The Future Of Adult By Darren Roberts
The place where sex and technology blend together perfectly.

Category: All Posts

Gerardo Damiano

In 1972, an adult film was released that rocked the country: Deep Throat.  Written, directed, and produced by filmmaker Gerard Damiano, Deep Throat was one of the first hardcore films to reach the general public, premiering in theaters across the country, and grossing an estimated six million dollars. It was a film that changed the face of modern porn forever.

Reputedly written for its female star, Linda Lovelace, Deep Throat tells the story of a young girl who has an unidentified medical condition where she finds the act of oral sex more satisfying than regular intercourse.  The film, shot in six days, spent years being dragged through the court system, being banned, unbanned, and rebanned due to charges of obscenity and gained even more notoriety when its title was used as the code name by the Washington Post for William Mark Felt, Sr., a deep-background source during the Watergate scandal.

Damiano, who passed away due to complications from stroke 2008, originally ran a hair salon in his native New York.  Listening to his patrons gossip, he became convinced that adult films needed to expand their target audience from the male demographic into that of couples.  Through an introduction to a low-budget horror film producer, Damiano began to help on set, learning the ropes of movie making before launching into his own project, the infamous Deep Throat.

After Deep Throat’s success, Damiano moved on to direct other films, creating classics like The Devil in Miss Jones (1973), The Story of Joanna (1975), and Night Hunter (1983) among others, for a total of forty-seven movies before his retirement in 1994.

Darren RobertsRecognized as one of the most accomplished executives in adult entertainment, Darren Roberts announced today the first in a series of books on the adult entertainment industry.

In The Unsexpected Story, Roberts speaks candidly with the key professionals behind one of the world’s largest and most profitable trades. The Unsexpected Story delivers unique insight into the minds of the industry executives, stars, marketers, and technology mavens who are responsible for the creation and management of the most successful and enduring brands in adult entertainment.

As unique as the products they make, their influence remains instrumental to the growth, profitability, and sustainability of one of the most provoking and controversial businesses in the modern world.

“The adult industry’s journey, development, and challenges have made it what it is and will carry it into the future,” says Roberts. “Regardless of the roadblocks it has faced or the controversy it inspires, there is little doubt the industry will work to maintain a platform that not only makes money, but also stays at the forefront of new media and technological advancements.”

Engaging, conversational, and smart, The Unsexpected Story goes where other industry tell-alls don’t, tracing the economic and technological lifespan of the vast adult entertainment industry through the personal experiences of the individuals who have made a lasting impression on this forever green, multi-billion dollar empire.

When Steve Orenstein set out to create an adult film company in the early ‘90s, he wanted to do something a little different: produce movies that were intended for couples and female viewers, movies with storylines that people could enjoy with or without the pornographic content.  With the help of his family, friends, and some very talented creative designers, Orenstein was able to take his young film studio, Wicked Pictures, and turn it into one of the most successful, well-regarded adult production companies in the world.

One of Orenstein’s keydecisions was the creation and branding of the “Wicked Girl.”  Following in the footsteps of Vivid Entertainment, Orenstein began planning to hire exclusive contract girls, working with Chasey Lain extensively before selecting Jenna Jameson as the first Wicked Girl, a deal that secured both Wicked Pictures’ and Jameson’s futures in the adult industry.  For her work with Wicked in 1995, Jameson received AVN’s Best New Starlet, AVN’s Best Actress (Video), AVN’s Best Couples Sex Scene (Film), and XRCO’s Starlet of the Year awards, an unprecedented and never duplicated achievement.

With Jameson’s success, Wicked Pictures continued to expand, adding stars like jessica drake, Stormy Daniels, and Julia Ann to the Wicked Girls line-up and bringing “porn king” Brad Armstrong on board as a producer.  This stellar team has seen Wicked Pictures’ fortunes soar ever higher, their movies garnering more attention—and awards.  In 2012, Wicked received a total of 101 AVN Awards nominations and continues, almost 20 years after its founding, to produce high-quality, award-winning movies.

You can read more about Steve Orenstein, Wicked Pictures, and jessica drake in the book The Unsexpected Story.


Unlike many entering the world of porn, Steve Hirsch was not a stranger to the industry.  The son of Fred Hirsch, an adult industry veteran, Hirsch worked as a salesman for his father, duplicating and mailing out 8mm adult films before joining Cal Vista, a studio that was a major player in the ‘80s.  This is also where Hirsch met his first business partner, David James.

Working with James, Hirsch founded Vivid Entertainment in 1984.  At the young age of 23, Hirsch knew he needed to find a way to set Vivid apart from other adult video production companies.  He wanted higher-budget movies with talent who could act and storylines that would hook an audience.  Hirsch felt that, in order to be successful, he needed to totally reinvent the way adult videos were produced and marketed.

Taking his cue from the old-school Hollywood studio system, Hirsch decided to focus not on a single movie, but on a girl.  With this in mind, he hired Ginger Lynn, who starred in the December 1985 release of Ginger.  The video­, and Lynn, were an overnight sensation, and the concept of the “Vivid Girl” was born.

Yet even as Lynn’s popularity grew, Hirsch realized that his star wouldn’t be in front of the camera forever.  He began to recruit more Vivid Girls, snapping up talent like Jamie Summers, Barbara Dare, and Christy Canyon, and focused on raising the value of his films.  For the release of the third Ginger Lynn movie, Ginger’s Private Party, Hirsch retained an art director talented enough to build a solid brand for the rapidly-growing company.

Through the years, Hirsch’s passion for excellence and desire for mainstream production values have fueled his company’s success.  He continues to recruit and develop new talent, expanding his company in ways that, to this day, make Vivid a benchmark for innovation and class in the adult entertainment industry.

You can read more about Steve Hirsch and Vivid Entertainment in The Unsexpected Story.

Photo of lelo

Launched in 2003 by the industrial design and engineering team of Eric Kalen, Carl Magnuson, and Filip Sedic, intimate lifestyle company LELO has since expanded from a single office in Stockholm to a worldwide brand with over 200 employees in the U.S., Australia, Asia, and Europe.  Now selling in over 40 international markets, LELO has more than doubled its sales volume annually since its inception.

At an average retail price of $100 per vibrator, LELO’s luxury products range from the diminutive “lipstick” model, MIA, and the motion-controlled, waterproof TIANI, to the ultra-high end, 24-karat gold-plated INEZ, priced at $15,000.  In 2010, LELO expanded its offerings to include cuffs, ties, and blindfolds, as well as massage oils, candles, and a water-based personal moisturizer.  In 2011, LELO debuted its SUSSURRA line of silk lingerie and loungewear, as well as PicoBong, a lower-priced brand designed to appeal to a younger clientele.  Every one of LELO’s products is certified as body-safe before being brought to market.

LELO’s products have been featured in Forbes,Cosmopolitan, Elle, Women’s Health, Maxim, GQ, Wired, and the New York Times, among others.  LELO recently appeared at the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show, and has signed partnerships to sell its products through Walgreens, Apoteket, and Wynn Las Vegas, as well as luxury boutiques in Los Angeles, New York, London, Paris, Rome, Berlin, and its native Stockholm.

 


Facebook Twitter RSS
Sexy Web Videos

ADVERTISEMENT

The Unsexpected Story

TOP STORIES

ADULT ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
Trans
Latest Press Releases in Trans […]
Fri, Mar 29, 2024

TECH NEWS
LimeWire AI Studio Review 2023: Details, Pricing & Features
 In the rapidly advancing landscape of AI technology and innovation, LimeWire emerges as a unique platform in the realm of […]
Tue, Dec 12, 2023

ON TWITTER

ON FACEBOOK

ADVERTISEMENT

Discount Healthcare