debbie does dallas
The Deeper Throat Reality Show - a review; Episode One
Friday, March 27th, 2009 | Deeper Throat TV Show, From Gene Ross | No Comments
Steve Hirsch and Robert Interlandi
|
—–Gene Ross |
Stroy by Gene Ross at www.adultfyi.com
If Kismet is hell, than Kismet brought Arrow’s Ray Pistol and Vivid’s Steve Hirsch [pictured] for a dance together in the fire.
I say “together” in the sense of a reality show which has been airing on Showtime. The Showtime project was put together by the World of Wonder guys Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato- the gents who did such an illustrious job with the documentary, Inside Deep Throat. Whereas Bailey and Barbato now do an even better job in bringing the inside, inside drama of the adult business to the screen with Pistol and Hirsch slugging it out over the re-making of Deep Throat, an idea which Pistol has had on the plate for at least the last ten years I’ve been talking to him about it. And Pistol, just as long, has been searching for a new Linda Lovelace.
Prompted much by what apparently happened during the behind the scenes of this Showtime mini-series, Pistol is now suing Hirsch, as we speak, over Hirsch’s creation of Deeper Throat. And to tell you the truth, I’m still vague on some of the issues.
Pistol never struck me as the kind of guy who would just relinquish control to something he holds close to the heart, and why he now does this is never really made clear on screen. Although the behind the scenes agreement that brought this Showtime deal to the table was Pistol’s apparent consent allowing Hirsch to produce a new Deep Throat with Pistol being given the first right of refusal to buy it.
But you never get the sense of that except when Pistol says on screen if Vivid screws it up, then Arrow will take their shot.
To that extent is Pistol’s edict to his employees to come up with their own version and cast for a new Deep Throat within a week. In one sequence Pistol auditions a girl named Ariel Kent, and after a thorough gynecologic examination concludes she has what it takes to be the next Linda Lovelace.
The first episode begins with Hirsch chatting with AVN’s Paul Fishbein at the AEE convention telling Fishbein that he needs an encore to the hits he’s had with the re-makes of Debbie Does Dallas and The Devil in Miss Jones. Ever the showman looking to do a bigger and better show, Hirsch hits upon the idea of re-making the all-time adult classic, Deep Throat and wants to talk to Pistol whose company Arrow owns the rights.
[The Butchie Peraino geneological history of Deep Throat is thus explained by Pistol.]
Hirsch has never met Pistol, and this isn’t surprising. I’ve always said that if the entire industry attended a party, half the room wouldn’t know the other half. But the fact that Pistol and Hirsch have their first conversation inside Arrow’s Deep Throat Corvette [a huge reproduction of the Linda Lovelace deep Throat poster is emblazoned on the hood] on the AEE show floor smacks a little of contrivance.
Needless to say, Pistol, a grizzled gent but always a man of his word, ain’t too keen with the idea Hirsch is pitching. But Hirsch is annoyingly persistent and feels he’s the only one who can bring it off. This idea set in motion, the reality show now plays like the Beverly Hillbillies with its notions of big money and societal opposites, all imagined with the Frank Capra touch.
Pistol is obviously Jed Clampett, and Hirsch is Mr. Drysdale. The Capra touch is Pistol being the aw shucks kind of guy who might be mistaken for the country rube that he really ain’t. And, in Capra fashion, Hirsch is playing it obviously with great relish like the city slicker out to connive him. So sets the mood.
“I’m an old marine and in no mood to be fucked with,” snarls the shotgun-toting Pistol at one point in dressing Hirsch down. In other words, he’s showing who’s boss. The only thing missing is the jug and the banjo music whenever Pistol’s on camera because that’s the impression the storyline lends of the man.
On the other hand, Hirsch must also be given credit for being an astute businessman much like Pistol.
[Pistol’s take of himself is that he’s an unconventional businessman which is putting it rather mildly.]
And while Pistol’s not living in a shack by any stretch, Hirsch dwells in this modern Versailles-like residence where he and his wife are kind of like the Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI of the porn business. And this is as much a statement of the industry’s hierarchy of the haves [Hirsch’s sister Marci is seen driving a white Rolls Royce], have-nots and almost haves.
In another segment, it’s mentioned that Paul Thomas who’s directed for Hirsch over 20 years [“way too long,” mutters Thomas] has never been to Hirsch’s house, which if you understand the business and its inflated, artificial sense of personal values and distancing, makes a lot of sense.
To put it all in the right perspective, however, these are all merely pornographers, and they hire “models” who suck dick for a living. Though no one ever seems to get that point across in all those glorifying documentaries about porn.
In the early stages, Hirsch berates PT’s efforts in writing a Deep Throat script telling him he’s got a lot of guys waiting in the wings to take his place if Thomas can’t deliver on a good story. The initial script Thomas comes up with stinks in Hirsch’s estimation, although Thomas is blindly enamored with his own efforts at combining Deep Throat with a Cinderella storyline.
[Someone might remind PT he already made a porn version of Cinderella.]
With Hirsch’s merciless hectoring, Thomas goes back to the drawing board and next comes up with a murder mystery with blood being spilled.
“I think Pistol had a comedy in mind,” Hirsch quips with a dead pan expression. [Thomas most of the time comes off like a space cadet who’s still orbiting in space.]
Hirsch is taking a meeting with Pistol in Las Vegas and flies there on a private jet. Hirsch, his wife and sister are met with a stretch limo provided by Pistol and, from the get-go, Hirsch and Robert Interlandi, Arrow’s marketing manager, are locking horns.
When asked for his opinion, Interlandi, who’s take is that Vivid is “The Evil Empire,” tells Hirsch he saw the re-makes of Debbie Does Dallas and Miss Jones. Apparently Interlandi in flippant fashion didn’t think too highly of those projects judging by his quick-kill put downs, and Hirsch reacts in kind with Marty Feldman’s bug eyes.
[Freeze frame moments of an astonished Hirsch abound in this series.]
Hirsch later makes the comment that Interlandi’s “a moron,” and Hirsch’s wife acts like this is all beneath her dignity to begin with.
Hirsch? He’s right along with her especially when one of Pistol’s strippers attempts to give him a lap dance, and Hirsch shoos her away like a pesky house fly.
“I’m trying to do deals here,” Hirsch keeps reminding his wife every time she flashes annoyance that business calls him to the office.
Because Hanna Hilton [a short haired blonde who wears extensions when performing] might be signing as a Vivid girl, Hirsch, quicker than you can say Octomom, is ready to cut his Vegas meetings short and get back to LA.
Adding a bit of irony to this subplot is the fact that Hilton’s boyfriend is Jack Venice who’s now doing life on a rape charge in Washington. During Hilton’s initial meeting with Hirsch, Venice’s opinion is solicited as though it’s valued as highly as a member of the presidential cabinet. We later discover that one of Venice’s earlier paramours, Meggan Malone, is now also a Vivid girl.
You can’t make this shit up on a soap opera.
Arrow Turns “Deep Throat” and Other Titles into a Merchandising Empire
Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 | From XBIZ.com | No Comments
Deep Throat Corvette
From XBIZ Special March 2009 Marketing Issue
——————————————————————-
BRANDING X: A NEW WAY TO MAINSTREAM ADULT
Arrow Turns “Deep Throat” and Other Titles into a Merchandising Empire
By Michael McClay
Arrow Productions, widely considered the oldest established American adult video company is not only porndom’s original trailblazer with numerous classics in its catalog, including “Deep Throat,” the Las Vegas-based company also has the distinction of being a leading pioneer in the area of special marketing. In recent times Arrow further expanded its impact into the merchandising and branding arena, licensing its titles for products other than the distribution and sales of sex videos.
Arrow has made a significant impact in the energy beverage marketplace with the release of the Deep Throat Energy Drink in May 2007. Then a year later Arrow made its second big marketing splash with the publication in the first of a series of comic books with “Debbie Does Dallas” followed by three other titles: “Candy Stripers,” “The Devil in Miss Jones” and “Tell Them Johnny Wadd is Here.” Finally, licensing theatrical posters for “Deep Throat,” “Debbie Does Dallas,” “Candy Stripers” and “The Goddaughter” completed a third major merchandising coup in a process that the company considers the wave of the future. Plans for other items include coffee, film cell wall art, costumes, T-shirts, hats, hoodies, belts, stickers, clocks, watches, beach towels, shot cups, beer mugs and other products.
The long and colorful history of Arrow Productions itself is the stuff of legends and the company’s Marketing Director Robert Interlandi who carries the banner as a second generation member of the organization has created quite an impact with his aggressive, edgy style.
“Even though our entire industry markets product considered controversial and cutting edge to mainstream, the adult industry’s marketing approach is surprisingly stale and static by today’s Madison Avenue standards,” says Interlandi. “Just look at the way mainstream companies market products on cable and the internet. Some of it really pushes the mainstream envelope.”
About four years ago after watching how adult marketed it product to consumers, he presented a marketing/licensing idea to Arrow owner Ray Pistol. Interlandi felt that some kind of consumer product tie-in to their video catalog could make a noteworthy impact. “I thought of what George Lucas did with ‘Star Wars’ merchandising and we thought we could do the same thing licensing with adult, since we had all the classic icons of adult,” says Interlandi. “I felt strongly that it could put us more in the mainstream.”
Several ideas were discussed, especially a beer. But a beer carried certain Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms requirements and the added tie-in to adult entertainment would bring too much Federal scrutiny, especially under the conservative Bush administration. “We’ve got nothing to hide, but we felt it was not a good mix at the time – so to speak,” says Interlandi, tongue in cheek.
Then one day while “hoisting a few” at a local pub with other Arrow staffers, they joked about the beer idea and was asked what the slogan would be: “Never too much head” and “put it in a bottle with an extra long neck.” But as he looked around the room, he saw all the non-alcoholic beverages being used a chasers and imagined a can of a “Deep Throat” beverage between the salt and pepper shakers. “The practical side of me also realized that if the drink were non-alcoholic, we could sell it to a wider base – not just those twenty-one and older, but everybody – especially the younger consumers who might think it cool to drink something associated with X,” he says. The booming energy beverage market seemed a natural.
It put Interlandi on quite a mission and fortunately as a Las Vegas resident many licensing trade shows land there sooner or later. “Just by walking at some shows I learned a lot and I picked up some non-beverage licensees as well. A lot of this is footwork – talking to people, networking…asking what they’re doing. It helped to go out of our little porn bubble. I rubbed shoulders with licensors such as Dick Clark, Jimi Hendrix, Elvis and other showbiz icons.”
“Into the Drink”
After a year of lab testing and product research, the Deep Throat Energy Drink debuted at the Adult Expo in 2007 replete with a yellow Corvette emblazoned with the drink’s logo and a mechanical riding bull for brave onlookers.
Arrow Productions launched the Deep Throat Energy drink later in the year and since its launch and an aggressive marketing campaign it has broken into new energy drink marketing and sales avenues. It has been exhibited at over 20 trade shows in the last year and in a number of unique markets including the Fort Worth’s Main St. Festival, South Dakota’s Sturgis Bike Week and many other events/markets unexplored by other energy drink manufacturers. In order to maximize its usage, it is being touted not only as an energy booster, but an alcoholic beverage mixer.
The reviews have been uniformly good, one describing it as having “a slightly berry taste and trending a tad sweeter than your ordinary energy drink, with taste tests concluding that over 90% of the samplers preferred the Deep Throat Energy Drink to its leading competitors.” The drink’s website claims that “the packaging, a tall thin canary yellow can with a retro “Deep Throat” movie poster has proven to be such a hit that people have fished empties out of the trash and took them home as souvenirs.”
Today Arrow’s name and flagship title “Deep Throat” stands out as a perfect example of storybook licensing done right. The Deep Throat Energy Drink, its characteristic yellow and fiery red color theme with the image of Linda Lovelace wrapped around the can with arms spread wide as if to embrace the thirsty consumer looking for an energy fix (and a little titillation) from America’s first official porn queen.
Branding Arrow video releases using an energy drink was a marketing masterstroke and not only are ancillary products in adult entertainment a long time coming, it’s appropriate that the first and most influential adult film ever produced is the flagship article of trade.
According to Arrow and the market, Deep Throat Energy Drink is here to stay; it was as an official nominee for the XBIZ Best Marketing Campaign, it was also nominated for the Best Overall Marketing Campaign at the Las Vegas Adult Expo. Outside the business, the Deep Throat Energy Drink was also nominated for two BevNet.com awards, including Best Energy Drink & Best Overall Marketing Campaign of 2008 and featured in their printed publication, New Beverage Guide.
“This really makes my year,” says Interlandi. “We have worked so hard on the drink. There were days where I would be in a reality TV show starting a 9am and then I do a bar promotion with the mechanical bull until 2 a.m. ending up working 18 hours a day. I also can’t believe that we are the first energy drink to be nominated to an AVN and XBIZ award. With the BevNet award nomination it says that the drink is recognized in the mainstream beverage industry also. I feel like Wayne Gretzky scoring a marketing hat trick.”
“Stand-Up Comics”
One of Interlandi’s original ideas in addition to a beverage was a comic book license. For over four years he pursued it, approaching every nearly every large and small publisher. There were many offers, but too many just didn’t seem to fit right. “They had very stale ideas with no unique approach. When you go after licensees, you want to go after quality. I finally saw eye to eye with Terminal Press and I’m glad I went with them.”
After three years in development and production, Terminal Press launched the series in January at the 2008 Adult Entertainment Expo with a post-apocalyptic adaptation of “Debbie Does Dallas” that debuted and unveiled “Deep Throat,” “Candy Stripers,” “The Devil in Miss Jones” and “Tell Them Johnny Wadd is Here” four months later at Comic-Con in San Diego as part of its ‘HARD/CORE’ line.
Ironically, that “hardcore” moniker is a misnomer, since the entire series actually has no hardcore images, but rather a softcore treatment for the ‘mature reader,’ placing the characters and concepts from the original films in new scenarios including thriller, horror, fairy tale and crime genres designed for contemporary sophisticated audiences.
“Poster Time”
Since the Millennium’s turn, posters have had a renaissance, especially motion picture theatrical one-sheets. Although no adult motion picture has been in theatrical release since the mid-eighties, many of the vintage titles in release by Arrow were once released in movie houses during porn’s so-called “Golden Age” of the ‘70s and ‘80s.
Arrow Productions library includes the aforementioned classics and many are now available online as newly-minted posters, including Gerard Damiano’s original “Deep Throat,” “Debbie Does Dallas,” “Candy Stripers” and “The Goddaughter.”
Arrow has a licensing deal with Vegas-based Acument Entertainment not only to create one-sheets, but canvas poster art, 3D posters and film cell wall art based on Arrow’s classic titles. “I was on a quest for a movie poster license for the past two years,” says Interlandi. “Everyone at Arrow is excited to team up with a company like Acument.
“Arrow’s the type of company that’s thinking like a main stream production company to promote its products and we’re proud to team up with an iconic company like Arrow Productions. The retro porn style is a hot seller and Arrow has tons of great art.” Arrow’s movie posters are available online at www.moviegoods.com.
Arrow Productions & “Deep Throat” History
Originally formed in 1969 under the name Vanguard productions, and later renamed Arrow Productions, the company made blockbuster hits such as “Deep Throat,” “Devil In Miss Jones” and “Debbie Does Dallas.” Over the years Arrow Productions has acquired the distribution rights to many production lines including well known titles like “Alice In Wonderland,” “Tell Them Johnny Wadd is Here,” “Candy Stripers” and “Taxi Girls.”
But Arrow’s reputation as a video manufacturer and distributor was built upon the fact that they were the original distributors of the single most important and influential sex video ever produced: “Deep Throat.”
The Gerard Damiano sex farce with the silly premise and goofy execution unintentionally set the stage for what would become ground zero for the foundation of the entire modern triple-X adult motion picture business. It led to the genre’s general acceptance in urban America and the birth of “Porn Chic” and subsequent acceptance as a true American pop culture milestone. “Deep Throat” had more impact, influence and visibility than any adult film had before or since. As a theatrical release and at the $600 million boxoffice range, “Throat” actually grossed as much as mainstream 1970 mega-blockbusters like “Star Wars,” “Rocky,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “The Sting,” among others.
The road to merchandising heaven was not easy and the resistance they experienced was even tougher than they realized. “Marketing and licensing X is very difficult and took a long time to be taken seriously,” says Interlandi. “But I think now that after all my struggles people are finally giving us respect. They used to laugh and shun me and now it’s changing. The success and the hard work are finally paying off.
“Someone recently told me that twenty years from now they’ll be calling me a pioneer and I should ‘get ready for it and get used to it.’
“That just gave me the chills. Crazy.”
*****
Arrow’s Deep Throat Products Now Sold at Spencer’s Gifts
Tuesday, March 24th, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments
Deep Throat Shot Glass
DEEP THROAT NEWS —–
Story from www.xbiz.com
LAS VEGAS — Arrow Productions Marketing Director Robert Interlandi says that his company’s latest deal over Deep Throat merchandising at Spencer’s Gifts is quite a coup.
“I think it’s just the first of many products that we will have in there,” Interlandi told XBIZ.
On Tuesday, Arrow Productions said it struck a deal with New York-based Silver Buffalo, which will distribute Deep Throat shot glasses on shelves at 690 Spencer’s Gifts stores.
“I hope that everyone buys a Deep Throat shot glass and does a toast with shots of your favorite booze to the final episode of ‘Deeper Throat’ on Showtime,” Interlandi said. “I’m glad it’s over but sad it’s gone.”
Interlandi said tha Silver Buffalo licensed the Deep Throat barware through Arrow. The company also has deals in place for Deep Throat barware, drinkware, games, clocks, watches and home decor.
Arrow — which owns the licensing rights of “Deep Throat,” “Devil in Miss Jones,” “Debbie Does Dallas” and “Tell them Johnny Wadd is Here” videos — has branched out into numerous areas beyond adult in marketing and licensing their icons. The company’s lineup includes the Deep Throat Energy Drink, as well as apparel, costumes, comic books and posters.
Silver Buffalo also has licensed companies such as Miller Brewing, Coors Brewing, Kiss and Metallica.
Steven Hirsch of Vivid Entertainment Loses His Cool Newest Episode of Reality Series ‘Deeper Throat’ on Showtime Shows Adult Boss Melt Down - First in a Quarter Century and Acrimony Continues in Court
Friday, March 20th, 2009 | Deeper Throat TV Show, WEB | 3 Comments
DEEP THROAT ENERGY NEWS
Stroy from CNBC - http://www.cnbc.com/id/29634093/
LOS ANGELES, Mar 11, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) — With a reputation as one of the most even-tempered and diplomatic gentlemen in his industry it will come as a surprise to everyone when Vivid Entertainment head Steven Hirsch losses his cool in the fifth episode of “Deeper Throat” to be broadcast on the Showtime cable network on Saturday night, March 14 (11:30 p.m.).
“Deeper Throat” tracks the behind-the-scenes adventures and negotiations that Hirsch went through with Arrow Productions to obtain the rights to make a new movie (”Throat”) loosely based on the original adult classic and the latest episode show just how stressful those dealings were. It may help to explain why the two companies continue to battle each other in court.
People who have seen an advance screening of the fifth episode of the series say Hirsch has a complete meltdown during a confrontation with Robert Interlandi, the Arrow production chief who is supposed to be looking after the interests of his boss Ray Pistol while Vivid was shooting “Throat.” Interlandi complained loudly in earlier episodes about director Paul Thomas’ interpretation of the original movie, going so far as to wrap PT’s car in toilet paper.
The young studio exec continued to be disruptive as the production marched along, event as Hirsch shows up unannounced on the set. Within a few minutes Hirsch explodes, screaming at Interlandi. Looking back at the incident Hirsch says “In 25 years of producing movies, I’ve never seen anything like this. He’s a V.P. Production in name only as he hasn’t produced anything and we’re trying to operate a business, not play games.” Last week Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David P. Yaffe rejected an argument by Pistol that Arrow would be damaged irreparably if Vivid released its version of the famous Linda Lovelace film. Arrow lawyers say they will pursue a breech-of-contract suit against Vivid.
About Vivid: Founded in 1984, Vivid Entertainment Group is the world’s leading adult film company and is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Vivid has always placed heavy emphasis on high quality erotic film entertainment and has created wide brand-name awareness through its films and through a licensing and marketing program that extends to advertising, apparel, book publishing and a range of other products.
About Arrow: Founded in 1969, Arrow is the oldest adult production company on the planet and celebrating it’s 40th anniversary this year. Arrow started the with blockbuster icons of adult cinema like Deep Throat, Devil in Miss Jones, Debbie Does Dallas and Tell them Johnny Wadd is Here. Now Arrow has branched out into new areas beyond adult in marketing their icons and now have a Deep Throat Energy Drink, apparel, costumes, comic books, posters, barware, and other memorabilia.
Dick Clark Productions meets Deep Throat
Thursday, March 19th, 2009 | WEB | 1 Comment
Dick Clark meets Deep Throat
From the Website www.productplacement.biz
On the same day RedZone Capital announced the acquisition of dick clark productions, inc., the licensing show was under way in New York. Participants included Disney, Paramount, Dick Clark and Arrow Productions, who proudly displayed a poster for their classic film Deep Throat right across from the Dick Clark booth.
Dick clark productions, inc. is the owner/producer of some of television’s most popular and exciting entertainment properties, as well as the owner of the world’s most unique and extensive library of live televised music. RedZone Capital paid $175 million
with Six Flags, Inc., (NYSE: SIX) taking a 40% equity interest in the transaction.
Arrow Productions is the oldest adult production company. In information provided to the Licensing show:
“Arrow started the whole Adult Entertainment Industry with the blockbusters like Deep Throat, Debbie Does Dallas, and Tell them Jonny Wadd was Here. Arrow is the true legend in the Adult Industery.”
The poster from Deep Throat (enhanced in the photo above) was an ‘attention grabber’, especially when one explores the total revenue of the film - one FBI source suggests $100 million, but numbers as high as $600 million have also been cited, which would make the movie the most profitable of all time.
Red Zone’s purchase price of $175 million includes The American Music Awards, The Golden Globes, The Academy of Country Music Awards, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, and 10,000 hours of contemporary live music performances, including American Bandstand’s nearly 900 one-hour broadcasts, and a variety of entertainment and comedy specials or series, children’s programming, talk shows, made-for-TV movies, and more.
In 2002, as a publicly traded company (NASDAQ: DCPI) dick clark productions was purchased for $140 million and taken private by a group of investors including the Canadian pension fund Capital Communications CDPQ, Inc., and Mosaic Media Group. It has remained privately owned since. In 2004, Mandalay Entertainment Group purchased Capital Communications’ interest and announced it would partner with Mosaic Media Group to operate the company, forming the new entity Mandalay Mosaic Television Group.
Earlier this year, RedZone Capital Fund II purchased the Johnny Rockets restaurant chain, one of the fastest-growing American brands. RedZone Capital also is owner of Red Zebra Broadcasting, home of ESPN broadcasts for greater Washington, DC, Richmond, VA, Norfolk, VA; and other assets.