I don't think it's the same for males versus females, though I could be wrong.
Many females simply answer ads placed in "underground" or "art house" papers for nude models. Once they've done that they may be asked if they'd like to do harder stuff. Others come to Chatsworth having some knowledge of porn and looking to get into the business. Others are 'found' in strip/dance clubs and asked to do a movie. One thing leads to another...
I understand that some agents used to hang around the bus station in Hollywood and approach likely candidates. I don't know if that still goes on or not.
I'd say the men are successful if they can deliver the goods, not cause problems with the girls or the directors on set, and don't turn off too much of the audience.
I think one way to get in is to ride in on the tail of a woman hot enough to insist that she work with you. Do a search for what Steve Holmes and christianx have to say.
I think a benchmark of success if to actually be on the short list of the more finicky stars. Also not being on a "don't" list. Maybe getting the connections to start your own line. On the other side, if viewers notice that women deliver hotter scenes because they have good chemistry with you is another. An example is Steve Holmes, who is no Adonis, but brings out the best in the women he works with. (Don't get me wrong, he is no Ron Jeremy either).
Mostly, I think you need to narrow down what you mean by success.
1) Chick responds to ad in newspaper or gets recruited to do some softcore photo shoots. 2) Chick advances to hardcore photo shoots. 3) Chick does softcore porn or lez-only hardcore. 4) Chick does hardcore porn with her boyfriend. 5) Chick dumps boyfriend and does hardcore porn with other guys. 6) Chick may dance on the feature strip club circuit. When her fanbase cease to grow or shrinks... 6) Chick does anal for the first time. 7) Chick does creampie/IR for the first time. 8) Chick does gangbang/DP for the first time. 9) When chick is no longer earning top dollar at strip clubs, she turns to escorting. 10) Chick gets old and disappears from porn, dies tragically, or becomes an old hooker.
Not exactly the "glamerous" career a lot of chicks think it to be.
Well, I the character I'm writing is female, but I can incorporate some of this into the backstory of the side characters. Thanks.The character's career is growing, due to talent and a good reputation among her peers, but not meteorically. This radically changes due to an event that brings her a fantastic amount of media exposure.
Sorry - I seem to have fallen into the modern pitfall of using 'actor' as a non-gender specific noun.re: the clubs ... is how quickly they are 'spotted' a sign of talent/potental/et al?
A couple of things to remember about porn are that new faces are at a premium, and a performer can appear in more movies in a year than most Hollywood actors will in a lifetime.
I'm not sure there's such a thing as a typical porn career any more than there's a typical Hollywood career. Some women do one movie, decide it's not for them and leave. Others do a whole bunch of movies and get burned out. Others change lifestyles, frequently under the influence of a new boyfriend. Others pace themselves and last ten years or more.
The average is probably skewed by the high number of short-timers (yeah, the pay is great but porn really isn't always as much fun or as easy as one might believe from watching the end product), but three to five years seems about right for those who decide to make a career of it.
What can be true is that doing a makeover, either physically or in what sex acts one will perform, can increase the number of jobs you get. This is for two reasons - first, doing so may give a performer a new audience and second, it gives the 'shooters' a reason to put the performer in another movie (a successful movie tends to spawn a series, and shooters don't like putting the same gal in more than a couple of movies in a series).
As for the business side, performers are treated as independent contractors - they get relatively hefty pay per scene but have to provide for their own health care and retirement, etc. out of it.
Considering that porn tends to promote a 'party' lifestyle, there's way too many women out spending their health care/retirement money having a good time. Well, it isn't like good-time girls (and guys) are anything new.
Oops! I edited your post when I wanted to quote you. Sorry about that. Obviously, I should be in bed, not cruising ADT. At any rate, I managed to save this part:It helps. Another strategy, if you want to call it that, is to take a break from the business and then make a return. This works best if you were popular the first time around.
What kind of story? It might help to know if you're writing fiction, if you're writing an opinion column, if you're writing a journalistic piece. And it might help to know who your target audience is. You might get more specific and detailed answers if you give us some background.
I wrote a fan fiction story (temporarily hosted here for editing), but realised that watching Orgazmo and half way through Boogie Nights doesn't count as research. You're more than welcome to read the story at the link.
So after finding AdultDVDTalk and making my first post, I was advised that if I wanted to find out about certain facts and issues, it would be better to post individual questions.
I didn't read all of that, but porn stars are as individual as everybody else. Some play it smart and saved up money. They might be a headlining stripper making top dollars for quite a bit of time. For instance Nikki Dial and Adrianna Sage. Others might find the attention and other aspects addicting and stay. The elf had a bunch of steps that might not exist or is skipped - for most. A few from the '80s and '90s seem to have slipped back into normal lives. A couple foreign ones went into politics in their home countries (same places their careers were). Traci Lords had a mainstream career and a couple are on the fringes of mainstream.
So write it as it fits the storyline and put in details to make it plausible.
