Porn director and anti-porn group collaborate on commercial

LA Times (free but nosy registration required): Unlikely Bedfellows in the Crusade Against Pornography.

In a drafty warehouse in Chatsworth, veteran pornographer James DiGiorgio and his crew spent a recent Friday producing their latest low-budget flick. But there weren't any buxom young stars in sight. Instead, the production featured puppets and a wholesome message urging parents to keep their adult videos and magazines from falling into children's hands.

DiGiorgio, also known as "Jimmy D.," is taping the public-service announcement for XXXchurch.com, a Corona-based Christian anti-pornography group that often finds itself at the center of controversy. [...]

Surrounded by medieval-looking gear, a cage and hundreds of videotapes, they filmed the adventures of "Pete the Porno Puppet," who warns of the dangers of children discovering their parents' porn collection.

The footage has been edited into a 30-second public-service announcement, which will be aired in the Los Angeles and New York markets in April, as well as a longer, more risque director's cut that will be shown on XXXchurch.com's website. [...]

DiGiorgio, who has directed more than 100 films has received harsh criticism about the commercial from his industry. In industry publications, he has been accused of careerism, as well as of being a turncoat for directing an anti-pornography ad, and he said he has lost work.

DiGiorgio, a father of two, said he believes the industry has to take responsibility.

"Porn's a commodity these days, like coffee beans and pork bellies," he said. "This stuff is not for kids, like liquor and cigarettes are not for kids. We have to take extraordinary steps to protect them from it. When they get to be adults, they can make their own decisions."

XXXchurch.com also expects its share of criticism.

"We both get flak," Gross said. "We've got some people who really don't get it. They think he's the enemy and we're the good people and we shouldn't have anything to do with that. That's what Jesus faced."

Not really a "crusade against pornography", any more than those "drink responsibly" PSAs constitute a "crusade against alcohol". And not everyone in the porn industry was critical of Jimmy D's participation; many saw the project as good publicity for the industry's mainstream respectability. For example, Adult Video News wrote a positive piece about the commercial project.

Smash Pictures, an adult studio that often employs Jimmy D, donated the studio space for the commercial. Lewis Adams, spokesman for Smash Pictures, said, "As a parent working in the adult industry, any way to promote responsibility and taking proper care to make sure that children don’t see what we do is important — not only to myself but to Smash Pictures as well." [...]

The lights were donated by John Welks, whose lighting equipment is rented by just about everyone in adult, and the camera was donated by Gigi Appleton. Production and post-production services are being provided by Sinamotion, a video production and post-production company owned and operated by Jimmy D and Tyler Cash.

Not everyone seems happy with the odd collaboration. Jimmy D says that he has already lost some work because of the project has been characterized as anti-porn.

"No one is this business thinks that or hopes that porn is for children, so I don’t think this is anti-porn. In fact I think it’s pro-porn, because it shows that there is some responsibility in the industry," Jimmy D said.

Jimmy D has his own blog called Simply Jimmy D, where he talks today about industry response to the commercial. And XXXchurch.com ("the #1 Christian porn site!") traces the history of the project and lets you watch the commercial in Quicktime or Windows Media formats.

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