BALLS, BRILLIANCE, OR STUPIDITY? I'M STILL NOT SURE
_POSTEDON 2003-05-02 16:07:09 by jimmyd |
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jimmyd _writes "
About a month or so ago I posted an article about Python Pictures/Anarchy Films new series, "Maximum Hard." My title for the article was "Balls, Brilliance, or Stupidity?" If you want to take a quick look at it, click HERE.
Well, I'm still not completely sure what the answer to my "balls, brilliance, or stupidity?" question might be. Given the text of an article appearing today on AVN.com, you might lean towards "stupidity" as the answer. To be fair, you'd probably include "balls" as part of the answer as well. In case you haven't read today's AVN article on this subject, AVN reports that Anarchy Films (the distributor) and Python Pictures (the producer) of "Maximum Hard," a XXX video that parodies Maxim Magazine, have been served with a cease-and-desist order from Dennis Publishing, the publisher of Maxim magazine.
According to reports, Anarchy sold about 5,000 pieces of this product. Pretty impressive in today's adult video marketplace. But that's a lot of product to recall, and according to AVN, Anarchy has agreed (in an out-of-court settlement) to recall the product and either replace it with newly packaged product, or to give a full refund.
Ouch! That's got to hurt!
But if there's one thing I've learned in life it's that some people are quite adept at turning scars into stars. The worst publicity can sometimes generate the best sales. And when life hands you lemons, really clever people simply make lemonade out of them. So I wouldn't count Anarchy or Python out just yet. In the end, "Maximum Hard" might still turn out to be a burst of brilliance.
According to my inside sources, Dennis Publishing was either unaware or unconcerned about the video until they received a certain letter from an individual who works for another individual who owns a very large distributorship of videos and magazines. This person is someone who is pretty much at the top of the porn food chain. I'm currently awaiting a copy of this letter. Since I haven't yet seen it, and because I always strive to engage in responsible jounalism, I'm not going to say much about it right now. But from what I've heard, someone might be receiving a cheese sandwich courtesy of Anarchy Films.
In my opinion, the people at Dennis Publishing who decided to press a lawsuit against Anarchy are a bunch of fucking hypocrates. I read Maxim magazine each month, and for them to go after someone who parodies them, given all whom they routinely parody makes them out to be nothing but a bunch of sissies who can only dish it, but can't take it. Personally, I've read my last issue of Maxim.
Of course, Maxim claims the video is not a parody, but rather it is a "devaluation of their brand." What a crock of legalese bullshit! You could argue this about any parody, including almost any parody Maxim magazine has engaged in.
Hey! Where's the free speech people on this one? Oh, I forgot, they seem to prefer to defend a pornographer's rights to parody pedophilia, rather than parodying magazine covers or movies or TV shows.
If you'd like to comment on this story, here's a good place to do so.
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