Has anyone tried writing to the custodian of records of a porn film? Did they get back to you with an answer? I wanted to ask about the identity of actors in a scene.
No, I have not. The custodians exist because of a legal requirement, not to satisfy fan curiosity, so I wouldn't expect to get an answer, anyway. They say hope springs eternal, though.
#SDNY he's all yours. -- Michael Steele 5110 Posts 3/03
Posted - Jun 5 2011 : 3:00AM
I bet the poor old Custodian of Records would love to get something in the mail besides bills and Comcast Xfinity junk mail addressed to the tenant of the office from twelve years ago. I say, go for it.
In many cases the Custodian of Records is an attorney that does this job for many companies. IIRC pornlaw (a talent attorney) was recommending a company for this purpose for a while. In this case, the Custodian probably does not have any actual knowledge of the company other than what is privileged and confidential. In the case of large companies (Vivid, Adam and Eve), the Custodian is usually the owner -- so your request would be processed by an employee of the company and not the Custodian himself.
A lot of porn producers are their own custodian of records. For example if you watch any Evil Angel movie and the custodian of records is listed as J. Stagliano. Or if you watch any JJV movie the custodian is listed as A. Gasper (A.K.A. Jules Jordan). I do know that there are 3rd party record keepers too though. I'm trying to find one myself, they are pretty elusive.
As Hardware mentioned, the custodian of records keeps legally required employment records. They usually keep copies of identification documents for proof of age. For foreign performers, they probably also keep copies of work visas to prove that they are allowed to work in the United States. In college, I took a criminal law class taught by a local lawyer named Michael Colona. He ran for State Representative, and his opponents tried to smear him because he was the custodian of records for a bunch of porn websites. He won the election and is still serving in the General Assembly. Edited by - APS221 on 6/9/2011 3:19:30 AM
They may keep a copy of the movie, but I don't know if they are required to. It would make sense to keep a copy of the video, since the purpose is to match performer records to the performer in the video. I'm sure you can find more on the record keeping requirements of 18 USC 2257 online.
Introducing Lady LorReign
Posted - Jun 4 2011 : 5:45PM