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The Adams Report |
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Column #524 - June 16, 2005 |
Last week, I wrote about author (and former porn star) Rich Merritt, whose memoir, Secrets of a Gay Marine Porn Star (Kensington Books), will be published this month. Now comes word Mr. Merritt was fired from his Atlanta law firm due to the revelations in his book. "They told me some of the contents would diminish my effectiveness as an attorney with clients," Mr. Merritt said in an interview. "They made sure it was not a sexual orientation issue." I guess that makes it a porn issue, then? In 1995, as Danny Orlis, Mr. Merritt appeared in a string of porno flicks, including Bad Moon Rising and Bullseye (both for All Worlds). Until three months ago, he worked at the Powell Goldstein firm in the areas of products liability litigation and personal injury defense. PORN AWARDS EXTRAVAGANZA The latest edition of the Gay Chicago Magazine Grabby Awards went off without a hitch Saturday, May 28, in the Windy City. As expected, BuckleRoos (Buckshots/Colt) was the big winner with seven awards, including Best Gay Video, the same award it captured at the Adult Video News GAYVN Awards in March. BuckleRoos also earned Best Director (Jerry Douglas and John Rutherford), Best Screenplay (Mr. Douglas), Best Nonsex Performance (Zak Spears), Best Supporting Actor (Owen Hawk) and Best Three-way Scene (Brad Benton, Mr. Hawk and Diego de la Hoya), as well as a "Surprise" Grabby Award for Best Cumshots (the double-autofellatio scene with Ricky Martinez and Arpad Miklos). Three films tied for three wins apiece: Rascal Video's Bolt earned Best All-Sex Video, tied for Best Duo Sex Scene (Johnny Hazzard and Zak Spears) and Best Group Sex Scene; Titan Media's Horse: Fallen Angel 5 won Best Art Direction, Best Gay DVD Extras and Best Leather Video; and Wet Palms 1-3 from Jet Set Productions earned Best Actor (Brad Benton, well deserved), Best Comedy Video and Best Solo Performance (Chad Donovan). Messrs. Benton, Donovan and Hawk had a very good night as each of them walked away with three honors apiece. One of Mr. Donovan's honors was for the Wall of Fame (he was also inducted into the Adult Video News GAYVN Hall of Fame this year). Fellow Wall of Fame honorees include Rod Barry, Chris Green, Grant Larson, Dillon Press, reviewer-turned-producer Jeremy Spencer and director Chris Ward. Double-winners (one is never enough, right?) include the inexhaustible Tag Adams (Performer and Duo Sex Scene), Rod Barry (Group Sex Scene, Wall of Fame), Jerry Douglas (Director and Screenplay), Johnny Hazzard (Group and Duo Sex Scene), Dillon Press (Group Sex Scene, Wall of Fame) and Zak Spears (Duo Sex, Nonsex Performance). Other winning films include Countdown (Centaur Films) for Best International Video; Drilled (Toolbox Trilogy) from Raging Stallion for Best Fetish Video; Hot House Entertainment's Perfect Fit in a Best Duo Sex Scene tie (Tag Adams and Aiden Shaw); Taking Flight 1-2 (Falcon Studios) for Best Videography (by Max Phillips); and The Road to Hopeful (Hot House) for Best Classic Gay DVD. Whenever I cover an awards show in this column, inevitably e-mail will follow questioning the amount of ink spilled (so to speak). And my answer is always the same: There is so much porn released every year, it can be tough to separate the wheat from the chaff, especially if you're on a limited budget. Porn awards are a great guide for figuring out what skin flick might be worth your time and money. GOSSIP DESK We all know about that heterosexual movie star who couldn't possibly be anything other than heterosexual and about whom there is absolutely no evidence on this planet or any other that he might be anything other than heterosexual, who won a $10 million judgment against porn star Kyle Bradford a few years ago, because Mr. Bradford displayed piss-poor judgment when he gave an interview to a foreign newspaper and intimated that this heterosexual movie star might not actually be heterosexual. Anyway, in late May ,the New York Daily News ran an item about another porn star nicknamed "Big Red," whose existence is pretty much old news to industry insiders. Frankly, Big Red is gay porn's "Deep Throat." The newspaper alleged Big Red was planning to sell his story. Performer-turned-director Paul Barresi, who moonlights as a private detective, allegedly got into the act by allegedly introducing Big Red to infamous private eye Anthony Pellicano, who is now serving jail time for unrelated offenses. According to the Daily News, after allegedly arranging for Big Red to allegedly meet with Mr. Pellicano, Mr. Baressi allegedly turned around and filled in Bert Fields, lawyer to that heterosexual movie star. Mr. Fields fired off one of his famously threatening cease-and-desist letters, and that was that for Big Red. For now, at least. I'm sure Paul Baressi will be happy to fill in any details. Allegedly. DEPT. OF SELF-PROMOTION My Q&A with nasty (in a good way!) Jacob Slader appeared in the previous issue of XXX Showcase magazine, so check it out for some revealing tidbits about Mr. Slader's current mindset and intriguing past; I also have an interview with the gorgeous Jason Ridge in an upcoming issue. Onscreen, my directing efforts Catch Me (All Worlds Video) and Shooters (MSR Videos) are both available on DVD, while Sex with Strangers (also All Worlds) will be on shelves later this summer. And I'm happy to report I've landed a new directing gig for RAD Video. Plus, on the publishing front, I'm heading to New York City next month for the next research leg of my book on the gay porn biz. We're inches away from announcing who will be publishing this thing. Stay tuned for specifics. Finally this week, I want to take a moment to honor the late, great Johnny Rahm, who took his own life last November. His real name was Barry "J.T." Rogers, and he would have turned 40 on June 11. We miss you, Barry. Here's praying you've discovered, in another world, the serenity that eluded you in this one. Porn Star Birthdays for June 16 through June 22: Gabriel Lee, Carter Rhodes, Chad Savage, Taylor Westin (June 16); Nik Angelo, Dane Brando, Victor Rios, Robby Taylor (June 17); Wes Addams, Peter Anderson, Joksan, Steve Waye (June 18); Jeremy Brooks, Johnny Dean, John Devilin, Wade Hunter, Caleb Michaels, Pavol Zurek (June 19); Paulo Centori, the late Mason Flynt, Tom Howard, Lucas James, Ryen Matthews, Bobby Steele (June 20); Alain DuPont, Janos Volt (June 21); Scott Austin, Rodd Champion, Vince Cobretti, Luis Machado (June 22). |
- J.C. Adams |
| J.C. Adams has covered the gay adult video industry since 1995 and has served as the editor of Inside Porn Magazine and Unzipped Monthly. In addition to the "Adams Report" weekly gossip and news column, his work has appeared in Adult Video News, Gay Chicago Magazine, Genre, HX and many other print and online publications. You can reach him at: JCAdamsXXX@aol.com. |