KEY WEST - Max Hardcore a.k.a. Paul Little is still recovering from his massive loss in federal court in Tampa last week, but he took the time to compliment St. Petersburg Times reporter Ben Montgomery, who interviewed Little over a period of several days, for producing a first-rate profile.
However, Little was less enthused with a blog by Tampa Tribune columnist Daniel Ruth. Max responded as follows:
"Mr. Ruth, are you now, or have you ever been a member of the Intellectual party? Seriously, have you seen any of my movies - even a single one? You follow the party line and flatly state that my movies feature violence. Since when is energetic and enthusiastic performances of sex, or anything for that matter - violence?
If I was so violent, where are the victims? I'd be charged with sexual assault, not obscenity. The only actress to take the witness stand defended me, and said I treated her better than anyone else in the business - and even paid her for a scene when she didn't feel like working. Most all of the actresses in my movies are well-paid professionals, and many of them have worked for me several times.
You want to talk about violence, Daniel? Let's talk about the Rays and Boston. Let's talk cops and kids getting gunned down on the streets of Tampa. Let's talk about prime time TV. Now we've got something to talk about.
I was convicted of 'Obscenity,' which is the only crime in America where you don't know if you broke the law until you're convicted of it by a judge or jury. Specifically, I was convicted of 5 counts for using the US Post to mail 5 movies to Tampa. I was also convicted for the 5 video trailers which were on my website.
There's only one small problem; I didn't mail the movies to Tampa - one of the many companies I do business with did, Jaded Video. As I do with all my vendors, I had shipped the movies to Jaded by UPS. No Tampa resident complained about my movies. They were then ordered by a postal inspector working for the Justice Department. The government says I should have known they would be mailed... to Tampa. Yet the owner of Jaded even took the stand and said that he didn't discuss with me where he sold my movies or how they get there.
Even more amazingly, I was convicted in spite of the fact that it states quite clearly at the beginning of all my movies - and on my website - 'It is illegal to proceed if you are not yet of legal age, or if adult material may be illegal where you live.' That should have been the end of the story.
If my crimes were such a big deal, where was the local outrage? Where were the protesters? By and large, most of the public comments were positive in response to the stories written in the local papers. What ever happened to 'live and let live' in the USA? What happened to 'mind your own business'?
In my 16 years making movies, I have never met a single person who told me that they were forced to watch my movies against their will. Yet I've met thousands who thanked me for entertaining them. And I've had more people than I can remember thank me for putting them to work. I always pay my bills, and I'm always respectful of others.
Now, for reasons I do not yet fully understand, there were some members of the jury who felt that No One should be allowed to see my movies. And immediately after the verdict, it surfaces that a book deal is in the works by some of the jurors. (Let's hope it still legal to publish a book when they're done with it.) We will get to the bottom of the book deal, as well as other matters of injustice which took place at my trial.
Appeals will be lodged not just on my behalf - but on behalf of all Americans who don't want to be told what they can watch, read, think, or speak. Americans who believe in the 1st Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America.
There are forces of evil who wish to silence us, and our brave men and women are fighting and dying for democracy at this very moment. You may not agree with what I have to say, but you must agree that I have the right to say it.
Paul F. Little."
