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Articles by Sam Williams

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Gloria Leonard

The house may be a continent away from Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, and the car — a late-model Chrysler with an "Impeach Bush" sticker on the back — may not measure up to a 1932 Isotta Fraschini, but as one of the leading starlets of the adult film industry's golden age, Gloria Leonard admits to feeling a certain affinity for the fictional film goddess Norma Desmond of the film-noir classic "Sunset Boulevard."

Sam Williams ·
profile

Karl Edwards Looks Back

With its cool ocean breezes, lesbian-dominated cultural scene and spotty cellphone coverage, Provincetown, Mass., is just about the perfect place for a Canadian gay porn impresario looking to get away from it all and prepare for the next nine-month Ontario winter.

Sam Williams ·
opinion

Incorporating in Nevada

It's a poorly kept secret that not all states are created equal when it comes to the benefits and drawbacks of incorporation.

Sam Williams ·
profile

Naughty America

It takes a family to create quality Internet pornography. That's the philosophy, at least, of Naughty America, a San Diego, Calif.-based company that takes pride in living outside the adult industry mainstream by, paradoxically enough, embracing the traditional themes of the skin trade.

Sam Williams ·
profile

Michelle Freridge

Michelle Freridge doesn't boast a porn industry pedigree, but to paraphrase the most famous words written by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, she knows an oppressed populace when she sees it.

Sam Williams ·
trends

Being A Stud

For adult star Dave Pounder, the shooting day ritual is similar to any professional athlete's warm-up regimen: a small-to-medium meal 2-3 hours before arriving on the set, a single Viagra pill 15-30 minutes before shooting, a quick shower, a zinc tablet for extra "pop," a quick sit-down with the actress or actresses to establish chemistry and, finally, show time.

Sam Williams ·
profile

Rob Spallone Courts HBO

It's the Tuesday before Valentine's Day, and Rob Spallone is a busy man. Apart from the seasonal challenges of balancing life and looking after his kids with his alimony-reduced income, there's also the usual porn production logistics. Ever in search for the next high-concept title, Spallone, the head of one of the industry's most reliable gonzo shops, Star World Productions, fields half a dozen calls from eager-to-work talent in the midst of a 30-minute telephone interview.

Sam Williams ·
profile

The Branding of Braincash

Talk to most Braincash affiliates and you quickly get the sense that Willam Goldman's old observation about nobody knowing anything in Hollywood holds doubly true for adult content.

Sam Williams ·
profile

Ron Jeremy

For Ron Jeremy, it's the last remaining unfulfilled fantasy: a bubbling hot tub, five girls in various stages of nakedness, a big sandwich in one hand and a Miller Lite in the other. Or maybe an American Express card. Jeremy isn't too picky.

Sam Williams ·
opinion

Porn Studies 101

Boston University students eager to get a jump on the college-dating scene have more than just the freshman face book waiting for them as they arrive on campus. This fall, they'll also have Boink, one of the nation's first student-produced porn magazines.

Sam Williams ·
profile

Live and Kicking

When Greg Clayman launched the Internet video company VS Media in 1996, the average American male had a better chance of seeing live sex performed in the Oval Office than over the Internet.

Sam Williams ·
trends

Flickr: A Flash in the Pan

As experiments go, it was somewhere between putting an egg in a microwave and offering free beer at a biker rally. Still, Queens, N.Y., software developer Ericson Smith says the urge to find out what happens when you merge the immediacy of Internet porn with the social classification tactic known as "tagging" was just too compelling to resist.

Sam Williams ·
opinion

Demand High for VOD: 2

In part one we examined the growth of video-on-demand and its role in media convergence. In today's conclusion, we'll look at XonDemand, AEBN and affiliate marketing.

Sam Williams ·
opinion

Demand High for VOD: 1

Lisa S. Lawless is the type of adult industry entrepreneur who prefers the term "erotic" rather than "pornographic." It's not that Lawless shies away from graphic images and content; her Colorado-based website HolisticWisdom.com offers a mixture of sex toys, sex books and videos and features a pair of animated, ejaculating vaginas running side by side in an infinite loop. It's more of a branding issue, really. As a company that caters to both men and women, Holistic Wisdom is built on the premise that not every adult viewer fascinated by sex is ready for the full penetration close-up.

Sam Williams ·
profile

Al Goldstein... Today

With Al Goldstein, it's hard to tell where the schtick stops and the pain starts. A self-described "tired old Jew that needs Viagra to get a stiff dick," the 68-year-old founder of Screw Magazine delivers his life story in such a tight, Lenny Bruce-like rhythm that it almost makes you laugh out of instinct.

Sam Williams ·
opinion

An HD Video Revolution

Staying one step ahead of the pornographic curve isn't for wimps. Just ask Justin Fawcett. A cameraman whose credits include "Introducing Gigi" for Cherry Boxxx Pictures and "Hot and Nasty New Cummers" for Baby Doll Pictures, Fawcett is a recent convert to high-definition video and says he loves the "look" and tighter focus control that comes with the enhanced format. Still, the $5,000 price tag for his Canon XL2 and the soreness in his shoulder are both reminders not to expect a quick return on investment.

Sam Williams ·
profile

The Distribution Biz

For Roy, the American dream started out as a nightmare in disguise: a 1993, full commission telemarketing job in which his highest paycheck amounted to $99.

Sam Williams ·
opinion

Marketing Crossover Appeal

It's a Friday morning, and your top actress is, by her own admission, "really high" and dropping f-bombs left and right in a live radio interview. As a publicity-conscious entertainment industry executive, what do you do?

Sam Williams ·
opinion

Hi-Def DVD

Many technology watchers are now pegging the adult entertainment industry as the ultimate referee in the coming battle over high-definition DVD standards, and if the saying "As pornography goes, so goes technology" holds any truth, then adult companies could have considerable influence over the future of high-definition DVD standards.

Sam Williams ·
opinion

Pornzilla Meets Firefox

A look at Pornzilla's Firefox browser tools and extensions.

Sam Williams ·
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