and the delightfully perverse ()f l-‘rcuks um! Mm followed. and novv we have Wonderland.
Marooned as it is in the coconut candy—choked (‘alil’ornian boulevards of Will. llimrler/uml retells the
decidedly unglamorous. sub (Charles) Masonic tale of
the Wonderland murders. Described by the LAM) as the most gruesome crime scene since the 'l‘ate/LaBianca slaughter. the massacre at 8763 Wonderland Avenue in
the Laurel Canyon area of Los Angeles left a tangle of
four mutilated bodies Ron Launius. a psychopathic lovv rent drug dealing socialite. his girlfriend Joy Miller.
Barbara Richardson (the motorbike loving girlfriend of
Launius‘ right hand man David Lind) and Billy l)cverell. the square guy who liked to get high and paid the rent. l)cspite a lengthy investigation that savv the police questioning the declining porn star John Holmes. the police could not lind a clear cut solution. llolmes. vvhose penis size vvas only matched by the scale oi his cocaine habit. was acquitted of any involvement at year later. Also acquitted vvas the notorious Palestinian emigre drug kingpin Adel Nasralleh (knovvn in LA as liddie Nash) in l988. The film‘s director/writer James (‘ox has taken the events and days leading up to this tragic event and retold them in a bid to shine some light on vvhat many porn insiders still refer to as their industry‘s equivalent ol' the Altamont festival the death of the porno dream. the night Johnny Wadd stopped being able to produce the vvhite stul'l. 'l'he resulting lilm is by turns lascinating. seedy. illogical and illuminating. (‘ox and his co-vvriters are vvise enough to knovv that vvhat anchors their unsolved mass murder tale from over 20 years ago into the present is the legendary ligure of Holmes.
A pathological liar. llolmes had a career that spanned tvvo decades. 2.274 porno pix. and reported casual unprotected sex vvitlt more than 14.000 vvonten (he also moonlit as a httstlcr). Holmes is one of the levy male porn actors from the 70s that can truly be considered iconic (along vvith. perhaps. Annie Sprinkle and. at a push. Linda Lovelace). llis status among the [mu/ml generation is high. and further embellished by the fact that he vvas the model for the pimp ptlssy' vvagon-riding l)irk l)iggler in Boogie Nights. llolmes' legend is stable. rather like lilvis‘: it is clothed in hypocrisy but is strangely addictive vvhen you start looking into it. By locking in the mythology ol llolmes. the makers of Winder/um] have cleverly sidestepped the moral debate of pornographyk vvorth. and cut straight to the chase by setting their lilm in the recalcitrant lead up to a real life tragedy. The ligure of a drug-addled. vvispy bearded llolmes (stoically. shamelacedly played by the great Val Kilmer) guarantees the public‘s sociological l'etishism for all things retro cool.
A terril‘yingly murderous morality tale ol‘ subjective implication and HIV steadied redemption. llbm/erlum/ does. hovvever. mark a departure from the glitterball glamour ol‘ porn industry chic. It shares vvith Spike Lee's Summer ol'Sam and last year‘s execrable l’unv Munst a morality dubiously born of censorious governments and presidencies. But this time round. John Holmes doesn‘t get to air his ‘bright shining star". as l’ellovv actor Annette llaven points out in superb documentary l‘eature qur/(l: 'I‘lir' 1.1/2) uml 'Ii'mr' ofJu/m (' Holmes: ‘ll' John ever got lully erect he‘d lose consciousness from lack oi blood to the brain. becatise his dick was that big. And it’s true that his cock vvas never hard. It was like doing it with a big soil kind ol‘ loolah.‘ Let‘s vvelcome back an old friend. for this is sollcot‘c.
Wonderland is on selected release from Fri 7 May.
We are giving away tickets to catch an exclusive preview
of Wonderland. See Offers. page 11
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Pornography may be seen as a man‘s world but many of the industry’s iconic movers and shakers have been women. Here’s a snatch of ladies who laid more than just solid foundations.
I Linda Lovelace lllt‘ world's most l.illl()li"> adult taiilurtauiiiitriit :stzii. lltfl [)t’t.’,'/ [Mom (lolliiml llit: lJUlUUUliIlIU flit; porn tut-ia- lli lilt‘ 8m slit: ltllllt,‘(i li-.:-.' track t,ll .x ...:i:;.i: (,ttltf'LH to cranium). .iqwim pt/‘llttxlltlll‘ll‘, Slit: tin-«l (ill-ml t: tgtzi units." !ll 2th)?
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I Annie Sprinkle i ltrl ov status: ‘l’oiii 5.2m tl-"(l l)l()f$iiillll? l;il.'l(3(i sox t}trl.i will titriftiiiiiaixru artist‘. ‘.'.’llll(§' lllt,‘ Siiiiiiklt: motto is: it?! {limo Ht" l)l€,‘{t‘_3lilt7():’l(>21llll:llKlltfl|ll)(?§llll‘.'.’|lll mt, S'lt? Litmus tl‘ei'. hm staggo llilllK:
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I Traci Lords Mult- lizrl taro-ta: (l(,‘l}t.l {lvltitl .i not :so :;.'.t.~~;:t it). at 1297.1} (REE; Moi/12f? .iritt lli{i(l(‘: lit‘tlli, 7th) tucks; hols/ooh ltiév‘J and 198).} much (if; / /.’/§,'t? film; .5» ticfoic soc-knit; f.ir:i.t: credibility Ill Ill-i? Sills; I'tiiiiksg llliiilll‘, it) John \‘.";it(>i‘:; l(>l1l33ifiill;lt).‘.lll)(:li .llNIlljllfSli. I La Cicciolina l armorial; (lrgoicotl from .Joft Koons. slit: ‘.'.{if3 elected to tilt? llziliiill parliamoiit ll‘: NEW and letter (:(i l()llll(i(}(l lllt‘: l on; Party ‘.'.’l‘.l(ll‘. (:aiiipziiqiioti tot l(?§}£ll!f;£lllt)l‘. of brothels. lllt? ope-mtg; oi 'lt)‘.-.? pinks! tuitl outta-r tat-x (?(it.i,‘(lll()ll_ llw stage '(Ltitttllti'Q.
I Annabel Chong /\l)l)t."tilt‘(l on a Jerri Spit/rig)! (episode (Elliiiltitl ‘l Slept mt!) 2:51 Mon ill l(?ll llotiiss' thanks; to lit?! Ho's. ‘.‘.()l|{l wooitl for a Moral titllltllel‘itj. lit:ti()tltllll(3lll£ll‘y Sm: Ira) All'iitl)’. v (Jittqu firm i, told illt: ‘.'.lltil(: Inuit: talc ot llt‘l ti.ii::;l;:rii:.ilioii from int}; (invert 2.: ‘>l.t(lt‘l‘l and luck
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