It appears that ComstockFilms.com is the number one return if you google “happy porn“.

I can live with that.
-TC

Two days ago I received a note from a fellow who, although he liked many things about Marie & Jack and Xana & Dax, was rather disapointed that both love scenes ended with external ejaculation. Here’s a bit from his note (used by permission):

These videos have what I have been looking for that is missing from the usual “porn” videos with one exception. You claim that these represent real sex but in both cases the man pulled out prior to cuming and we were shown proof that he came…

Maybe these couples actually have sex in this way but I doubt it. If they do I suggest using some couples who do not as well. This was a particular issue in the Xana & Dax video where he spent some time masturbating himself to climax. Why miss out on the wonderful sensations of being in your woman before cuming unless you are not able to do so for some reason. That, to a large extent, ruined the movie for me.

Also, my wife does not often watch explicit videos because she misses the loving relationship aspect of sex that makes it good for her. There is much in these movies that I suspect she would enjoy but I am sure she would be put off by this as well. She has made similar comments about other explicit videos.

He was also concerned that this might also be the case in Matt & Khym, which he had on pre-order. I wrote back:

Dear XXX,

Thank you for your thoughtful e-mail. It very succinctly addresses some of the vagaries of shooting sex scenes of people having unscripted and and undirected sex. With your permission I’d very much like to use your letter in an upcoming blog post. FYI, Matt and Khym’s love scene ends with Matt ejaculating inside of Khym. No particular effort is made to “prove” that he ejaculated, but afterwards Khym does reach down to catch a little on her finger and taste it.

Yours,
Tony Comstock

This seemed to (mostly) satisfy his concerns:

From your response I take it that Xana & Dax and Marie & Jack choose to handle the men’s ejaculation without any direction or suggestions. If so I wonder if that is how they normally have sex or if they did it that way because they thought that it might be expected, maybe from watching “normal porn”. You might want to make it clearer to those you film that they don’t have to do things differently, especially that.

I am not complaining if that is normal for them. It just seemed faked because of the way men’s ejaculation is handled in most porn.

The “might make it clearer” comment reminds me of the conversation I had with Desiree in the weeks prior to shooting her and her husband Ben.

“Oh, so you don’t want him to cum all over my face then?” she asked in response to my saying I just wanted them do have nice normal natural sex.

“Um well,” I stuttered, ” I don’t want you to do something you don’t enjoy when it’s just the two of you just because the camera is there, or because you think we want or need you to do something like that.”

“Oh no. I love having Ben blow on my face. I think it’s great, we do it all the time!”

“Well okay then. Please don’t let our being there inhibit you!” (It didn’t. Desiree had three orgasms that were very nearly disturbing in their intensity.)

Meanwhile, a tempest in a teapot seems to be swirling over similar question about what is and isn’t real over at SuicideGirls.com. Between kids, station wagon, suburban tract house, and a BMI of 26, I’m not really an alt kind of guy, (and even when I was young and broke and played my guitar too loud, I still wasn’t wasn’t an alt kind of guy) so I don’t really know that much about SuicideGirls, besides the fact that the chicks have downtown hairstyles, tats and piercings, and the photography style tends toward the deep focus/small focal plane style that I don’t really dig.

I do know what I thought I knew about SG, which was that I thought it was some hip, alternaporn site, run by technologically empowered female scenesters who were using the internet and cheap digital cameras to deconstruct the traditional pin-up. Okay, that’s cool in concept, even if I don’t really dig it as art, let alone as stroke material. Now it turns out that maybe SG is just some site run by some guy who’s making money off a lot of 18 year old girls’ yearnings to be a little less anonymous in the celebrity-obsessed world that we inhabit. Somehow that doesn’t seem quite so hip.

So what’s it all about, Alfie?

Back during that internet thing, people would sometimes say, “Content is king,” and the inflection they used seemed to indicate they thought they were offering a pearl of wisdom. Well here’s my pearl of wisdom, at least when it comes to making sex films: Context is king. Context is king, and when you use ‘reality’ as your conceit you walk a fine line. Most audiences are sophisticated enough to know that “the truth” is not the same thing as what you would have seen if you were on the set that day. But they’re also sensitive enough to know when the “reality” you try and present is too far way from what they would have felt if they had been on the set.

I don’t know what the “truth” is about SuicideGirls. The truth about Comstock Films is that all the way along there is a conspiracy between me and the couple I’m working with to present a very idealized portrait of their sexual relationship. It’s no more (or less) real than the nightly news or a novel.

Before their scene I asked Matt and Khym how they intended to enjoy Matt’s orgasm (experience has taught me not to assume that a “real couple” doesn’t enjoy the “so fake” external pop shot). When they told me that he was going to cum inside of her, I made a couple of suggestions for how we could visually signal the audience “yes, it really did happen.” The result can be seen in that lovely Comstock Films button that Mrs.C made for us.

Does that ruin it for you? I hope not.

I played spin the bottle once. It wasn’t the first time I french kissed a girl, but it was the second, third, and fourth time. Not too long after that, one of those girls’ tits was in my mouth, which I’m pretty sure was the first time. These days I don’t play spin the bottle, I play post office. But it doesn’t involve tits or french kissing or anything like of that nature.

No, playing post office means every couple of days or so I package up the sales of the web site, along with any wholesale orders and run them down to the post office to ship them out. If it’s been especially busy, I’ll ask Mrs.C to help me with the packaging and we set up a little assembly line on the kitchen table. We call this “playing cottage industry”, even though we live in a nondescript ranch-style house, not a cute little cottage with a thatched roof and hipped gables. We played at cottage industry today because all the discs people bought last Wednesday went out today. After taping them shut for nearly two months, we finally noticed that the mailers we bought were “heat sealing”, which meant I stuffed the envelopes, then Mrs. C ironned them closed. Very cottagy indeed.

The weather is quite fine, so if it were a normal day I’d put everything into the basket on my bike and ride down. Not today. Between the fundraiser and normal sales there were about 60 packages that had to go out – a volume we hadn’t seen in one day since the Xana and Dax discs arrived from the replicator and we filled all the outstanding pre-orders. So into the car they went for the short drive to the local post office.

The fellow at the counter gave me a good natured roll of the eyes. Each package has to be processed individually, each zip code has to be keyed in so the barcode on the postage strip is correct. But he gets paid by the hour, and knows that these packages are our living, so the eye roll was really just his way of saying, “Looks like things are going well. Good for you!” While he works his way through the small mountain of domestic shipments, I fill out the customs forms for the international parcels. I sign a credit card reciept – enough for half a week’s worth of groceries, and remind myself that the more money we spend on postage, the better we’re doing.

If this all seems rather mundane, well I suppose that’s the point. Many of the tasks that make this all work are rather mundane, but they’re mundane in a very nice way, like gardening or weaving. And like gardening or weaving, with patience and time the whole can begin to take a very nice shape indeed.

-TC

Okay, enough with the good deeds and crybaby posts. How about some good old fashioned shameless self-promotion!

In their article “Was That Movie Good For You?” this month’s Tango Magazine offers their advice on the never ending search for erotic films that men and women can enjoy watching together, and we’re pleased that for the second time in as many months, Marie and Jack: A Hardcore Love Story occupies the top spot on a films for women/couples list. Says Tango:

“Marie and Jack, porn stars married in real life, have the genuine chemistry and knowledge of each other’s bodies to make this film sizzle. It starts slowly, with the couple discussing the intimate details of their love, before getting down and dirty. “

Tango also gave a nod to Xana and Dax: When Opposites Attract, as well as titles from Libido Films, Candida Royale, Veronica Heart, and Maria Beatty.

Having sex together is fun, and watching sex together can be fun too – if you find the right movie – so these sorts of articles are a perrenials in both men’s and women’s magazines, and I’m please but not surprised to see Marie & Jack and Xana & Dax mentioned.

But what I want to know is which one of these magazines will have the stones to put Damon and Hunter: Doing it Together on the list? A lot of women have been pretty good natured about their husbands/boyfriends enjoyed a little hot lesbo action (Tango’s list includes an all-woman BDSM title). Do you think men are willing to be as indulgent when it comes to their honeys getting off a beautiful man on man love? We’ll soon see.

-TC

A Kvetch:

Jane doesn’t like us, or doesn’t know about us or I don’t know what, and I’m frustated by that. For the past many years, about every six months I fill out there submission form and send it off. The last time (about 2 months ago) I saw a referral from what looked like a janesguide.com webmail box come into the site, but that’s about the only evidence I have that Jane even knows we exist.

Now I’m not saying that ComstockFilms.com is the ultimate real life, real lovers, real sex website on the internet, but a quick scan of what Jane likes leaves me scratching my head wondering how she could have missed us, or if she hasn’t, what it is she doesn’t like about us.

Jane, if your listening, what gives? Are we doing something wrong in the application process? Don’t have your link in right place? Or do you just think we suck? (Actually, I suck quite well, thank you very much.)

Jane? Are you there? Jane?

-TC

I’m sure I’m not alone in having had the experience of being swept up in the moment, rushing into something that felt good at the time, only to wake up in the morning thinking “What did I do!”

(This is often followed by quickly and quietly getting dressed, or worse, waking up to someone else quickly and quietly get dressed, with perhaps a awkward muttered exchange of unfelt pleasantries.)

Yesterday we had a little love-in here at Comstock Films. It was rather hastily thrown together, a reaction to enflamed passions and impulses that felt like they could not be ignored! It ran all day and into into the wee hours of the night, attended by 62 friends and strangers of widely varying tastes and proclivities. By the end, as the last guest was saying good night, I was sitting in an undershirt with a tumbler of scotch. I’m not much of a drinker or night owl, so if I’m up at three in the morning drinking hard liquor, there’s a good chance the next morning will find me stirring a healthy dose of regret into my coffee.

I am very please to tell you that is not the case this morning!

The guests were well behaved and generous. During the 15 hours of our love-in they bought 26 copies of Marie & Jack, 27 copies of Xana and Dax, and pre-ordered 10 copies of Damon & Hunter, 8 copies of Ashley & Kisha, and 29 copies of Matt & Khym. I still need to double check the figures, but rounding up the nickel to make the arrithmetic easy it looks like we had $1,936 in sales. With the matching funds that makes a total donation of $3,872. Still just a gesture in the big scheme of things, but a gesture I’m glad we’re able to make, and I’m deeply thankful to all of you for making it happen.

So that’s it, it’s done. Today sales from our site go back to the decidedly more prosaic task of helping me and Mrs.C keep our rent current, our children clothed, our lab bills paid, and our refrigerator stocked – the sort of things a storm like Katrina reminds us we’re so luck to have as “burdens”. Thanks again to everyone for their generosity and support.

Yours very sincerely,
Tony Comstock

As of September 15 3:00 AM EDT:

S.D. is helping to send $26 to the Red Cross.

E.A. is helping to send $52 to the Red Cross.

L.H. is helping to send $26 to the Red Cross.

D.B. is helping to send $50 to the Red Cross.

J.M. is helping to send $100 to the Red Cross.

R.U. is helping to send $26 to the Red Cross.

R.T. is helping to send $76 to the Red Cross.

K.B. is helping to send $50 to the Red Cross.

N.N. is helping to send $50 to the Red Cross.

C.D. is helping to send $26 to the Red Cross.

S.B. is helping to send $50 to the Red Cross.

H.S. is helping to send $76 to the Red Cross.

A.H. is helping to send $50 to the Red Cross.

L.D. is helping to send $76 to the Red Cross.

A.C. is helping to send $100 to the Red Cross.

B.D. is helping to send $126 to the Red Cross.

B.B. is helping to send $50 to the Red Cross.

T.S. is helping to send $152 to the Red Cross.

J.G. is helping to send $50 to the Red Cross.

D.F is helping to send $52 to the Red Cross

I.H. is helping to send $100 to the Red Cross.

M.H. is helping to send $50 to the Red Cross.

F.T. is helping to send $78 to the Red Cross.

J.B. is helping to send $78 to the Red Cross.

M.C. is helping to send $50 to the Red Cross.

E.G. is helping to send $26 to the Red Cross.

D.P. is helping to send $50 to the Red Cross.

D.N. is helping to send $26 to the Red Cross.

E.M. is helping to send $50 to the Red Cross.

D.N. is helping to send $25 to the Red Cross.

E.B. is helping to send $78 to the Red Cross.

J.B. is helping to send $50 to the Red Cross.

H.M. is helping to send $50 to the Red Cross.

C.R. is helping to send $102 to the Red Cross.

K.I. is helping to send $76 to the Red Cross.

D.S. is helping to send $128 to the Red Cross.

R.G. is helping to send $26 to the Red Cross.

A.L. is helping to send $76 to the Red Cross.

M.R. is helping to send $100 to the Red Cross.

M.L. is helping to send $100 to the Red Cross.

J.P. is helping to send $76 to the Red Cross.

J.N. is helping to send $76 to the Red Cross.

M.H. is helping to send $76 to the Red Cross.

D.B. is helping to send $102 to the Red Cross.

B.C. is helping to send $26 to the Red Cross.

A.M. is helping to send $26 to the Red Cross.

J.A. is helping to send $26 to the Red Cross.

R.G. is helping to send $102 to the Red Cross.

K.J. is helping to send $26 to the Red Cross.

V.B. is helping to send $50 to the Red Cross.

J.A. is helping to send $26 to the Red Cross.

M.R. is helping to send $50 to the Red Cross.

K.C. is helping to send $76 to the Red Cross.

P.D. is helping to send $78 to the Red Cross.

S.B. is helping to send $50 to the Red Cross.

D.P. is helping to send $26 to the Red Cross.

O.S. is helping to send $50 to the Red Cross.

W.C. is helping to send $76 to the Red Cross.

K.B. is helping to send $50 to the Red Cross.

*-*-*

If you’re reading this and see your initials above, thank you ever so much for helping us do something in response to Katrina. I feel a little better knowing that even as small a gesture as it is, at least we’ve done something.

Yours gratefully,
TC

It was with more than a little trepidation that I posted our fund raising idea last week. While a one day sale with proceeds going to the American Red Cross seemed like a way that Mrs.C and I could make a larger donation than what we can do personally, I worried that it might look more like a Comstock PR stunt than the gesture of goodwill to the people of the Gulf Coast we intended. I closed my last post by saying “I’ll leave it to each of you to decide for yourself if this feels like an appropriate gesture. If it does please pass this along or repost as you see fit.”

Well it seems that a few of you think this is the right thing to do, and I’d like to take a moment to thank Violet Blue, Fleshbot, Wilful Damage, Lauren Dane, Freya, Perfect Marriage, Freddy and Eddy, Adult DVD Talk, Dirty Talkin’ Girl, Housewyfe Wendy, Thomas Roche, Vivianne, Sam Sugar, Lumpesse, Silly Old Bear, Fred and Wilma, The Porn Hater, Autumn, and Indie Nudes for helping to get the word out. (If I’ve missed you, please let me know!)

Here’s how it’s going to work:

The Hurricane Relief/Red Cross benefit is going to run tomorrow, Wednesday September 14th at 12:00AM EDT till September 15th 3:00AM EDT.

In plain English, that’s all of Wednesday, from midnight on the East Coast till the next midnight on West Coast, 27 hours total.

Comstock Films will donate the purchase price, not the profits or a portion of the profits, but the full purchase price on all DVD orders ($24.95) and DVD pre-orders ($12.95) made during this time to the American Red Cross. Our ISP is offering to match donations to the Red Cross dollar for dollar, so we will be using their “portal” to maximize the contribution. (Pre-orders made during this fund raising event are non-refundable.)

What that means is that if you buy a copy of “Xana and Dax” for $24.95, nearly $50 dollars will be donated to the Red Cross. If you pre-order a couple of our upcoming titles, more than $50 will be contributed to hurricane relief.

Will tomorrow be a big success, raising hundreds or even thousands of dollars? I don’t know. If only a small fraction of the new visitors who’ve come to the site in the past week come back tomorrow and make a purchase, we’ll be sending a surprisingly large contribution on to the Red Cross, far far more than what we could make on our own. I’d really like to see that happen. I’d really like all of you to help us make it happen.

So if you’ve already got one of our DVDs and you liked it, come by tomorrow and buy another or pre-order one of the great titles we’ve got in the works. If you’ve been telling a friend how much you’ve enjoyed Xana & Dax or Marie & Jack, tell them tomorrow’s the day they need to go and get a copy of their own. Or better yet, just go ahead and buy the DVD for them as a gift. It won’t cost any more to make the purchase tomorrow, but tomorrow your purchase will mean a lot more.

And of course, please tell everyone you think might be interested about our fund raiser. With your help, we can make this a huge success.

Yours very sincerely,
Tony Comstock

Most people only pay attention to hurricanes when the threat that they might hit land puts them on the nightly news. Not so when you’re a surfer and a make your home in a seaside town. The Florida State University Tropical Weather Page has been a part of my daily “web-check” from June through October for the past several years. My friends and I watch these storms form and then try to use the power of positive thinking to steer them out into the open ocean where they can harm no one.

I hoped Katrina would stay at sea, but she didn’t. I hoped that crossing Florida would sap her strength, and she’d peter out in the Gulf, but she didn’t. Once she was out in the Gulf, it was with increasing dread that I watched her climb from a cat. two to cat. three storm. My dread turned to horror as she went cat. four, then five. Even still, I was unprepared for what we’ve all seen unfold in the week since the storm slammed into the shoreline.

Comstock Films is setting aside Wednesday, September 14th as our day to respond to this tragedy. On that day we will donate the purchase price of all DVD orders and pre-orders made from the ComstockFilms.com Web site to the American Red Cross. When Mrs. C started looking for the most transparent way to make this donation, she discovered our ISP is offering dollar for dollar matching of any donations, so we’ll be using their “portal” to maximize the amount donated.

What that means is for every copy of Marie and Jack: A Hardcore Love Story and Xana and Dax: When Opposites Attract sold on that day ($24.95), nearly $50 will go to the Red Cross. For every DVD pre-order, nearly $26 will go to assist the people of the Gulf Coast in this terrible time. (Please note: Pre-orders made on September 14th are non-refundable.)

If you’ve been telling a friend to check out Comstock Films, on September 14th they can buy a great DVD and send nearly $50 to help with the rescue and recovery efforts. Buy two DVDs and you’ll be sending $100 to help people who are in desperate need. If you’ve got a copy of your own, buy one for a friend or pre-order one of our upcoming titles.

In addition to this blog post, we’ll be sending out an e-mail announcement today. But I don’t want this to be bunch of Comstock Films hype, so we won’t make another announcement until Sept. 13th. I’ll leave it to each of you to decide for yourself if this feels like an appropriate gesture. If it does please pass this along or repost as you see fit.

Yours very sincerely,
Tony Comstock

We closed the shop down for the second and third week in August; the first substantial break from e-mail and voice-mail that Mrs.C and I have had since we met more than 10 years ago. Our shop re-openned in late August, and I had intended to start blogging again last Monday, but as events unfolded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina I found I had nothing to say. Today I seem to have my voice back.

The response from the nation and world to the disaster in our city four years ago was so unbelievably positive, and I look back on that time with a strange sense of nostalgia and pride. Watching things (fail to) unfold in New Orleans has left us stunned – I can’t believe that we’ve had to wait five days to finally see photos of mass distribution of food and water, and helicopter evaculations of hospital patients. I know this isn’t the best we can do, not nearly, and I feel ashamed.

We’ll be back in full swing on Tuesday. Some exciting news about the goings on in the shop, and if we can work out the details so we don’t looks like a bunch of self-promoting assholes jumping on the band wagon, maybe a way that Comstock Films and our viewers can offer a token of support to the people of the Gulf Coast.

Till then Mrs. C and I are going to spend this long weekend enjoying time with our family and friends, mindful of how very fortunate we are.

-TC