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| nruddock Member UK 92 Posts 1/00 |  Posted - Apr 12 2001 : 9:36PMDoes anybody know what the situation is with the publicity and marketing of contemporary adult movies? Do adult studios send out review copies of adult movies? Do they send them to mainstream critics, or even try to get wider critical/mass recognition? As I’ve mentioned before in my posts I have the rather dubious honor of being a film academic, sometime critic, journalist, and a few other things. I’ve recently been researching critical and cultural perspectives on pornography over a period of time. I have found that many mainstream critics, film journals and newspapers happily reviewed lots of the so-called ‘porno-chic’ movies during the early 70’s. I’ve read that Paul Thomas tried this with Bad Wives, but with no success. Was this a one off, or are attempts still being made? I just think from my own perspective there’s an awful lot of crap out there in the adult genre, but it does seem a shame that negative thought may spoil any chance of wider critical recognition for ambitious filmmakers and studios. I’m not saying there are many of these, but it seems to be a cyclical problem in terms of financing etc. I know the whole culture of movie watching has changed, but wouldn’t it be nice to go back to the days when Cahiers du Cinéma would interview Radley Metzger? I went to a conference in London a couple of months ago that featured some of the world’s most respected critics. During the Q & A session someone asked if they would be willing to review “pornographic films” if given the opportunity? The answer from everyone was “yes”. I think it would be really cool to slip the odd adult film into one of my articles, but I don’t think I’d get away with it (Although I’ve never tried). I think allot of mainstream critics would be willing to review ambitious sexually explicit movies. It’s probably more down to the publications themselves than the value judgments over artistic merit made by mainstream critics. Any thoughts? [Link] |
bono-ONE  All-Star Member SAMCRO 8570 Posts 8/00 | Posted - Apr 12 2001 : 10:07PM [Link] |
| Dave Member Scotland 8 Posts 4/01 | Posted - Apr 17 2001 : 3:10PM Wow... that’s an interesting point. I think is that it’s just the nature of the beast. Whether the studios say they want to make mainstream style product and bring their stuff into the mainstream, they actually don’t want to go the whole hog. Well at least they don’t want to rock the boat. Also the product is very different to what was in the 70s. They seem to be doing well as they are now. I would agree that it does take more than a flashy cover and swanky dvd extras to bring the product towards the mainstream. I think Paul Thomas did try with Bad Wives. I'm not sure what happend? The thing is that AVN and the regular porn reviewers all seem to enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship with the studios. Check out the AVN awards, basically everyone seems to get nominated. It's crazy! They all get publicity that way!! I guess this is both a good thing and a bad thing for adult films. Just for a laugh you could try to do an adult review and get it published. That would be both funny and interesting to see!!!!! Do you think anyone would actually print it? [Link] |
| Trunks Member 89 Posts 4/01 | Posted - Apr 17 2001 : 3:29PM I agree with the others. Good topic. Problem I see, which I'm ranting about in the world news & nonsense section, is that apparently in some communities, pornography is illegal. So I guess a mainstream review might be like some guy reviewing cocaine or something. It's illegal, and the review would probably be supressed. Roger Ebert would probably lose his "family appeal" if he reviewed porno films. "family oriented" doesn't involve sex. :D "Hilarious, considering that's how one gets a family." I bet there might be something like what your talking about over in Europe or something. [Link] |
| tricia_devereaux Evil Angel DVD Patience is a virtue, but who wants to be virtuous? 4283 Posts 4/00 | Posted - Apr 17 2001 : 6:51PM Maybe a company who does softer features like Vivid or Wicked would have more luck, though. [Link] |
| sonic Deactivated User 1178 Posts 12/99 | Posted - Apr 17 2001 : 6:54PM OKAY SONIC THAT WAS UNCALLED FOR! [Link] |
| nruddock Member UK 92 Posts 1/00 | Posted - Apr 19 2001 : 6:16PM Roger Ebert has actually reviewed quite a few adult films in the national press in America. I’m obviously going back a bit with that, but he did a good interview with Gerard Damiano back in the 70’s. The distribution channels have changed somewhat since then. Back in the 70’s they used to have press screenings and send out press packs for some films. Dave, I have thought about doing a review for this site in the past. It just seems odd to write a porn review, or write reviews in general just for fun. I’m just a capitalist pig! I also don’t get to see that many new adult releases. I can’t see any major publication publishing adult film reviews for a long time yet. I think my original post pointed to the main reasons. I have occasionally worked for the national press in the UK, but I’ve never been able pick the books, films or anything. I do however run my own columns in a couple of smaller publications. Theoretically I can choose the films I review, but I’m not sure how that would hold up in reality. I have been slipping in some foreign/art house videos distributed by Connoisseur video which are not exactly mainstream. They were kind enough to send me copies of many of their releases. There does seem to be a lot of European people who post on this site, but I’m not sure what effect publicity in Europe would have on American sales? I would probably be best to start up a dvd review website if I wanted to review adult features. Either web based or mainstream reviewing would mean getting hold of screeners of the latest movies from America. I’m not sure if I would be able to get them in Europe. I might make a few inquiries when I get some free time. Trunks, Laws are often stupid. Law makers are often stupider. Tricia, I’m not that familiar with Evil Angels product, but I would guess Vivid & Wicked would have more chance because their films have more of a narrative focus. I think it has less to do with how much anal compared to vanilla sex. It has to do with other factors. Also you can’t get around the problem of the film title. That’s why The Devil In Miss Jones, Misty Beethoven and Behind the Green Door still get the odd mention in the mainstream European press and in academia. [Link] |
| Janitor Retired Porno movies, sexy videos, xxx. Adult DVD Talk at your service. 6409 Posts 11/99 | Posted - Apr 19 2001 : 6:41PM When I was at Divadee I made a much greater effort to get mainstream publicity than I do now (just don't have the time and found it wasn't worth the effort.) Writers for a few large publications took the time to interview me, but most were turned down by their editors when they pitched the story. The writers kept trying to 'reangle' the story, but to no avail. [Link] |
| bono-ONE All-Star Member SAMCRO 8570 Posts 8/00 | Posted - Apr 19 2001 : 7:25PM [Link] |
| dumblonde Senior Member 2352 Posts 7/00 | Posted - Apr 19 2001 : 8:01PM Odd though, that it didn't give his signature breast total. Perhaps he lost count :) [Link] |
| bono-ONE All-Star Member SAMCRO 8570 Posts 8/00 | Posted - Apr 19 2001 : 9:46PM [Link] |
| dumblonde Senior Member 2352 Posts 7/00 | Posted - Apr 19 2001 : 10:34PM Edited by - dumblonde on Apr 19 2001 [Link] |
| bono-ONE All-Star Member SAMCRO 8570 Posts 8/00 | Posted - Apr 19 2001 : 11:25PM [Link] |
| dumblonde Senior Member 2352 Posts 7/00 | Posted - Apr 20 2001 : 2:28PM LOL!! Oh man, yeah, I like the way you think, Bono - Joe Bob hosting Skinemax nekkid! Like some perverted cousin, on the Briggs side. Can you picture that? I sure can! hee hee Something about that guy just brings out the naughtiness in me. [Link] |
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