SKINFLICKS The Inside Story of the X-Rated Video Industry Kindle Edition

This book would make an excellent reference if one were writing a paper on the transition pornography (and law enforcement's approach to dealing with it) made from quick 8mm loops and bachelor party smut into home video production with sophisticated filming techniques. In the mid to late 1970s, porn did what it does best. It led the way for Hollywood. This is not a lightly-made claim and most students of film are quite aware that while Hollywood may purchase the bus, porn has always been the driver. Just to cite one example among many, despite the fact that betamax was a higher quality product with better picture quality and sound, pornographers found it quicker and easier to duplicate VHS so it became the winner of the first video wars. Additionally, by adhering to the law of supply & demand, porn set the early price points for home video rental product. While such decisions made hundred of millions of dollars for the porn industry, Hollywood started measuring profits in tens of billions.However, the events covered in "Skinflicks" largely took place 30-35 years ago. It was a time of mob involvement, seedy red-light districts zoned by the cities and packed with strip clubs, adult toy stores, peep shows, and aged theaters running a constant stream of whatever could press the borders of obscenity laws without quite crossing the line. Women were exploited, used up, drugged up, and then tossed aside as looks faded and fickle audiences demanded an endless parade of the young and beautiful.If you are picking this title up to learn what the industry is like today, you're wasting your money. There are numerous other books that are more up to date and relevant that can provide what you seek. Ron Jeremy has written an excellent autobiography, just to site one example.On the other hand, if you are looking for information about the control organized crime once had over the business and how it got that way in the first place, you will find "Skinflicks" to be very informative, if not very engrossing.Apart from the age of the book itself, the biggest problem is that the author doesn't seem to ever decide whether he wanted to write an investigative expose' ala "All The President's Men" or "60 Minutes" or write tale of titillation and exploitation. As a result, the reader gets neither. Large sections of the book cover trials and legal cases - both famous and all but unknown - and the impact they had on the industry itself. Then others focus on the changes made by the film makers in reaction to or anticipation of the ever shifting laws. Much of it would be utterly absurd if it weren't true. Editor's would peruse film frame by frame trying to decide when something crossed the line. Without getting too specific in a public forum I'm literally talking about things like "how many knuckles constitute this term" and how many toes will cross the line of decency and dip into the pool of "obscene."For most folks such things are of mild interest at best. Still, if you purchase this and read it thinking of it as something of a snapshot of the early days or a time capsule of the birth of what is now an industry where women not only get paid well, but sometimes start their own media mini-empires, it's well worth the cost. Just know what you're buying before you begin. Hopefully I've managed to help you in that process.

Dave Jennings provides the most complete and CREDIBLE description of the genesis of the x-rated video industry. He was there. He saw it, he did it, he felt it. The book might be a little too long but at least he knows something about Writing, so it’s not hard to stay engaged. Buy it.

An interesting tale of the porn industry from the early days to the early 2000's. It's told from the perspective of industry insider/crewman and not a performer as most industry novels are told. I liked this perspective because it seemed more genuine compared to porn actor memoirs who portray themselves in a more flattering light then what might be true. Nothing overly salacious, interesting stories especially regarding the anti-porn groups, political\religious agendas, etc that faced the industry. A fast but interesting read.

This is a revealing analysis of porn by someone who has been involved in the adult industry for years as a film maker.The author challenges some of the myths about porn such the perception that women are regularly forced to perform in porn movies by their agents or managers.He wonders why directors should recruit the unwilling when there are so many women who are eager to go into porn.He states that before the video revolution, the most beautiful photo models shunned hardcore pictures. They only stripped for Playboy or Penthouse, publications respectable enough to use as stepping stones to promote their stage, screen and modeling careers. But by the late 1980s this changed.He attributes this change to the money that could be made by adult performers in video. In the film era, stars were lucky to land a dozen porn roles annually. However, the huge volume of video shoots gaves actresses a chance to work steadily, and the speed of bringing videos from set to market make new women stars within months.It is well researched and illustrated with photographs.

This book was a an okay read nothing too special.What it had going for it was being written from the point of view of a movie maker, and his experience dealing with distributors, actors, & the rest of the people that are involved in movies but not talked about. The author also shares a lot of personal stories about his experiences and thing she learned. That is why I read these types of books to get a unique and first hand perspective as well as inside information.What it had going against it was that it was not the best laid out book. It seemed to jump around some in its time-line. The author also went into detail in some parts about the type of equipment he used, but he talked about it in the fact that everyone reading his book was an expert and knew and used the same equipment that he used. He also introduced a lot of different people in it and it was sometimes tough keeping the people straight.Overall it was an okay book and if you are interested in the porn industry then it is worth a read.

The author covers change in porn from cheap 16mm loops to CD's. Unfortunately the book was written before the internet changed everything again in a radical way. His reporting of the Traci Lords débâcle was very interesting and sheds a new light on her and her calculating ways instead of the popular consensus of her being exploited. The same is reported about Linda Lovelace whose religious conversion prompted her to make many false accusations and claims, though I can understand her reasons for doing it.The best part of the book was in the last third when he details the hypocritical and in my mind unconstitutional methods the government pursued in their attempt to eliminate porn. I always thought Edward Meese was a moron, this book adds to my conviction. Some types of porn deserve to be illegal and laws outlawing them are justified, but the majority of porn and the decision to watch it should be left to the individual. Whenever the government starts to dictate what its citizens can and cannot read, the road to fascism becomes shorter.

Very entertaining & revealing look onto the Adult Industry. The former director of Adult, shares his life and thoughts in this revealing expose of the Porn Industry. This book takes the reader from loops of the 60's through to the late 90's.I recommend this book to all who want to know the history of Porn, taken from a man who tells it warts and all.Great book.

Fascinating & often funny insider's view of how it all happened.

This book is a fun read and gives interesting inghts and reveals many secrets of an industry many despise.Highly recommendable if you are interested in this subject.Kindle version allows easy searching for stars you are particularly interested in.

A very interesting history of the porn industry.