St Richard wrote:

As for the estrangement between Melissa Hill and Rodney Moore, perhaps now that she has made the A list she would prefer to put some distance between herself and her gonzo roots.

I sense that your comment may have a touch of sarcasm, but in the event that anyone takes it seriously, I must say the following:

Let no one think that "GONZO" is lower on the totem pole than being on some so-called A list doing features. I have shot hundreds of gonzo scenes, a year ago I did a feature with a full script, crew, locations "A" talent, the whole 9 yards, it came out good, was the Editors Choice in AVN with 4 and 1/2 stars, and I went right back to shooting GONZO and haven't done another feature since. I prefer shooting GONZO style, I feel I get more real performances, there much more fun to do, and I'd take a well shot gonzo title any day over some overblown feature. Buttman won the best film award for his Face Dance feature a couple of years back, but he also went right back to shooting his Gonzo style movies. Also, the cover of the February AVN has the headline, "Are Adult Features Dead". I know of 2 companies who have decided to cease producing features and concentrate on GONZO. When I rented videos before I started making them, I rarely rented a feature. I found them dull and unerotic (except maybe for an occasional Andrew Blake Scene). I always went straight to the Amateur rack where I had a much better chance of seeing real sex, real orgasms, real moaning and groaning, not overhyped pornstars faking it for their daily pay check. Gonzo is not the minor leagues, GONZO is a different league, and in my opinion, a better league. Personally, I think going from GONZO to features is a step down in eroticism.

P.S. Melissa put up distance long before she made the A list, but I still respect her talent. I think its just wasted on features.

And he goes on...

FROM: rodney moore <[email protected]>

SUBJECT: Re: Don't Be Knockin' GONZO!

DATE: Wed, 29 Jan 97 13:21:05


This is a follow-up thought to my recent response regarding a certain
adult feature actress distancing herself from her "gonzo" routes.

A couple of years back at an industry meeting, a prominent adult feature
producer stood up and said that producers start out doing amateurs i.e.
"Gonzo", and if they're "good enough", they "move up" to features.

I will refrain from using myself as an example and again use "Buttman"
(John Stagliano) to make my point.  After doing some of the most
successful Gonzo titles in the history of porn, he produced one adult
feature film, Face Dance.  It won the Best Picture award.  He went right
back to doing his Gonzo titles after that.  Which proves that someone
who is very good at doing Gonzo can win the highest honor with his very
first feature attempt.

  Okay, I said I wouldn't use myself but I will.  After doing hundreds
of Gonzo scenes, I produced and directed my first and only feature,
"Witches are Bitches".  It was named "Editors Choice" in the AVN.

Could it be that most feature producers don't do Gonzo because they
can't cut it the competitive Gonzo market.  Since the best Gonzo
producers can easily crank out a feature that wins accolades, maybe it's
the other way around.  Maybe if feature producers were "good enough",
they would "move up" to shooting Gonzo.

Rodney Moore

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