Porn Valley- This morning I spoke to Ed Cohen, owner of Dane Productions. Cohen’s upset because an e-mail’s being sent around the industry stating that his company is going out of business. The e-mail is authored by someone named Stan Burrdick at Skin Flicks. Cohen has no idea who this guy is, but this is what “Burrdick” has been sending out:
“Dane Productions is going out of business. All product is on sale. Premium title DVDs as low as $4 each. All leftover VHS stock $.50 each. Special offer for those interested in purchasing company. …Please call Bob or Ed to inquire our telephone number. We must be closed before the end of March 2005.”
“This is coming from someone we never heard of,” Cohen states. “But I think I know who it is.” Cohen goes on to tell me about some litigation he has in the works. “We’re in some major litigation against John Resnick at Future Works.” Cohen alleges that Future Works has been backdooring Dane Product. “He has done everything to put us out of business,” says Cohen. “He’s violated three court orders that he signed.” Future Works is a replication company out of New York/New Jersey.
As Cohen tells it, Dane Productions started with Dan Marquez and him. “Dan Marquez sold out to a guy named John Resnick,” Cohen says. “He sold out for a money and a note. Resnick became a partner. Before that John Resnick was my replicator and also did authoring. He did a lot of things for us. Never had a problem.” Subsequently, Resnick stopped shipping to Cohen. “I had to write him a letter- you own a percentage of this company. You’re hurting this company.” According to Cohen, it was Resnick’s intention to go into competition with Leisuretime. “Dane was never chopped up so he figured he had a whole library sitting there,” says Cohen.”
Cohen says he told Resnick, no dice, that Dane is a manufacturer and puts out new titles. “You knew what you bought- you went and looked at the company. You knew this company for year and you’ve been replicating for a year and a half.” Resnick, says Cohen, never responded. “We had all kinds of work out deals with the courts which he’s signed. He flew out here and signed these agreements.” But Cohen contends that Resnick has not only violated the agreements, he hasn’t paid Marquez what he owes him beyond a down payment, a figure Cohen estimates well into six figures. “And Dan’s so stupid he hasn’t gone after him.”
As far as the backdooring charges go, Cohen says he has evidence to support that. “It’s not hearsay any more,” Cohen says. “He has actually got one of the guys he works with so aggravated, that the guy copied his database and sent it to us. We have actual hard figures of production runs, who he’s sold to.” Cohen says he’s had a suit against Resnick in the LA Courts for nearly a year and a half and it goes to trial in August. Cohen states that he’s had another settlement agreement with Resnick in January. “He was here with my attorney. The courts said let’s try to unclog the court system, you guys go to self-appointed mediation.” Cohen says there was a mediator there representing the court. “We have a signed agreement by myself, by my attorney, John Resnick, his attorney and a court-appointed mediator.” Cohen claims Resnick’s already violated that agreement.
Asked if Cohen had his suspicions who this “Burrdick” was, Cohen said he doesn’t issue bum checks, so it wouldn’t be anyone like that trying to get back at him. “That’s the only thing I can think of,” Cohen says. “I’m a business person. I don’t burn anybody. There isn’t a talent that’s walked out of here that says they’ve been stuck for a check or waited a long period for a check. We pay within ten days. Basically we have a good reputation in the industry and our quality is better than it’s ever been. But this thing is unbelievable. I’m just trying to put one and one together.”
> While Ed Cohen’s trying to put one and one together, Otto Bauer, in another part of town, was putting two and two together when he saw a movie starring his wife Audrey Hollander. It’s titled Playing With Audrey Hollander and it’s being released from Anarchy Films. But what got Otto hot under the collar is the fact that the packaging is proclaiming the movie to have been “filmed in Supercore”. Otto’s going what the fuck. Supercore is a copyrighted name, according to Bauer who shot the movie last year in Zurich. Bauer then fired off a letter to Anarchy owner Guy not only informing him of this but saying also in not so many words that he was willing to litigate.
“While I am not surprised at your lack of inspiration in coming up with interesting material I am shocked that you wouldexpose your company to this risk,” Bauer wrote the company. “Once again, Anarchy Films must cease its use of the name ‘Supercore.’ “You have knowingly broken the law and I expect you to revise your advertising such that it does not violate U.S. Copyright law of which you are currently in breach.”
Bauer says he and Anarchy have talked deals in the past but those conversations never went anywhere and claims that Anarchy knew full well he had dibs on the Supercore label. Bauer is saying he trusts that this is a one time situation but you never know.