Vegas producer Stagliano charged with obscenity
April 9, 2008 | 10:34
am
This morning, I had a brief phone interview with John Stagliano, who Tuesday was charged by a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., with multiple counts related to "operating an obscenity distribution business." Stagliano spoke to me against the advice of his attorney.
A little background: Stagliano is among the best-known pornographers in that industry. He is considered the founder of a genre of adult entertainment known as gonzo porn.
In recent years, his films have won him a reputation as an auteur for his epic series "The Fashionistas." The first "Fashionistas" movie, a 4 1/2-hour epic shot on film rather than video, won Stagliano more AVN awards (the adult Oscar) than any other adult film in history before.
Stagliano was so smitten with the success of "Fashionistas" that he created a modernist dance interpretation as a Vegas production show. The Vegas show was not even topless, yet ran for more than three years and generated worshipful reviews. That is how I met Stagliano. I went behind the scenes to document the show's creation.
"Fashionistas" was a labor of love for Stagliano, mixing his lifelong dedication to modern dance, erotica and the stage into an amazing Vegas experience. But without casino support or a good location (the heterosexually oriented show performed in the gay nightclub Krave, which had no Strip access), "Fashionistas" lost a lot of money; and earlier this year Stagliano closed the show to focus on his day job.
But "Fashionistas" did have a permanent impact on the Strip. Stagliano's eye for talent proved prescient. Many of his techniques and stars were incorporated into other shows after "Fashionistas" closed. One of his leads became the star of "Le Reve" at Wynn and the other was selected by Dita Von Teese recently to be in the "Crazy Horse" show at MGM. Meanwhile, the "Fashionistas" original choreographer went on to create the "X Girls" show at the Flamingo.
But though Stagliano returned to his real job in California, he has also been planning his next Vegas show. He has learned the ropes and is planning to produce another show. This time he will match his creativity with star power to bring customers in the door that "Fashionistas" had a hard time reaching.
So we stay in touch. He is one of the most creative people I have met while covering Vegas, and I am eager for his return. But I also knew that his temporary departure from Vegas was because of challenges in his own industry, where DVD sales were vanishing in the face of downloadable adult content. Now Stagliano's challenges have grown substantially.
In addition to his own films, Stagliano's company Evil Angel is one of the largest distributors in the nation of adult titles by other directors. It is those films that form the heart of the indictment.
As long as I have known him, Stagliano has been prepared for the day the police come for him. His libertarian world view sees the government as always out to get him. I kind of always figured he was being grandiose. "The People vs. Larry Flynt" was a long time ago. For example, Stagliano also was originally worried that Las Vegas authorities would find "Fashionistas" too racy, and instead, the positive buzz meant that even family Vegas proponent Steve Wynn came down to Krave to enjoy the show.
Stagliano, though, has always felt like an outlaw no matter how successful he became. With alarming prescience at January's adult awards show, the AVN Awards at Mandalay Bay, Stagliano had his "Fashionistas" cast perform a routine he created based around the premise of the government going for people who watch naughty movies. And now, just months later, Stagliano's fear of the government turned out to be justified.
So the moment Stagliano has been expecting has suddenly arrived. Though he says he was totally unaware of any investigation of him by a grand jury, he now is facing criminal charges. The indictment's punishment: "If convicted, Stagliano faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on each of the obscenity counts." That would be decades of prison time he is facing.
But when I reached Stagliano this morning he seemed upbeat: "The charges are real, and something bad could happen. But I look at the world with wonder and amusement, especially when it comes to the government. I am hoping this will result in a bump in sales for the films. It is all films I distribute and not a single one I directed. I wish my 'Fashionistas' had been chosen. The films are hard, but I have real artistic ambition. I wonder how closely they watched? I am surprised the government, with the war and the economy, has time for this."
(Photo by Sarah Gerke)
"Fashionistas" was a labor of love for Stagliano, mixing his lifelong dedication to modern dance, erotica and the stage into an amazing Vegas experience. But without casino support or a good location (the heterosexually oriented show performed in the gay nightclub Krave, which had no Strip access), "Fashionistas" lost a lot of money; and earlier this year Stagliano closed the show to focus on his day job.
But "Fashionistas" did have a permanent impact on the Strip. Stagliano's eye for talent proved prescient. Many of his techniques and stars were incorporated into other shows after "Fashionistas" closed. One of his leads became the star of "Le Reve" at Wynn and the other was selected by Dita Von Teese recently to be in the "Crazy Horse" show at MGM. Meanwhile, the "Fashionistas" original choreographer went on to create the "X Girls" show at the Flamingo.
But though Stagliano returned to his real job in California, he has also been planning his next Vegas show. He has learned the ropes and is planning to produce another show. This time he will match his creativity with star power to bring customers in the door that "Fashionistas" had a hard time reaching.
So we stay in touch. He is one of the most creative people I have met while covering Vegas, and I am eager for his return. But I also knew that his temporary departure from Vegas was because of challenges in his own industry, where DVD sales were vanishing in the face of downloadable adult content. Now Stagliano's challenges have grown substantially.
In addition to his own films, Stagliano's company Evil Angel is one of the largest distributors in the nation of adult titles by other directors. It is those films that form the heart of the indictment.
As long as I have known him, Stagliano has been prepared for the day the police come for him. His libertarian world view sees the government as always out to get him. I kind of always figured he was being grandiose. "The People vs. Larry Flynt" was a long time ago. For example, Stagliano also was originally worried that Las Vegas authorities would find "Fashionistas" too racy, and instead, the positive buzz meant that even family Vegas proponent Steve Wynn came down to Krave to enjoy the show.
Stagliano, though, has always felt like an outlaw no matter how successful he became. With alarming prescience at January's adult awards show, the AVN Awards at Mandalay Bay, Stagliano had his "Fashionistas" cast perform a routine he created based around the premise of the government going for people who watch naughty movies. And now, just months later, Stagliano's fear of the government turned out to be justified.
So the moment Stagliano has been expecting has suddenly arrived. Though he says he was totally unaware of any investigation of him by a grand jury, he now is facing criminal charges. The indictment's punishment: "If convicted, Stagliano faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on each of the obscenity counts." That would be decades of prison time he is facing.
But when I reached Stagliano this morning he seemed upbeat: "The charges are real, and something bad could happen. But I look at the world with wonder and amusement, especially when it comes to the government. I am hoping this will result in a bump in sales for the films. It is all films I distribute and not a single one I directed. I wish my 'Fashionistas' had been chosen. The films are hard, but I have real artistic ambition. I wonder how closely they watched? I am surprised the government, with the war and the economy, has time for this."
(Photo by Sarah Gerke)
"The People vs. Larry Flynt" may have been "a long time ago," but those of us in the adult entertainment industry have seen colleagues dragged into court on obscenity charges lately... and FBI agents going through the records of businesses with offices in hopes of finding a 2257 bookkeeping error are not uncommon.
While once the Feds believed that it should prioritize solving child rape, abduction, and sexual assault on film cases it now apparently considers mutually consenting adults engaging in sex in front of the camera to be far more important to squash.
Posted by: Darklady | April 09, 2008 at 12:06 PM
The movies of Evil Angel's named in the indictment are fairly "tame" - both by Evil Angel's standards and by the standards used in the adult industry (yes, believe it or not, most respectable companies like Evil Angel actually "police" the kind of content they'll permit in their movies). There's nothing obscene at all about what's in these titles, and the Federal Goverment (you tax dollars at work, folks!) is going to have quite the chore convincing a judge and jury that they are.
In the past the Feds have gone after movies and companies that are on the fringes of porn...questionable movies that even people like Mr. Stagliano would admit are "on the border" of good taste and what the "average adult viewer" would enjoy.
This time, however, the Federal Government is attacking the heart of porn. If these titles are found to be "obscene," they'll be able to open the floodgates and ban most, if not all, of what is currently being produced by the adult industry.
I happen to personally believe the govenment doesn't stand a chance in this case, but that doesn't mean that those of us who believe in personal liberities shouldn't be very, very scared by what the government is trying to do here.
Posted by: Shannon T. Nutt | April 09, 2008 at 12:42 PM
Obscene? The only obscenity requiring the attention of our federal government is U.S. foreign policy in Iraq and other locales.
Hat tip to Frank Zappa who said so long ago in a similar context.
Your article is well-written and very Vegas. Good job.
Posted by: Slothrop | April 09, 2008 at 05:15 PM
Yes, look the other way and we'll be back to Ricky and Lucy with separate beds in their master bedroom, with lots of little girls popping out the babies they can't yet raise but were forced to have, and medicare and old people a thing of the past. Very well put.... "with the economy and the war".... isn't it interesting where our tax dollars are going in our "free nation." I am very sorry to hear this. John Stagliano is a very hard working, respectful person. The movies I have seen released through his companies have an edge, but they're not anything people aren't legally trying at home, and they're very much done with artistry. His Vegas show was amazing and I can't wait for the next one! He really makes the best porn. That does not mean he makes something obscene. I truly can't believe it seems we're still debating "obscene." Well, I guess Spitzer's people have some time on their hands.
Posted by: Kat Slater | April 09, 2008 at 08:01 PM
I am a 42 year old married man (17 years) with two kids. I am a conservitive republican, more of a liberterian, really. Both my wife and I (both college educated professionals) like porn. Vivid Video and Wicked produce good stuff, love the Trailer Park Nurses Series. The feds have other things to worry about and there is too much money involved in the industry, the big players are not messing around.
Posted by: Bob | April 10, 2008 at 08:01 AM
Yes. The government must really be this dysfuntionally bored.
Posted by: Aurora Snow | April 19, 2008 at 08:59 PM
awww stag am sorry for what happen you are so serious about your job
i always see you looking for mistakes
always looking for different views but this people are just to bored they should leave you alone and let you do what you do best entertain durty minds like mine lol hope goes well see you sometime in vegas
Posted by: diablo | April 23, 2008 at 01:32 PM
I'm really quite surprised that they try to apply the "Miller Test" to anything in modern society. It's vague, and It states, in part, that one of the determining factors would be whether "the average person, applying contemporary 'community standards' would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to prurient interest... " The problem with the Miller Test is that the resulting opinions on a work are based more on "nostalgic" rather than "contemporary" community standards. Let's have a look-see at Washington D.C. Not only is it one of the most violent in the country, it harbors some of the most corrupt. And given some of the sexual behavior that has come out of that district in recent times, it's more obscene than any porn I can think of. At least none of these movies took place in an airport bathroom stall or under the desk in the Oval Office.
Clearly, the comparisons of the works are made against the standards of the way the "community" wished the world was, rather than the way it really is. Like comparing it to when we wear our Sunday Best rather than on the sofa in front of the television. If the "community standard" was developed from crime statistics--arrests, prosecutions and convictions--we'd find out that in most cases "community standards" are pretty darn low. In the glaring light of reality, an old dirty movie doesn't look so bad.
Posted by: Brandy Alexandre | August 03, 2008 at 09:41 AM