Retailers who carry adult product are having a tough time, so it's more difficult to convince them to carry big-budget, well produced movies. The company is no more rapacious than any other thriving corporate enterprise, but there's something remarkable about a business that makes all of its money by helping men masturbate. In one wing, there's a surround-sound home theater system so visitors can sample the latest in smut technology. Over in the Internet division, a scrum of young men is plotting new ways to turn erections into cold cash. The price doesn't matter.
Men sign up, regardless of the price, stay for three or four months, then leave.
If Gonzo has frightened the likes of Vivid, it's provided terrific career opportunities for some aspiring auteurs. Behold the curious career of the scraggly, transplanted New Yorker Adam Glasser. In 1991, Glasser opened a gym in Los Angeles. Stuck in a lousy location, he struggled to cover his overhead and ended up trading memberships for paintings with cash-strapped local artists. The place was usually empty, but it looked snazzy, and a friend suggested that Glasser raise money by renting the site to filmmakers.