I :HEART: Taryn Thomas. She is the bravest, most honest and forthright STAR in Adult Today. In her latest blog, http://www.insydetarynblog.com/, Taryn confronts her mistakes with Spiegler, the nightmare that was Derek Hay and LA Direct and tells how she survived on her earnings from Body Miracle. Taryn is a True Survivor in a cutthroat industry. Here's hoping she'll be around for a long, long time.
*edited cause I misread who was not wanting to pay her About the part with Direct models, Hats off to them for this "He got me a nutritionist, gym membership, and worked out with me about 5 days a week." I really didn't have a ton of respect for them before but now I do, that shows a real commitment.
I too would like to hear the other side of the story before forming an opinion about this. Still, it sounds like Taryn's much happier with herself and is getting things sorted out. Good luck to her.
I hope Taryn doesn't think she needs to do porn for validation. She had a great run. It's a hard game if you've already done a zillion scenes of every kind of hardcore act and then leave for an extended period. Jayna Oso pulled it off, like, 3 times, but that's a rarity. Edited by - skronker on 2/14/2008 2:03:05 PM
#SDNY he's all yours. -- Michael Steele 5110 Posts 3/03
Posted - Feb 14 2008 : 2:17PM
More like one of those "all the girls laughed at me in 7th grade and now I'm a permanently maladjusted adult who obsessively lashes out from the anonymous safety of my computer at women who remind of girls who laughed at me in 7th grade" posts, I think.
The first thing that struck me funny about this thread was the posters choice of words. “Survivor” and “Brave” might be a little overstated. People who get through cancer or adversity are “survivors.” People in war are “brave.”
^+1. Definitely a Taryn-bash. Seems like Derek just wanted his cut and when Taryn didn't want to give it to him, he threw his weight around. Too bad there couldn't have been a more amicable solution because now no one got paid including LA Direct. And what is it with the less than flattering photo sets of some of the girls on the site? You would think it would behoove business to pick shots where they don't look fat.
That might be that they want to make sure they are 100% accurate so the directors don't get pissed when they show up. I totally misread the post in light of your post, I was thinking evil wanted their money not LA direct.
I understand that but still...there are many pics where girls look fat *and* stupid. Some of the expressions are classic post-lobotomy. If performers didn't read this board, I would seriously go about setting up a dedication to the funniest pics a la this blog on Olan Mills pictures. I've never had an agent. How do they illegally cash your checks?
When you're represented by an agent, the usual course of business is for all checks for your services to be sent to them. That's partly because one of an agency's functions is to collect the fees for the talent they represent -- if an agency reps a lot of performers, their collecting clout is much better than a single individual's. It's also partly to make sure that the agency doesn't have to chase the talent to get the 10% commission. As a consequence, one part of most agency contracts (which typically contain several discreet but related agreements) is a Check Authorization Release whereby the talent authorizes the agency to (i) collect checks for their booked services, (ii) deposit the the checks in the agency's client trust account, (iii) deduct the agency's 10% commission, and (iv) write a check to the talent for the 90% balance.
So it's illegal only if you haven't agreed to it in writing beforehand. If you've got a two-year agency agreement, the Check Authorization Release can't be separately voided. Needless to say, these releases can enable agencies to cheat their clients. They cash the checks but don't remit what the right amount to the performers. Sometimes they simply delay remittance to the talent, which is a tactic that can be hard to call them on. Consequently, it's a great way for agencies to apply pressure to their clients. Talent agencies for mainstream talent are generally very scrupulous. They have to be franchised with the various guilds (SAG, AFTRA, WGA, and DGA) to do business with their members and all agency contracts with individuals are made expressly subject to those franchise agreements. If an agency gets out of line, the agency agreements can be voided by the applicable guild and the agencies can be blocked from representing guild members. Because there are no collective bargaining agreements in place in the Adult Film industry, agents can get away with bloody murder. The talent has to sue them in court to get their money, which often costs more than what they're owed. That's why an honest agent like Mark Spiegler is like a piece of gold in a pile of shit.
Thank you, Bob. This is what I suspected. If we assume that LA Direct does have their talent sign a release like that why is she accusing them of illegally cashing just two of her checks? Were there only two checks to cash? And why is she running with a check and not turning it over to her agency who booked her for the gig in the first place? Did she just think it was a favor for her wasted time? And if she did, why the fuck did she mention it to to her agent? Or was it pay now with a promise to perform later? Taryn's not the first one to accuse LA Direct of illegally cashing their checks. I can't decide if something is really going on or it's simply a misunderstanding on the talent's part. Maybe Taryn will show up and elaborate for us or any one of the 983 other LA Direct clients will care to.
However, if the performer can prove in court that the agency has engaged in wrongdoing, the court will (in addition to awarding the performer damages) void the agency contract in its entirety.
My pleasure. All that he said/she said stuff, and what actually happened -- the "Rashamon" of it all -- that's sticky and murky, isn't it? Very hard to know what's really up.
I'm confused. She swore up and down that she wasn't escorting, but on her blog she says "But I had enough money in the bank from dancing and my Body Miracle tours to pay everything." Isn't Body Miracle the escort agency she said she didn't work for? Can someone explain to me what's going on?
previous thread Edited by - pump jack on 2/14/2008 7:52:41 PM
Haha. I wasn't going to mention the "Body Miracle" thing because Taryn's denials have been an online running joke. I noticed it too. Maybe that admittance is a whole part of the "fuck it" attitude of that blog. She's listed as available for escorting on Demi Delia's site. I believe Demi Delia's list of available girls and boys.
Even girls who don't escort escort. That's why in the industry they call them "privates," because the transaction is private. Here's the thing about LA Direct. Everyone complains about Derek, but it's not like people aren't aware of his reputation. It's like selling your soul to the devil and then complaining when your hair reeks of sulfur. I mean, duhhhhhh.
My first inclination is to believe Taryn and suspect/assume wrongdoing at LA Direct. The problem there is that if you consider how many models Derek has repped in the last five years or so he's been in business, it stands to reason that we would have heard more about any widespread, systematically abusive practices. I mean, I would think we're talking about at least 500 models at various points. Seriously, if the girls were truly unhappy about him, it would be a daily topic of conversation. At the risk of talking out of my ass, I'm sure Speigler can work something out with Derek. That is, assuming he'll take Taryn back in the first place. I doubt those agency contracts are worth much in a legal sense. But, even if the agreement does lock Taryn up for another 18 months or whatever it is, Derek and LA Direct have nothing to gain from her sitting that time out. It seems like the interested parties could work something out.
He has so much power in the industry that if girls do speak out against him he can make hard for girls to get work even if she gets a new agency. I have been told by alot of the girls he has repped that he uses the strongarm tactic quite often. From the stuff I have heard the guy is a real piece of work
benderset is totally correct. as a matter of fact, you should TOTALLY believe everything that porn girls say about their ex agents. especially ones that make you do what you agreed to do beforehand. I love Taryn to death, so I won't comment on this thread. A couple of things though. The contracts the girls sign are pretty ironclad. Just ask pornlaw, who has tried to go up against Derek's contracts and lost repeatedly. Second, I agree that Taryn's pictures on the site didn't look the greatest, but you guys are missing a very crucial point. Derek runs his site to get the girls work so they make money and make him money. So why on earth would he purposely have shitty pictures up of girls? So they don't work and don't make him money? Does that make sense to any of you people? Last, I feel badly for Taryn in this situation. That is good money that she is losing from that shoot. But if you are an agent and you have principles, at least give Derek credit for sticking to those principles. If you don't do a shoot to completion, you don't get a full check, no matter how long you wait. It's a rule that he sticks to for everyone. Sometimes you as a performer get screwed, but its the nature of the business. I am assuming that Jay Sin was going to rebook her for a later date. Again, I am not bashing Taryn, I am on her side and I wish her the best.
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Clam Digger Deactivated User
Many a man fails as an original thinker simply because his memory is too good. 2268 Posts 1/05
Posted - Feb 15 2008 : 10:46PM
It seems that Taryn made a poor business decision. Did she think that the agent was going to pay her membership at the health club and such and not try to get a return on the investment? She signed a contract. She should go back to the agent and patch things up. If she doesn't want them to rep for her any longer, fine, make a deal with them so they get compensated for what they invested in her and move on.
This is exactly what I wrote but with different words. (And without the animosity and arrogance part - "you people"!) So the only answer is that those are the best pics? Ouch.
Taryn Thomas @ AEBN
Posted - Feb 14 2008 : 10:41AM
This is what I suspected. 
