Thursday, June 28, 2007

Publishers Weekly Review of Money Shot

Money Shot: Wild Days and Lonely Nights Inside the Black Porn Industry
Lawrence C. Ross Jr. Thunder's Mouth, $15.99 paper (304p) ISBN 978-1-56025-913-8

In this intriguing account, Ross offers closeups on the lives and dreams of black porn actors. Combining interviews with personal observations and some theoretical gloss, Ross travels to the San Fernando Valley (center of the porn industry), an Adult Entertainment Expo in Vegas and a swinger's party in Oakland. The African-American niche commands about 10% of the multibillion-dollar porn market, and performers with names like Lexington Steele, Sinnamon Love and Sledge Hammer discuss their schemes to carve out a piece of it (as with the mainstream movie business, many actors hope to produce and direct). Ross gets good interviews and his straightforward prose suits the material: “Just like hog butchers who use every part of the pig 'from the rooter to the tooter,' porn exploits every part of the body to make a profit.” The most graphic and disturbing episode is that of a female performer who prides herself on not doing anal (“I think I'm too cute for that”) but then allows herself to be beaten and humiliated in a scene by white men. There are many subgenres, writes Ross, but “white men overtly degrading black women are some of the most popular.” (Oct.)

5 comments:

Julie Goes to Hollywood said...

Big congratulations!

Lawrence said...

Thanks mucho, and we still need to go to lunch!

Cashana said...

Congrats. I look forward to reading this one. I just finished reading Heather Hunter's fictionalized account of a young girl's rise to becoming a porn star. Although I thought it was honest, I would love to read nonfiction account of the industry. BTW love checking out your blog.

Lawrence said...

Thanks a bunch and welcome to the blog! Make sure to tell folks about not only Money Shot, but also my novel Skin Game, which comes out at the same time.

Kemp said...

A hearty congrats Lawrence! Like you, I was sorry to see Thunder's Mouth go (they also published my book in 2005), but I'm so glad yours gets to see the light of day first! Cheers!