This is the first chance I've had to look at this book.
Parts of it have knocked me out. Like entering an alternate universe, a primal place where guilt and the superego don't exist….
Yep, an oral history.
My own knowledge of this industry is pretty sparse. And apart from watching Boogie Nights and Inside Deep Throat (a documentary on the movie, told with a style inspired by Boogie Nights), I don't know much.
Here's a scanned bit (from page 156): this really blew my mind. Mind you, this takes place in pre-AIDS New York City. But the audacity, spontaneity, and spirit of this player—like many of the characters in this book—totally staggers me.
Talk about impulsiveness, talk about being reckless, about being punk….
Sharon Mitchell, an East Village resident and newbie XXX actress at this point, had only made one film called Joy:
SHARON MITCHELL: I was very impatient as a young porno star. When Joy finally came out, I got a taste of what it was like to watch myself on the silver screen and see my pussy sixteen feet high—like it should be.
There was a theatre in my neighborhood called the Variety Photoplays on Third Avenue and Thirteenth Street that attracted the raincoat crowd—like the Forty-second Street theaters where the drunk black guys talk back to the movie. You know, this wasn't a "couples theater"—they used to run second-or third-run porn movies along with rock and roll features. It probably had something to do with "community standards"—so the theater wouldn't get busted….
There was a theatre in my neighborhood called the Variety Photoplays on Third Avenue and Thirteenth Street that attracted the raincoat crowd—like the Forty-second Street theaters where the drunk black guys talk back to the movie. You know, this wasn't a "couples theater"—they used to run second-or third-run porn movies along with rock and roll features. It probably had something to do with "community standards"—so the theater wouldn't get busted….
[skipping down]
When I was in theaters and watching my movies, I liked the way I looked; I liked everything about it. So I went over to the Variety, and there I was—on screen—giving John Leslie a blow job.
I was watching myself and looking over at the front or second row, and there was an older gentleman masturbating to me giving John Leslie head on-screen. And in the movie, John was playing an older gentlemen.
So as I was watching this older guy jerking off to me, the idea occurred to me, "What if I actually crawled up and started sucking this guy's dick? That would really be a turn-on!"
He looked like a clean guy—a nice guy. So I was scooting over one seat to the next, jumping across the aisle, watching him masturbate to me. Finally, I crawled up to him and started sucking his dick."
I was watching myself and looking over at the front or second row, and there was an older gentleman masturbating to me giving John Leslie head on-screen. And in the movie, John was playing an older gentlemen.
So as I was watching this older guy jerking off to me, the idea occurred to me, "What if I actually crawled up and started sucking this guy's dick? That would really be a turn-on!"
He looked like a clean guy—a nice guy. So I was scooting over one seat to the next, jumping across the aisle, watching him masturbate to me. Finally, I crawled up to him and started sucking his dick."
This book is a total trip, I'm telling you. No matter how open-minded you think you are, this book will make you feel like a prude. Parts made me gasp.
Oh, the conclusion to the above story?
"So he didn't look down for a while, but when he did, he looked up at the screen, then looked down again, then up again—and then he went "Ugghhh!" and grabbed his chest!
I went, "Oh fuck!"
He was gasping, and he fell over…. So I ran and got one of the gay ushers, and they called 911, and the paramedics came and took him out…."
I went, "Oh fuck!"
He was gasping, and he fell over…. So I ran and got one of the gay ushers, and they called 911, and the paramedics came and took him out…."
That's right: he suffered a heart attack.
=====================================
Postscipt:
You can see it in the film, Taxi Driver – it's the turning point, where Iris (Jodie Foster, playing a young hooker) tries to get in his cab and escape.
=========================Postscipt:
Variety Photoplays Theatre
110 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10003 United States
New York, NY 10003 United States
You can see it in the film, Taxi Driver – it's the turning point, where Iris (Jodie Foster, playing a young hooker) tries to get in his cab and escape.
In June of 2005, the theater was torn down.
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| PERMANENT OBSCURITY: Or a Cautionary Tale of Two Girls and Their Misadventures with Drugs, Pornography and Death by Dolores Santana (as told to Richard Perez) Richard Perez's PERMANENT OBSCURITY on Amazon |
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IS THIS EXPLOITATION NOVEL RIGHT FOR YOU?
"Notebook" for the novel --> http://permanentobscurity.com/
I need to emphasize that PERMANENT OBSCURITY is not "erotica," although it has BDSM overtones (leaning toward so-called "femdom"). It's really a dark comedy about bohemia and the difficulty of relationships (female/male and female/female) and finally the big question for anyone in the arts (or in the tabloid media): sudden fame vs. permanent anonymity. The style of the novel is inspired by '60s over-the-top sexploition films like those of Russ Meyer (FASTER PUSSYCAT KILL KILL, BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS) and those Something Weird Videos, like A SWEET SICKNESS and BAD GIRLS GO TO HELL [so-called “cautionary tales”]) -- updated to the Bush era (circa 2006).
PERMANENT OBSCURITY: Or a Cautionary Tale of Two Girls and Their Misadventures with Drugs, Pornography and Death by Dolores Santana (as told to Richard Perez)
Written in the 3 parts:
PERMANENT OBSCURITY: PART 1 - THE KINKY HOOK
Whereupon we are introduced to Dolores and Serena and their kinky shenanigans.
PERMANENT OBSCURITY: PART 2 - STRANGE HUNGERS
Whereupon Dolores and Serena grapple with relationship/sexuality issues, life-threatening drug dealers, irreversible money woes. Culminating in a desperate attempt at making a so-called "femdom" film.
PERMANENT OBSCURITY: PART 3 - NO MAN'S LAND
Whereupon Dolores and Serena find themselves in a place not expected. Namely, hell.
PERMANENT OBSCURITY: Or a Cautionary Tale of Two Girls and Their Misadventures with Drugs, Pornography and Death by Dolores Santana (as told to Richard Perez)
¤*.¸¸.·´¨`°*» PERMANENT OBSCURITY: the title and where it came from --> http://permanentobscurity.com/perm-obsc-origins-title.htm
¤*.¸¸.·´¨`°*» The subversive power of sexploitation:
pre-porn era sexploitation and its influence --
http://permanentobscurity.com/perm-obsc-sexploitation-1.htm
¤*.¸¸.·´¨`°*» BAD GIRL CINEMA (and its influence on the novel):
http://permanentobscurity.com/perm-obsc-origins-badgirls.htm
Buy now from AMAZON (U.S.) >> http://www.amazon.com/Permanent-Obscurity-Cautionary-Misadventures-Pornography/dp/0971341540
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~: About the Author:
Initially published small literary magazines, Richard Perez has also written for The New York Times (a newspaper he doesn't read.) His first novel, The Losers' Club (aka: The Losers' Club: Complete Restored Edition) has three foreign translations to date: Korean, Turkish, Italian. PERMANENT OBSCURITY: or a Cautionary Tale of Two Girls and Their Misadventures with Drugs, Pornography, and Death — his second novel — also reflects his infatuation with bohemia and willful nonconformists.
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