Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends (1998) s01e03 Episode Script
Porn
Troy.
I sure am glad I saved you from that city life.
Yeah.
"Scott opens door, sees our couple piled in sweat and come.
" This is a little rude for the BBC.
The San Fernando Valley, north of Los Angeles - the acknowledged world capital of pornographic films.
It's an industry that revolves around images of women.
To immerse myself in the less-well-known subculture of the male performers.
- You see everything? - You see it all.
- All of it in close up? - Sometimes they fill the whole screen.
No, the organs! My first contact was Susan Yannetti, a publicist for a high-end production company called Vivid Video.
Is porno an exciting place to be right now? The public is at a time and place where they're actually open to hearing about this.
Hollywood has four movies right now in the works about the adult entertainment industry.
So, is Vivid actually making a conscious effort to bring themselves into the mainstream? Yes.
- I may be interested in trying it as a lifestyle.
- You wanna get in a movie? Yeah, maybe get in a movie.
Could I do that? - How far do you wanna go with this? - How far could I go, hypothetically? - If you can do it, you can go all the way.
- What d'you mean, "If you can do it"? Because there are certain things that you must be able to do on cue, with a woman that you may not have met before, that you may not particularly be attracted to, and you're in front of a crew of 20 people and there's hot lights around You mean, it's not enough just to be with a beautiful woman - are you saying it's actually quite difficult to perform on camera? It seems like the easiest job in the world really, let's face it.
- It's not.
- Really? Many men have tried and very few have made it.
Eager to find out more, I Joined Susan for a behind-the-scenes tour of Vivid Video.
This is the hall of Vivid girls.
These are the girls that are currently under contract right now.
Where's the hall of Vivid guys? There is none, sorry.
Why not? Guys just haven't quite made it up to that level yet.
- How many Vivid guys are there? - They will eventually.
- There's one, right? - Yes, there's one.
John Doe.
This is the warehouse back here.
Look at this! It's a cathedral of porn! Yeah, if you're a fan, this is definitely the place.
Are you a fan, Susan? Row after row after row of the best adult entertainment.
Standing Room 0nly.
- That's tapes for people standing up? - Yes.
Girls 0n Top.
That's kind of a feminist line.
Beefeaters - that would work well in an English market.
Beefeaters are a national institution.
Four hours of shoe and foot fetishes.
Girls with boots.
0h, it's all leather.
That's all lacy.
Set in showers and saunas.
How come it's got there's so many tiny little niches? There are so many different people that like so many different things.
It's so exciting, I love it.
A Dick Runs Through It.
Jizz Tonic.
Spinners.
Scrotum Scramble.
Box Lunch.
Pole Sitters.
Hooterville.
Costume Ball.
Blonde And Dangerous.
Tongue Foo.
Heels.
Slick.
Ride 'Em Cowgirl.
Tokyo.
Fireball, Wide 0pen Spaces, Bedspread.
Amazing! Next stop, Vivid's casting agent and arbiter of male talent, Mo Bundy.
Hi, Louis, how are you? - How you doing? - I'm good.
Getting ready for you guys to come in and hang out with me, I guess.
Good.
Good, good, good.
Susan, tell me what Mo does.
- Excuse me.
- Where you going, Mo? My office.
You guys come in here.
- This is John Doe, right? - Right.
- And he's the Vivid guy.
- Right.
- Vivid guy.
- How about that? If I wanted to know what it means to be a guy, a male performer in the business, should I follow him around? I would at least get some advice from him.
Is he shooting anything in the next week, or anything that we could see him in action in? Actually, in the next two days, he's shooting Debbie Does Dallas.
- Hey, are you John Doe? - Hey, what's up? - I'm Louis from the BBC.
- Hey, Louis, what's up? - Nice helmet.
- Thanks.
What does it say? - A lot of stuff.
- "Wanna bone"? 0K, this is how we're gonna do the scene.
Miss Thain, walk off.
- Walk off.
- We walk off? You guys go off this way.
So, we get our kit and walk off.
John Doe was working with two true veterans of the business - porn star since the '70s, Sharon Mitchell, and performer-turned-director, Paul Thomas.
She hangs the doll by the neck.
Right.
0K? 0K.
That's porno, huh? Camera, marker.
21 apple two.
Action.
It's the price you pay for being cheerleaders.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
0h, my God! I understand from talking to Susan, that one of the biggest challenges is keeping what they call wood - ie, staying aroused for the scene.
Is that right? Yeah, you know, yes.
Most men can't do it.
That's why there's so few men doing it.
They get afraid.
Why do they get afraid? A lot of men just A lot of guys don't have what it takes, because they think you're supposed to make lurve, you know, make beautiful lurve.
And that's not what you're doing here.
I was a performer for a long time.
I think while you're in the flow, it is the best job in the world.
To be paid hundreds or even thousands of dollars to fuck beautiful women in movies that people love.
And when your support group's working, it's the best job in the world, but there's a number of dynamics that can break down.
It's not always You know, you're not always in the place that you wanna do it.
Do you get a lot of people coming up to you saying "Hey, man, I wanna do your job"? Yeah, you know.
Some of them are happy, some of them are standoffish, they look at you but they won't approach you, some of them get cocky, you know.
"I could do that.
" "0h, yeah, you gotta go to work, right!" "You gotta go to work, sure.
" That must get kinda irritating in a way.
People don't regard that you take your work seriously - they say "You just have sex.
" It doesn't irritate me, I just stay home more.
You can be on the bench.
Even better, get on the bench and you move over, Sharon.
- Marker.
- Ten apple, take one.
And action.
Melody, put your left leg up on the bench.
Is this real? Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah, they're both genuinely excited.
They're not faking it.
Is it easier working with women than men? 0h, sure, cos the men have to get a hard-on.
They say that it's hard to do.
Let's pick this up at another time if we could, cos I can't keep talking here.
We've been in the shower for about how long? Erm a while.
Long enough.
And it was cold.
Very cold.
You sound like you might be English.
- I am.
- Where are you from? Northampton.
- Northampton? - Yeah.
How is the scene different here in LA than it was in Europe? Why did you come over? In Europe you find that you have much longer scenes and it's much stronger.
It's like they just want vicious hardcore sex, where here, they don't try and kill you.
You don't get as many injuries.
Not as many bruises.
- Yeah.
So, that sounds better, right? - It is, it's a lot better here.
Did you always dream of working in porno when you were growing up? What I wanted to do is sex, just want sex.
Nymphomaniac, can't help it.
- Really? - Yeah.
If I worked in an office, I'd probably shag the whole office and get the sack when I got to the boss.
0r get a promotion more likely.
No, I'm supposed to give his dick a lick and then say Sexual innuendo.
"Do you want to go out with me?" Why can't I just go, "You want to go out with me?" - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- This is the power, you know.
The one thing that I've noticed about guys is that they come in very sweet, very open, very tentative and almost tender at times, and then as you see them film after film after film, you kinda see that glazed look go over and it's the look, it's the change, and you realise that you too could be a piece of meat, a hole in the wall or whatever fantasy is inside their head.
It's a degree of of the utmost impersonal.
So, does that screw a person up, do you think? Yeah.
Yeah, sure, it's gotta screw you up.
I know that it screwed me up for many years and I know that I had to get screwed up to actually work for many years.
- Really? - Many years, yeah.
You seem 0K, you seem well adjusted.
Yeah.
Yeah, but it took me a long time to kick the heroin.
I'm gonna buy one of these with my first paycheque as a porno guy.
You know what? With your first paycheque, for the month, you could buy one of these.
- Really? - Sure.
- D'you think I could make it? - Yeah.
- No.
- Absolutely, man.
Why? I've seen a lot of guys come and go and you You can do this.
At John Doe's suggestion, I sought out a talent agent and for wannabe porno performers, there is only one - Jim South of World Modeling.
If you want to, you could use this phone.
I know he's there, or he was an hour ago.
Can I butt in? Can I ask what's going on, just to get an idea of how things work here? Yeah, this gentleman is talent with us and I just referred him to a big manufacturer and distributor by the name of Metro.
I don't want to cause offence to anyone when I say that I look at Tolice and I don't automatically think "There's a porno performer".
It's the quiet shy types you gotta watch out for.
You know, intellectual, we wear the glasses.
- Yeah.
- He's a good performer.
- He delivers.
- He delivers.
You go up, you turn up on time, get an erection, boom, you ejaculate.
- Yeah, pretty much.
- Is that really how it works? It can be very difficult, but yeah.
Can I look at your penis? No.
- Please? - No.
Why not? If I wanted to break in, how would I start? People come here, then it moves forward? They come in here, they fill out an application, not a contract.
We take a couple of just standing nude Polaroids.
We give him a magazine, tell him he needs to excite himself, we leave the room while he's doing it.
He usually hollers, "Jim!" and we hurriedly go back and take the pictures.
Then we get him in for talent calls that we have that used to be called cattle calls, where he meets a lot of producers, directors, and there's one of the biggest in the market that you should interview - Henri Pachard.
He's famous.
How do you do, Henri Pachard, I'm Louis Theroux from the BBC.
Some people say that as far as performers go, it's tougher being a man than a woman.
There's less work, they get paid less.
0ne you're in, once you're in the business as a male performer, you are in.
I mean There are fewer working male performers in this business than there are astronauts on the planet.
- You've been in the business how long? - 30 years.
Have you seen people destroy themselves? I damn near destroyed myself in the process I've gone through.
I've made a lot of money, had a lot of awards, I've gone through four or five relationships and marriages.
I mean, it's taken its toll on things like that.
- Really? - Sure.
- I've led myself into all sorts of chaos.
- What did you just finish shooting? I shot Spasm, Spasm 3 and I shot Anal Witness 4.
World Modeling.
Would you like to make an appointment? 0K, and you understand it is nude modelling? Speaking as a guy, I'm a reporter for the BBC, but I'm sort of interested in participating as well, so do you think you can give me any advice? 0h, gosh! I can't.
As far as being in a movie, I couldn't give you any advice.
As far as like, to be popular among women, what would you do? - Which guys do you like to work with? - Whoever's hard.
- Really? - If you're hard, you're wonderful.
I don't care what you look like, what your personality's like, - as long as your dick's hard.
- What if your breath smells? - If your dick's hard, I don't care.
- Really? I'd make you go brush your teeth.
- 0K, what's your name? - Rachel St-Marie.
- Have a seat.
- 0K.
World Modeling.
Why have you come back into the business? It's a quicker way of having an income and the demand right now is so great, that I can make quite a bit of money in about two weeks.
- In two weeks? - In two weeks.
How much could you make in two weeks? I would say about ten to fifteen grand.
You're interested in magazine work and movie work? - Yes.
- 0K.
Erm, first of all, for movie work, it does mean actual sex, actual penetration - just boy/girl, we don't book two guys, and just to let you know, everybody that does wanna get started in video, does need to have a current HIV test every 30 days - no if, ands or buts, 0K? The rate of pay for a feature, starting at 250, anywhere up to 350.
Some guys make four, five hundred it really just depends, but the girls always make more than the guys.
Girls can fake it, though, guys can't.
If you don't come, you don't get paid.
Is that right? If you don't come, you don't get paid.
The bottom line is if you're supposed to be getting $250 for one sex scene, if you do the hardcore, and you don't do the pop shot, they hire somebody which is called the stunt cock, which is the guy that comes in and just pops and usually you give that stunt guy anywhere from 50 to 75 to $100 for fixing the scene up.
I started out a long time ago when I needed many a stunt cock to fill in for me.
It's not a very good feeling, you don't even feel like a man.
It's a long walk home or it's a long walk to the car, when you need to have a guy fill in for you.
You just don't even feel like you can do your job as a man.
It's a lot of pressure.
Everything is up here, though.
It's not down here.
You could be the greatest stud in the world in the bedroom - bottom line is, when you're on a set and the lights go on, it's a different story.
So, Steve, do I have to have a wood for the picture? If you can, great, if you can't, it's not a big deal.
Don't worry about it.
Steve, I'm ready.
You don't have any magazines, do you? I've got a bit of a wood problem.
Don't worry about it.
Put your arms like this.
Just tell me how you want me posed.
Like this, hands together.
Smile.
- Very nice.
- Say sexy things.
Don't move like that because I'll get the wrong idea.
Smile.
Get dressed, cowboy.
Jim South had hooked me up with a rising star called JJ Michaels.
He'd recently left the air force, now he was being touted as a Top Gun in the porno industry.
- You must be JJ.
I'm Louis.
- How you doing? How's it going? Can we come up? 0h, yes, come on, this way.
Jim South told me you're the man to talk to about understanding the porno business, cos you're a successful up-and-coming porno actor.
- I guess.
- Is that right? Sounds good to me.
- Can I hang out with you for a few days? - Please do.
- What are we gonna do? - 0K, where's the other guys? That's a flying one.
- That's pretty cool.
- It's a blast.
Here are all the old Godzilla movies.
There's like three to a tape.
Then I have the new ones starting at Biollante, King Ghidorah.
I'm not seeing any porno videos.
Believe it or not, I don't have any.
Why not? Not even your own? - None of 'em are out yet.
- Really? There'll be one out in a week and a half.
It's called It comes out on the 24th, it's Anal Witness 4, Henri Pachard.
- It's called what? - Anal Witness 4.
It's called what? JJ, where are you at in the business? Give me a rough idea of where you stand.
I'm in a position where I believe I can make a good career out of it, as long as I make the right decisions and with Jim South's guidance.
How many movies have you done? Thirteen as of now.
I've been doing an average of four a week for the past like three weeks.
How has it affected your love life, being a porno star? I'm not a star yet.
I dunno, I don't really I don't have a girlfriend or anything, I'm just happy to be friends with girls that I know.
You don't have to It makes it easier, you don't have to worry about, "I gotta get laid tonight" cos you got your fill of sex, so all you need is girls that are friends, to fill the, er, the friendship need.
Is there anything you won't do? As in movies? As in porno, yeah.
Um Yeah, any like, freakish movies, you know? Meaning? Transvestites, excessively overweight people, you know, old people.
What about anal? 0h, no, I do that and DPs all the time.
What's DPs are? Double penetration.
Usually one guy vag, one guy anal.
You've done that? - A bunch.
- No! What's the most important thing, then? - Um For guys, can you get wood.
- Really? That's the most important thing right there.
Can you keep a hard-on the entire time? And believe it or not, it's not easy.
It seems like it should be.
I don't care how beautiful she is, how turned on you are, sometimes it's not happening.
Under any circumstances you have to get there, get wood and do the thing? That's where the stress comes in, cos if you don't, you get more stressed.
You go, "0h, shit, I'm not doing it, I gotta do this" and that makes it twice as hard to do it, so, that's where the stress comes in for guys.
- Is there stress? - Yeah, a lot.
So, could I come by and visit you on set maybe? - Yeah, sounds good.
- See you in action? Yeah, well, as much action as you can see.
How much can I see? - Not very much.
- Why's that? Well, we don't like a lot of people hanging around on the set.
- Really? It causes problems? - Yeah.
- Pressure? - Yeah.
The next day, I arranged to meet JJ on set at Sterling Studios, a sound stage built in part by a porno performer called Cal Jammer.
Jammer killed himself in 1995.
Some say because of the pressures of the industry.
D'you know here JJ is? - JJ? 0h, the kid? - The kid, yeah.
I saw him walk by a little while ago.
He's probably upstairs.
- Hey, JJ.
- Hey.
- How's it going? - 0K.
- How you feeling? - Nervous.
Just keep doing your thing, man, cos we're gonna follow you, you're not following us.
0K.
That force-field is the only thing standing between us and certain death.
You know that, don't you? This pig is hitting on Meg! Back off! She's been cut off from everyone else, that's the worst part.
JJ, standing by, you ready? All right, we're ready to shoot.
- Roll sound first, get up to speed.
- Yeah.
How you feeling? - Pretty good.
- Yeah? - You got wood yet? - No.
When do you do that? When we have sex.
Let's go.
Places! Hey, er, break a leg.
- Camera please.
- 11 apple, apple, take two.
Marker.
And settling.
Action.
JJ's first scene was with a rising female performer, Johnni Black.
Surprisingly, Johnni's husband was watching from the sidelines.
So that must be weird, though, being the husband, while Johnni's having sex with JJ.
In most people's eyes it would be kinda weird, but this is work.
I mean, there's an entirely different thing.
Yeah, it's sex and it's intimate for most people but this is work.
Any rules about what she can and can't do or actors she won't work with? If there's guys out there that she has a problem with on a set, and the problem generally, not being able to get wood, then she won't say no the second time around, but if it happens again working with her, then she'll really think about it before she'll go back, cos that's hard on everybody.
Cos there are people, there are men in this business that say they can do great things and they get on the set and they can't do it.
Keep his wood going.
Check on Mr Wood.
- Sound please.
- Softcore.
Here we go.
This is eleven apple apple three.
Marker.
And action.
Cut! I got my wires caught.
- Sound speed.
Marker, please.
- Apple apple take six.
Marker.
And action.
Roll out.
Cut.
Let me get a still here.
Let me do the cowgirl check.
0K, you were on your back, she was on top.
- I don't think we'll be able to do it.
- Fine, what's comfortable for you? Doggie is probably his best.
Doggie's easiest.
I can do it up and over easy.
- Then do it.
- 0K.
Gimme an insertion shot on that.
What's happening? We were talking earlier about wood problems.
JJ right now is having wood problems.
- Really? - Yeah.
- Why? - All these people around, could you do it? - No.
- I couldn't either.
It's kind of a bummer.
Yeah, it's a bummer for everybody.
- Sound speed, please.
- Roll it up.
Rolling it up.
- Are you not comfortable? - 0K, that's a cut.
Let's break.
How's it going with JJ? He's a little slow, but I think it's cos there's so many people around.
I've worked with JJ before and he's done really well but I think he's getting nervous cos he knows the pressure's on him now.
- Really? - Yeah.
Marker.
Big insertion.
I'm running into a problem with this bar here.
Cut.
How was it? About an hour and a half too long.
- Really? - Mm-hm.
- Was it slow? - Witless wonders.
Don't say that.
Isn't that a bit harsh? No, life's harsh.
Whatever drives one to do this as a living, perhaps some people shouldn't.
Tell us how it went, more or less.
I didn't do as good as I'd like but that's always the thing.
- You delivered in the end, right? - Yeah, yeah.
But what about, as far as the man goes, you know, he's pretty solid? Wood? Near the end, yeah.
At the beginning, no.
- Really? - Yeah, it's just there's so many people.
There's a lot of people, I was nervous working for Shanahan, cos he's a big director.
If you get nervous, it's hard to work, but, yeah, near the end, he went fine.
There were so many people, it was so choppy.
They didn't wait and say "Are you ready?" They go "0K, you must be ready.
" Fuck, I'm not ready.
And once they do that, that makes wham! You got ten times more stress right there.
It's like, you know "Hurry up!" How did you feel when you saw JJ and he was soft for a little while? I felt bad because I know what the director and the cameraman was feeling, they were getting impatient, but I felt for JJ more than anything because it was his first time working for this director.
- How long have you been in the business? - Damn near four years.
- How much longer do you think you'll be in? - About a week.
Why? Well, just with the seven inconclusives Now, what is that, what are the seven inconclusives? 0K, there are seven people, we've had two positives in less than a week.
- In what? - In HIV.
I mean, now, it's like forget this, I'm not risking my life any more, you know, to make this much money.
I can make this much more money doing other things.
What d'you reckon, JJ - are you worried about these tests? No.
I have a death wish, so it doesn't really matter.
The world of porno performers was turning out to be kind of depressing.
Where were the parties, the glitz and the glamour? I was beginning to lose faith, but then, a breakthrough.
Word came that I'd been cast in a movie called Snowbound.
It was shooting on location in the mountains, so I arranged to ride up with one of the other actors, Troy Halston.
be here in a second.
- All right.
Hello, puppy, hello, hello.
- I'm Louis, nice to meet you.
- Hello, Louis.
Snowbound was a gay film, so I was surprised to learn that Troy considers himself to be straight.
In the words of the business, Troy was gay for pay.
It seems interesting to me that you'd be straight and work in gay films.
It took a while to, erm to get used to the idea of being with a man.
You go through a period of time where you think "I need the money, so I'll do the work.
" And then, you do it a few times and then you're like, "If I'm doing the work, what's wrong with me?" You have a great back and forth in your head.
Do you have any rules in terms of what you will and won't do? I have things that I do that I don't like to do more than other things.
I would rather be the driver than anything else.
I don't like to kiss, I don't like to suck dick, I don't like I don't like getting fucked in the ass.
But presumably, being in gay porno, those things crop up from time to time I imagine.
You're imagining correctly.
0K.
Before we head down there, can we run a few lines? Sure can.
So I walk in, and I say "I love you.
" Come on, put some feeling into it.
I'm not being paid for this.
I'm helping you, I'm not being paid.
Right.
I love you.
0h, come on! Say it with some feeling.
I don't even know you.
That's acting.
I love you.
You're giving the same read every time.
Go "I love you!" I love you.
- That was better.
- Right.
So, try again.
I love you.
Are you the director of Snowbound? Producer.
- Producer.
- I'm Dan.
- Nice to meet you.
I'm Louis Theroux.
- Hi, Louis.
Hi, Bill, you're the director.
I'm Louis from the BBC.
- I'm Louis.
- Louis, nice to meet you.
- How's the shoot going? - Well, it's going 0K.
With any shoot you can come up with a few problems, especially getting it started.
Yeah.
Are we talking wood problems? Wood problems, yes.
Especially when you have three guys in a scene, whereas versus a straight scene or a bisexual scene, you have three guys in a guy scene, you have a lot more wood to be concerned with.
That's interesting, yeah, that makes sense.
So, I'm waiting for three people.
- About my character.
- Yes.
What can you tell me about the ranger? 0K, well, the ranger basically is the authority figure.
Is the ranger gay? I don't think a ranger's necessarily gay, I think a ranger's asexual.
Right, he would be asexual.
We think of them as sexy like police officers but they're not, are they? No.
Evening, fellas, I'm just out warning everybody Good evening, fellas, I'm just warning Good evening, fellas, I am Good evening, fellas.
I'm just warning everybody Do you think you'd go a bit slower? Good evening, fellas.
I'm just warning everybody Has he met them before? Everybody knows everybody.
Action.
- Good evening, Ranger, come on in.
- Evening.
Evening, gentlemen.
I'm just out telling everyone to be on the lookout for an escapee from Jordan Valley Prison.
Is he as cute as his picture? Officer, we'll keep our eyes open for anybody that looks suspicious.
You can keep that composite, and if you need to, call me.
Yeah, Officer, any time we need you, we'll call you.
Good night, gentlemen.
- Good night, Officer.
- Good night.
Good ni-ight! Cut.
Bill, was I 0K? - You were fine.
- You sure? - You were great.
- I didn't screw it up? You were fine.
You sure, Bill? - Hey, Troy.
- How you doing this morning? - Good? - Yeah.
What's on the cards for you today? Erm do my sex scene, a little more dialogue and then I'll be done.
Then you go ski.
Then we can go skiing.
- TJ? - Uh-huh? Just come in here for a second.
Uh-huh.
0h, finish eating.
0r finish what's in your mouth.
Is this your scene, Troy? Yes, it is.
What're you gonna be doing? Showering, right? Is this the one we rehearsed yesterday? No.
Come on, the one we did outside, you know "I love you"? Yes, it is.
"I love you.
" Yes, it is.
Like this, or something? Um Yeah, that's good.
Yeah, he can be like that, that's good.
How you feeling, Troy? All right.
You're gonna cross in, you're gonna sit down on the toilet, then basically the oral will be here and then we'll move the fucking up to the living room so you don't have to be wet and try to keep hard-ons.
0K, I'm rolling.
And action.
Troy said he's straight.
It's like "Who cares?" We all know what we have to do, we come here and do it.
If you don't do it, you shouldn't be here.
0h, yeah.
So, basically, in the scene we just saw bits of, we had two guys, Brent and Troy, who're both basically straight or have been straight, doing a gay scene.
Is that unusual? It is.
Usually it's a cardinal sin to put two straight guys together, but I felt that they were strong enough performers that I didn't need to worry about it.
- Yeah.
- So And they've proven me right.
What d'you think it does to a guy's head? You know, someone like Troy, who says he's straight but he's acting in a gay porno.
Well, you need to be, whoever it is needs to be really secure in their sexuality.
You can see people who explode, commit suicide or go off and live in Idaho or kill their sugar daddies or whatever.
You know, the straight boys who can't handle it, the psycho straight boys as I call them.
That's terrible.
It is, but it's a fact of it's a fact of the business.
It's because the models are conflicted in what their sexuality is, and what they're doing.
We're gonna take a smoke break.
What's happening? They're waiting for the classic money shot and we're not getting it.
From Troy? Yeah, from Troy.
Is he using magazines? Yeah, they always use magazines at this point.
You don't wanna sit there and be it's a waste of time.
Any stimulus that can help the model achieve their money shot.
And they are girly mags? They're two girly magazines, I think one's bi.
What d'you call this part of the job? Give me the money! - Hey, afternoon, gentlemen.
- It's the man.
- How you doing? - How was the scene? It took me a while to finish it, but I got it done.
- Yeah.
- So So, what you up to now? - Going skiing.
- Yeah.
Box cover.
So, Troy, it's been nice hanging with you, man.
Yes, it's been nice having you with me.
It's been interesting to see you at work.
At first I was like, can he really be straight and act in gay movies? But it took you so long to do that scene, now I'm starting to think you probably are straight.
Starting to think? I just spent three hours naked for $1,500.
Yeah.
Know what I'm saying? It takes you at least a week, right? I just did it in four hours.
Whacking off to a bunch of girly mags.
Right, you've seen my magazines all sitting out there, didn't you? The producer and director said you were using girly mags.
It's not easy but it's doable.
Yeah, but you were going down on a guy, though, right? Unfortunately, yeah.
You enjoyed it a little bit though, didn't you? 0h, come on, now.
I don't practise it out in normal life.
It was time to head back to the valley.
I'd heard that JJ had been cast in a new film to be directed by a 23-year-old called Rob Black.
Black had a reputation for being a little more provocative than the likes of Susan and her friends at Vivid Video.
I decided to pay him a visit.
What we do, what I do, what we all do here at Elegant Angel is we bring something where you watch it and you go "I can't believe what I just watched.
" Here, here's a box cover.
You see this, "Wow," right? That's a cute girl, erotic, but, you know, but this - which one stands out? Which one do you go "What am I looking at?" What is that? This one.
This, everyone does this.
Any jamoke with an 8mm camera could go to Jim South's office and get a couple girls, a couple guys and say "0K, we're gonna have some sex in a bed.
Here's a porno movie.
" Sodomania 7, I loved that freakin' thing, I loved it.
Why Sodomania 7? It's a good movie.
Part six and part eight just aren't quite as good? - Not as good as seven.
- Really? Yeah, seven is It's like Rocky 4.
This is like the first Rocky.
- Really? - Yeah, you know, it's the best one.
The movie I'm working on now is called Forced Entry.
It sounds a little bit, you know, it sounds a little bit naughty.
Yeah, it is, it's pretty bad.
Basically, the theme of the movie is is about is like about rape.
So, yeah Is that legal? Yeah, no, I dunno.
Is it legal? That's our legal adviser right there.
No one's actually getting raped.
No one's being hurt in it, but that's what the basic premise is.
Tell him who you are.
- JJ? - Yeah.
- Hey, this is Israel over at Elegant Angel - Hey.
What's the word on JJ? He's worked here in the company and he did good.
I don't know how long he's been in there, for a month or two.
I don't know, however long, so I'm gonna give him a shot.
I never used him, so I give 'em all a shot.
Yeah, is it the gangbang thing? Who's the girl? Tell you what, I'll put you on the line with Rob, he'll give you the details.
Ask him if he's all set with all his tests.
Yes, I'm picking up the last of my tests.
They should be all clear.
- You'll be ready by one o'clock tomorrow? - Yeah.
- All right, then.
I'll call you back later.
- Oh, OK.
- Bye.
- Bye.
What are the tests? There's certain tests that every performer is required to take and that's the AIDS, HIV, DNA, Western Blotch tests.
Exactly like that.
Let me see that.
So, I think you know about these.
Yeah.
What's my stage name? Your stage name is Sir Lance A Lot.
What d'you think? You ready? Let's toss him in a scene.
- This guy's ready to work.
- Let's do it tomorrow.
Do you really want me to do it? - Yeah.
- Why? This'll put this'll fucking put you over the top.
Everyone, the papers'll be printing about you.
They'll be like "You'll never guess what this BBC journalist did.
"He went to America and was in a porno.
" That'd be big time, man.
That'd be big time.
It just wouldn't fly, not on BBC 2.
If our people here in America, if Mike Wallace or Morley Safer and them, you know, if they go and investigative report, they go and pretend they're like a construction worker, they would do it.
Heraldo Rivera, that motherfucker's in everything! You see him gambling Show the cameras that.
Wait, let me see that.
Let me see it.
Where's your penis? Let me see that.
Look at that penis, it's Christ, take a look at this.
I'll give you a rate, 250 bucks.
- There's no way I can do it.
- Why not? Because, um It's just not It's just not something people in Britain wanna see, really.
Yeah, but it could make you a star.
Can I just say, I really do appreciate the offer, I seriously do, and I'm very flattered and honoured.
Well, if you ever, you know, get fired from the BBC, come over here, you got a job right here at Elegant Angel.
- I appreciate that.
- You'd be one of my guys, man.
- You'd be in all my movies.
- Yeah.
That's very, very kind.
Okey-doke.
So, where do we meet you tomorrow? Probably here.
Here and then we'll make our way Where's the shoot happening? - Um - 0n a sound stage? No.
In a special place called Yanniville.
Rob? Rob? There he is! - Rob, can we come in? - Come on in.
Where's my man JJ? He couldn't Israel, what happened with JJ today? They drew blood five days ago and they lost the results, so he couldn't work today.
We had a couple of people, two people test positive for HIV, so in turn, now, it's a stringent tight on everyone, so everyone has to have three tests.
They don't have three tests, they can't work.
So, we got somebody else and made it a bigger scene and that's where we're at.
Who'd you get instead? We've got Paul Cox and we've got Dick Nasty.
That man right there, Dick Nasty.
How you doing? Is your arm 0K? 0h, this is just for the scene.
It's supposed to be fake.
It comes off before the scene starts.
- Really? - Yeah.
Ready? Action.
Can you help me get this box in here? Cos I can't lift it with my arm.
0h, thank you.
Put it on top of that stuff there for me.
- That's fine.
- 0h! I love this stuff.
You got long fingers.
I have long fingers.
You wanna hurt her? I want it tighter than this! See, now, if you fucked her like this, that would be illegal.
We couldn't do that.
We couldn't sell it.
- Why? - Because that's considered bondage.
How you feeling, Lexi? Kinda weird.
Where to? Put her right on the fuck altar.
As Rob Black's vision came to life, I felt I'd seen enough.
Maybe more than I wanted to see.
I don't wanna get in your way, so, you just do your thing, - You got it, buddy.
- You wanna make a cameo? - What're you guys doing? - I don't think so.
- Are we ready? - Yeah, we're ready.
You're gonna walk in and you'll be like, "Phil! I got a real one, stop playing with those fucking dummies.
" Lexi, you're gonna be like "Huh!" And then Richard's gonna say "I'm gonna take the tape off you, "but if you make a sound, I'm gonna let Phil here go" More than ever, I was wondering what kept a nice kid like JJ in this business.
Could we get two lemonades, please? So, I arranged to meet up with JJ at one of his favourite hangouts - the local mall.
One large and one regular, please.
We were just over at the Rob Black shoot.
Don't you feel now with two people who are HIV positive, it's just a matter of time before there's more.
You must be worried.
Basically, you have unprotected sex But I don't think about it, so I assume I'm safe.
You know? And, that way I don't go home and worry every night.
If you did that, you'd just quit.
Maybe quitting wouldn't be a bad option in that case.
I guess if you're worried about it, yeah, whereas, I don't, so, you know, it's either this or be stuck in the military again and I'd rather do this.
If the benefits were better, would you have stayed in the military? Over this? No! Right now there's nothing you could give me I'd do over this.
- Why? - Because I like this.
What do you love about it? The way I'm treated.
You actually feel like they whether it's an act or not, you feel like they give a damn about you, whereas in the military, I know they don't give a damn about me.
There's more to the outside world than just the military.
Having a hard time in the military, doesn't mean you should just say, "Porno's the only thing for me.
" Yeah, but I had a hard time otherwise too.
- Really? - Yeah.
I just don't I mean, I like this, this is treating me nice.
Treating me the way I wanna be treated.
What do you mean you had a hard time otherwise? I've finally found somewhere where I like being, where the people like me being there, and where I'm appreciated.
And You know, I'm happy with it.
And it makes me happy, so why would I wanna leave this? What if this work doesn't work out - what do you do then? Nothing.
So what does "nothing" mean? It means I have no contingency for that situation.
I dunno.
Really.
No contingency plan.
JJ's reJection of the outside world was absolute.
I wondered if this was the trait that unified all the male performers - that each had been wounded by mainstream society and taken refuge in the porno subculture.
As for me, I was due back in the world of the fully clothed.
I had Just one last piece of business to take care of.
Jim, thanks very much.
My pleasure.
I'm taking off, so I thought I'd take my photo with me, so that when I become a star you don't sell it or put it on the internet.
I'm not gonna say what I was gonna say, but I'll be nice.
0K, so you're going back to Did you get any interest, by the way? Was there any leads? Did you show it to anyone? - A couple of people were interested - No, be serious.
but I told them you were probably a little too expensive.
You understand I'm not really, I was never gonna become a porno performer but it was a gimmick that I used to understand when I report the story.
It was a test.
Did we pass? It wasn't a test.
It wasn't a test.
0K, is this the right picture? - Yes.
- 0K.
Thanks for hooking us up with JJ, by the way.
- No problem.
- He's a real - Nice kid.
nice kid.
He's too nice for this business.
Well, there's a lot of nice people in this business, but I think the better word is, easygoing, clean-cut, all-American, pardon the expression, type person, but, er the book is not always what it seems to be.
He is a nice person but we have a lot of nice people.
We had you for a week.
I mean, how can you do better than that? 0K? Do you know that I actually did get an offer of work? - Did you? - Yes.
That's great.
- D'you wanna know who it's from? - Yeah.
Rob Black.
That's 0K, he's a good shooter.
That's Elegant Angel, I believe.
- Yes.
- Very good company.
And, um I chickened out.
That's not unusual.
You know what, though? I didn't chicken out cos I was afraid I wouldn't get wood, I chickened out because it just made me feel kinda funny.
It can, it can.
We understand.
Some can do it, some can't do it.
Some people, it's their forte, some, it's not.
It's a business that messes with your head.
Well, depends on how strong mentally you are.
We look at it differently.
I look at it like, this is a great way to work two/three days a week, make a lot of money, if you can handle it mentally.
- 0K? - Thanks very much, Jim.
- Thanks.
- A pleasure.
- My pleasure.
- See you next time.
- 0K.
Bye-bye now.
- Bye.
- Bye, Jim junior.
Goodbye.
- Nice seeing you.
World Modeling.
0K, what is your name? Right.
Would you like to make an appointment? 0K, and again, you understand it is nude modelling? 0K, um What about tomorrow morning? What d'you think? You really did it, huh? - Yeah.
- That's funny.
What about that one? Just ask to see it.
You don't need an excuse.
- You don't need a reason.
- I do love this picture a lot.
0h! Was this from Jim South? - Yeah.
- How did I know that? Great.
That's great.
That's great.
Look at that, three that's greats.
- Why are you laughing? - It's funny.
- Yeah.
What d'you think? - I dunno.
- Can I keep this? - No, we need it for the show.
So, one to ten, how would you rate the talent you see in that Polaroid? I would say you have a great body.
- What a lie.
- You're not fat, you don't have any big tattoos.
Now you're in, man.
- I'm in the club.
- You're in.
Would I work with him? No, don't answer, I can't take it.
I'd have to think about that.
I wouldn't work with me either.
I sure am glad I saved you from that city life.
Yeah.
"Scott opens door, sees our couple piled in sweat and come.
" This is a little rude for the BBC.
The San Fernando Valley, north of Los Angeles - the acknowledged world capital of pornographic films.
It's an industry that revolves around images of women.
To immerse myself in the less-well-known subculture of the male performers.
- You see everything? - You see it all.
- All of it in close up? - Sometimes they fill the whole screen.
No, the organs! My first contact was Susan Yannetti, a publicist for a high-end production company called Vivid Video.
Is porno an exciting place to be right now? The public is at a time and place where they're actually open to hearing about this.
Hollywood has four movies right now in the works about the adult entertainment industry.
So, is Vivid actually making a conscious effort to bring themselves into the mainstream? Yes.
- I may be interested in trying it as a lifestyle.
- You wanna get in a movie? Yeah, maybe get in a movie.
Could I do that? - How far do you wanna go with this? - How far could I go, hypothetically? - If you can do it, you can go all the way.
- What d'you mean, "If you can do it"? Because there are certain things that you must be able to do on cue, with a woman that you may not have met before, that you may not particularly be attracted to, and you're in front of a crew of 20 people and there's hot lights around You mean, it's not enough just to be with a beautiful woman - are you saying it's actually quite difficult to perform on camera? It seems like the easiest job in the world really, let's face it.
- It's not.
- Really? Many men have tried and very few have made it.
Eager to find out more, I Joined Susan for a behind-the-scenes tour of Vivid Video.
This is the hall of Vivid girls.
These are the girls that are currently under contract right now.
Where's the hall of Vivid guys? There is none, sorry.
Why not? Guys just haven't quite made it up to that level yet.
- How many Vivid guys are there? - They will eventually.
- There's one, right? - Yes, there's one.
John Doe.
This is the warehouse back here.
Look at this! It's a cathedral of porn! Yeah, if you're a fan, this is definitely the place.
Are you a fan, Susan? Row after row after row of the best adult entertainment.
Standing Room 0nly.
- That's tapes for people standing up? - Yes.
Girls 0n Top.
That's kind of a feminist line.
Beefeaters - that would work well in an English market.
Beefeaters are a national institution.
Four hours of shoe and foot fetishes.
Girls with boots.
0h, it's all leather.
That's all lacy.
Set in showers and saunas.
How come it's got there's so many tiny little niches? There are so many different people that like so many different things.
It's so exciting, I love it.
A Dick Runs Through It.
Jizz Tonic.
Spinners.
Scrotum Scramble.
Box Lunch.
Pole Sitters.
Hooterville.
Costume Ball.
Blonde And Dangerous.
Tongue Foo.
Heels.
Slick.
Ride 'Em Cowgirl.
Tokyo.
Fireball, Wide 0pen Spaces, Bedspread.
Amazing! Next stop, Vivid's casting agent and arbiter of male talent, Mo Bundy.
Hi, Louis, how are you? - How you doing? - I'm good.
Getting ready for you guys to come in and hang out with me, I guess.
Good.
Good, good, good.
Susan, tell me what Mo does.
- Excuse me.
- Where you going, Mo? My office.
You guys come in here.
- This is John Doe, right? - Right.
- And he's the Vivid guy.
- Right.
- Vivid guy.
- How about that? If I wanted to know what it means to be a guy, a male performer in the business, should I follow him around? I would at least get some advice from him.
Is he shooting anything in the next week, or anything that we could see him in action in? Actually, in the next two days, he's shooting Debbie Does Dallas.
- Hey, are you John Doe? - Hey, what's up? - I'm Louis from the BBC.
- Hey, Louis, what's up? - Nice helmet.
- Thanks.
What does it say? - A lot of stuff.
- "Wanna bone"? 0K, this is how we're gonna do the scene.
Miss Thain, walk off.
- Walk off.
- We walk off? You guys go off this way.
So, we get our kit and walk off.
John Doe was working with two true veterans of the business - porn star since the '70s, Sharon Mitchell, and performer-turned-director, Paul Thomas.
She hangs the doll by the neck.
Right.
0K? 0K.
That's porno, huh? Camera, marker.
21 apple two.
Action.
It's the price you pay for being cheerleaders.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
0h, my God! I understand from talking to Susan, that one of the biggest challenges is keeping what they call wood - ie, staying aroused for the scene.
Is that right? Yeah, you know, yes.
Most men can't do it.
That's why there's so few men doing it.
They get afraid.
Why do they get afraid? A lot of men just A lot of guys don't have what it takes, because they think you're supposed to make lurve, you know, make beautiful lurve.
And that's not what you're doing here.
I was a performer for a long time.
I think while you're in the flow, it is the best job in the world.
To be paid hundreds or even thousands of dollars to fuck beautiful women in movies that people love.
And when your support group's working, it's the best job in the world, but there's a number of dynamics that can break down.
It's not always You know, you're not always in the place that you wanna do it.
Do you get a lot of people coming up to you saying "Hey, man, I wanna do your job"? Yeah, you know.
Some of them are happy, some of them are standoffish, they look at you but they won't approach you, some of them get cocky, you know.
"I could do that.
" "0h, yeah, you gotta go to work, right!" "You gotta go to work, sure.
" That must get kinda irritating in a way.
People don't regard that you take your work seriously - they say "You just have sex.
" It doesn't irritate me, I just stay home more.
You can be on the bench.
Even better, get on the bench and you move over, Sharon.
- Marker.
- Ten apple, take one.
And action.
Melody, put your left leg up on the bench.
Is this real? Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah, they're both genuinely excited.
They're not faking it.
Is it easier working with women than men? 0h, sure, cos the men have to get a hard-on.
They say that it's hard to do.
Let's pick this up at another time if we could, cos I can't keep talking here.
We've been in the shower for about how long? Erm a while.
Long enough.
And it was cold.
Very cold.
You sound like you might be English.
- I am.
- Where are you from? Northampton.
- Northampton? - Yeah.
How is the scene different here in LA than it was in Europe? Why did you come over? In Europe you find that you have much longer scenes and it's much stronger.
It's like they just want vicious hardcore sex, where here, they don't try and kill you.
You don't get as many injuries.
Not as many bruises.
- Yeah.
So, that sounds better, right? - It is, it's a lot better here.
Did you always dream of working in porno when you were growing up? What I wanted to do is sex, just want sex.
Nymphomaniac, can't help it.
- Really? - Yeah.
If I worked in an office, I'd probably shag the whole office and get the sack when I got to the boss.
0r get a promotion more likely.
No, I'm supposed to give his dick a lick and then say Sexual innuendo.
"Do you want to go out with me?" Why can't I just go, "You want to go out with me?" - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- This is the power, you know.
The one thing that I've noticed about guys is that they come in very sweet, very open, very tentative and almost tender at times, and then as you see them film after film after film, you kinda see that glazed look go over and it's the look, it's the change, and you realise that you too could be a piece of meat, a hole in the wall or whatever fantasy is inside their head.
It's a degree of of the utmost impersonal.
So, does that screw a person up, do you think? Yeah.
Yeah, sure, it's gotta screw you up.
I know that it screwed me up for many years and I know that I had to get screwed up to actually work for many years.
- Really? - Many years, yeah.
You seem 0K, you seem well adjusted.
Yeah.
Yeah, but it took me a long time to kick the heroin.
I'm gonna buy one of these with my first paycheque as a porno guy.
You know what? With your first paycheque, for the month, you could buy one of these.
- Really? - Sure.
- D'you think I could make it? - Yeah.
- No.
- Absolutely, man.
Why? I've seen a lot of guys come and go and you You can do this.
At John Doe's suggestion, I sought out a talent agent and for wannabe porno performers, there is only one - Jim South of World Modeling.
If you want to, you could use this phone.
I know he's there, or he was an hour ago.
Can I butt in? Can I ask what's going on, just to get an idea of how things work here? Yeah, this gentleman is talent with us and I just referred him to a big manufacturer and distributor by the name of Metro.
I don't want to cause offence to anyone when I say that I look at Tolice and I don't automatically think "There's a porno performer".
It's the quiet shy types you gotta watch out for.
You know, intellectual, we wear the glasses.
- Yeah.
- He's a good performer.
- He delivers.
- He delivers.
You go up, you turn up on time, get an erection, boom, you ejaculate.
- Yeah, pretty much.
- Is that really how it works? It can be very difficult, but yeah.
Can I look at your penis? No.
- Please? - No.
Why not? If I wanted to break in, how would I start? People come here, then it moves forward? They come in here, they fill out an application, not a contract.
We take a couple of just standing nude Polaroids.
We give him a magazine, tell him he needs to excite himself, we leave the room while he's doing it.
He usually hollers, "Jim!" and we hurriedly go back and take the pictures.
Then we get him in for talent calls that we have that used to be called cattle calls, where he meets a lot of producers, directors, and there's one of the biggest in the market that you should interview - Henri Pachard.
He's famous.
How do you do, Henri Pachard, I'm Louis Theroux from the BBC.
Some people say that as far as performers go, it's tougher being a man than a woman.
There's less work, they get paid less.
0ne you're in, once you're in the business as a male performer, you are in.
I mean There are fewer working male performers in this business than there are astronauts on the planet.
- You've been in the business how long? - 30 years.
Have you seen people destroy themselves? I damn near destroyed myself in the process I've gone through.
I've made a lot of money, had a lot of awards, I've gone through four or five relationships and marriages.
I mean, it's taken its toll on things like that.
- Really? - Sure.
- I've led myself into all sorts of chaos.
- What did you just finish shooting? I shot Spasm, Spasm 3 and I shot Anal Witness 4.
World Modeling.
Would you like to make an appointment? 0K, and you understand it is nude modelling? Speaking as a guy, I'm a reporter for the BBC, but I'm sort of interested in participating as well, so do you think you can give me any advice? 0h, gosh! I can't.
As far as being in a movie, I couldn't give you any advice.
As far as like, to be popular among women, what would you do? - Which guys do you like to work with? - Whoever's hard.
- Really? - If you're hard, you're wonderful.
I don't care what you look like, what your personality's like, - as long as your dick's hard.
- What if your breath smells? - If your dick's hard, I don't care.
- Really? I'd make you go brush your teeth.
- 0K, what's your name? - Rachel St-Marie.
- Have a seat.
- 0K.
World Modeling.
Why have you come back into the business? It's a quicker way of having an income and the demand right now is so great, that I can make quite a bit of money in about two weeks.
- In two weeks? - In two weeks.
How much could you make in two weeks? I would say about ten to fifteen grand.
You're interested in magazine work and movie work? - Yes.
- 0K.
Erm, first of all, for movie work, it does mean actual sex, actual penetration - just boy/girl, we don't book two guys, and just to let you know, everybody that does wanna get started in video, does need to have a current HIV test every 30 days - no if, ands or buts, 0K? The rate of pay for a feature, starting at 250, anywhere up to 350.
Some guys make four, five hundred it really just depends, but the girls always make more than the guys.
Girls can fake it, though, guys can't.
If you don't come, you don't get paid.
Is that right? If you don't come, you don't get paid.
The bottom line is if you're supposed to be getting $250 for one sex scene, if you do the hardcore, and you don't do the pop shot, they hire somebody which is called the stunt cock, which is the guy that comes in and just pops and usually you give that stunt guy anywhere from 50 to 75 to $100 for fixing the scene up.
I started out a long time ago when I needed many a stunt cock to fill in for me.
It's not a very good feeling, you don't even feel like a man.
It's a long walk home or it's a long walk to the car, when you need to have a guy fill in for you.
You just don't even feel like you can do your job as a man.
It's a lot of pressure.
Everything is up here, though.
It's not down here.
You could be the greatest stud in the world in the bedroom - bottom line is, when you're on a set and the lights go on, it's a different story.
So, Steve, do I have to have a wood for the picture? If you can, great, if you can't, it's not a big deal.
Don't worry about it.
Steve, I'm ready.
You don't have any magazines, do you? I've got a bit of a wood problem.
Don't worry about it.
Put your arms like this.
Just tell me how you want me posed.
Like this, hands together.
Smile.
- Very nice.
- Say sexy things.
Don't move like that because I'll get the wrong idea.
Smile.
Get dressed, cowboy.
Jim South had hooked me up with a rising star called JJ Michaels.
He'd recently left the air force, now he was being touted as a Top Gun in the porno industry.
- You must be JJ.
I'm Louis.
- How you doing? How's it going? Can we come up? 0h, yes, come on, this way.
Jim South told me you're the man to talk to about understanding the porno business, cos you're a successful up-and-coming porno actor.
- I guess.
- Is that right? Sounds good to me.
- Can I hang out with you for a few days? - Please do.
- What are we gonna do? - 0K, where's the other guys? That's a flying one.
- That's pretty cool.
- It's a blast.
Here are all the old Godzilla movies.
There's like three to a tape.
Then I have the new ones starting at Biollante, King Ghidorah.
I'm not seeing any porno videos.
Believe it or not, I don't have any.
Why not? Not even your own? - None of 'em are out yet.
- Really? There'll be one out in a week and a half.
It's called It comes out on the 24th, it's Anal Witness 4, Henri Pachard.
- It's called what? - Anal Witness 4.
It's called what? JJ, where are you at in the business? Give me a rough idea of where you stand.
I'm in a position where I believe I can make a good career out of it, as long as I make the right decisions and with Jim South's guidance.
How many movies have you done? Thirteen as of now.
I've been doing an average of four a week for the past like three weeks.
How has it affected your love life, being a porno star? I'm not a star yet.
I dunno, I don't really I don't have a girlfriend or anything, I'm just happy to be friends with girls that I know.
You don't have to It makes it easier, you don't have to worry about, "I gotta get laid tonight" cos you got your fill of sex, so all you need is girls that are friends, to fill the, er, the friendship need.
Is there anything you won't do? As in movies? As in porno, yeah.
Um Yeah, any like, freakish movies, you know? Meaning? Transvestites, excessively overweight people, you know, old people.
What about anal? 0h, no, I do that and DPs all the time.
What's DPs are? Double penetration.
Usually one guy vag, one guy anal.
You've done that? - A bunch.
- No! What's the most important thing, then? - Um For guys, can you get wood.
- Really? That's the most important thing right there.
Can you keep a hard-on the entire time? And believe it or not, it's not easy.
It seems like it should be.
I don't care how beautiful she is, how turned on you are, sometimes it's not happening.
Under any circumstances you have to get there, get wood and do the thing? That's where the stress comes in, cos if you don't, you get more stressed.
You go, "0h, shit, I'm not doing it, I gotta do this" and that makes it twice as hard to do it, so, that's where the stress comes in for guys.
- Is there stress? - Yeah, a lot.
So, could I come by and visit you on set maybe? - Yeah, sounds good.
- See you in action? Yeah, well, as much action as you can see.
How much can I see? - Not very much.
- Why's that? Well, we don't like a lot of people hanging around on the set.
- Really? It causes problems? - Yeah.
- Pressure? - Yeah.
The next day, I arranged to meet JJ on set at Sterling Studios, a sound stage built in part by a porno performer called Cal Jammer.
Jammer killed himself in 1995.
Some say because of the pressures of the industry.
D'you know here JJ is? - JJ? 0h, the kid? - The kid, yeah.
I saw him walk by a little while ago.
He's probably upstairs.
- Hey, JJ.
- Hey.
- How's it going? - 0K.
- How you feeling? - Nervous.
Just keep doing your thing, man, cos we're gonna follow you, you're not following us.
0K.
That force-field is the only thing standing between us and certain death.
You know that, don't you? This pig is hitting on Meg! Back off! She's been cut off from everyone else, that's the worst part.
JJ, standing by, you ready? All right, we're ready to shoot.
- Roll sound first, get up to speed.
- Yeah.
How you feeling? - Pretty good.
- Yeah? - You got wood yet? - No.
When do you do that? When we have sex.
Let's go.
Places! Hey, er, break a leg.
- Camera please.
- 11 apple, apple, take two.
Marker.
And settling.
Action.
JJ's first scene was with a rising female performer, Johnni Black.
Surprisingly, Johnni's husband was watching from the sidelines.
So that must be weird, though, being the husband, while Johnni's having sex with JJ.
In most people's eyes it would be kinda weird, but this is work.
I mean, there's an entirely different thing.
Yeah, it's sex and it's intimate for most people but this is work.
Any rules about what she can and can't do or actors she won't work with? If there's guys out there that she has a problem with on a set, and the problem generally, not being able to get wood, then she won't say no the second time around, but if it happens again working with her, then she'll really think about it before she'll go back, cos that's hard on everybody.
Cos there are people, there are men in this business that say they can do great things and they get on the set and they can't do it.
Keep his wood going.
Check on Mr Wood.
- Sound please.
- Softcore.
Here we go.
This is eleven apple apple three.
Marker.
And action.
Cut! I got my wires caught.
- Sound speed.
Marker, please.
- Apple apple take six.
Marker.
And action.
Roll out.
Cut.
Let me get a still here.
Let me do the cowgirl check.
0K, you were on your back, she was on top.
- I don't think we'll be able to do it.
- Fine, what's comfortable for you? Doggie is probably his best.
Doggie's easiest.
I can do it up and over easy.
- Then do it.
- 0K.
Gimme an insertion shot on that.
What's happening? We were talking earlier about wood problems.
JJ right now is having wood problems.
- Really? - Yeah.
- Why? - All these people around, could you do it? - No.
- I couldn't either.
It's kind of a bummer.
Yeah, it's a bummer for everybody.
- Sound speed, please.
- Roll it up.
Rolling it up.
- Are you not comfortable? - 0K, that's a cut.
Let's break.
How's it going with JJ? He's a little slow, but I think it's cos there's so many people around.
I've worked with JJ before and he's done really well but I think he's getting nervous cos he knows the pressure's on him now.
- Really? - Yeah.
Marker.
Big insertion.
I'm running into a problem with this bar here.
Cut.
How was it? About an hour and a half too long.
- Really? - Mm-hm.
- Was it slow? - Witless wonders.
Don't say that.
Isn't that a bit harsh? No, life's harsh.
Whatever drives one to do this as a living, perhaps some people shouldn't.
Tell us how it went, more or less.
I didn't do as good as I'd like but that's always the thing.
- You delivered in the end, right? - Yeah, yeah.
But what about, as far as the man goes, you know, he's pretty solid? Wood? Near the end, yeah.
At the beginning, no.
- Really? - Yeah, it's just there's so many people.
There's a lot of people, I was nervous working for Shanahan, cos he's a big director.
If you get nervous, it's hard to work, but, yeah, near the end, he went fine.
There were so many people, it was so choppy.
They didn't wait and say "Are you ready?" They go "0K, you must be ready.
" Fuck, I'm not ready.
And once they do that, that makes wham! You got ten times more stress right there.
It's like, you know "Hurry up!" How did you feel when you saw JJ and he was soft for a little while? I felt bad because I know what the director and the cameraman was feeling, they were getting impatient, but I felt for JJ more than anything because it was his first time working for this director.
- How long have you been in the business? - Damn near four years.
- How much longer do you think you'll be in? - About a week.
Why? Well, just with the seven inconclusives Now, what is that, what are the seven inconclusives? 0K, there are seven people, we've had two positives in less than a week.
- In what? - In HIV.
I mean, now, it's like forget this, I'm not risking my life any more, you know, to make this much money.
I can make this much more money doing other things.
What d'you reckon, JJ - are you worried about these tests? No.
I have a death wish, so it doesn't really matter.
The world of porno performers was turning out to be kind of depressing.
Where were the parties, the glitz and the glamour? I was beginning to lose faith, but then, a breakthrough.
Word came that I'd been cast in a movie called Snowbound.
It was shooting on location in the mountains, so I arranged to ride up with one of the other actors, Troy Halston.
be here in a second.
- All right.
Hello, puppy, hello, hello.
- I'm Louis, nice to meet you.
- Hello, Louis.
Snowbound was a gay film, so I was surprised to learn that Troy considers himself to be straight.
In the words of the business, Troy was gay for pay.
It seems interesting to me that you'd be straight and work in gay films.
It took a while to, erm to get used to the idea of being with a man.
You go through a period of time where you think "I need the money, so I'll do the work.
" And then, you do it a few times and then you're like, "If I'm doing the work, what's wrong with me?" You have a great back and forth in your head.
Do you have any rules in terms of what you will and won't do? I have things that I do that I don't like to do more than other things.
I would rather be the driver than anything else.
I don't like to kiss, I don't like to suck dick, I don't like I don't like getting fucked in the ass.
But presumably, being in gay porno, those things crop up from time to time I imagine.
You're imagining correctly.
0K.
Before we head down there, can we run a few lines? Sure can.
So I walk in, and I say "I love you.
" Come on, put some feeling into it.
I'm not being paid for this.
I'm helping you, I'm not being paid.
Right.
I love you.
0h, come on! Say it with some feeling.
I don't even know you.
That's acting.
I love you.
You're giving the same read every time.
Go "I love you!" I love you.
- That was better.
- Right.
So, try again.
I love you.
Are you the director of Snowbound? Producer.
- Producer.
- I'm Dan.
- Nice to meet you.
I'm Louis Theroux.
- Hi, Louis.
Hi, Bill, you're the director.
I'm Louis from the BBC.
- I'm Louis.
- Louis, nice to meet you.
- How's the shoot going? - Well, it's going 0K.
With any shoot you can come up with a few problems, especially getting it started.
Yeah.
Are we talking wood problems? Wood problems, yes.
Especially when you have three guys in a scene, whereas versus a straight scene or a bisexual scene, you have three guys in a guy scene, you have a lot more wood to be concerned with.
That's interesting, yeah, that makes sense.
So, I'm waiting for three people.
- About my character.
- Yes.
What can you tell me about the ranger? 0K, well, the ranger basically is the authority figure.
Is the ranger gay? I don't think a ranger's necessarily gay, I think a ranger's asexual.
Right, he would be asexual.
We think of them as sexy like police officers but they're not, are they? No.
Evening, fellas, I'm just out warning everybody Good evening, fellas, I'm just warning Good evening, fellas, I am Good evening, fellas.
I'm just warning everybody Do you think you'd go a bit slower? Good evening, fellas.
I'm just warning everybody Has he met them before? Everybody knows everybody.
Action.
- Good evening, Ranger, come on in.
- Evening.
Evening, gentlemen.
I'm just out telling everyone to be on the lookout for an escapee from Jordan Valley Prison.
Is he as cute as his picture? Officer, we'll keep our eyes open for anybody that looks suspicious.
You can keep that composite, and if you need to, call me.
Yeah, Officer, any time we need you, we'll call you.
Good night, gentlemen.
- Good night, Officer.
- Good night.
Good ni-ight! Cut.
Bill, was I 0K? - You were fine.
- You sure? - You were great.
- I didn't screw it up? You were fine.
You sure, Bill? - Hey, Troy.
- How you doing this morning? - Good? - Yeah.
What's on the cards for you today? Erm do my sex scene, a little more dialogue and then I'll be done.
Then you go ski.
Then we can go skiing.
- TJ? - Uh-huh? Just come in here for a second.
Uh-huh.
0h, finish eating.
0r finish what's in your mouth.
Is this your scene, Troy? Yes, it is.
What're you gonna be doing? Showering, right? Is this the one we rehearsed yesterday? No.
Come on, the one we did outside, you know "I love you"? Yes, it is.
"I love you.
" Yes, it is.
Like this, or something? Um Yeah, that's good.
Yeah, he can be like that, that's good.
How you feeling, Troy? All right.
You're gonna cross in, you're gonna sit down on the toilet, then basically the oral will be here and then we'll move the fucking up to the living room so you don't have to be wet and try to keep hard-ons.
0K, I'm rolling.
And action.
Troy said he's straight.
It's like "Who cares?" We all know what we have to do, we come here and do it.
If you don't do it, you shouldn't be here.
0h, yeah.
So, basically, in the scene we just saw bits of, we had two guys, Brent and Troy, who're both basically straight or have been straight, doing a gay scene.
Is that unusual? It is.
Usually it's a cardinal sin to put two straight guys together, but I felt that they were strong enough performers that I didn't need to worry about it.
- Yeah.
- So And they've proven me right.
What d'you think it does to a guy's head? You know, someone like Troy, who says he's straight but he's acting in a gay porno.
Well, you need to be, whoever it is needs to be really secure in their sexuality.
You can see people who explode, commit suicide or go off and live in Idaho or kill their sugar daddies or whatever.
You know, the straight boys who can't handle it, the psycho straight boys as I call them.
That's terrible.
It is, but it's a fact of it's a fact of the business.
It's because the models are conflicted in what their sexuality is, and what they're doing.
We're gonna take a smoke break.
What's happening? They're waiting for the classic money shot and we're not getting it.
From Troy? Yeah, from Troy.
Is he using magazines? Yeah, they always use magazines at this point.
You don't wanna sit there and be it's a waste of time.
Any stimulus that can help the model achieve their money shot.
And they are girly mags? They're two girly magazines, I think one's bi.
What d'you call this part of the job? Give me the money! - Hey, afternoon, gentlemen.
- It's the man.
- How you doing? - How was the scene? It took me a while to finish it, but I got it done.
- Yeah.
- So So, what you up to now? - Going skiing.
- Yeah.
Box cover.
So, Troy, it's been nice hanging with you, man.
Yes, it's been nice having you with me.
It's been interesting to see you at work.
At first I was like, can he really be straight and act in gay movies? But it took you so long to do that scene, now I'm starting to think you probably are straight.
Starting to think? I just spent three hours naked for $1,500.
Yeah.
Know what I'm saying? It takes you at least a week, right? I just did it in four hours.
Whacking off to a bunch of girly mags.
Right, you've seen my magazines all sitting out there, didn't you? The producer and director said you were using girly mags.
It's not easy but it's doable.
Yeah, but you were going down on a guy, though, right? Unfortunately, yeah.
You enjoyed it a little bit though, didn't you? 0h, come on, now.
I don't practise it out in normal life.
It was time to head back to the valley.
I'd heard that JJ had been cast in a new film to be directed by a 23-year-old called Rob Black.
Black had a reputation for being a little more provocative than the likes of Susan and her friends at Vivid Video.
I decided to pay him a visit.
What we do, what I do, what we all do here at Elegant Angel is we bring something where you watch it and you go "I can't believe what I just watched.
" Here, here's a box cover.
You see this, "Wow," right? That's a cute girl, erotic, but, you know, but this - which one stands out? Which one do you go "What am I looking at?" What is that? This one.
This, everyone does this.
Any jamoke with an 8mm camera could go to Jim South's office and get a couple girls, a couple guys and say "0K, we're gonna have some sex in a bed.
Here's a porno movie.
" Sodomania 7, I loved that freakin' thing, I loved it.
Why Sodomania 7? It's a good movie.
Part six and part eight just aren't quite as good? - Not as good as seven.
- Really? Yeah, seven is It's like Rocky 4.
This is like the first Rocky.
- Really? - Yeah, you know, it's the best one.
The movie I'm working on now is called Forced Entry.
It sounds a little bit, you know, it sounds a little bit naughty.
Yeah, it is, it's pretty bad.
Basically, the theme of the movie is is about is like about rape.
So, yeah Is that legal? Yeah, no, I dunno.
Is it legal? That's our legal adviser right there.
No one's actually getting raped.
No one's being hurt in it, but that's what the basic premise is.
Tell him who you are.
- JJ? - Yeah.
- Hey, this is Israel over at Elegant Angel - Hey.
What's the word on JJ? He's worked here in the company and he did good.
I don't know how long he's been in there, for a month or two.
I don't know, however long, so I'm gonna give him a shot.
I never used him, so I give 'em all a shot.
Yeah, is it the gangbang thing? Who's the girl? Tell you what, I'll put you on the line with Rob, he'll give you the details.
Ask him if he's all set with all his tests.
Yes, I'm picking up the last of my tests.
They should be all clear.
- You'll be ready by one o'clock tomorrow? - Yeah.
- All right, then.
I'll call you back later.
- Oh, OK.
- Bye.
- Bye.
What are the tests? There's certain tests that every performer is required to take and that's the AIDS, HIV, DNA, Western Blotch tests.
Exactly like that.
Let me see that.
So, I think you know about these.
Yeah.
What's my stage name? Your stage name is Sir Lance A Lot.
What d'you think? You ready? Let's toss him in a scene.
- This guy's ready to work.
- Let's do it tomorrow.
Do you really want me to do it? - Yeah.
- Why? This'll put this'll fucking put you over the top.
Everyone, the papers'll be printing about you.
They'll be like "You'll never guess what this BBC journalist did.
"He went to America and was in a porno.
" That'd be big time, man.
That'd be big time.
It just wouldn't fly, not on BBC 2.
If our people here in America, if Mike Wallace or Morley Safer and them, you know, if they go and investigative report, they go and pretend they're like a construction worker, they would do it.
Heraldo Rivera, that motherfucker's in everything! You see him gambling Show the cameras that.
Wait, let me see that.
Let me see it.
Where's your penis? Let me see that.
Look at that penis, it's Christ, take a look at this.
I'll give you a rate, 250 bucks.
- There's no way I can do it.
- Why not? Because, um It's just not It's just not something people in Britain wanna see, really.
Yeah, but it could make you a star.
Can I just say, I really do appreciate the offer, I seriously do, and I'm very flattered and honoured.
Well, if you ever, you know, get fired from the BBC, come over here, you got a job right here at Elegant Angel.
- I appreciate that.
- You'd be one of my guys, man.
- You'd be in all my movies.
- Yeah.
That's very, very kind.
Okey-doke.
So, where do we meet you tomorrow? Probably here.
Here and then we'll make our way Where's the shoot happening? - Um - 0n a sound stage? No.
In a special place called Yanniville.
Rob? Rob? There he is! - Rob, can we come in? - Come on in.
Where's my man JJ? He couldn't Israel, what happened with JJ today? They drew blood five days ago and they lost the results, so he couldn't work today.
We had a couple of people, two people test positive for HIV, so in turn, now, it's a stringent tight on everyone, so everyone has to have three tests.
They don't have three tests, they can't work.
So, we got somebody else and made it a bigger scene and that's where we're at.
Who'd you get instead? We've got Paul Cox and we've got Dick Nasty.
That man right there, Dick Nasty.
How you doing? Is your arm 0K? 0h, this is just for the scene.
It's supposed to be fake.
It comes off before the scene starts.
- Really? - Yeah.
Ready? Action.
Can you help me get this box in here? Cos I can't lift it with my arm.
0h, thank you.
Put it on top of that stuff there for me.
- That's fine.
- 0h! I love this stuff.
You got long fingers.
I have long fingers.
You wanna hurt her? I want it tighter than this! See, now, if you fucked her like this, that would be illegal.
We couldn't do that.
We couldn't sell it.
- Why? - Because that's considered bondage.
How you feeling, Lexi? Kinda weird.
Where to? Put her right on the fuck altar.
As Rob Black's vision came to life, I felt I'd seen enough.
Maybe more than I wanted to see.
I don't wanna get in your way, so, you just do your thing, - You got it, buddy.
- You wanna make a cameo? - What're you guys doing? - I don't think so.
- Are we ready? - Yeah, we're ready.
You're gonna walk in and you'll be like, "Phil! I got a real one, stop playing with those fucking dummies.
" Lexi, you're gonna be like "Huh!" And then Richard's gonna say "I'm gonna take the tape off you, "but if you make a sound, I'm gonna let Phil here go" More than ever, I was wondering what kept a nice kid like JJ in this business.
Could we get two lemonades, please? So, I arranged to meet up with JJ at one of his favourite hangouts - the local mall.
One large and one regular, please.
We were just over at the Rob Black shoot.
Don't you feel now with two people who are HIV positive, it's just a matter of time before there's more.
You must be worried.
Basically, you have unprotected sex But I don't think about it, so I assume I'm safe.
You know? And, that way I don't go home and worry every night.
If you did that, you'd just quit.
Maybe quitting wouldn't be a bad option in that case.
I guess if you're worried about it, yeah, whereas, I don't, so, you know, it's either this or be stuck in the military again and I'd rather do this.
If the benefits were better, would you have stayed in the military? Over this? No! Right now there's nothing you could give me I'd do over this.
- Why? - Because I like this.
What do you love about it? The way I'm treated.
You actually feel like they whether it's an act or not, you feel like they give a damn about you, whereas in the military, I know they don't give a damn about me.
There's more to the outside world than just the military.
Having a hard time in the military, doesn't mean you should just say, "Porno's the only thing for me.
" Yeah, but I had a hard time otherwise too.
- Really? - Yeah.
I just don't I mean, I like this, this is treating me nice.
Treating me the way I wanna be treated.
What do you mean you had a hard time otherwise? I've finally found somewhere where I like being, where the people like me being there, and where I'm appreciated.
And You know, I'm happy with it.
And it makes me happy, so why would I wanna leave this? What if this work doesn't work out - what do you do then? Nothing.
So what does "nothing" mean? It means I have no contingency for that situation.
I dunno.
Really.
No contingency plan.
JJ's reJection of the outside world was absolute.
I wondered if this was the trait that unified all the male performers - that each had been wounded by mainstream society and taken refuge in the porno subculture.
As for me, I was due back in the world of the fully clothed.
I had Just one last piece of business to take care of.
Jim, thanks very much.
My pleasure.
I'm taking off, so I thought I'd take my photo with me, so that when I become a star you don't sell it or put it on the internet.
I'm not gonna say what I was gonna say, but I'll be nice.
0K, so you're going back to Did you get any interest, by the way? Was there any leads? Did you show it to anyone? - A couple of people were interested - No, be serious.
but I told them you were probably a little too expensive.
You understand I'm not really, I was never gonna become a porno performer but it was a gimmick that I used to understand when I report the story.
It was a test.
Did we pass? It wasn't a test.
It wasn't a test.
0K, is this the right picture? - Yes.
- 0K.
Thanks for hooking us up with JJ, by the way.
- No problem.
- He's a real - Nice kid.
nice kid.
He's too nice for this business.
Well, there's a lot of nice people in this business, but I think the better word is, easygoing, clean-cut, all-American, pardon the expression, type person, but, er the book is not always what it seems to be.
He is a nice person but we have a lot of nice people.
We had you for a week.
I mean, how can you do better than that? 0K? Do you know that I actually did get an offer of work? - Did you? - Yes.
That's great.
- D'you wanna know who it's from? - Yeah.
Rob Black.
That's 0K, he's a good shooter.
That's Elegant Angel, I believe.
- Yes.
- Very good company.
And, um I chickened out.
That's not unusual.
You know what, though? I didn't chicken out cos I was afraid I wouldn't get wood, I chickened out because it just made me feel kinda funny.
It can, it can.
We understand.
Some can do it, some can't do it.
Some people, it's their forte, some, it's not.
It's a business that messes with your head.
Well, depends on how strong mentally you are.
We look at it differently.
I look at it like, this is a great way to work two/three days a week, make a lot of money, if you can handle it mentally.
- 0K? - Thanks very much, Jim.
- Thanks.
- A pleasure.
- My pleasure.
- See you next time.
- 0K.
Bye-bye now.
- Bye.
- Bye, Jim junior.
Goodbye.
- Nice seeing you.
World Modeling.
0K, what is your name? Right.
Would you like to make an appointment? 0K, and again, you understand it is nude modelling? 0K, um What about tomorrow morning? What d'you think? You really did it, huh? - Yeah.
- That's funny.
What about that one? Just ask to see it.
You don't need an excuse.
- You don't need a reason.
- I do love this picture a lot.
0h! Was this from Jim South? - Yeah.
- How did I know that? Great.
That's great.
That's great.
Look at that, three that's greats.
- Why are you laughing? - It's funny.
- Yeah.
What d'you think? - I dunno.
- Can I keep this? - No, we need it for the show.
So, one to ten, how would you rate the talent you see in that Polaroid? I would say you have a great body.
- What a lie.
- You're not fat, you don't have any big tattoos.
Now you're in, man.
- I'm in the club.
- You're in.
Would I work with him? No, don't answer, I can't take it.
I'd have to think about that.
I wouldn't work with me either.