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2013: The Adult Industry in Photos, Part 1 (SFW)
This is the fifth consecutive year we've looked back at the past twelve months in the adult industry, headquartered in the San Fernando Valley -- we traveled thousands of miles for 49 productions, three award shows, one convention, six colleagiate visits, two weddings, a book signing, a movie screening, and a benefit fundraiser. And later this month, we'll be attending the Adult Entertainment Expo and AVN Awards at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, as well as the XBIZ 360 Conference at the W Hollywood Hotel and the XBIZ Awards at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, hosted by Jenna Jameson.
The effects of Measure B's implementation last November were immediate and dramatic. At least two major adult studios proceeded to shoot content exclusively outside of L.A. County, while several others have either gone underground or moved their productions outside California altogether. As a result, there was a 95 percent drop in adult production permits within the county, meaning a loss of $456,000 that would've otherwise been a part of government revenues. Complicating matters were the HIV positive tests, which led to three industry-wide production moratoriums in August, September, and December.
Regardless, the "Year of James Deen" continued with the release of the Kickstarter-funded, Bret Easton Ellis-penned, and Paul Schrader-directed indie feature "The Canyons," which featured premieres in Venice, Italy and Hollywood. While doing publicity interviews to promote the film, he was repeatedly questioned about his co-star Lindsay Lohan and "Backdoor Teen Mom" co-star Farrah Abraham. He returned to his alma mater in Pasadena for Professor Hugo Schwyzer's Humanities 3 (Navigating Pornography) course amid controversy (it should be noted that Jessica Drake appeared there a month later without incident). Winner of the 2013 AVN and XBIZ Awards for Male Performer of the Year, Deen participated with Andy San Dimas in the first Google Glass adult movie, which generated significant interest in the tech community and beyond. He continued to work with Wood Rocket, filming segments of "James Deen Loves Food" and portraying Jon Snow in their porn parody version of "Game of Thrones." And soon he'll pen a regular column for Jezebel.
Deen was the top pick in L.A. Weekly's list of "10 Innovative Porn Stars Who Could Be the Next Sasha Grey." The irony is that he was quoted earlier in the year saying "That's, like, the name that is not said in this business. I don't have anything against [Sasha Grey], but in the adult-film world she has a very bad reputation for many reasons." Meanwhile, Grey responded with, "Strange how you can get along with people professionally, and then ... but the world's too small for petty stuff like this."
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Meanwhile, Ron Jeremy suffered a heart aneurysm in January, but eventually recovered and resumed his busy schedule of public appearances, including USC's "An Evening with the Adult Film Industry" panel and accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award at the inaugural edition of The Sex Awards.
And Jenna Jameson, whose erotic fiction novel "Sugar" was released in October, did some rather questionable television interviews while on her book tour. She headlines the Legends of Erotica showcase with Tera Patrick and Ron Jeremy at this weekend's Hollywood Show, and hosts the aforementioned XBIZ Awards later this month.
Part two tomorrow. And see our coverage of 2012, 2011, 2010, and 2009 as well.
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