Friday, January 12, 2007

Donna: Part 2 (Kitty Monroe)


I showed up to the set in the desert on the day after Jim had called me "Donna". He had used the "Donna" appellation to put me on the spot and see if he could flush out any prima donna tendencies that lurked within me. Men always wonder. It did not work. I don't have any of those tendencies. At some point on this next day I overheard a conversation between two other women on the set. Evidently they had shared a room at the Motel 6 in Mojave, CA where most of the cast and crew had stayed the night before. One of the two, an upcoming young pornstar completely lacking in any type of class or discretion, accused the other of snoring all night long. She informed her in a disgusted tone of voice that she had thrown stuff at her head to try and wake her up and make her stop snoring and it had not worked. I listened to her hostile words and felt grateful that I had gotten my own room. It amazed me that everyone had not done the same, Rooms at the Motel 6 in Mojave ran less than $50 a night. All these years later I found myself reflecting on the identity of the snorer. I thought her name was Kelly Fire.

Jim had mentioned a porn actress named Kelly Fire when he was selecting talent to appear in an that particular round of movies. He had met her at a casting call at longtime porn agent Jim South's office. On the evening after their meeting he had described her to me on the phone and mentioned that she had used an unlikely term for anal sex when discussing whether or not she was willing to engage in the act. I really wish I could remember what euphemism she had used to describe anal sex because Jim had found it very amusing. For the life of me I can't seem to recall it right now. In any case Jim described Kelly as something of an ingenue in the porn scene although he thought she had experience in other aspects of the adult industry. Maybe she was a dominatrix? Or a fetish model? Or a stripper?

I sat at home pondering all this a few days ago as I sat on my couch with a glass of vodka in my hand. It was late at night, the time of night that I often used to chat with Jim on the phone. Back then I would always know it was Jim calling if my phone rang after 10PM. Finally my curiousity got the better of me and I logged on to the Internet to see if I could find a photo of Kelly Fire. Generally you can find a photo on the Internet of anyone who has ever performed in a pornographic movie. I located a pic and bio of Kelly Fire and realized that this was definitely not the woman about whom I had been thinking. The Kelly I remembered had blonde hair and was very fair-complected. In fact, Jim had told her to get a tan before the filming of the movie. She had objected and insisted that tanning was passe. Jim informed her that tanning would never be passe in the porn industry. I became aware of this conversation because Jim had mentioned it to me that night on the phone.

"You know what the real woodsmen in the industry have always told me?" Jim had then asked rhetorically. "The two things that most help them get through a scene are when the female talent is tan and toned. Tan and toned."

That made perfect sense to me. "Woodsmen" was Jim's preferred term for male talent. He had been directing in the industry long before Viagra even existed and he only hired truly professional male pornstars because he did not like waiting for the amateurs to "get wood" on the set. Jim's favorite woodsmen were seasoned professionals like Ron Jeremy, Evan Stone, and Alex Sanders. Those guys do not have an easy job. All of them must have their tricks to get through a sex scene. I can still hear Jim saying "tan and toned" in his deep baritone voice.

I remember that the actress who I erroneously thought was Kelly Fire never did get a tan before the filming of those movies in 2002. Earlier this week I stared at the boxcovers of the two movies in which I think that she appeared. It's possible that I'm mistaken, but I believe that she ended up using the stage name "Kitty Monroe". You can see Kitty Monroe in Summer Camp Sun Bunnies and Sorority Sex Kittens #6. One of these days I will watch one of them to see if Kitty Monroe is the particular actress who I recall from that set. The tip-off will be whether or not she's noticeably more fair-skinned than the other actresses.


- XXOO Tanya









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Monday, January 8, 2007

Donna: Part 1

Jim used to shoot 2 or 3 movies simultaneously. In 2002 we were out in California City, CA filming multiple projects as per usual. Jim had arranged rooms for all the cast and crew to stay in the nearby town of Mojave during the production. Stephanie, the production coordinator, was handing out keys to everybody's rooms. I told her that I would be getting my own room. She looked puzzled. I politely said that I needed some privacy at the end of the day.

Jim had been standing in the same room orchestrating details with some other member of the crew. During my conversation with Stephanie I heard him saying something about Donna. As I was leaving I turned to say goodnight to Jim and he mentioned Donna again. Was he trying to draw me into his conversation? I let a moment of silence go by to ascertain whether Jim was addressing me or someone else in the room. No one responded to his comment so I asked:

"Donna?"

Silence.

"Who's Donna?" I asked with puzzlement, waiting for him or someone to interject with some knowledge.

"Donna." Jim said.

I looked at him. Moments passed. He looked back at me.

"Prima donna." he finally said in his deep baritone voice.

Oh. I began to smile.

"Prima donna." he reiterated. "Only prima donnas need their own rooms. There's a prima donna in here."

"No. No." I said in protest between laughs. "I'm paying for it myself. It's been a long day, I need to unwind right now, and I'll pay for my own room. I'm only a prima donna if I expect someone else to pay for it."

Jim's expression was inscrutable behind his omnipresent sunglasses but he seemed to be amused. He turned to speak to someone else who needed his attention and I picked up my bag to leave. After I was a few steps outside the trailer Stephanie the production coordinator came up behind me waving a key.

"Here's your key." she said. "We have one empty room left and you won't have a roommate. You can have your own room for the next few days."

I smiled to myself after I thanked her for the key and headed out to my car. Jim hated prima donnas and he knew I wasn't one. He realized that I had planned to pay for my own room so he just saved me the trouble. That little episode occurred during the filming of
Sorority Sex Kittens 6 out in the Mojave Desert.


- XXOO Tanya









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Tuesday, January 2, 2007

Jim Holliday: Porn Legend

I first met late director Jim Holliday in 2000. A porn agent arranged our introduction and I drove out to the VCA offices in Chatsworth, CA to sit down with Jim and discuss the possibility of my working for him. VCA was one of the main porn prduction companies at that time. My agent informed me over the phone that Mr. Holliday was a legend in the adult industry and also quite a character. I realized that the agent was absolutely correct on both counts about five minutes after being ushered into Jim's office. Box covers of his movies decorated his bulletin board and lay scattered across his desk. My eyes ran over them and I recognized some titles that I had seen as a kid digging through a closet in a room of my father's hunting lodge. Jim watched me stare at the packages and finally asked me which was my favorite. My favorite? Funny he should inquire because one in particular had grabbed me immediately. I stood to point to Sorority Sex Kittens 3 which featured stunning Shayla La Veaux in two different incarnations: business-suited career woman and scantily clad coed.

"Marianne would love you for that. She would love you if she knew that you had jut said that." Jim proclaimed in his deep, gravelly voice.

"Marianne?" I said after a moment. In later months I discovered that Jim had a habit of making unexplained references and waiting to see if his listener was interested enough, or perhaps alert enough, to ask for more information.

"Marianne." he responded affirmatively.

I looked at his face, but could see no expression beneath his large designer sunglasses. People tell me that my left eyebrow rises when there is a question in my mind. The action is completely involuntary and I can't feel the movement, but I'm sure my eyebrow was up as I waited for Jim to fill the silence. He let it stretch on for a few more moments as he gazed at me with amusement.

"Marianne designs all the boxcovers here at VCA." he said at last. "I don't like single-girl boxcovers. The fans like variety and I put variety on my boxes."

Jim gestured around the room at the abundance of pornographic proof that filled his workspace. Every other movie featured at least five beautiful women on the cover.

Shortly thereafter Jim called pornstar Kylie Ireland to come join us and he requested that I remove all my clothes.

"Now we'll see if you really look like your photos." he commented as he gestured at the stack of nude 8x10 photos I had placed on his desk. Back then directors expected talent to show up with photos since Internet access was not nearly so prevalent as it is now.

I began disrobing and then said innocently: "Did my agent mention that I just had a baby? I'm having trouble getting rid of the stretch marks and covering the C-section scar."

Jim regarded me from behind his glasses.

"You haven't had a baby." he said definitively.

I started laughing and finished taking off my clothes. My sense of humor is strange and often rubs people the wrong way. Jim started laughing too. Then he made me spin around slowly so he and Kylie could see if there was anything horrendous about my body. After that he politely told me that he needed to look at my "entertainment center" so he'd know that everything down there was acceptable. He further explained that he never let his regular actresses work with "skanks." I was liking Jim more and more and I obligingly bent over so they could examine my genitalia and anus. These details may sound surprising to people outside the industry, but all porn directors should conduct interviews with equal bluntness and diligence. And with the same hands-off policy. Jim never behaved inappropriately with talent.

That afternoon I stayed at the VCA offices for hours, mostly sitting outside chatting with Jim as he smoked cigarettes and introduced me to various passersby who worked for the company. It was my entree into "Jimmyland." We remained close friends until his death in December 2005. Friends of Jim organized a memorial for him in January 2006. I did not attend because a member of my family passed on that same week. For years I have wanted to do something in his memory and now I have started this blog about him. I look forward to driving out to the California High Desert, staring at the full moon and writing more about Jim and my experiences on his movie sets.


Jim, I think of you often and miss you a lot. You were supposed to be the one who would tell me when it was time for me to retire. Remember? I passed that mantle of responsibility on to my friend Tim and he is completely horrified. A few months ago he asked me:

"Are you going to get mad when I tell you that you're too old and need to retire?"

When he made the inquiry I smiled as I reflected on the fact that you would have had no such compunction or concern.




- XXOO Tanya














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