Porn Valley- I was at the Van Nuys Studio the other day covering the Not Bewitched XXX shoot when The Grand Vizier left me a series of messages.
They were about meeting him later for Pinot Grigio, a steak sandwich and some Turkish taffy. I couldn’t make it, but The Vizier wanted me to know the big story on the street was the fact that Mark Carriere’s company, Leisure Time was up for sale.
“They’re all but gone,” says The Vizier. “They’re shutting the doors. They’re trying to sell. But to sell thousands of masters you need to have all your 2257’s in order. That’s a lot of documentation.”
“Apparently they’re been approaching companies like IVD, Caballero, Sunshine- people that buy masters,” The Vizier continues. “But it looks like the employees are out looking for jobs as we speak. Some are still in the building but not for long. If they don’t get a buyer they’re shutting the doors. It’s a sign of the times. This is something that’s be coming on for years. If he can’t hang on and chooses not to, what are less successful, time-tested companies going to do?”
“Whether he sells it or shelves it, Carriere’s calling it quits. That’s for the retail end of the business. I don’t know if he’s going to stop the mail order. It’s more than a challenge being in this business. So for anyone who’s truly got their ear to the ground as to the economics, this comes as no surprise.”
According to The Vizier, another story making the rounds is how one of the porn chicks is ripping directors off.
“She stays with them, then she steals from them,” states the Vizier who tells me she has more porn aliases than Eliot Spitzer’s hooker.
“Let’s put it this way,” laughs The Vizier. “Cameras, computers, computer speakers, tools, hundreds of disks of software, backpacks, books, you name it, are mysteriously evaporating.”
I’m asking the Vizier how come the cops haven’t gotten involved.
“She calls the cops and says the guy did something to her so they let her go,” says The Vizier. “She was just kicked out of a place Saturday so she’ll be looking for a new place to stay.”