Coming Soon: A Sarah Palin Porno

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2008/10/coming_soon_the_sarah_palin_po.html

Coming Soon: A Sarah Palin Porno
10/1/08
Jessica Pressler

It was only a matter of time. Last night, someone sent us an ad from Craigslist L.A., supposedly placed by porn producers searching for a Sarah Palin lookalike for an upcoming skin flick. It's since been removed (perhaps they were able to cast Eva Angelina?), but here is the original text for your edification.

Sarah Palin look-alike for an adult film to be shot in next 10 days. Major adult studio. Please send pix, stats etc. ASAP Pay: $2000-3000 No anal required.

Obviously, this is disgusting and horrific, and we must demand that Vivid counter by producing a porno starring a Joe Biden lookalike immediately for parity. But also we're intrigued — by the no-anal clause, of course, and the title potential. Our tipster suggested Impalin' Sarah: The Pork She Couldn't Say "No Thanks" To, but we think they'll probably go with Drill Baby Drill.

Jimi Hendrix estate disputes sex tape

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hFAATNSXFYS2daBqiiAAI5hpdl8AD90DQ7V80

Jimi Hendrix estate disputes sex tape
By DERRIK J. LANG
5-3-8

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The estate of Jimi Hendrix says it questions the authenticity of a sex tape released this week allegedly starring the deceased musician.

"We strongly dispute the claimed authenticity and affirmatively state that Experience Hendrix is neither involved in, nor have we authorized the distribution of this film," Experience Hendrix, the company that controls the rights to Hendrix's music and likeness, said in a statement released Thursday.

Experience Hendrix called the distribution of the tape a "callous attempt to trade on the image and reputation of a deceased artist who is unable to defend himself against such an outrageous and baseless assertion. We are highly offended by the disgraceful portrayal."

In response, Vivid Entertainment co-chairman Steven Hirsch released a statement saying Experience Hendrix's statement "is not in any way a refutation of the authenticity of 'Jimi Hendrix the Sex Tape.' Vivid took considerable time and spent a substantial sum of money to authenticate the footage and we are very comfortable that this is the real thing."

The 11 minutes of footage, reportedly shot in a hotel room about 40 years ago, features a man who appears to be Hendrix engaged in various sexual acts with two women. Vivid released the footage online and on a 45-minute DVD, which also features interviews with women who claimed to personally know Hendrix.

Charles R. Cross, author of the Hendrix biography "Room Full of Mirrors," previously said he had seen the film and doubted the man is Hendrix. Cross said the face and nostrils of the man depicted in the video don't match the guitarist, and the man in the tape is wearing more rings that Hendrix was known to wear.

Hirsch said in his statement that "it's worth noting that the primary nay-sayer about the tape is so-called expert Charlie Cross. How can Charlie say it 'doesn't add up?' I'd like to know what he means by that since he told me personally that he only saw about 30 seconds at the beginning of the footage when Jimi was lying down with his face distorted."

When reached for comment about Hirsch's statement, Cross confirmed he had a conversation with Hirsch when he learned that Vivid Entertainment would release the footage. Cross said he told Hirsch that Hendrix owned a video camera, but he did not think it was Hendrix in the footage.

"It's a question of opinion," Cross told The Associated Press on Friday. "Is it him or not? You could look at it for 30 seconds. You could look at it for an hour. You could look at for 11 minutes. It's either him or it's not him. In my opinion, it's not him."

Porn Providers Rethinking Next-Gen DVD Plans

Robalini's Note: Who would've guess the battle for for DVD standards would turn on "Jenna Haze Oil Orgy"?

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2247595,00.asp

Porn Providers Rethinking Next-Gen DVD Plans
01.10.08
by Chloe Albanesius

LAS VEGAS—The adult film industry is still taking a wait-and-see approach to the Blu-ray /HD DVD wars. But while Blu-ray's perceived costs have pushed some companies into the arms of the HD DVD camp, Warner Bros.' decision last week to exclusively support Blu-ray has some thinking that the end of HD DVD is nigh.

Executives in the adult-film industry spoke Wednesday during the opening day of the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo 2008, which briefly overlaps with the more mainstream Consumer Electronics Show ending Thursday.

"It could be a real sign that things will shift," Jeff Thill, director of video operations for the Hustler Video Group, said about the Warner decision. Thill said he sees no advantage of one format over the other, but is "leaning Blu-Ray" after Warner's announcement.

The Blu-ray camp, led by Sony, has been fighting Toshiba and its HD DVD format for years in a battle reminiscent of the VHS versus Betamax battle. In that fight, Betamax maker Sony's refusal to work with the porn industry helped usher in a VHS victory when the adult industry capitalized on the burgeoning popularity of VCRs and video rentals.

Hustler had some success recently with the Blu-ray release of Jenna Haze Oil Orgy, said Thill, who was on hand to showcase Hustler's latest releases at the annual AVN Adult Entertainment Expo.

The company packaged the "Jenna" disc with an HD DVD and standard version in case users had trouble with Blu-ray, but has thus far not received any complaints. In March, Hustler will release its latest "Barely Legal" DVD in the Blu-ray format, he said.

Hustler has released two titles using the HD DVD format, Thill said. The company expects to release between 15 to 25 high-definition videos in 2008, most of which will probably be Blu-ray, Thill said.

Blu-ray is "a little bit of a headache" because of royalty fees, but it's "six of one, a half dozen of the other" with the format wars, he said. Blu-Ray also "sounds sexier," according to Thill, and there's "an important base in the gaming world" because the popular PlayStation 3 runs Blu-Ray while Microsoft has released an optional HD DVD drive for its Xbox 360 console, Thill said.

Vivid Entertainment, home to porn star Jenna Jameson, has also released videos on Blu-ray and HD, said David Peskin, Vivid's national sales manager. It currently has two Blu-ray titles and three HD DVD titles on the shelves.

Vivid was initially "conservative" with its high-definition re-order numbers, but is "starting to stock a little heavier" since sales have been promising, Peskin said. Vivid has seen Blu-ray sell more units online while HD does better in retail stores, he said.

The company doesn't yet have a format preference. "Both have surpassed expectations," he said, though Peskin also pointed to the PlayStation 3 connection as a plus for Blu-ray.

Some companies have had to bypass Blu-ray altogether. Jackie Ramos, vice president of DVD production for Wicked Pictures, "looked to Blu-ray" when the company was first exploring high-definition about a year ago, but had trouble finding a provider that would produce Blu-ray discs for the adult industry.

Wicked has since released about a half dozen HD DVD titles, but Ramos managed to track down some porn-friendly Blu-ray producers and is now "aggressively" looking at those options.

With the Warner decision, things are "a little more serious," Ramos said, and, to him, it makes sense to examine Blu-Ray should it become the industry standard.

Ramos also had concerns about the Blu-ray price point. There's a copyright aspect you can't get around with Blu-Ray, whereas HD DVD allows you to choose whether or not you want that copyright protection, he said. "With adult industry, HD DVD was friendlier price wise."

Ramos expects to select a Blu-ray producer in the next few weeks and hopes to release Wicked's first Blu-ray title in the next few months, he said. But he was not convinced that the porn industry was driving the debate as it did with VHS and Betamax.

"What really drives it is the availability of players" and what the consumers want, Ramos said. HD capitalized on that by selling cheaper players, but now that many of the major studios have jumped on the Blu-Ray bandwagon, "we'll have to see," Ramos said.

Albert Lazarito, vice president of Silver Sinema, also believes the consumer is key to winning the DVD battle. "With the Warner Brothers decision, the market will direct the outcome," he said. Lazarito is "more than confident that it won't be the adult realm" that selects a final DVD format.

Silver Sinema has been filming in HD because Blu-ray is too expensive, Lazarito said, but his company is "ready to go depending on how the market shifts."

Pink Visual was also turned off by the cost of Blu-ray, explained director of marketing Kim Kysar. "HD DVD was affordable; it was doable. Blu-ray was too expensive," she said.

Pink Visual will release its first HD-DVD video next week.

"Everybody's going to want to have both options," Kysar said. "Blu-Ray could be the next step, but not if nobody uses it and it stays too cost prohibitive."

Kysar also expressed concern about how much the camera would capture in high-definition, a sentiment echoed by Lazarito.

"Imperfections are modified," Lazarito said.

Porn studio sues PornoTube

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.