I have also had some questions about L.A Direct and Shy Love dropping out of LATATA
I haven’t spoken directly to either one on the record so I cant do anything more than speculate as to why. It is true that they quit LATATA snd that alone is a death blow to LATATA In my opinion. Without L.A. Direct participating LATATA has no real teeth and in all fairness it was Dereks brainchild.
Again this is just speculation on my part but it isnt uneducated speculation like you see on lesser sites. You see two of the big rifts in LATATA are first, the 20 dollar charge to producers who demand 14 day testing, LA Direct and Shy Love both insist on this charge and despite those who claim otherwise they do pass it on to the performers, not one single claim I looked into, and there were quite a few, proved otherwise. but the real biggie is the undercutting of rates. Certain agencies, are booking girls at half the rate that LA Direct and Shy Love get for a similar girl and act. Derek has said more than once that in the end this hurts the performers the most driving rates down at a time when testing costs and everything else are increasing for the performer. The final nail in the coffin I think is the blatant poaching of talent going on these days.
LATATA was a good idea and it went a long way towards helping all the agents clean up their acts. But if the agents that are a part of LATATA don’t all play on a level playing field it rips the organization apart at it’s very core. Lets face it why do I want to work in unison with guys that are undercutting my rates so drastically.
Again this is all educated guesses on my part.
Now If I am a director I like the idea of talent rates going down, sales are down, production is down and if I can get my talent for half the price means more money in my pocket in the end and I empathize with that. It will also start to stem the flow of so much new talent entering the biz but at the same time it lowers the quality of the talent, so thats the trade off. Most girls make up for the lack of income by escorting, Derek doesnt seem to care, Shy Love does, she doesn’t like the girls she represents to be openly escorting.
All in all thats a slippery slope too, because almost every girl in porn escorts these days and a very alarming number will do so bareback, believing that a test from CET or whomever protects them from catching anything (they have been conditioned by The FSC, AVN and others to believe this and face it most of these girls aren’t that bright) The result is even more STDs in the biz at a time when we really need the number to be dropping instead of staying the same or even rising.
In an ideal situation APAC and LATATA would have have joined forces and put the producers in a stranglehold.
The FSC saw that one coming….LATATA and The FSC were on very shaky grounds until Mark Schechter got on the FSC board, that gave the FSC the foothold they needed to get some control over LATATA, They immediately inserted themselves into APAC to cockblock any alliance between APAC and LATATA, the end result…talent takes it up the ass instead of getting some power over their own lives and bodies. Its the sad reality that it wasn’t that hard most talent is simply apathetic but of the ones that aren’t far too many are followers instead of leaders and were all to ready to allow The FSC of all people to dupe them into thinking that The FSC was on their side.
19 Responses
Why Did LA Direct and VIPSelect leave LATATA and how does it Affect Talent http://t.co/P471zGJhww
RT @MikeSouth1226: Why Did LA Direct and VIPSelect leave LATATA and how does it Affect Talent http://t.co/P471zGJhww
I attended some of the very early LATATA meetings. They had some great ideas, they just lacked the organizational, and real business skills to make them happen, and they lacked the money. Derek should be running this whole show by now, why he isn’t is beyond me. If there was one agent who didnt need LATATA it is Derek.
But in the long run it simply boiled down to this, they would rather stab eachother in the back for 50cents than work together to make a dollar.
First I am going to say that anyone that thinks an industry testing program is going to protect a person from catching VD from an untested john while prostituting themselves outside of the adult film industry is one stupid idiotic imbecile with an IQ of 2. The tests only help those that actually participate which is when they perform on set for a legitimate producer and all involved are tested (and with the chickies fucking outside of the system by escorting that protection is lessened greatly). If we could get prostitution legalized with a 14 day testing requirement for both johns and prostitutes we would get a lot farther reducing VD rates both in and out of the industry than the current attitude of make it illegal and people won’t do it (yeah, right). The US Government tried prohibition with alcohol, it didn’t work. They are trying it with drugs right now, it isn’t working. They are doing it with prostitution, it isn’t working there either. The key is legalizing prostitution (and drugs) and using sensible regulation to reduce the risk. That sensible regulation as far as prostitution is concerned would be a full VD panel within 14 days of either performing or prostituting/fucking a prostitute. Condoms won’t work, certainly not for performing in adult film. They might work for escort-type prostitution but I suspect if they were required that regulation would be flouted regularly making testing the most sensible and most likely to work alternative (the VD test requirement could be regulated at the escort agency level before a john is pared with a prostitute whereas condoms cannot). Certainly if someone wishes to use a condom that request should be honored, however.
I repeat for the benefit of any porn performers reading: Your VD test from CET, Talent Testing or whatever other place you get tested at will not protect you from VD when escorting unless all of your johns are very recently tested as well. VD testing is not a magic wand that protects you, it only works if everyone involved is tested. Every time someone fucks outside of the testing system the risk of VD in the industry increases. Granted you are going to fuck your spouses/fiancees, that is much less risky than fucking untested johns as a spouse/fiancee is likely to either only be fucking you or only have one or two other partners. Johns could be fucking five escorts a week for all you know. Just ask Cameron Bay or Rod Daily.
iirc Derek Hay penned an open letter re rate undercutting and Shy Love has been openly advocating for a better approach to testing for sometime now. FSC took down their site but one of goodies they had there that struck me early on was the vitriolic attack against Shy Love in 2012 when she planned a meeting to discuss testing.
I’m all for shared costing on tests and until the time comes when medical providers are doing direct billing the $20 fee beats a blank because it shifts the burden from performers to stakeholders. Stakeholders paying for testing aligns them with standard US business practices paving the way to make adult filming just one more US industry.
@mharris
Pretending escorting isn’t part of the adult film business is like trying to separate education from the law or medical profession.
As usual Harris, you left something out,,,,Your vd test from CET or talent Testing will not protect you ON SET when you and your scene partner have both had unprotected sex ten times since taking that test.
Performers dont go OUTSIDE the pool, they bring others into the pool. Disease is in the pool right now Harris, right this second, it has been there for years, and will remain there, even if every single performer stopped fucking outside the pool today there is still disease in the pool that just keeps going back and forth, back and forth, every single day without exception, ever.
You CANNOT include what should be happening, but isnt happening as part of a medial program. The medical progran needs to deal with what is happening, not what should be happening.
“but it isnt uneducated speculation like you see on lesser site”: ah, the mandatory back pat/take down of others that is a mainstay of your articles lol. It’s always funny cause it’s like everyone reading this post is already on your site reading it so who are you trying to sway. Don’t strain something or pat yourself on the back to hard.
I have to wonder…seriously why do you torture yourself by coming here? It seems you cant find anything useful in anything here….I mean did you lose a bet or something?
I actually agree with every word you wrote…
@erik2690
“ah, the mandatory back pat/take down of others that is a mainstay of your articles lol.”
While your criticisms of this site are the mainstay aka cornerstone footing that stands as the overall theme to your comments it would be incorrect to say “”“but it isnt uneducated speculation like you see on lesser site”” is a mainstay or cornerstone or buttress to the articles posted here.
To make the point more clear the article in its entirety still stands vs your comments which lose all substance if the criticisms you hang onto like a rabid pit bull are removed.
Giving you the benefit of the doubt …perhaps you are unaware that a younger less experienced site relies on vitriolic attacks against this site as part of its bread and butter….hence the critical comparison vs affirming reference.
Taking a page from your book…Erik2690 shows up with his stock in trade criticisms and questions and has yet to prove his intelligence.
Business as usual, that’s all thats going to happen. Business as usual.
@harris:
Who’s this “we” you speak of, Matt?
And for those unfamiliar with the misinformation and general bullshit you routinely spout, why don’t you elaborate on why you feel condoms are ill-advised on a porn set…
@Mr. Anon: Ba Ha!!
your check is in the mail.
Signed, Derek and Shy.
What the hell? O.o
In this case “we” both refers to the adult industry and society as a whole both of which would be well served by legalizing prostitution and requiring a 14 day adult industry panel along with mouth and anal swabs also tested for all VDs from all sexual parties to a prostitution transaction before sex takes place.
I think most readers know my stance regarding condoms on porn sets so I won’t get in that argument with you here for the hundredth time, Hop — considering this thread is about Derek and Shy leaving LATATA (and not either you or Derek playing with Shy’s ta-tas and getting some of that Grade AA prime pussy from her in a porn film scene) it isn’t really appropriate. I would be glad to reiterate my position in a more appropriate thread.
As for bullshit, we all seem to have an opinion when it comes to porn and almost everyone else thinks that opinion stinks like a week-old make-up sponge shoved up a grade METH or grade XANAX performer’s pussy that is also infected with gonorrhea from fucking johns in front of the 7-Eleven on Hollywood and Vine.
@Mharris127
The 7-Eleven you speak of is actually on Hollywood and North Gower. lol
Seriously though, Interesting point and Sadly Shy Love does not perform any longer
I have been debating for days if I wanted to reply to this blog. Derek and Shy may not be most liked people in the business but they are respected. They defiantly care about talent and protecting the business. There girls are reliable and professional. The one thing I know is if they say something or shake your hand they keep whatever commitment they promised. Talk about them all you want but every time there is a quarantine they are the first to assist and get everyone on the list asap. The stopped CET from taking over and controlling test. They changed the HIV testing to a better test that we use now. They get there talent $20 reimb for test. Does your agent do that for you.
The question that has me confused is why is no one looking at why they really left and why its dangerous to have Mark from ATMLA be the new king in charge of LATATA.
LATATA was an organization created to help talent and agents. It now does not stand for that. Now its about protecting producers and directors and fucking over talent.
Mark should be calling his company producer agency not talent agency.
He undercutting rates on talent. This benefits him and producers but not the talent. He gets more bookings, producers get cheaper bookings and the girl gets the same amount of scenes at lower rates.
So now Mark is getting girls less pay, they have to spend more money on test and in return he does not get them reimb for testing and over prices on drives. His talent should be so happy.
I have a problem that Mark thinks more like a producer and cares more about producers then talent. Does anyone not seem concerned that he is on the board of FSC which is a organization to help producers not talent. Now he’s the king of LATATA which is turning from a agent/talent organization to a producer organization.
I see the writing on the wall and this is going to become one big mess.
My point stands even though there isn’t actually a 7-Eleven on Hollywood and Vine (the intersection where prostitution is supposedly rampant within a two mile radius although that may have changed lately).
As for Shy, I know she no longer performs but she is still cute and I am sure she could get scenes if she wanted them. I hope she has found Mr. or Ms. Right and is living happily ever after either getting fucked up the ass with a double-size dick or her pussy eaten out with her hands cuffed behind her every night. Maybe she would also enjoy a little cattle-prodding or caning of her cute derriere or a good old-fashioned over-the-knee spanking (I can dream, can’t I).