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THE REAL ROBERT LOMBARD STANDS UP
_POSTEDON 2002-06-16 09:56:20 by jimmyd |
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 jimmyd _writes "A month or so ago I wrote an article, "Will the Real Robert Lombard Please Stand Up." It was a rant about mainstream production guys vs. porn production guys, and it also asked the question--none too kindly--who the hell is this Robert Lombard guy?
Here's a taste of that article: "...I can't figure out who the real Robert Lombard is? Is he a mainstream guy flirting with the jiz biz, or is he now a full-fledged pornographer?"
This past Friday I worked for Robert. Believe it or not, he hired me as a shooter for a project he produces for a company called DigitalG and for DirectTV. And get this, I wasn't there to shoot smut. I was there to shoot, well, to shoot a lot of stuff that did not include sex, although it all had a sexual twist to it. We also shot, at the end of the day, a very short (less than 10 minute) simulated girl/girl/girl sex scene. I'm not kidding, it was all frosting and no cake, simulated being the key word here.
During the course of the day, I realized that the real Robert Lombard did stand up, and through this whole day, Robert remained standing as the consumate producer. I gotta give it to him, he runs a tight, yet fun ship. Everything was well-organized, well-planned, and thoughtfully scheduled. Ultimately, our production day lasted less than twelve hours and I can't remember the last time that happened on a porn set.
In a nutshell, I was there to shoot behind-the-scenes of a boxcover photo shoot for three of DigitalG's recent productions. The photo shoot was being treated as a media event, and my camera was there to cover it much like the E! Channel would cover some mainstream gig, Only instead of being for the E! Channel, this footage is bound for Direct TV and other cable outlets. There was also a German TV crew there, and some representatives of both the printed and cyber press.
The models were all stars of DigitalG's productions: XXX's own Nicole Sheridan, Wendy Divine, and Drew Berrymore. Plus, DigitalG has their very own on-air personality: a really hot, sexy, mainstream actress named J.C. who would easily be a sought after contract girl if she ever were inclined to come into the jiz biz. As a bonus, she was a fucking kick to work with! She has a terrific sense of humor. At one point, while putting on my best thick Eastern European accent, I told her, "...in my country, you would be better than sheep." She laughed her ass off, and thanked me for the compliment. Ya gotta love a girl like that! Especially one with a superb ass like her's, not to mention the great set of natural tits!
The photo shoot took place in a studio in the middle of L.A.'s Jewish district, near Pico and Beverly. I only mention this because throughout the day I saw some of the hottest looking Jewish chics I've ever seen coming in and out of this nearby Kosher market. They all looked very exotic, very Mediterranean, and very fuckable. Now I know why Luke Ford hangs out in that part of town, running from temple to temple with his dick hard!
Robert's photographer was an English bloke name of Simon. Simon seemed a little like he wasn't all that accustomed to photographing naked women in sexually provocative poses--not that he minded--and that he was some kind of a high-end fashion photographer. Simon had an assistant with him, and there was also an Art Director on the set. Whew! A fucking Art Director! Sound like a typical porn photo shoot? I didn't think so either.
There was also two make-up artists to work on 4 girls (not exactly the usual make-up-to-talent ratio in the jiz biz), and the catering--which included a hot breakfast, a hot lunch, a light dinner, and snacks throughout the day--was terrific. There was even a PA who was there just to help me. And, we even had a freakin' script! Not a script to stage the photo shoot, but a script for all of the hostesses' segment intros for Direct TV and others, plus different fun bits for her to do with the talent.
And throughout the whole day I kept thinking, "This is where and how mainstream really is converging with the adult world." It's not on some Vivid set, it's right here. It's shooting the kind of sexually oriented content that will reach--via cable and satelite--many millions of homes. It plays on its own, and at the same time, it subtly previews and plugs harder-edged material for those who seek it. It's a bit of what John Bowen was talking about recently in his AVNinsider article. It requires technical quality and a professional presentation. It's content that will play to an across-the-board, mainstream, adult audience. It's where the money is going to be, and it's nearly bullet-proof from censorship and obscenity charges. It's the future, in my not-so-humble opinion. I'm sure there will always be a hard-core porn business, but there's also going to be this other industry with one foot planted in XXX and the other in mainstream entertainment. If you ask me, the latter is where the big bucks are going to be.
Is Robert Lombard a mainstream guy flirting with the jiz biz? Yeah, but not in the way you think. My take on him is that he's a mainstream guy who is funneling aspects of both the jiz biz and mainstream entertainment to reach a larger viewership.
Everyone pretty much agrees that the adult industry is evolving. New technologies constantly impact what we do and how we do it. Personally, I think this guy, and those he represents, have a vision of where we might be going. And they're putting their money--a lot of money in fact--where their vision is. My guess is there's going to be a big pay-off for them at the end of this new, colorful rainbow.
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