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Turning Blue
Adult movie producer, Travis Lazar, is a man who will always do the right thing, when he has exhausted all other possibilities.
Tiffany West is the hottest porn star in the San Fernando valley in Los Angeles, and she is always too hot to handle. And they hate each other.
When Travis pitches his next movie to Beppo the Bear, a burnt-out mobster who has known Travis since times better left unmentioned, Beppo wants Travis to cast Tiffany West as the lead.
Travis knows it is a deal-breaker.
What begins as a favor for Beppo the Bear leads the producer straight through the Vice Squad to the Dreamboat project, a blockbuster movie for the biggest mogul in the business, and, finally, to the Best Picture nomination at the prestigious annual awards in Las Vegas.
In a hilarious blow-by-blow account of what goes on behind the scenes of x-rated movie production, Turning Blue provides a riveting glimpse of the colorful characters and outrageous situations in a private and fascinating world where sex, money, entertainment and celebrity collide around one man on the pivot of a billion-dollar global industry.
Tiffany West is the hottest porn star in the San Fernando valley in Los Angeles, and she is always too hot to handle. And they hate each other.
When Travis pitches his next movie to Beppo the Bear, a burnt-out mobster who has known Travis since times better left unmentioned, Beppo wants Travis to cast Tiffany West as the lead.
Travis knows it is a deal-breaker.
What begins as a favor for Beppo the Bear leads the producer straight through the Vice Squad to the Dreamboat project, a blockbuster movie for the biggest mogul in the business, and, finally, to the Best Picture nomination at the prestigious annual awards in Las Vegas.
In a hilarious blow-by-blow account of what goes on behind the scenes of x-rated movie production, Turning Blue provides a riveting glimpse of the colorful characters and outrageous situations in a private and fascinating world where sex, money, entertainment and celebrity collide around one man on the pivot of a billion-dollar global industry.
234 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 5, 2014
25 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 5, 2015
I received this book free for review from the author in exchange for an honest review. Despite the privilege of receiving a free book, I’m absolutely candid about it below because I believe authors and readers will benefit most from honest reviews rather than vacuous 5-star reviews.
The nutshell on this book is, essentially, exactly what you'd expect from the blurb. It's the day to day grind (no pun intended) of shooting X-rated films. It dives into depths (no pun intended) that you wouldn't expect and isn't afraid to expose (ok, pun intended) all the behind the scenes rigmarole that goes into them. It is at times mundane but that's one thing that makes it so obviously realistic. It's not all about the Money Shot.
So to the positive, as I've noted, it does feel exceptionally real. I'm no fan of this particular genre so I'm not terribly well qualified to say it, but no author would include so much detail that can't be construed as particularly interesting unless it added quite a bit to the realism of the story. One wonders at times if Canterbury wrote a book or if he just transcribed a series of recordings. Also, the book styles itself as 'hilarious' but I'd put it more in the category of 'quirky.' At no point did I laugh during the reading of this book but it was filled with quite unusual characters that represented their archetypes very well. It's quite a varied cast of characters from the oleaginous producer to the high-maintenance stars themselves.
To the negative, for all the realism it's almost too real. Sure, events transpire in the book but they're all fairly low-key. Even when the cops bust in or people die it's somehow a non-event and things just move on rather unaffected. There's a very non-emotional vibe to the whole thing. It's as if characters are doing things which should be very charged emotionally and should be important but they're somehow carried off as irrelevant and no big deal. Come to think of it, that sort of sums up the entire x-rated industry, doesn't it?
So to summarize, this is a solidly written book with some potential to entertain those who have an interest in this particular segment of the movie industry. Personally I found it a tad flat but if you're into this sort of thing I can see how you'd really love the behind-the-scenes view on this genre.
PS: I hope my review was helpful. If it was not, then please let me know what I left out that you’d want to know. I always aim to improve.
The nutshell on this book is, essentially, exactly what you'd expect from the blurb. It's the day to day grind (no pun intended) of shooting X-rated films. It dives into depths (no pun intended) that you wouldn't expect and isn't afraid to expose (ok, pun intended) all the behind the scenes rigmarole that goes into them. It is at times mundane but that's one thing that makes it so obviously realistic. It's not all about the Money Shot.
So to the positive, as I've noted, it does feel exceptionally real. I'm no fan of this particular genre so I'm not terribly well qualified to say it, but no author would include so much detail that can't be construed as particularly interesting unless it added quite a bit to the realism of the story. One wonders at times if Canterbury wrote a book or if he just transcribed a series of recordings. Also, the book styles itself as 'hilarious' but I'd put it more in the category of 'quirky.' At no point did I laugh during the reading of this book but it was filled with quite unusual characters that represented their archetypes very well. It's quite a varied cast of characters from the oleaginous producer to the high-maintenance stars themselves.
To the negative, for all the realism it's almost too real. Sure, events transpire in the book but they're all fairly low-key. Even when the cops bust in or people die it's somehow a non-event and things just move on rather unaffected. There's a very non-emotional vibe to the whole thing. It's as if characters are doing things which should be very charged emotionally and should be important but they're somehow carried off as irrelevant and no big deal. Come to think of it, that sort of sums up the entire x-rated industry, doesn't it?
So to summarize, this is a solidly written book with some potential to entertain those who have an interest in this particular segment of the movie industry. Personally I found it a tad flat but if you're into this sort of thing I can see how you'd really love the behind-the-scenes view on this genre.
PS: I hope my review was helpful. If it was not, then please let me know what I left out that you’d want to know. I always aim to improve.
September 13, 2022
`What is pornography to one man is the laughter of genius to another.' - DH Lawrence
California author Stuart Canterbury gained his fame and credentials for writing a book about the making of pornography as a veteran producer-director in the adult movie industry. Incredibly, he has over 300 major feature films to his credit and awards (not only from applauding audiences) but also from the industry. He has produced and directed titles for studios such as Penthouse, Hustler, Brazzers, Adam and Eve, Arrow, Video Marc Dorcel, among others. In other words, he knows this business `top to bottom' and here in his debut novel he proves he also knows how to write.
What Stuart has produced is a factual behind the scenes glimpse at the pornography (uh, X-Rated!) film creations where sex, money, entertainment and celebrity connect in a billion-dollar global industry. Using what sound like real characters (maybe, maybe not - monikers possible) he offers a story that is naughty and hilarious. In his own synopsis he states, `Tiffany West, the hottest porn star in Los Angeles, is hell to handle. Adult movie producer, Travis Lazar, is a man who will always do the right thing - when he has exhausted all other possibilities. From production to production, Tiffany and Travis collide head-on. When Travis pitches his next movie to Beppo the Bear, a fading mobster who has known Travis since times better left unmentioned, Beppo demands Tiffany West as the lead. What begins as a favor for Beppo the Bear propels Travis into an encounter with the Vice Squad, and then to a blockbuster for the biggest mogul in the business, which receives the Best Picture nomination at the bombastic annual awards in Las Vegas.'
More than just an apple to dangle in front of porn geeks, this is actually a well-written very funny novel by a man with more than one talent.
California author Stuart Canterbury gained his fame and credentials for writing a book about the making of pornography as a veteran producer-director in the adult movie industry. Incredibly, he has over 300 major feature films to his credit and awards (not only from applauding audiences) but also from the industry. He has produced and directed titles for studios such as Penthouse, Hustler, Brazzers, Adam and Eve, Arrow, Video Marc Dorcel, among others. In other words, he knows this business `top to bottom' and here in his debut novel he proves he also knows how to write.
What Stuart has produced is a factual behind the scenes glimpse at the pornography (uh, X-Rated!) film creations where sex, money, entertainment and celebrity connect in a billion-dollar global industry. Using what sound like real characters (maybe, maybe not - monikers possible) he offers a story that is naughty and hilarious. In his own synopsis he states, `Tiffany West, the hottest porn star in Los Angeles, is hell to handle. Adult movie producer, Travis Lazar, is a man who will always do the right thing - when he has exhausted all other possibilities. From production to production, Tiffany and Travis collide head-on. When Travis pitches his next movie to Beppo the Bear, a fading mobster who has known Travis since times better left unmentioned, Beppo demands Tiffany West as the lead. What begins as a favor for Beppo the Bear propels Travis into an encounter with the Vice Squad, and then to a blockbuster for the biggest mogul in the business, which receives the Best Picture nomination at the bombastic annual awards in Las Vegas.'
More than just an apple to dangle in front of porn geeks, this is actually a well-written very funny novel by a man with more than one talent.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews