Page 14 - AVN September 2017

EDITOR’S DESK
EDITOR’S DESK | By Sharan Street
BITES AT THE BIG APPLE
NYC’s porn past on HBO, uncertain future in court
THIS MONTH premium cable network HBO begins
He summed up, “I was interested in how a
airing The Deuce, a new series by David Simon that
product becomes a product and an industry
delves into the world of adult entertainment—but
becomes an industry, and how labor is treated.”
from a historical perspective. The setting is Times
In a twist of irony, adult businesses in the
Square and the time line starts in 1971, the year
birthplace of modern pornography are currently
before Deep Throat changed everything.
beset by legal challenges. Many businesses in the
The series, named after NYC slang for 42nd
Times Square area and elsewhere in the city that
Street, stars James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
sell a significant percentage of adult material may
Franco, along with George Pelecanos, David Simon
have to close in the wake of a June 6 decision by
and Nina K. Noble, are executive producers. The
the New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest
first season begins airing September 10 and will
court, that overturned lower court decisions and
feature eight episodes.
upheld city zoning amendments enacted in 2001.
The Deuce takes place in the 1970s and 1980s,
Those amendments present major problems for
and it will explore how porn changed not only New
adult bookstores. AVN senior editor Mark Kernes
York City but American culture as a whole.
talked to First Amendment attorney Erica Dubno,
Back in April, Simon told Variety, “It’s roughly
who represents several adult bookstores in the
based on the story of the actual people who were
current lawsuit.
there, some of the people that were the pioneers
“One of those factors is, you can’t exclude
when pornography came out of the brown paper
minors from any non-adult portion of your
bag and became an open industry. Suddenly,
premises,” Dubno detailed. “Another is, you can’t
a lucrative and provocative industry came out
pass through an adult area to get to a non-adult
of nowhere soon to become a billion-dollar
area. Another is, you can’t have any peepshow
industry and a culture [impacting] right down to
booths or private viewing booths at all.”
commercials to sell beer that became more and
Of all of the restrictions, the one on arcade
more overt right down to the sex education of
booths is most likely to cause difficulty for the
a twelve-year-old with a laptop. We all live in a
stores, since those are big money-makers for the
different world. There’s a cultural revolution here.
businesses—in fact, sometimes the main source of
But there is also a market story. It is a story about
income that keeps the store in business in the first
market capitalism and the rise of a new industry
place. Also likely to be difficult is the requirement
and what the world is like now when something is
that the stores bring in as great a variety of
not supposed to be sold openly suddenly becomes
mainstream DVD titles as adult, since the stores
legitimate and legitimized.”
have much more competition for the rental of
One thing is certain. Simon, creator of HBO’s
non-adult titles, so they’re likely to take a loss by
critically acclaimed The Wire, will have an affinity
stocking as many such titles as the city requires.
for the gritty urban milieu and will take a direct
Yet another couple of factors relate to display
and unflinching look at the industry.
and signage. A store can’t have disproportionately
But will it be a fair look? That remains an
larger signs for its adult material than its non-
unknown until the series unspools. But there’s
adult, inside and out, and it can’t have a greater
at least one positive sign: Simon and his team
selection of adult merchandise in the front window
consulted with the porn historians at the site
than non-adult.
TheRialtoReport.com, and a writer of the site
Dubno has reason to fear for the continued
reported favorably on an advance screening of
existence of her clients, having told Gothamist.com
the first episode of The Deuce at the Split Screens
that if the city wins the ultimate battle, “Shops
Festival this summer.
would have to break leases, fire employees, and put
After the screening, there was a Q&A session
people out of work. And the most important thing
with Gyllenhaal and Michelle MacLaren, one of the
is that it infringes on the First Amendment because
series’ directors. The site reported the Gyllenhaal
it silences expression.”
mentioned spending time with former adult
“We were turned down for a stay by both the
stars Annie Sprinkle and Veronica Hart, and also
New York Court of Appeals and the United States
referenced two books that the Rialto Report team
Supreme Court, but the city has granted us a
had recommended: Tina Russell‘s autobiography
stay as to two of the factors, which I think is very
Porno Star (1973) and Ladies of the Night by Susan
generous of them,” Dubno said. “Right now, we
Hall and Bob Adelman (also 1973).
have a couple of avenues we can take. Number
Various news outlets reported when Simon
one, we currently have an application pending in
spoke about the series at the Television Critics
the New York Court of Appeals for reargument
Association summer press tour in July, talking
as to the factors. If we do not prevail there, we
about what drew him to the subject matter.
will be making an application to the United States
“Everyone realized that the money about to be
Supreme Court for review. We get 90 days from a
made was going to be real. So what happened to
decision by the New York Court of Appeals on our
those people who were the pioneers?” he asked.
motion for reargument, which decision, since it’s
“I was much less interested in whether porn
now summertime, we’re not sure when they will
was good or bad, just like on The Wire I wasn’t
rule, but once they do, then we can file a petition in
concerned whether drugs were bad or good.”
the U.S. Supreme Court.”
14 | AVN.com | 9.17