What do you think porn would be like now if John Stagliano had not come onto the scene. Would there be as much gonzo as there is today? Would there be as much focus on butts as there is today? I think the process would have been slower, but gonzo and butt titles would eventually have broken through, as porn performers and directors who actually liked and understood porn (like Joey Silvera and Jules Jordan) came onto the scene, and equipment became cheaper. It's obvious that some of the early directors had no idea about porn, didn't like it and didn't understand it.
All directors would have to start being creative instead of copying from the master. Like I have said many time bsfore; Stagliano has set the example. And what he's done is going to be puzzled over...and studied...and followed...forever.
I don't want to start a pissing match, but I could never really get into his films. Either the action moved to slow or too much lingering ass shots, or other factors. It just wasn't my personal speed. I am sure he is often imitated because to come up with new ideas in porn is not a process many directors care to take on, so Buttman is influential in that regard. John may have had a hand in the way much of modern porn is made, but I wouldn't look to his films to make my own is all. Style differences. - -B -I -G -m -i -k -e, here and there, over and out! - -
John's creation of gonzo, changed porn on a par with cheap VCRs and the move of porn to the internet. He is a true pioneer and deserves to be in every porn Hall of Fame that exists. His non-story driven, sex sex sex videos allowed more people and companies to get into the biz. Though it can be argued that few of the people who are producing gonzo porn today have real talent--or that they produce quality product for a sophisticated porn customer. Plus few of the people who followed in John's gonzo foot steps have obtained the level of wealth they hoped for. Still John, and gonzo, has changed the industry forever.
I'm with you Mike, but I probably just haven't seen enough of his movies or the right ones. Still, for all I know my favorite directors have followed him in some way or another. Or not. Darkko? Quaser? Vince? Mike and Greg?
Just another bare bum in the shiower 1739 Posts 12/04
Posted - Jun 3 2007 : 10:42AM
Porn movies would be intelligent and thought-provoking as well as stiffy-inducing, have $5m budgets, star numerous B-grade Hollywood types and be written and directed by some of the most talented artists in the US. Porn would be accepted by feminists and the wider public, and you wouldn't be seeing increasing diseases and obscenity prosecutions slowly destroying the industry.
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the unknown pervert Deactivated User
I'd like to stay but I've got a plane to catch. 3243 Posts 5/06
Posted - Jun 3 2007 : 2:11PM
I'm not quite as cyncial as the previous poster but Stagliano has created a double edge sword. He basically designed the blueprint for good gonzo porn. However this blueprint has been read by a lot of people with directorial ambitions that did not have his eye for detail resulting in the creation of an overabundance of bad gonzo porn.
The devolution of Stagliano's gonzo vision has further separated porn from mainstream film. Perhaps that realization inspires some of his Fashionistas efforts. However, I don't know that 'gonzo' scenes couldn't have happened without Stagliano. Consider the plethora of compilations the industry has put out for years, now. Compilations break the original narrative, and their success would eventually lead someone to ask why the narrative was required in the first place.
I see Stagliano as the Bill Gates of porn, maybe not everyone likes their style but you can't deny what they have done and have achieved. For me personally Stagliano meant a lot. Thanks to him I have this big butt-fetish and thanks to him I got addicted to porn. Life was never the same after I saw Buttman's Ultimate Workout.
I never got into his movies, but other directors catched on and made it diffirent - I wouldn't say better... to each his own. I've always felt that Staglianos movies lack the pace I like about new-school gonzo. Mentality-wise, I like it, shooting it more like an observer/participant than a director.
"All knowledge ultimately means self knowledge."--Bruce Lee 97 Posts 4/07
Posted - Jun 4 2007 : 1:44PM
John Stagliano represents all that is good about adult entertainment. He shot my friend, Lauren Brice, and she thought highly of him. The first Buttman movies were revolutionary--I think I remember in an interview he borrowed his style from French documentary filmakers. He's the best, and he is a brilliant business man as well. Edited by - fundo on 6/4/2007 1:43:51 PM
Whenever I happen to watch a French documentary, I love it, I don't know what it is... I think french culture and art are simply just superior in some naturally stylistic way.