Knowlege is power and the more we know about the laws that regulate our industry, the less chance there is that someone can take advantage of us.
I’ve written about the labor code before, but today let’s talk about California Code Labor Code Section 1700.40.
This is the section of the California labor code that deals with talent agents.
It says that an agent can’t be both an agent and a porn producer. You have to be either one or the other. It’s considered a conflict of interest if you try and act as both.
(a) No talent agency shall collect a registration fee. In the event that a talent agency shall collect from an artist a fee or expenses for obtaining employment for the artist, and the artist shall fail to procure the employment, or the artist shall fail to be paid for the employment, the talent agency shall, upon demand therefor, repay to the artist the fee and expenses so collected. Unless repayment thereof is made within 48 hours after demand therefor, the talent agency shall pay to the artist an additional sum equal to the amount of the fee.
(b) No talent agency may refer an artist to any person, firm, or corporation in which the talent agency has a direct or indirect financial interest for other services to be rendered to the artist, including, but not limited to, photography, audition tapes, demonstration reels or similar materials, business management, personal management, coaching, dramatic school, casting or talent brochures, agency-client directories, or other printing.
In other words, your agent can’t be your agent and your producer. It’s a conflict of interest and a violation of the California labor code.
- Kendra Lust runs Society 15, which is owned at least in part by the guy who owns Arch Angel. Kendra Lust also has her own movie line where she books talent for her own line of movies.
- Nexxt Level is run by two guys, both of which who work as directors.
- Hussie Models runs Hussie Auditions, a website and now DVD line.
- Shy Love of The VIP Connect has been working as an agent and a producer for more than a few companies.
- Tee Reel of Ideal Image Models works as a director/producer and male talent where he books girls form his own roster.
Since these agents are in violation they face potential criminal charges if the state decides to go after them.
Let’s hope that the state gets tired of the repeat offenders and starts cleaning house soon.
3 Responses
“Services rendered to the artist” sounds like the law prevents you from referring you to other services charging the *starlet* money. The examples you gave were for jobs.
All this is true but everyone knows it and it never changes. Hussie can probably get around it since they’re not based here. Shouldn’t Conor Coxx be added to the list also?
I thought Hussie’s Riley Reynolds filmed his “masterpieces” of sex with 18 year old “cuties” in Florida as well. I don’t know if there is a similar law in that state but I seem to recall an article on here where Riley was “pressuring” his new talent to film their first scene for him within hours of leaving either the airport or the Greyhound station. I will need to look that one up on here but I swear this site is where I read it.
As for Tee Reel, he is his own piece of shit. I have read of him forcing potential talent to audition for him and at least one instance of him having new, fresh off of the bus talent do a scene within a couple of hours of him picking them up from the Greyhound station or airport without either his talent or him having a recent industry VD test (they did a “mouth swab”, probably the Elisa/Western Blot series quick test used as a secondary on some sets but never as the primary VD screen on a legitimate adult film set). Link: https://bit.ly/2HahgOs . Tee’s (then) partner in their talent agency, Corey, heard about it the next morning, immediately told the naive girl about industry policy on VD testing and went off on Tee (the article was mum on how much physical violence was involved the next time Corey and Tee met, showing some text messages between Tee and his partner, anyone with pictures of Tee with his face fucked up please send them to Kelli Roberts for posting here). Tee is a good pimp or gang banger type character actor (he is also a performer in the wider adult film industry, for example he has done more than one scene for Dogfart) but I would be leery of having him in any movie I directed, who the fuck knows if he would falsify a VD panel or try to convince new talent to let him book their scenes.