"Demystifying altporn will be quality entertainment," said Eon McKai, who will be enlisting the likes of Dana DeArmond, Violet Blue, and Winkytiki for his panel discussion. McKai will be screening the documentary Llik Your Idols about New York's 80's-era Cinema of Transgression Movement that involved Lydia Lunch, Richard Kern, and Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore.
McKai likens Cinema of Trangression to steveporn.
"The work of Nick Zedd and Richard Kern have a major influence on how alt girls are captured by the moving image with sound," he said, referring, I think, to what we know as film, "so for me it's the perfect type of movie for me to help set the tone for this new Los Angeles institution. Llik has a good non-porn insider appeal. It's funny to note what the alt porn movent takes from that movement."
In an e-mail, McKai added: "if alt was a the C.T. was a FW to the film school establishment... The Alt Porn Movment tasks the same attended in it's PR and it's spirit... "
I don't know what this means, but I think FW might mean "Fuck You", so McKai might be saying that steveporn is a Fuck You to the prevailing porn standards the way the Cinema of Trangression was a Fuck You to the film school movement.
I have a feeling that McKai can actually spell just fine, but he enjoys having his words puzzled over and interpreted.
On the other side of the spectrum, veteran director (and still very hard at work) Roy Karch moderates a panel on porn's Golden Age that will feature Marilyn Chambers, Christy Canyon, Seka, Ron Jeremy, and the beloved director Henri Pachard.
"All these people are in the Hall of Fame," Karch said, "including me."
"The AVN Hall of Fame? Make sure you mention AVN a lot during your appearance at this XBiz event..." I said.
"Well, they're probably also in the XRCO Hall of Fame," Karch said.
"The showcase will feature a compendium of clips from some of the hottest and more prominent films from the Golden Age of Porn," Karch said. "The clips wil be interspersed with conversation from the panel led by me. The showcase will close with a section devoted to questions and answers from the audience. Bring your queries for the panel along with your favorite t-shirt, autograph book, or whatever you use to keep the autographs of your favorite classic porners. Now's your chance to be up close and personal with the ones that got you off time and time again."
The Festival is in its first year. People close to the proceedings have said that it was an "organizational nightmare" and "emotional rollercoaster" but are excited about Saturday's party, film contributions from outside the porn realm, and the prospect of mingling Porn Valley with Hollywood Boulevard.
Festival Director Richard Mayer of Silver Lake swore at sponsor XBiz.
"The first year of every festival can be a real sonofabitch," he said, reveling in the looser standards of adult trade journalism. "Not enough good films, too much room for amateur hour. Luckily, I brought in some real experts in the slippery slope of arthouse erotica and managed to pull off a coup."
I get it: where most disciplines invoke a field, arthouse erotica is a slippery slope. Is that right? Regardless, congrats on the coup! While there is a chance they are all quoted out of context, film festival organizers always sound like buffoons.
I asked McKai how he would follow up this weekend's festivities.
"I'm leaving alt and starting a cult," he said. "After the Llick screening on (Saturday). I'll skip the party and go right to work across the street to study what L. Ron did to all thoes people."
Well, if you've ever seen the Dianetics film at the Celebrity Center, that's all about the Cinema of Transgression.
Previously: Navarro film to explore duality, empowerment; Industry shocker: AVN redesign doesn't look like ass; New copy of XBizWorld contains mousepad
See also: Los Angeles Erotica Film Festival
