Is Gonzo Dieing

[jj]

.....he has gradually steered away from the initial set-ups, and is now thoroughly mainstream: the reputation, though, is proving a little hard to shake off.

[Officer Dibble]

Of course good Gonzo has a place in porn. Me 'n' my colleagues used to wait with bated breath for every new instalment of 'Buttman' or even 'Ben Dover? However, that was in the early 90's just before standards were lowered things started to turn sour.

But JJ, what evidence do you base your dissenting view that gonzo is not killing the industry? I based my view that it is through declining sales of all adult material. Talking to other producers and distributors - who all seem to be on Skid Row nowadays. Indeed, recently even I was surprised to hear, through a colleague, that a very well know producer and forum contributor had decided to call it a day because it just wasn't working anymore. And this guy has all the contacts, equipment, tittles in the shops and 15-20 years experience! There's also my personal experience as 'a punter' - yes, I was one too! This gave me an insight into the tastes of the average adult movie buyer and led to some success as a retailer, as I found that what I liked most other adult movie fans liked too. Nowadays, I don't like the vast majority of contempary porno offerings and if I were a punter I certainly would not be buying it. Video sales suggest the real punters feel likewise. These are not just the theories and opinions of an enthusiast - I live it and my livelihood depends on it. I do still enjoy the odd movie that I will actually shell out for, but it?s usually some American pre-silicone, pre-tat, pre-shave, pre-pierce, back catalogue offering.

Officer Dibble.

[buttsie]

And yet if you listen to Officer Dibble in relation to sales you would say it was on the slide.Yes its tried & proven but all things over time gradually lose their sparkle.

Where will it be in 5 years time if nobody is making money?

cheers
B...OZ

[buttsie]

Agree totally that the girl is paramount to the overall performance.

Have just watched Katy and the lead up was brilliant.
The sexual tension was there very early which led to an awesome scene.


cheers
B...Oz

[jj]

.....on the basis that I buy some gonzo, but that it's only a small part of my total purchases.
If ALL adult material is experiencing a downturn, why blame gonzo, as opppsed to any other genre or any number of socio-economic factors?
You cite a 'colleague', without mentioning what line of the business he was producing, which doesn't exactly help.
I tend to agree that the output was 'classier' (for want of a better term) in the 80s/90s, but the fact that more people have access to production technology, plus the easy availability of porn on the Web, are more probably the major factors affecting overall porn sales than the style of the product.
It has been pointed out before that there is only a finite market for porn: I certainly feel that there is a glut on the market at present, and am getting more choosy in what I purchase.
I also imagine that the Brit market will soon come to resemble that of the US, with a few major mainstream players and several niche suppliers/producers.

[carl]

exactly!

[photman]

But what about if you are put off by the girls personality?
Might look goodb but doesn`t always mean personality is appealing

[maurie]

I don't know about the industry world-wide dying, but I can easily see the industry in the UK dying. Every one seemed to think that R18 was the saviour of the business, but if you don't live near London this stuff is unobtainable, unless you wish to be ripped off by you know who. At the same time it has become apparent that the world is on your doorstep via the internet, where he choice is endless and reasonably priced. I rest my case, so what's the answer?

[Officer Dibble]

You?re quite right to suggest that the recent decline in porno sales are not solely due to people's distaste of gonzo. There are indeed many other intertwined cultural and socio-economic factors at play, but I do believe crap gonzo is one of the major problems - It's just not appealing to normal, mainstream adult video buyers, who are at the end of the day the biggest purchases of porno

The colleague who I alluded to is very well known here and in common with almost all other UK producers the style of material he is producing is basically low budget gonzo. Unfortunately, the punters are not falling over themselves to buy it anymore. I always get a bit miffed when someone pipe up and says, ?Cor, I?ve just got the latest Bit gonzo masterpiece and it?s great!? As I?m thinking, no it?s not. If it?s like the last few in the series it?s probably shite.? Then they go on to enthuse ?and So and So was in it, she?s FANTASTIC!? While I?m thinking ? no she?s not. Erica Bella?s fantastic, Sylvia Saint?s fantastic, So and So looks like she?s just go home from a tiring shift at the Fish finger factory and not had time to change, and further more, couldn?t be bothered to even if she did!

Not sure where the Brit market will go as we do not have any big producers with deep enough pockets to try and make some quality material. Not only that but due to social and cultural changes, it?s now very difficult to find attractive, appealing ladies to take part. For instance, what if you wanted to do a period piece set in the forties, or fifties, and takes advantage of all that stiff upper lip repression and unintentionally sexy lingerie and outfits. Sure, you could probably source the outfits and a suitable location. But what of the girls? They couldn't pretend to take their kit off in say, 1953, to reveal an alluring skinny body, priced, shaved fannies, nipples and tongues and tattoo's to rival Dave the Docker's. It just won't work. So, creatively and erotically there's very little you can do with today's porn participants.

But porn's always going to be around in some form or another, I just think it will recede into the background, no one will bother, no one will notice it and you will just be able to dip in - with a much reduced sense off urgency - as and when it takes your fancy. If indeed it does take our fancies in future.


Officer Dibble.

[Sir Noel Plum]

I quite agree with your point.

The fake 'interview' is a waste of time because you know what all the answers are going to be.
Some of the most fascinating stuff for me is Pierre Woodmans Casting series where he interviews the girls and gets unscripted answers. As often as not the answers are not those you necessarily want to here but that only adds to the suspense. Unfortunately only about one sex scene a tape is gonzo type stuff and the rest are clips from films.

Porn should always have an element of reality and all too often this is edited out. I have a film (forgotten the title) with Jean Yves Le Castel performing with Kelly Trump, two seasoned professionals. Both performers are more or less going through the motions in a RAC position on a bed. At this point Jeans hand slips off the edge of the bed and they go tumbling over the edge and start laughing. They eventually pull themselves together and get back to business: the point is this was a very genuine unscripted moment which 99% of the time would be edited out but which actually proved the most sexual and tender part of the film as the performers professional masks slipped.

Cheers,
jim.AC wrote:
>
> I'd like to see it go more honest, I can't stand all the
> obviously fake scenarios you get in Ben Dover and other
> gonzo. Obviously someone out there likes it because it sells,
> but what I want to see is real girls with real expressions in
> real situations. Not all this obviously fake meeting a girl
> in the supermarket then taking her back to your place for her
> first anal type scenarios, it's just so fake and such a turn
> off, for me anyway.