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The Deeper Throat Reality Show - Episode 5; Steve Hirsch to Robert Interlandi: You’re a Punk Kid
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009 | Deeper Throat TV show, From Gene Ross | No Comments
DEEP THROAT NEWS — BLOG
Story by Gene Ross from www.adultfyi.com
I realize I’m giving away the secrets to the sawing the lady in half trick, but at no time on camera in the Showtime Deeper Throat reality series does Vivid’s Steve Hirsch actually choke Robert Interlandi, Arrow’s marketing director, www.xxxdeepthroat.com.
But Hirsch comes pretty darn close in Episode 5 as Interlandi continues to be irascible, and Paul Thomas continues to play the martyr as Hirsch stops by the shoot to see what all the hubbub is about. In Episode 4, Interlandi got through toilet papering Thomas car because he didn’t see eye to eye with the way Thomas and Vivid were shunting him in their efforts to remake Deep Throat.
By the time this episode opens up, Thomas is in Day 2 of the remake. Thomas describes his reinvention of the plot as a serious murder mystery about a girl with a deformity in her throat. Sasha Grey is playing the lead.
“The next two days are absolutely critical to the success of the movie,” Thomas is saying, not knowing that Interlandi’s about to wreak a little more havoc on the set.
“The asshole Robert’s got to say away from my set,” Thomas is saying.
His prayers basically go unanswered when Interlandi, who was skateboarding earlier in Venice, shows up with a beer pong table and draws the crew into some friendly competition.
Channeling Rodney Dangerfield, Interlandi’s saying he doesn’t get any of the respect that he deserves.
“I represent Arrow, the original owners of Deep Throat. We’re supposed to be their fucking partner but all I’m getting is the runaround.”
Thomas is perplexed.
“I don’t have the slightest idea why he’s doing all these strange things.”
Thomas also believes in the old Al Pacino adage about keeping your friends close but your enemies closer.
“I’m not going to let him know that he’s affecting me or my show,” continues Thomas revealing his strategy.
“I’m just going to kill him with kindness. Let him play his little ping-bong game. But if I’m going to have to stare at this punk’s face all day I’m going to at least put him to work.”
Which means Thomas wants Interlandi to be an extra. Interlandi tries some lines of dialogue but Thomas feels it’s probably best if Interlandi melts into the background.
“I’m so tired of being disrespected- fuck P.T.,” says Interlandi in frustration.
“Fuck Vivid. Fuck the whole fucking project. They can shove it up their fucking ass.”
For her part, Grey’s back is killing her, she’s on her period and she’s late arriving to the set. Also nervous about her anal scene with Evan Stone, Grey expresses the hope that everyone isn’t high on the set but comments later to her boyfriend that everyone was drunk.
On the other hand, Thomas expresses confidence that Grey can dive into her scene cold. But Grey wants time to warm up and is now the object of more gossip because of that.
“She needs to do what she needs to do and I’ll give her more time,” states Thomas.
Marci Hirsch, Hirsch’s sister is using her son Jordan who’s been hired as a P.A. to be a spy in the set. Jordan, in turn, gives her the skinny on how P.T. kicked one of the female performers, Sarah Vandella, off the set.
Grey has an accident, and P.T. muses that Jordan’s getting a crash course in feminine hygiene. Jordan, later, admits that although his mother works in porn, she’s pretty uptight about it.
It’s also brought to P.T.’s attention that Interlandi gave an interview to one of the porn gossip sites about how he wasn’t getting any input. [The site was Adultfyi, but no mention is made of that.]
After reading the post [Hirsch also has a look at it], Thomas comments that, “all of this shit is so inconsequential- who’s got time for it?”
Hirsch also makes a strange comment.
“I never thought I would have a chance to make a new Deep Throat movie and I hope some day my kids understand- really I do it all for them.”
Mentioning that going to the set is one of his least favorite things to do, Hirsch is now informed that he really needs to get to the set to diffuse the Interlandi situation.
“I’ve got a ton of money riding on this,” he says.
Calling Interlandi “disruptive,” Hirsch wonders how you deal with him.
“What is this guy, 8 years old? He’s a punk.”
“He’s obnoxious and childish,” Marci Hirsch adds.
By Day Three of the shoot, Thomas, in abrupt-mode, notes that cast and crew are tired and everyone’s making mistakes. One dialogue scene in particular is going haywire. Thomas complains that a machine shop next door is intrusive and that two of the extras couldn’t deliver their lines if their lives depended on it. One of them is fired for stepping all over the crime scene.
In Vegas, meanwhile, Pistol is getting reports from Interlandi to suggest that Arrow’s going to need to take the bull by the horns and shoot their own version. Convinced that a girl named Ariel whom he auditioned [in Episode One] may have what it takes, Pistol invites a sex educator named Morgan Ray to give Ariel lessons on deep throating and how to overcome the gag reflex with some mouth exercises and a banana.
Interlandi makes attempts at a peace offering by passing out Deep Throat energy drinks, shirts and DVDs - none of which is appreciated especially when Interlandi hands Grey some swag and chats with her while she’s in the middle of taking some pretty girls.
Interlandi’s idea behind this is to piss Hirsch off, and he succeeds. They take it out to the parking lot.
“She’s trying to work,” Hirsch tells Interlandi. “In the most pivotal scene why is it you need to have a discussion with her?”
“We were team deep Throat,” says Interlandi. “I didn’t get to know who the chick is that you picked. You didn’t do a talent search.”
“Are you nuts!?” Hirsch asks.
“You got the usual suspects,” continues Interlandi who reminds Hirsch again that he’s vice president of Arrow.
“I don’t care what you are,” answers Hirsch. “I give that zero credibility, your track record as a producer and director. It’s time for you to head on out. You’re a punk kid.”
“I’m vice president of a fucking company,” Interlandi keeps reminding him. Hirsch has one last comment to make.
“You haven’t shot a fucking movie- thank you, good bye.”
Interlandi kicks a gate on his way out and gives Hirsch the finger.
Arrow Turns “Deep Throat” and Other Titles into a Merchandising Empire
Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments
From XBIZ Magazine’s Special March 2009 Marketing Issue
———————————————————–
BRANDING X: A NEW WAY TO MAINSTREAM ADULT
Arrow Turns “Deep Throat” and Other Titles into a Merchandising Empire
By Michael McClay
Arrow Productions, widely considered the oldest established American adult video company is not only porndom’s original trailblazer with numerous classics in its catalog, including “Deep Throat,” the Las Vegas-based company also has the distinction of being a leading pioneer in the area of special marketing. In recent times Arrow further expanded its impact into the merchandising and branding arena, licensing its titles for products other than the distribution and sales of sex videos. www.xxxdeepthroat.com
Arrow has made a significant impact in the energy beverage marketplace with the release of the Deep Throat Energy Drink in May 2007. Then a year later Arrow made its second big marketing splash with the publication in the first of a series of comic books with “Debbie Does Dallas” followed by three other titles: “Candy Stripers,” “The Devil in Miss Jones” and “Tell Them Johnny Wadd is Here.” Finally, licensing theatrical posters for “Deep Throat,” “Debbie Does Dallas,” “Candy Stripers” and “The Goddaughter” completed a third major merchandising coup in a process that the company considers the wave of the future. Plans for other items include coffee, film cell wall art, costumes, T-shirts, hats, hoodies, belts, stickers, clocks, watches, beach towels, shot cups, beer mugs and other products.
The long and colorful history of Arrow Productions itself is the stuff of legends and the company’s Marketing Director Robert Interlandi who carries the banner as a second generation member of the organization has created quite an impact with his aggressive, edgy style.
“Even though our entire industry markets product considered controversial and cutting edge to mainstream, the adult industry’s marketing approach is surprisingly stale and static by today’s Madison Avenue standards,” says Interlandi. “Just look at the way mainstream companies market products on cable and the internet. Some of it really pushes the mainstream envelope.”
About four years ago after watching how adult marketed it product to consumers, he presented a marketing/licensing idea to Arrow owner Ray Pistol. Interlandi felt that some kind of consumer product tie-in to their video catalog could make a noteworthy impact. “I thought of what George Lucas did with ‘Star Wars’ merchandising and we thought we could do the same thing licensing with adult, since we had all the classic icons of adult,” says Interlandi. “I felt strongly that it could put us more in the mainstream.”
Several ideas were discussed, especially a beer. But a beer carried certain Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms requirements and the added tie-in to adult entertainment would bring too much Federal scrutiny, especially under the conservative Bush administration. “We’ve got nothing to hide, but we felt it was not a good mix at the time – so to speak,” says Interlandi, tongue in cheek.
Then one day while “hoisting a few” at a local pub with other Arrow staffers, they joked about the beer idea and was asked what the slogan would be: “Never too much head” and “put it in a bottle with an extra long neck.” But as he looked around the room, he saw all the non-alcoholic beverages being used a chasers and imagined a can of a “Deep Throat” beverage between the salt and pepper shakers. “The practical side of me also realized that if the drink were non-alcoholic, we could sell it to a wider base – not just those twenty-one and older, but everybody – especially the younger consumers who might think it cool to drink something associated with X,” he says. The booming energy beverage market seemed a natural.
It put Interlandi on quite a mission and fortunately as a Las Vegas resident many licensing trade shows land there sooner or later. “Just by walking at some shows I learned a lot and I picked up some non-beverage licensees as well. A lot of this is footwork – talking to people, networking…asking what they’re doing. It helped to go out of our little porn bubble. I rubbed shoulders with licensors such as Dick Clark, Jimi Hendrix, Elvis and other showbiz icons.”
“Into the Drink”
After a year of lab testing and product research, the Deep Throat Energy Drink debuted at the Adult Expo in 2007 replete with a yellow Corvette emblazoned with the drink’s logo and a mechanical riding bull for brave onlookers.
Arrow Productions launched the Deep Throat Energy drink later in the year and since its launch and an aggressive marketing campaign it has broken into new energy drink marketing and sales avenues. It has been exhibited at over 20 trade shows in the last year and in a number of unique markets including the Fort Worth’s Main St. Festival, South Dakota’s Sturgis Bike Week and many other events/markets unexplored by other energy drink manufacturers. In order to maximize its usage, it is being touted not only as an energy booster, but an alcoholic beverage mixer.
The reviews have been uniformly good, one describing it as having “a slightly berry taste and trending a tad sweeter than your ordinary energy drink, with taste tests concluding that over 90% of the samplers preferred the Deep Throat Energy Drink to its leading competitors.” The drink’s website claims that “the packaging, a tall thin canary yellow can with a retro “Deep Throat” movie poster has proven to be such a hit that people have fished empties out of the trash and took them home as souvenirs.”
Today Arrow’s name and flagship title “Deep Throat” stands out as a perfect example of storybook licensing done right. The Deep Throat Energy Drink, its characteristic yellow and fiery red color theme with the image of Linda Lovelace wrapped around the can with arms spread wide as if to embrace the thirsty consumer looking for an energy fix (and a little titillation) from America’s first official porn queen.
Branding Arrow video releases using an energy drink was a marketing masterstroke and not only are ancillary products in adult entertainment a long time coming, it’s appropriate that the first and most influential adult film ever produced is the flagship article of trade.
According to Arrow and the market, Deep Throat Energy Drink is here to stay; it was as an official nominee for the XBIZ Best Marketing Campaign, it was also nominated for the Best Overall Marketing Campaign at the Las Vegas Adult Expo. Outside the business, the Deep Throat Energy Drink was also nominated for two BevNet.com awards, including Best Energy Drink & Best Overall Marketing Campaign of 2008 and featured in their printed publication, New Beverage Guide.
“This really makes my year,” says Interlandi. “We have worked so hard on the drink. There were days where I would be in the Deeper Throat reality TV for Showtime starting a 9am and then I do a bar promotion with the mechanical bull until 2 a.m. ending up working 18 hours a day. I also can’t believe that we are the first energy drink to be nominated to an AVN and XBIZ award. With the BevNet award nomination it says that the drink is recognized in the mainstream beverage industry also. I feel like Wayne Gretzky scoring a marketing hat trick.” www.deepthroatenergy.com
“Stand-Up Comics”
One of Interlandi’s original ideas in addition to a beverage was a comic book license. For over four years he pursued it, approaching every nearly every large and small publisher. There were many offers, but too many just didn’t seem to fit right. “They had very stale ideas with no unique approach. When you go after licensees, you want to go after quality. I finally saw eye to eye with Terminal Press and I’m glad I went with them.”
After three years in development and production, Terminal Press launched the series in January at the 2008 Adult Entertainment Expo with a post-apocalyptic adaptation of “Debbie Does Dallas” that debuted and unveiled “Deep Throat,” “Candy Stripers,” “The Devil in Miss Jones” and “Tell Them Johnny Wadd is Here” four months later at Comic-Con in San Diego as part of its ‘HARD/CORE’ line.
Ironically, that “hardcore” moniker is a misnomer, since the entire series actually has no hardcore images, but rather a softcore treatment for the ‘mature reader,’ placing the characters and concepts from the original films in new scenarios including thriller, horror, fairy tale and crime genres designed for contemporary sophisticated audiences. www.terminalpress.com
“Poster Time”
Since the Millennium’s turn, posters have had a renaissance, especially motion picture theatrical one-sheets. Although no adult motion picture has been in theatrical release since the mid-eighties, many of the vintage titles in release by Arrow were once released in movie houses during porn’s so-called “Golden Age” of the ‘70s and ‘80s.
Arrow Productions library includes the aforementioned classics and many are now available online as newly-minted posters, including Gerard Damiano’s original “Deep Throat,” “Debbie Does Dallas,” “Candy Stripers” and “The Goddaughter.”
Arrow has a licensing deal with Vegas-based Acument Entertainment not only to create one-sheets, but canvas poster art, 3D posters and film cell wall art based on Arrow’s classic titles. “I was on a quest for a movie poster license for the past two years,” says Interlandi. “Everyone at Arrow is excited to team up with a company like Acument.
“Arrow’s the type of company that’s thinking like a main stream production company to promote its products and we’re proud to team up with an iconic company like Arrow Productions. The retro porn style is a hot seller and Arrow has tons of great art.” Arrow’s movie posters are available online at www.moviegoods.com
Arrow Productions & “Deep Throat” History
Originally formed in 1969 under the name Vanguard productions, and later renamed Arrow Productions, the company made blockbuster hits such as “Deep Throat,” “Devil In Miss Jones” and “Debbie Does Dallas.” Over the years Arrow Productions has acquired the distribution rights to many production lines including well known titles like “Alice In Wonderland,” “Tell Them Johnny Wadd is Here,” “Candy Stripers” and “Taxi Girls.”
But Arrow’s reputation as a video manufacturer and distributor was built upon the fact that they were the original distributors of the single most important and influential sex video ever produced: “Deep Throat.”
The Gerard Damiano sex farce with the silly premise and goofy execution unintentionally set the stage for what would become ground zero for the foundation of the entire modern triple-X adult motion picture business. It led to the genre’s general acceptance in urban America and the birth of “Porn Chic” and subsequent acceptance as a true American pop culture milestone. “Deep Throat” had more impact, influence and visibility than any adult film had before or since. As a theatrical release and at the $600 million boxoffice range, “Throat” actually grossed as much as mainstream 1970 mega-blockbusters like “Star Wars,” “Rocky,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “The Sting,” among others.
The road to merchandising heaven was not easy and the resistance they experienced was even tougher than they realized. “Marketing and licensing X is very difficult and took a long time to be taken seriously,” says Interlandi. “But I think now that after all my struggles people are finally giving us respect. They used to laugh and shun me and now it’s changing. The success and the hard work are finally paying off.
“Someone recently told me that twenty years from now they’ll be calling me a pioneer and I should ‘get ready for it and get used to it.’
“That just gave me the chills. Crazy.”
*****
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