Sharon Mitchell sent out the following letter to the industry: "Attention Industry Members. We have a major problem with adherence in HIV testing. You May Be At Risk.
"Last night [Wednesday] I was visiting a dear friend of mine who is a major director in the Industry. He was shooting for a major African American company this past weekend. He all too casually mentioned to me that the star of the show wasn't going to receive his paycheck until the company received his HIV test.
I ask you: How much more EXPENSE do the talent and companies have to come to, to assure accurate monitoring. A monitoring system does not work unless all parties participate, which means 30 DAY PCR/DNA tests, valid from the date drawn on the test!
Let me remind you that simply because we have not had an outbreak in nearly a year is because we have had stellar compliance with PCR/DNA testing...Not because HIV is gone!
As a concerned professional, I withheld judgment; but as a dedicated healthcare professional, I don't know which is worse - seeing that a major production company be responsible for the treatment of HIV positive talent and providing all of their medication for life because they contacted HIV on the set, or the knowledge that one of our much beloved directors is trying to sleep at night knowing that because of an oversight, he is responsible for multiple HIX exposures."
Mitchell had this to say: "A lot of people are shooting. They're not looking at the tests. This is very disturbing. I don't know which is worse, the company having to pay for a possible person getting HIV on their set, or a director not being being able to sleep at night because of an oversight, and he has to live with the fact that he partook in multiple exposures. I was tossing and turning all night. I really fear for everyone. We've gone to such great lengths and expense, not only to participate in our own healthcare, but in the monitoring...everybody's got to get on the same boat. I'm sending this letter out just as a dedicated healthcare professional who's pissed off...if you're a production manager, producer, director, manufacturer, please don't shoot the talent without looking at their test and making sure its within the 30 days. This is an alarm that I want to go off. The liabilities are astounding for one these companies. We've gotten into the groove where we think HIV is gone. It's not gone. It's epidemic in the city of Los Angeles, particularly among African American heterosexual people. I'm trying to do as much with the grant-writing services for that particular community within the adult entertainment industry right now. And then to hear this on top of it blew me away. What if this actor decided to slide a few days and comes up positive? I don't think this is the case, but if we continue to keep letting it slide, odds are, it's going to be the case real soon. A system simply doesn't work unless everybody gets on board and does the same thing. That's why we haven't had an outbreak. We're into the solution. Let's stay there. The talent has to think enough of themselves, too, and ask to see that test. I know I'm ballsy, and this sounds like policing and finger-pointing, but goddamn it I'm mad, and this means a lot to me. I have a right to get angry. There's lives at stake here.
Buttman John Stagliano confirms the distribution deal with Apocalypse Productions.
"That's correct," Stagliano said. "I like the movie - [Apocalypse's Anal Ball starring Montana Gunn.]. I see a lot of potential in it. They did some really nice things with the editing to make some weird shit that much better, and I like the guys' approach to porno." [Apocalypse is made up of Brian Surewood, Jay Stone and Thomas Zupko.]
Stagliano: "You didn't have to freeze-frame. It was all there and repeated a zillion times. Ice kept shooting out of Montana Gunn's butt. It was good. He [Zupko] sent me a letter telling me that he was doing this movie. I've talked to him a couple of times since then. I saw him at the CES show after his letter came in. He sent me a screener with a copy of some of the raw footage. I said some of this was interesting, but I figured the movie was going to be crap - some of the shots were good, but going from good shots to a well-edited movie is a big task. I thought it would be weak, but I was completely wrong on a couple of the scenes, anyway. Some of the scenes were intriguing when I saw the raw footage. I just didn't think they could off editing the movie well, but they did. But it was some of the best music I ever heard in a porn movie. It's youth-oriented. Rock n' roll, but it's the best quality overall. The guy [Zupko] is a genuine porn pervert. He's talking to me about Dostoevsky! It's just a question of having variety in my company.
"We're not going to be able to sell it to some distributors because some of the strong stuff in here. I don't expect the numbers as I do with my other directors. But I also get tired of the eastern European stuff with the girls who don't have much personality."
Anal Ball has a street date of June 23.
