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John Stagliano is one of the great survivors of the adult industry – and like any survivor, he seems to have had more lives than a cat.
He started out in the mid 1970s as – take your pick – an aspiring writer, economist, dancer, magazine publisher, actor, and performer in sex loops. He even became one of the first Chippendale dancers, when the male stripping troupe was wildly successful.
But if all this makes John Stagliano sound unfocused or less driven, nothing could be further from the truth. John has always been a leader, not a follower, and along the way he invented new ways of doing things.
For s start, he turned a semi-successful career as a bit part porn actor into the creation of Evil Angel – one of the most successful production companies and distributors of pornographic films. Evil Angel was a different kind of beast in that it hired directors to make films – but then permitted them to own the films they created. Evil Angel’s job was to handle the films’ manufacture, distribution, promotion and sales for which John would take a percentage of the gross profit. It was a unique model that resulted in people like John Leslie, Greg Dark, Joey Silvera, and Alex De Renzy making films for the company.
Or take John’s film The Fashionistas: a movie that dealt with a controversial subject, cost half a million dollars, took three weeks to film, and had a running time of almost five hours. The result was perhaps the most successful adult movie of all time – it sold over 100,000 copies in just its first month of release, set a record for the most AVN Award nominations for a single title — 22 – and it yielded a Las Vegas show that ran for several years.
And then there was the creation of Buttman. Even if this was John’s only achievement then his position in history would be secure. After all, not many people have come up with original ideas in the adult industry, not least ones that change the whole way of making films. In 1989, he produced The Adventures of Buttman, the first in a series that’s credited with inventing the “gonzo” adult film genre. It was a simple hand-held approach to filmmaking, where the performers broke the fourth wall, and there was minimal editing or music. The focus was on creating reality in sexual performance.
Along the way, there were road bumps. That’s inevitable in a career that has lasted the best part of 50 years. He lost a girlfriend, porn performer Krysti Lynn, to a car accident, he was diagnosed with HIV in the 1990s, and there have been court cases – more than a few – from obscenity busts to claims of the #metoo variety.
Given how John started, he could’ve done just about whatever he wanted – but his life and contribution to the adult industry have been both entertaining and important.
This is his story.
This episode is 89 minutes long.
The music playlist for this episode can be found on Spotify.
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John Stagliano – The Buttman series
John Stagliano – Fashionistas
John Staglian0 – Fashionistas, The Musical
John Stagliano – Evil Angel
AMEN!! John is king and I will love this HIStory of the the biz!!
At last!!!!!!!!!!
I love everything that The Rialto Report does, but I especially love the podcasts.
So today is a red-letter day!!!!!!!
Thank you Rialto!!!!
Thank you so much John!
Just finished listening. Really entertaining, and revealing, and informative too.
In other words, another great pod from The Rialto Report!
Great job guys!!!
Thank you MB!
Love to hear the character behind these names we’ve known for so long.
And gratifying to learn that JS is a pretty cool guy too – smart and self-defacating!
Buttman’s Big Tit Adventures, Buttman’s Ultimate Workout and The Fashionistas, (which my wife LOVES, and has given me LOTS of leeway to explore new things in the bedroom!) are the must-see videos of all the excellent John Stagliano films. Thanks again Ashley & April! Another home run of an interview!
We appreciate that Al!
Another fantastic pod from The Rialto Report, focused on one of the most interesting people in the industry in JS.
Once again, the bar is raised! Bravo!
Thank you good doctor!
The early Buttman stuff is some of the best porn ever made, and Evil Angel has put out a lot of other things I enjoyed over the years. But some of the stuff he distributes now is really disgusting. Specifically, the fact that he puts out Bryan Gozzling’s garbage really makes me think less of him as a person.
Buttman Confidential is my favorite porn movie of all time. So happy he covered that in this interview. Rialto Report is awesome. When is the movie coming out?
I am a huge fan of the Rialto Report. Keep the stories cumming!
Thanks Kevin!
the One that let others see, the ”apple” falls far beyond the tree.
Another stunner, Ashley.
John S. is a guy who brought intelligence and a philosophy to his oeuvre.
Would love to hear his story about the BUTTMAN magazine, too.
Glad that so much of sex history is being remembered, preserved, studied, and celebrated. I love niches, that test the norms, where the good-doers and their army of moral cowards cannot reach and whitewash. New generations mock and pity our self-made moral leaders who denied the diversity of humanity for sexual, moral, racial, economic, and religious hate wars to preserve the status quo even while they enjoyed “sin” behind the velvet ropes. I’m tempted to curse the ones who hurt others as well as their sick twisted seed. BUT we must never angrily destroy Auschwitz. Never forget humans can be inhuman for a Great Big Lie. Those they sacrificed to their poison dreams must haunt our subconscious. Live and let live. Golden Rule. Glass Houses. Learn and don’t make the same mistake again. Have fun!!! Thank y’all. Love!
The fact that you ended this podcast with a song from Bugsy Malone speaks volumes about your taste in all things and just warms my heart even more about you guys. Great podcast and song choice. Keep it up!
Thank you Anthony!