celtic1979 Deactivated User
Into the Void 98 Posts 7/07
Posted - Jun 29 2008 : 2:58AM
Their gettin a rope, RUN. Edited by - celtic1979 on 6/29/2008 2:59:36 AM
Did you work for that chain called 'Fine Arts' or something and the chain had promised to pay all legal bills, but you all got convicted anyway? There is softcore shot in Houston. Lusted.com and the Nubiles site have people who work for them there. The new Vivid girl, Meggan Malone was discovered there as was Hanna Hilton. Edited by - moodyblues on 6/29/2008 4:55:36 AM
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celtic1979 Deactivated User
Into the Void 98 Posts 7/07
Posted - Jun 29 2008 : 5:47AM
What about a church or graveyard.Kinky. Kmart, that would be the best. In the parking lot.
I'm gonna be straight up with you. People shoot porn where it’s technically illegal to do so all the time. The trick is not to get caught. Now I may get my ass flamed for writing this post, but if I was in Houston and I wanted to shoot porn there, you’d best believe I’d be doing it. I’m not trying to tell you to go out and break the law… I’m just saying it CAN be done. You just need to be careful to cover your ass as best you can, and be willing to accept some risks. You’ll definitely want to keep your production on the DL (down low). That means no passing out business cards, etc. And you’ll need to find a reliable way to get models. If you’ve already got willing models then you’re well ahead of the game. If not, then you’ll want to search carefully... perhaps through online methods like some of the myspace style modeling sites would be a good start. Personally, I wouldn’t run open ads and castings as it’s too risky for getting busted. Also, never shoot in anyplace that can be connected or traced back to you (this obviously includes your own home). If you rent a location to shoot at, have someone else put their name down as the renter, pay cash if possible, use a fake ID, etc. And don’t give the girls your real name, address, or anything else they could use to track you down should they decide to turn against you. For someone just starting out on a small scale I really don’t think you’ll have a problem. But as your production grows, you may start to feel the heat and ultimately have to relocate to safer territory. But know your city. If people have been getting busted in Houston for shooting porn as of late and the heat is on, then I wouldn’t even attempt it. Again... I’m not trying to advise you to do anything illegal. I’m simply telling MY point of view on the matter.
I did work for New Fine Arts, and they did pay all the legal fees, but at the beginning we were encouraged to plead No Contest. I don't think they foresaw the long term effects of our convictions (renting, jobs, etc). Once the clerks brought in a great new attorney to defend us, we won every case, and the city of Dallas has subsequently stopped harassing the store.
if i go about it, i'd like to go about it in the legit, legal way. Jail isn't a place I wanna hang at. so is softcore ok then? nudity? just no penetration? bondage? this is racking my brain. aaahhhh.
Why bother? By the time you do all that runaround just trying not to get busted, it's not even worth it. Just do it where it's legal and save yourself a lot of grief and hassle. If you're doing something you aren't supposed to do, something will always go wrong. Murphy's Law. Of course, that doesn't change the fact that it's completely retarded that you can't point a camera at two people fucking in the United States Of America and sell the video to people who want to see it. But that's life. We get the government we deserve. We elected these shitheads. We have to sleep on the bed we made. Right?
thanks dude. i might take you up on that offer if things go nicely. i appreciate it. :) we can listen to punk music and mark out on all the hot chicks. haha.
Hi, If it´s such a problem to shoot where you are not supposed to don´t you think it´s a good idea to shoot next to these things then ? Is it even possible to find a place which does not have a corner or building without one of them ? Cube
Them are for our own good, doncha know. And someday, they'll probably be in our houses too (in some form or another). And those will be for our own good too. And we'll probably put up with it.