The Other Hollywood: The Uncensored Oral History of the Porn Film Industry
by Legs McNeil, Jennifer Osborne, Peter Pavia
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jennifer Osborne, Legs McNeil, Peter PaviaEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-02-15
ISBN: 0060096594
Number of pages: 640
Publisher: It Books
Book Reviews of The Other Hollywood: The Uncensored Oral History of the Porn Film Industry
Book Review: Unparalleled access to first person accounts of the adult film industry
Summary: 5 Stars
Despite weighing in at a hefty 620 pages, McNeil's book is a breeze to read through. This tome is organized into short chapters on specific subjects, spanning time from 1950 up to 1998. The Other Hollywood takes on every aspect of the porn business, starting with the (really tame and probably boring) Nudie Cuties of the 1950's, through Deep Throat as the explosive entrance of adult film in the full length feature world, the early stars like Linda Lovelace and Marilyn Chambers, the mafia involvement in the industry, a years-long sting operation on the mafia, John Holmes and the Wonderland murders, pandering trials, Traci Lords' brief and explosive career, the advent of AIDS, the rise of video and star Ginger Lynn, and into the modern day.
McNeil has constructed this story entirely out of first-hand quotes from the participants. He doesn't editorialize or expound on the quotes, choosing instead to tell the story entirely through the placement of the words of different interview subjects. Often, he will have sources all discussing the same issue, so the reader can decide for himself what the generally accepted truth of the matter is. Particularly enlightening were the chapters on Linda Lovelace and Traci Lords, two stars who later said they were forced into porn. Their comments in their heyday and the comments of those around them certainly contradict their later revisionist history. The Holmes involvement in the Wonderland murders is also explained from dozens of points of view (similar to how it was done in the excellent 2003 film Wonderland). Dawn Schiller (girlfriend) and Sharon Holmes (estranged wife) provide commentary on Holmes that make the reading of this book worth it all on its own.
It helps to have some basic working knowledge of the legends of the porn industry, like Lords, Lovelace, and Holmes, because there isn't unnecessary explanatory detail in this book. As someone who has only heard a few of the larger-than-life tales, this book was able to introduce me to many new subjects. The MIPORN undercover sting operation was fascinating and on-going throughout many years in the industry. It actually wreaked havoc on the lives of the undercover officers involved, one of whom became addicted to his porn-world larger-than-life personality. Another excellent treatment was of the AIDS scare in 1984, which started as Gay Related Immunodeficiency Disease (GRID). The players of the time explain their confusion about the "gay cancer," how it was spread, and what it meant to those afflicted. Holmes eventually contracted and died from AIDS. Many actors and directors also commented on the transition from film to video, which meant that shoddier, cheaper movies could be churned out faster, with less focus on plot and feature-length aspects.
McNeil has made an important contribution to the historical works on the adult film industry. The main complaint of readers is the light treatment of 1990's porn and the lack of detail on the modern-day queen of the industry, Jenna Jameson. As a book on the early days, the rise, and the legal battles of adult films, this book is unparalleled.
Summary of The Other Hollywood: The Uncensored Oral History of the Porn Film Industry
Everyone knows the adult film industry is a multimillion pound business. What most people don't know is how the porn industry got started - with a USD22,000 Mafia investment in a film called Deep Throat - or how it mushroomed over the next quarter-century despite efforts by politicians, the FBI, and others to bring it down. The Other Hollywood tells that story, through hundreds of interviews by the people who lived through it. In the riveting oral-history format that made his first book, Please Kill Me, one of the most memorable accounts of 1970s underground culture, Legs McNeil now pulls back the grimy satin sheets on one of the most astounding success stories in the history of business. Careening back and forth between two groups - the actresses, directors, and others who made the films and the shady underworld figures who financed them - The Other Hollywood offers scores of never-before-told stories.From the nudie cuties of the 1950s to celebrity porn in the late 1990s, The Other Hollywood: The Uncensored Oral History of the Porn Film Industry offers an insider's view of the adult film industry's transition from a shady, backroom business to a $10-billion-per-year money machine and mainstream acceptance. The story is told through interviews with hundreds of actors, directors, law enforcement officials, and other participants, all edited together with expert skill and pacing.
The industry exploded in the early 1970s with the success of the Mafia-backed Deep Throat, which reportedly grossed $100 million after an initial $22,000 investment. Featured at the Cannes Film Festival in 1973, the film ushered in the rise of "porno chic," making it fashionable, for a time, to take a date to a porn film. One industry insider described Deep Throat as "the Blair Witch Project of its time." Filled with sleazy intrigue, vivid details, and many heartbreaking--and even touching--stories, The Other Hollywood covers the actors, the numerous legal challenges to the industry, FBI sting operations, the Mafia connection, rampant drug use, rock stars, celebrities, the opposition by religious and political groups, the emergence of AIDS (that claimed the lives of porn superstars such as the famously endowed John Holmes), and the explosion of the video market and its overnight fortunes. Even at 600 pages, this is a quick and engrossing read that is hard to put down. --Shawn Carkonen
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