As promised:

Newsgroups: alt.sex
Subject: Porn Star Interview.
Organization: Prototronics @ Sandpoint, Idaho
Distribution: alt
Date: Sat, 23 Mar 1991 23:39:02 GMT
Keywords: Cherri Hill Porn Movies Star

About 3 weeks ago I posted saying a former porn star was going to be visiting
with a friend at my place.  Well... due to various problems they didn't
show up.   I still wanted to ask her some questions and finally last night
I was able to make contact with her via phone.  She lives several hundred
miles from here but we spent about 45 minutes on the phone.  She seemed
intelligent and articulate.  I was sort of expecting someone a bit 'simple'.
Perhaps a the sterotype of a 'dumb blonde'.  This was not the case as near
as I could tell.

Without further elaboration -- my interview with "Cherri Hill":

Questions I had:

Me: How did you get into the business? 

Cherri:  I grew up in Coeur d'Alene Idaho and got married at 18 (I'm 21
now).  We moved in with another couple that was older and had this big
house.  The other women and I worked at a massage parlor at Stateline
(nearby town).  The older guy asked if I was interested in X-rated movies
and I said sure.  He sent pictures to Jim South's World of Modeling then
we went down there and I started working.  My husband stayed behind and I
told him that I was just modeling and not doing any sex stuff.  He later
came down and I told him about it and he decided he didn't like it and he
moved in with his father that he hadn't seen since he was about 5.  We're
still married 'cause I haven't got around to getting a divorce.

Me: Was it hard work?  How long did you have to work each day?

Cherri:  It was work.  We would usually meet at a parking lot about 7:00 in
the morning and caravan to somebody's house.  It was illegal in Orange county
because we were getting paid for sex.  So people who were having trouble meet
a mortage payment or something would rent out their house for three or four
hundred dollars for the day.  We would start filming the scenes and work all
day until 11:00 or 12:00 that night.  We would get our money and go home.

The movie 'formula' is 6 scenes with 3 men and 3 wowen.  The scenes are made
with switching people around so you get some girl-girl scenes, threesomes
and straight boy-girl scenes.

Me: Did it pay well?  Are the men paid comparable to the women?

Cherri:  For a beginer $400->$500 scene, $250->$300 for man.  Each day would
involve about 3 scenes.  Towards the last I was getting 2 or 3 jobs a month.
The agents fee is a straight $50.00.

Me: You only worked 2 or 3 days each month?  That gave you lots free time!

Cherri:  Yeah!  A lot of people are going to school or something like that.

Me: Did you get to know your co-stars ahead of time? 

Cherri: No -- not really.  You might know who was going to be there and you
got to know a lot of the people involved.  But nothing like you were
introduced a week ahead of the filming or anything like that.

Me: What about disease prevention?

Cherri:  You had to have AIDS test results that had come back in the last
24 to 48 hours.  If you didn't have the papers you didn't do any filming.

Me: How would someone go about getting started in the business?

Cherri: Call down to Van Nuys California (area code is  818) ask information
for Jim South's World of Modeling.  They are very cautious about police and
stuff.  You have to send in pictures. 

[Note:  I called information this morning.  There was no Jim South's World of
Modeling.  There was a "World Modeling Agency" with the phone number 
818-986-4316.  I have not called it and probably won't.]

Me: Is there a demand for men or just women?

Cherri: They need men as well as women.  A lot of men get in front of the
camera and just can't do it.  That's the end of their career in that field.

----
Several other people sent in questions.  Some were sort of duplicated.  One
person didn't want their name mentioned so I stripped out all identifying
information from all the questions.  I read the following questions to her
and give credit to "Net".
----

Net: Yes.  I would like to ask if they ever fake stuff in order to meet some
kind of a deadline.  If she's tired and just doesn't feel like having sex,
can they just rest for a while, or are they supposed to be ready to have sex
no matter what?

Cherri: You are told when your scenes will be a day or so ahead of time. 
Then it's pretty just go in and shoot them.  A scene takes about an hour to
an hour and 15 minutes.  Later when I got better at it it sometimes got down
to as little ast 22 minutes.  Only one time was there any fake stuff that
I saw.  It was doing some still shots for some magazine and this guy couldn't
get it off and I had this bottle of lotion that I held it behind his cock and
squeezed it so that it looked like he was cumming.

Net: Also, I'd like to know if they get to specify what kind of sex they will and
won't do.

Cherri:  Yes when you go into the agents office.  They have you fill out
this form -- will you have sex with blacks, hispanics, etc.  What kind of
sex will you do -- DP (double penetration), anal, girl-girl, etc.

Net: Also, do they get to pick with whom they will have sex?  If so, is
this on a movie-by-movie basis or do they just say that they will not have
sex with someone of the same sex at all.

Cherri: You can always say no for whatever reason (privately you know he's
been shooting up or they aren't clean or whatever).  As far as sex with
another women -- the first time I was put on set and asked to do a girl-girl
scene I was so scared!  I figured someone I knew would see it and that
bothered me.  But I did it and it got easier.  One women brought these
'tools' for me to use on her and I did -- it was kinda fun and it made it
a little easier.  And then afterwards she told me that she REALLY liked what
I did to her.  That helped a lot too.

Net: And lastly, can she share some of her personal opinions about the porn
world in general? 

Cherri: I liked the people involved they were REAL people -- down to earth.
I promised myself I wouldn't change from the person I was back in
Couer d'Alene.  But then I got involved with drugs and this guy from
Argentina.  I was more carefree then at 18 than at 21 now.  I only worked
in the business for 8 months.

Net: Where might we see her or what movies or whatever has she been in?

Cherri: 25 movies were made.  Which eventually were then cut up into 34 ->
40.  Some of the better ones were: "Thrill on Cherri Hill" (which I helped
write), "Eye of the Tigris",  "Port Holes".  They will say on the box
"Features Cherri Hill". 

Net: My exposure to this material (magazines and movies) is limited, but I
have always felt somewhat of a dillema. Given the media's representation of
the porn industry, I get the impression that most of the women involved are
doing it because of desperate financial situations (including expensive drug
habits), or they are run-aways with no place else to go and are more or less
forced into it.  Is this a correct representation of the industry, or is the
media/politicians trying to control the industry.  By renting/purchasing this
type of material am I contributing to or promoting abuse? This bothers me.

Cherri: Absolutely not!  You are asked for ID and birth certificate.  The
last thing they want is another Traci Lords thing.  Many got rid of drug
habits before getting involved.  And if you wanted drugs there was no expense
involved.  When people found out that I made movies like that they would give
me all the drugs I could have ever used.  Everyone is absolutely straight
on the set.  This is no place to be messed up.  Many of the men and women
are 25 -> 35 (some men even in their late 40's) and have to work a bit
more to keep in shape -- they have to stay away from drugs.

Net: Bearing in mind that what's on the screen is a performance, when she
was doing these movies, did she find that she had to put herself into a
frame of mind that it was work, and not sex?

Cherri: It's work of course.  There were some people that I really liked.
There was one guy (Mark Wallace) that I had outside relationship with and
that made the work more enjoyable.

Net: Did her performances impede her ability to function normally in an
intimate relationship outside of work?

Cherri: Hmmm... No it made me more aware of what turns a guy on.

Net: Was the sex on the job too much (I mean did it turn her off from
seeking an emotional commitment in her life?

Cherri: No.

Net: Did men in relationships outside of work assume she was a slut?

Cherri: Some.  But they are rare.

Net: Were they abusive to her because of her job (i.e. did she have to lower
her standards for a man/mate because she had to find someone who would not
be jealous.

Cherri: One guy was sort of mentally abusive.  He's in prison now for doing
some other stuff.  He wasn't a very nice guy anyway.  Didn't have much
to do with what I had done.  He would have been bad for anybody.

Net: Was she able to reject sexual partners (hygene, questionable health,
etc..) or did the "producers" _require_ that she perform with any and
everyone that they told her to. Could she reject a scene because she didn't
like it?  The reason I ask these questions is because, while I find the
material arousing and it can really improve bedroom play, I don't like the
idea of making someone else miserable so I can enjoy erotica.

Cherri:  You could reject anything.  You are your own boss.  You can decide.

Net: The men in the movies are brought to orgasm (I assume they are when I
see them ejaculate).  Did she find that to be arousing? Did she enjoy the
sex?  I always wonder how much is over-acting (on the part of the women) and
how much is actually orgasm (perhaps that's what makes the movies
intriguing?).

Cherri: Different people are different.  I did a lot of acting.  I felt
there was too much "let's fuck" not enough "let's make love" in the movies.
A friend and I used to go in and do voice overs for movies because the women
on the set didn't make enough or the right kind of sounds.

Net: If she isn't either bi-sexual or gay, was she aroused in scenes where
she had to play with other women? Was she worried, turned off, or otherwise
disgusted if she knew that what she was doing was actually arousing/getting
a female co-star off (I guess that doesn't apply if she's bi or gay).

Cherri: Early in the business I was scared that someone would see me and I
was nervous but later I got over that when some of the women really liked it.

Net: I have seen one movie where the woman was literally dripping _very_
copiously, (despite all the posts in this newsgroup, I have never seen a
women _literally_ drip). I assumed they had put something inside her before
the scene.

Cherri:  Who was it?  I could probably tell you if was real or not.  There
was one woman who did do this naturally.

Net: Does effect outway precaution? Do the producers care if she is injured
in or gets an infection (I don't mean an STD, but more like a yeast
infection) from using some bizzare sexual prop (like a bannana or such)?

Cherri: There are laws against that.  Also these people are knowledgeable
they won't do that.  They don't even do things that straight couples do --
like use Vaseline.  Thats really bad for you these people know their stuff
and won't do risky stuff.  They watch out for others too.  These people just
don't do dangerous things.

Net: Are the sex scenes in the movies scripted out fully partially
or not at all. Do they have the freedom to improvise as the scene progresses.

Cherri: The scenes are nearly all the same and everyone pretty much knows
what to do.  Not much scripting because it's the same as last time.  So much
of this then change positions and do some of that, get the camera angles,
etc.

Net: In addition, I would like to know about the "type" of person who makes
films.  Are there wide variations in personalities?  What are some of her
comments on the "big-name" stars?

Cherri: Some are pretty stuck up.  Samatha Strong is one.  Tasha Ray would
come do her scene and leave with her $1500 and didn't associated with the
'low life'.  Others like Nina Hartley are neat people -- I liked watching
her.

Net:  If you do get to ask her this stuff ask her if the stars really read
their fan mail, or just throw it away. I've written a couple (being
tasteful, asking questions and not saying what I'd do to her or what not)
but have never got a reply.  Anyways I am VERY curious about the answers
to the questions you'll be asking, if you don't post to the net please
write me telling what her answers are.  Thanks much and good luck!

Cherri: I never got any.  Some people set up P.O. boxes and advertise in
the back of Hustler and other magazines.  "Send $5.00 or whatever".  Men get
letters and pictures back saying how horny they are and stuff.  These are
all fakes just photo copied stuff that was made up by some other guy. 
Trying to make some money.  The women got a modeling fee and are never
involved again.  If this is what he is talking about then he was kinda
ripped off.