Frtom the Gene Files, 7/3/02- I haven’t talked to Eric Price in almost three years, the last time being in Mexico during a Metro shoot, back in the days when Metro had employees. Price whose back in the business tells me he had been living in Fayetteville, Arkansas out of porn for nearly a year, burned out mostly from a business relationship with uber partner Michael Raven. Price had a lot of things to say about that off the record but the gist is Price had one philosophy about handling money, Raven another. Price’s idea was that if, for instance, you came in $4,000 under budget you let the money guys know about it rather than pocket the dough for yourself.

Gene: A couple of things burned you out, principally a business relationship with Michael Raven

Price: And Sin City. Michael Raven and I didn’t mesh as business partners in Cinema West. In the beginning he went to David Sturman and Mark Snyder and said Chuck Martino did this for this; I can do this much more for less. He brought me in as a partner because I had done a movie with my own movie and did a good job on it. Ended up selling it to Metro. He said I like what you’re doing. We became partners. He’ll still say that I’m the best producer he’s ever worked with. I have a good attention for detail except for the day I forgot to pull a permit in Malibu for Nic Cramer and had to take $3000 out of my pocket to pay everybody. But money was tight and because we were doing it for less we couldn’t afford to hire people to do payroll and bookkeeping and stuff. And that meant long hours for us. Then Michael kind of worked a deal on the side to get paid over and above in production. I was still working off the budget. There was a lot of ego. I’m not a violent person nor do I raise my voice and yell at people and slam doors or throw things. The last thing in the world that I can tolerate is a partner who couldn’t communicate or find a means to an end or solve a problem without slamming doors, cussing and yelling at the top of his lungs.

Gene: And you were burned out from the Jill Kelly years and you took off to Fayetteville, Arkansas

Price: Home of the Razorbacks. Northwest Arkansas is actually pretty affluent.

Gene: Why there of all places.

Price: That’s where my folks retired. And my sister lives up there. It’s bible belt, very hot, very humid, very green and I developed allergies I never had before. You know Olivia? One of Olivia’s clients is a man who owns a few car dealerships- Cadillac dealerships. I sold her my ski boat before I left for Arkansas because I didn’t want to have a lot of moving. While we were going through our negotiations I had talked to him and he liked me. Of all the guys that he had met that hung out with her, he thought I was the most levelheaded. He said you’re well spoken and seem smart. You handled this deal great, why don’t you get into the car business. I said sure. He said if I needed a reference to use him. He was the chairman of the board for the Retailers Association for the United States. His name had a lot of clout. So I became a celebrity in no time at all. I thought I’d disappear and just fade into the rolling hills of Arkansas. Fayetteville is a college town and the University of Arkansas Razorbacks football team – they’re a pretty strong ass team. Halloween night I found out that I wasn’t invisible. I had a guy walk up to me while I was standing outside of a club. He shook my hand and then he said, c’mon, I’ll take you to some places better. As he and I were walking across the street some guy out of nowhere reaches in with his hand, ‘big fan.’ Then at the bar this girl comes up to me and asks, ‘are you in porno movies?’ And I’m trying to deny it. She said he says you are and I turned around and it’s the owner of the bar, ‘Hi, welcome to my place. Are you here to make movies?’ I told him my folks lived in town and that I had a job at the local Cadillac dealership, very prestigious. They are the premier dealership and own five different dealerships.

Well, one of the guys at their Nissan dealership rented a Vivid movie and said this looks like the guy that works at the Cadillac dealership. I got to my general manager before it got to him. I said, look, I didn’t disclose this when I applied for the job. I’m going to now. Here’s what I’ve done in my past. And we had just had a meeting about company image because a couple of the guys had been going to strip clubs. One guy got into a fight. It wasn’t a good image, according to them. So they had a meeting about that, where are you going with your future. I had to concede that I wanted to go somewhere in my future. He said just how popular are you. I told him about the bar incident. I said do you have the Playboy Channel, he said no. I said if you want to order it, I’m there. He goes, oh boy. I said do you remember Jenna Jameson? He said yeah. ‘I used to date her,’ I told him. ‘Ever hear of Jill Kelly?’ He said yeah.

Gene: Sounds from all that like you were ready to join the Kiwanis Club. I didn’t know you dated Jenna.

Price: About a month. Remember you were on a set when Paula [Price] beat on me? Police came. That was way back when on a Spinelli shoot. That’s why Paula flipped out and went on this violent rampage. I had started dating Jenna. But Jenna at the time was just getting big. I was making a steak and shrimp dinner at home. Any woman would love the opportunity of having a man cook for them, right? Jenna, apparently not being woman at the time and being used to a lot of instant gratification with fast food could not wait. She got a little grumpy. She told me to hurry up and got a little bitch about it. I said you want it any quicker maybe you might want to help. She wadded up a dish towel and threw it at me. I didn’t appreciate it. Needless to say I burned the shrimp, burned the steak. I was mad. She was, ‘I ain’t gonna eat this shit.’ I said, I tried, it didn’t work. We’ll go out to dinner. She started to gripe again. I said if it’s instant gratification you want the fuckin’ Taco Bell’s down the street. Go. And that was it.

Gene: Sounds like a relationship with real promise.

Price: She says you’re telling me to leave? I said I’m telling you to leave. Go. She tells the story differently. She called me later and asked me if I wanted anything. I said, no, because you’re not coming back. I think at the time I was 31. She was 20.

Gene: Getting back to Cadillacs.

Price: I told my general manager don’t look for a reason to fire me. If you want me to go, if it’s bad for the company image, I’ll go. And don’t worry about a discrimination lawsuit. I’m not looking for that. They kept me in. But after awhile, managers who I was going to lunch with, I wasn’t going to lunch with. Then when the owner found out I was lucky to get a good morning from him. If you came in to fill out a credit ap to buy a car from me, even if you had outstanding credit, your deal would get pushed aside. Then I had some friends who overheard. ‘They want you to go.’ I had worked there five months and the fifth month was my best month. With that I had enough money to get back to California. But I’ll tell you another thing. I couldn’t get laid to save my life, there. I’d meet a girl and everything would be going great. But before I could get her out of a club someone would psssst, ‘do you know…’ Then other girls would find out. But I’m back and I’m doing better than I have in years. Not having had sex that long [nearly a year.] Does a blowjob count from a heavy set stripper? I got this little Arkansas overweight stripper. Big, big, massive natural boobs. Cute, pretty. If she lost a bunch of weight she’d be a knockout. I messed around with her, had her come over my place and popped in a tape. We watched a porno. Then I popped in one of mine. She’s blowing me and has her eye on the TV. ‘That guy looks familiar doesn’t he?’ She said is that you? You’re a porno star? She was calling me every night to come over and suck my dick. I come back and the first thing I do is work for P.T.- two films. He’s changed. He’s sober. He’s great to work with and for now. I’m complimented him. ‘You’re a different man.’ He goes you’re a different person too, your performances, your demeanor. It’s been five days and you haven’t once asked can I go, when’s my scene, how long are we going to be here. I’m grateful just to be working. And doing a good job, thank God.

Gene: How’d you wind up dating Jenna Jameson?

Price: I was on a Wicked shoot and she kept staring at me. I asked her why. She said you’re sexy. I asked her if she didn’t have a boyfriend, Brad Armstrong. She said, ‘yuch, he’s a dickhead.’ I told her so was I. We went out for about a month. She’s great. There’s nothing like when you’re separated from your wife and your wife is being bitchy to you on the phone; there’s nothing like when Jenna Jameson’s deep throating your dick while you’re talking to your estranged wife.

[Price said he and Randy Spears are getting a place together. Price said Spears tore his shoulder attachment muscle and needs emergency surgery on it.]

Price: I told him you already owe several people thousands of dollars for your bonds when you were arrested. You’re still digging your way out of a hole. You don’t want to dig another one. Go to UCLA; it’s not like the doctors are working there because they can’t work anywhere else. A lot of doctors working there are great doctors who volunteer because they’re healers.