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The Moses who would lead the porn industry out of the wilderness needs to be tough, pugnacious and willing to indulge in Nixonian tactics to gain an edge.
After watching Diane Duke’s sing-songy interview this past week on DirtyOldMen.tv which, in all honesty, was a group ass kiss, I’m convinced she’s none of the above.
Not to say that Duke isn’t a very nice lady and well educated, but nice together with brain-smart doesn’t always cut it in this day and age. Especially when it comes to porn.
What the industry needs right now is a street-wise barroom brawler – someone who can stand up to the chicanery of the Stuart Lawleys and Michael Weinsteins of this world and spit in their eye. Plus do it with panache and style.
In fact, what the industry needs is somebody like political pundit Chris Matthews who practically invented the term “hardball”.
Because one glaring fact arose from Duke’s hour-plus chat with hosts Colin Rowntree and Simon Abitbol. Duke wouldn’t know how to play dirty if her grade school recess were held in a pig sty.
On a couple of occasions, Duke complained about “back room deals” and how Lawley and Weinstein exploited them to get one-up on the porn business. Of course they did – that’s what they do. We learn early on, presumably, that life isn’t fair. Then you deal with it.
To explain, Duke on one fateful St. Patty’s day gathered 18 industry stalwarts from around the country. On their on dimes they flew to San Francisco to confront Lawley at a conference about the implementation of .XXX domains.
If Duke and her people thought they were going to make a difference, they were sadly mistaken. They got some concessionary, almost embarrassingly scant floor time to speak their peace. But the deal had already been consummated, agreed to, one would assume, in the haze of cigar smoke and drafts of Drambuie. Except someone forgot to send Duke the memo.
It’s quite simple, really. It’s still an old boys’ club and Duke ain’t a member. I also hear FSC has been given a lot of dirt on Weinstein but refuses to use it because “that’s playing dirty”. What is that namby-pamby rationalization telling you?
In the DirtyOldMen interview, Duke also talks about FSC being a lobbying group. I used to deal with lobbyists all the time back in my early PR days.
I remember them as wily, thick-skinned, florid political animals who knew what palms to grease and which squeaky wheels needed prioritizing with a shot of lubrication. As far as I can judge, the closest Duke has come to a lobby is a hotel.
Bill Margold, the adult industry’s equivalent of the Oracle of Ancient Greece, got interested in the Duke story when I sent him the show’s link www.dirtyoldmen.tv/2012/06/upcoming-episode-june-22nd-2012-diane-duke-executive-director-of-the-fsc/
Margold thinks like I on many issues, so what he’s about to say is hardly different from personal opinion.
“Diane Duke has become the Sarah Palin of porn,” Margold intones. If you’ve been around Margold any length of time, you know he intones.
“There’s something wrong there,” Margold rumbles. If you’ve been around Margold any length of time, you know he also rumbles.
“I don’t think she knows what she’s talking about. I don’t think she knows about the industry.
“Now I’m scared because this is a person who never should have been the executive director of an industry that represents the adult entertainment business. We should never have had anybody from outside the industry.
“And now the statements are getting to be ridiculous- I don’t know what she’s talking about with these governors…or whatever the hell are going to welcome us to their state.”
[To explain, Duke, towards the end of her interview makes some ludicrous comment that she’s been in touch with politicians willing to welcome the adult industry to their states. Talk about fat chance.]
Margold, himself, wouldn’t mind being allowed to speak his two-cents on DirtyOldMen.
“The industry is being fooled by a person who doesn’t understand the industry,” he states.
“You have a woman saying things that no way at all can she substantiate. I guess DirtyOldMen let her blather.”
Margold’s also of the opinion that Free Speech should never have gotten into the health business to begin with.
“But it got into the health business by being a sort of silent partner with AIM which no one wants to admit to.”
To but it bluntly, Margold states that “the industry is teetering on its on self-destruction more than ever. It’s always been its own worst enemy but it simply doesn’t like itself anymore and is ashamed of what it’s doing.
“That’s what I believe. I don’t know if it’s too late, but Duke has to go. To her it’s a job. We need somebody to represent the industry who came out of the industry, was born in the fires of being illegal; born in the fires of being rebellious; Diane Duke is about as rebellious as a sow bug.”
Margold says if he had his way he’d bring back his favorite of all, Gloria Leonard.
“Make her executive director.”
