Wicked’s long-time Wonder-Director Brad Armstrong took a much more reasoned approach when the question arose in the feature movie context. For the record, Brad happens to be one of the brightest, most considerate, and honorable people I have ever met in this business — and I consider the vast majority of the folks making a living this way to be good people.
The Armstrong Analysis
This eloquently delivered justification theoretically stemmed purely from a desire to save money in the budget by not having to pay male talent for a scene (or two +/-) in a movie. He was already getting paid as a director — a job he wished to maintain — for the company, so he did not need to double-bill (in a way) for this acting role. Now Brad happens to be a wonderful guy, but he still qualifies as a guy — so the fact that bottom line he was choosing which women he wanted to bone in any given production still colored the transaction in my mind. Confronted with this stance, Brad responded simply, “So I should only have sex with the ugly girls?”
(I mentioned the “bright” part, right?)
Assess as Asses — Final Analysis
Ultimately the fact that Ed was using his own money, while Brad utilized Steve Orenstein’s, made the determination as to how I approached the job offer with the Risqué clients. I never cared why they had sex — or with whom — but I did try to paint an accurate picture of the perception. Oddly enough, many people they would meet later in life might not turn out to be as accepting of this career choice, however brief. As a rule, mainstream people can watch porn, but they certainly do not want to associate with those who make it. Can you imagine?
