Posted on 05/28/2004 5:25:59 AM PDT by Aquinasfan
A Mormon Girl Gets Her Start in the Adult Movie Business
Jan. 23 — When 20-year-old Michelle saw the handsome Spaniard who would later become her fiancé, she thought it was love at first sight.
[WARNING: This article contains descriptions of sexual acts that some readers may find offensive.]
"The day we met, he said, 'You're going to be the mother of my children. I love you,'" she remembers. "You know what I mean? I never had that before. I never had a guy be so in love with me."
The couple met on the set of a porn film in a rented house in Prague in July 2001.
Michelle, the daughter of a retired Air Force captain and former bishop in the Mormon Church, was an up-and-coming starlet in the adult video world. She had had some setbacks in her first year in the business, but believed her career was turning around with the Prague trip, which would be her first starring role. Her co-star, 28-year-old Nacho Vidal, was already a well-established star.
The director had told Michelle that Vidal liked her work, and when the pair saw each other they immediately fell into each other's arms, kissing from one side of the house to the other.
"There's nothing bad about you," she told him admiringly as they prepared for the shoot. "You don't know me very well" he replied with a grin.
But when the director finally got the pair to settle down to the business at hand — filming a sex scene — the tone changed. Without any prompting, Vidal got rough during the sex, slapping Michelle's face violently from side to side, and choking her. [Pleased to meet you/Hope you guessed my name]
Afterward, she looked shaken, her face reddened and her eyes watery. But she insisted she was OK. "I look torn up — can you tell?," she asked an ABCNEWS producer who was following her progress for Primetime. Laughing and wiping her eye, she turned away and said without conviction, "I took a beating today, and it was great."
'Belladonna' Is Born
Michelle had gotten her start in the business at 18, when she came to Los Angeles from her home in Utah to look for work as a nude photograph model. When she failed to get modeling work, her agent encouraged her to try porn. She refused at first. "I always hated porn. I thought it was the most disgusting thing in the world," she told Primetime, which followed her career for more than two years.
But she finally agreed. Taking the name Belladonna, like the poisonous flower, she found herself preparing for what she thought would be a simple boy-girl sex scene. She was shocked when the director told her he wanted her to do anal sex — something she says she had never even thought about before. Worried she'd have to go through with it if she wanted to work again, she let him talk her into it. "I was kind of scared. I didn't know if I could say no," she remembers. "I didn't know any better, you know?"
After the session, she was shattered. "I wasn't ready for anal sex.... It was painful. But I can hide it really well." She had just turned 18, the legal age for participation in sexually explicit films.
Michelle went on more shoots over the next few months. Then her agent sent her on a job where she would have sex with male actors in prison outfits — 12 of them. Once again, she tried to back out, telling the director it was "sick," but once again she was talked into it. She had sex — all kinds — with the 12 men. "It was really hard because I really felt like a piece of meat ... in a lion's cage, 12 lions.... I had to do a lot of things I can't imagine anyone wanting to do." She was paid $4,000.
Afterward, she says, she couldn't stop crying. She packed her bags and went home to her family in Utah.
Glimpse of the Big Time
But within a year, she was back, even agreeing to promote the prison movie that had so upset her.
She began to feel that her career was picking up. She got a small part in a movie for VCA, one of the "high end" companies that produce big-budget films, and hoped it might lead to a contract. On the shoot, she met porn legend Ron Jeremy, who was making a cameo, and began to feel like she was fitting in. "The first second I walk in, this girl grabs my breast, and I'm like, Wow, you know, that's like the best welcome ... 'cause then you feel like, Oh, someone likes me, you know?"
Another company considered giving her a contract, but at a meeting, the owner, veteran porn star Ona Zee, sensed that Michelle was not emotionally ready to become an adult star. "There's a part of me that wants to say to you, 'Run for the hills, girl, do something else, because you can be something better,'" she told her.
At the high-end companies — which produce a small proportion of the thousands of adult titles released each year — performers often have contracts and can make six figures by shooting just eight to 10 movies a year. They can pick their own partners and condoms are generally required. Shot on film with elaborate, sets, costumes and plots, the movies can have budgets up to $250,000.
But Michelle did not get a studio contract, and ended up taking a job with a company known for "gonzo" porn — sex-only, amateur-looking productions shot on video. The company, Elegant Angel, was making a film in Prague and offered her a starring role, which she hoped would show the big studios that she could carry a film.
Love Blossoms in Prague
She was thrilled at the attention Vidal gave her during the week in Prague — but wary. "It's weird to have a guy love you that much. That almost scares me because I have a hard time trusting men," she told Primetime, explaining that her first boyfriend cheated on her repeatedly and ultimately left her for a stripper. Privately, Vidal had told Primetime he could never be with just one woman, and would be happy if Michelle's attraction did not lead anywhere.
She came back to Los Angeles by herself, so sore from the week's filming that she says she could hardly walk. But then she flew to Spain to visit Vidal, and their relationship seemed to be going places. She said he could keep having sex with other women, as long as he agreed to be "honest to me, loyal, and just respect me and tell me that I'm number one every day."
She even began hearing wedding bells, telling Primetime, "The second I get married, I won't having sex with men in this business any more."
Wedding Bells
By December 2001, Michelle and Vidal were engaged. As she proudly showed off her diamond ring, saying how pretty it was, Vidal joked in his Spanish accent, "I need to f—k so many girls for that ring."
The couple was in love, Michelle says, but they were fighting regularly. Vidal would sometimes get what he calls "Latino jealous" when he saw her talking to other men at clubs. Michelle told Primetime, "It's hard to be in a relationship with someone in porn."
By now, she was working steadily, even shooting for the same company she shot the prison gangbang for. "I guess now I've gotten past the whole feeling-bad-about-it thing. I'm like, 'OK, I did it and that was pretty damn rough of me' ... Like wow, you know?," she said with a laugh. "I can say that I've done pretty much everything there is to do, and I can walk away feeling a little proud about it, you know?"
The Primetime producers who had been following her noticed changes. At 18, she had said she would never use drugs, but now Primetime learned that she was sometimes high on marijuana during her scenes. She was working without condoms, though she said the risk of AIDS was never far from her mind — or her prayers. "The fans don't like to see condoms ... If I would have said I want to use condoms every time, I really wouldn't get any work," she explained. She contracted chlamydia, which can make you sterile.
And anal sex — which she had be talked into during her first shoot — was now her specialty. "Funny, isn't it? Something I didn't want to do and now I'm known best for it," she told Primetime. No longer a fresh face in the business, she found she had to agree to even riskier sex acts to earn the same money.
Ona Zee, the producer who had interviewed Michelle the previous year, noticed a difference, too. "I said to my husband, Our baby is all grown up and left home. She's no longer the adorable fresh-faced girl that I met ... Now she's really in the life ... Even in the pictures that I see of her, she's much harder, much tougher."
Behind the Smile
During interviews with Primetime, Michelle kept the happy smile she had always had — even when describing things that many people would find disturbing. However, her composure cracked when Diane Sawyer asked why she always smiled. Tears came to her eyes as she said, "Because I like to hide — hide everything, you know?" Then she began to cry, explaining that she hides her real emotions because she wants to show everyone how happy she is. "And I'm not happy ... I don't like myself at all," she said.
Michelle confessed she often felt physical revulsion during her scenes: "My whole entire body feels it when I'm doing it and ... I feel so — so gross." While pretending to be enjoying the sex, she said, she was in fact counting the minutes, telling herself, "Hey, I only have this much time left. Don't worry about it. Get the check. Gonna go deposit it in your bank." She admitted: "You get addicted to the money."
Like other performers Primetime spoke to, Michelle said that during shooting she often imagines herself outside her body. "I call it the 'other half,'" she said.
Bringing Home a Trophy
In January 2002, Michelle's Prague movie won an award at the Adult Video News awards in Las Vegas, considered the Oscars of the adult industry. Things were not going smoothly with Vidal that day — he complained that Michelle "don't do the ironing my clothes... I still 28 and I need my mother," and at the ceremony he openly checked out other women — but there were crowds of admiring fans for Michelle and she soaked up the attention.
After going on stage to pick the trophy, she was beaming, telling Primetime she had worked hard for it. "I think this is the very beginning of my career, like I've just begun," she said.
And at the 2003 AVN awards two weeks ago, Michelle was an even bigger winner, taking home awards for best supporting actress and three other categories.
Oral sex is no more open to children than anal sodomy, so how is the latter but not the former necessarily disordered and unnatural?
Taxes are not necessarily legitimate nor necessary. Where does the Bible APPROVE of taxes?
Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: 4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. 5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. 6 For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. 7 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
In Mathew 17:24-31 you see Jesus providing money and commanding Peter to pay taxes for both of them.
"Here's the nature of the damge being caused."
You would exhort me to do the wrong thing, for fear that people who are even worse (democrats) will win on the grounds that Christians are too conservative??? I reject your logic. I will stand for what is right. And if our people are so far gone that they reject what is right, so be it.
"For your info God didn't interfere with Eve's decision anymore than He did with Adam's. He told you to shake the dust off your feet if they don't listen. Who is it that is entitled to interfere, pass judgement and sanction? "
He allowed her the choice, but before that He laid down the law and said the penalty for sin would be death. So you see He did put in restrictions and He applied consequences.
Jesus told the deciples to shake the dust off their feet if a town would not listen to the gospel. Indeed, God forces nobody to accept the Gospel. Nor should we. But God has punished acts that harmed others. And it is very clear that God expects man to do the same in the administration of earthly justice which is man's responsibility.
Man has responsibility to interfere with administration of earthly justice. There are countless times that people "intefered" in the affairs of others for their good. In fact the Old Testament tells us to "Rebuke your neighbor frankly so that you do not share in his sin". You don't hear that preached very often, but it shows the level of responsibility that we have to others. Man has the responsibility to intefere in spiritual matters. We don't have the authority to force a spiritual choice, but we are told to warn others.
Man has responsibility to sanction laws for the public good and pass judgement. Those include moral laws whether the acts are public or private. Those responsibilities are very clearly given to man early in the Bible.
We do not have the responsibility to sanction or pass judgement on people spiritually. But understand what that means. That doesn't mean we can't logically deduce that the person who has told us they have rejected Jesus and believes in reincarnation is going to Hell. That's not judging a person, that's just logic. We are told to discern the spirits and to warn the wicked which implies discernment of who is wicked and who is not. The kind of Judging that God tells Christians not to do, is the kind that Jonah did when Jonah didn't want to warn Ninevah, because Jonah didn't think Ninevah deserved a second chance.
It wasn't wrong for Jonah to think that Ninevah was wicked. They were, and everyone knew they were. It was wrong of Jonah to think that he was any better except for the grace of God. It was wrong of Jonah to fail to love the people of Ninevah despite their sin, and to want what was best for them which was repentance and the receiving of God's mercy. Jonah wanted Ninevah to be receive God's wrath. That is what the Bible means when it says "do not judge".
It can be done safely. It is done safely in the Olympics. Geez, I always get the short bus posters.
Legislators are corrupted by power and so should not be trusted to build a "better society".
This is the very definition of America.
And yes --- if any millions of dollars was offered in exchange for any kind of act --- and I had the ability to choose the money or not choose it --- yes free will is still there. It's in the Bible that the love of money is the root of all evil. And people often enough will sell their souls --- for a lot of money, or for a little money.
Just because money is involved doesn't mean God took her free will away, she still has it. She craves money, I'm sure she's heard of God but she rejected God and chose the money --- she can right now at this very point chose to follow God.
Laws against drugs, porn, prostitution etc. are going away every day -- de facto first, then de jure.
Why? Society simply doesn't want them.
My point is that you needn't worry about "prohibitional law".
In a free country, each person has the right to keep 100% of the earnings of their labor. To the extent that we allow the government to engage in legalized plunder, we are slaves.
I never signed up for ANY taxes.
Wrong. Ready to ban it now? (And where's the evidence that condomed porn, such as is practiced by the 'elite' porn producers, is unsafe?)
Acute Traumatic Brain Injury in Amateur Boxing
Erik J. T. Matser, PhD; Alphons G. H. Kessels, MD; Muriel D. Lezak, PhD; Jaap Troost, MD; Barry D. Jordan, MD
THE PHYSICIAN AND SPORTSMEDICINE - VOL 28 - NO. 1 - JANUARY 2000
[...] CONCLUSION: Participation in amateur boxing matches may diminish neurocognitive functioning despite the use of headgear. The neurocognitive impairment resembles cognitive symptoms due to concussions.
Everyone is someone's child. However, legally-speaking, she's an adult. As such, she is responsible for her own actions, no matter how bad or stupid they may be.
Absolutely not.
Legislators must work towards a Freer society so as to allow man to exist in the state of Freedom closest to the state God created us.
God created us with Free Will and laws cannot raise a man's heart to a better state. The absence of outward vice is not the same as inner virtue. How do you not know that?
You need to read 1Samuel chapter 8 if you are genuinely interested in God's view of government.
I don't think he's familiar with Bastiat's "The Law".
Read the article. Elite is irrelevant.
As far as your boxing analogy, it is not applicable because there are rules in boxing to make it safer. There are no rules in porn. Put rules in porn and you can compare the two.
Thank you for an excellent reminder of why the 2nd Amendment is necessary.
$5M is a lot of money... I'd have to think about it.
See post 343.
Also back in Kings and Judges when Israel first rejected God as King and wanted an earthly king, God told the people that an earthly king would require taxes. Prior to that God had provided for the poor and needy through both individual generosity which was commanded by God and through the tithe.
But once the people chose a king, God also charged the King with those responbilities and continues to charge us individually and the church with those responsibilities. So we all share that responsibility, indivually, through the church and through government.
"ALL" taxes are not necessarily legitimate nor necessary. And governments like King George, can cease to be a "minister of good" and can be evil. When that happens, the people are right in rebelling and throwing off that government. But read the declaration of independence to see the care with which our forefathers took before choosing to rebel. They exhausted all diplomatic means to bring the King to reason and to treat them fairly.
Not all is right with our government, but we do have the right of redress and we do have representation. We do have a vote. That our people too many times choose to vote for graft and pork and charisma without looking deeper to character, is a problem that we all suffer the consequences of. But who do we have to blame but ourselves? Our choice is to raise the consciousness of the nation or to leave.
But if we choose to shirk the responsibilities that God has laid at the feet of government, our rule over this land will eventually be taken from us and given to another.
Wrong again. "At the high-end companies [...] condoms are generally required."
there are rules in boxing to make it safer. There are no rules in porn.
(Changing your argument, I see.) There are rules in boxing because the act of striking a person is intrinsically harmful. What harms intrinsic to sex would porn need rules against?
And what law guarantees this?"Generally" is not a rule. It's a request. See article above.
Porn is intrinsically harmful because of STD and AIDS. See article above.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.