I totally can't see Mark doing this at all... Hands down one of the nicest guys in the biz and one of very few I trust completely.
Given the nature of the accusation you would think Mike would have checked why there was a LATATA vote, what was behind it and what the results were BEFORE going to print. Rather than skip any possible fact checking and draw magical line of correlation and causation.

From what Porno Dan posted it would seem at issue is only his connection to the FSC. Would have been easy enough to publish a post on that alone...

:1orglaugh

I hear you but really does anyone still take him serious?

Mark is good people.

I don't post often on this board but felt the need to throw in my 2 cents... As a guy that was one of Mark's biggest competitors for many years (I used to own PremiumCash), I can say that he's one of the most stand up guys I've met in this business. Our companies were always in fierce competition signing models to web deals and he always acted like a true professional. After selling PremiumCash, i actually bought half of BlazingBucks and can tell you that one of the biggest assets that company possessed was Mark's goodwill...I have never heard someone say a bad word about him. Mark is a businessman and maybe that's something that the other agents in this industry fear...have you ever thought of that Mike South???

As for someone mentioning something about the $20 charge for testing being the reason for a vote being held to get Mark out of LATATA ...that is just plain laughable. Our companies shot a little north of 60 scenes last month and out of almost 140 talent bookings I was charged the $20 on 3 or 4 of them I believe...and have ONLY been charged this by 1 agent in the industry.

I really think that Mike South, at the very least owes Mark a call to get his side of all this because I really feel that this could damage the credibility of your blog... I can assure you this thread will go on and on with people who have known Mark for years and you will be hard pressed to find 1 person to say a bad thing about him...remember credibility is like virginity ...once you lose it, you can never get it back.

this isn't journalism. this is for attention. and the worst part is all these accusations you're slinging around you're trying to cover up by saying it's "news" cause he might be voted out? the fucked up part is now his name will be tied to all this bs you're writing. real journalists check their source's information

like everyone already said, he's one of the last good guys in this business. don't try to fuck that up. and i don't even know anyone else in this thread personally so i'm not taking sides or biased. dealt with him before he was even with atmla, and he was just as stand up back then with blazing.

Has South ever relied on facts? Why would he start now?

ATMLA, Kicking The Hornets Nest
By Mike South
October 8th, 2014

It’s been a long time since I it a topic that has sparked as much debate as this one, from twitter to GFY and beyond ATMLA is the talk of the town and there isn’t much neutral ground.

In the end ATMLA is currently out of LATATA by a majority vote, in a month they could be re-admitted though it seems doubtful. The Big Issues with LATATA seem to be Mark Schechters methods to bring the organization closer to The Free Speech Coalition and his practice of way undercutting talent rates.

On the directors side Mark seems to have strong support, most of them like him, their detractors say its because they are getting boy girl scenes from him for as low as 400 or 500 dollars.

On the talent side most do not like him, saying he strong arms them to accept lower rates, that they are getting harassed in his model house, that he is sending them on BDSM shoots without fully explaining what they will be subjected to and that the percentage he charges is too high in order to make up the lost money for cutting their rates. Their detractors say hey this is simply the economics of the time and talent is bitter because less work being available acts to drive down prices.

Fans and outside observers generally dont like agencies altogether, suggesting that talent should self book and avoid them altogether. They also seem to think that the agencies push the girls into prostitution.

It will all shake out in the end ut as evidenced by the responses to the article it is something that prolly needed to be talked about…

Really? Fans know of and give a flying fuck about how content is booked? I presume you have a link to this revelation.

500 anonymous fans have emailed him. That's how it usually goes, right?

another Mike South "I am only posting what people send me" without verifying anything

edit: 50 accusations with no proof

Thats exactly what I thought while reading...

nailed it :2 cents:

that follow up post is a fucking joke by south

exactly cause it's hardly a follow up and much more the same bs :2 cents:

I only wish this were true...

"On the directors side Mark seems to have strong support, most of them like him, their detractors say its because they are getting boy girl scenes from him for as low as 400 or 500 dollars."

But, hey what do we know, we only booked about 80 scenes last month with about 120 talent, probably 80+ girls.

Ok folks, Mike South knows what we think about his writing. Be nice, he is our Pit Bull for harassing Mansef, Manwin, Mind Geek and other derivations of this organization. :upsidedow

Washed up.

that ship has sailed long ago :2 cents:

True but the ship is still afloat and must come to port for provisions. When it does, we can count on Mike South to be there barking with foam around the mouth.

Mike - you do understand Mark is not the "talk of the town", your incompetence to actually resemble someone reporting on a topic is.

So apart for not checking facts, any attempt to get both sides of the story, not having any grammar or spell checking abilities...
I guess we can add the complete lack of ability to understand the most basic of math.

"In the end ATMLA is currently out of LATATA by a majority vote"

How is a tie vote 4:4 with 1 person missing a majority?
Is this a problem with your math skills , comprehension or do you just not know the definition of the word "majority"?

And don't even get me started on your thinking that fans give 2 shit about or even can name 1 agent.

Wonder if GFY rule 10 could apply here...

The talent side actually does like him and I really can't see Mark strong arming anyone or even yelling at anyone.

People defend him here and in most circles (not just director side because they get to shoot at cheap rates) but the people behind the industry because he is a genuinely good person. Remember, he didn't start on the agency side or even the director side and was never a suitcase pimp.

The root of this is pretty complicated but is like a plot scene from SOA.

:1orglaugh

yes, also the timing of the article, what the article says, and when this vote was supposed to take place.

:disgust

Three words.

Bull "Fucking" Shit!

I've known Mark for many, many years. I am not a director. I do not shoot any scenes with him.

Mark is by far one of the most honest, ethical, and respectable guys that I've met in my 15 years in this business.

What a complete and utter libelous slandering of one of the nicest guys I've had the pleasure of knowing in the adult space.

I'd like to see this so called proof too.

If no proof is provided, this is nothing shy of the usual sensationalized garbage.

:2 cents:

South should be forced to prove it or be banned. This isn't the usual petty GFY bullshit. Like seeric said; this is libel, pure and simple.

Which directors are shooting ATMLA talent at "cheap rates"? I'm not--I pay ATMLA talent the same as I pay talent from the other agencies I work with.

As Porno Dan pointed out, shooting in LA is way down, so demand for talent is way down; with a reduction in demand, you'd expect to see a reduction in prices paid for scenes. That LATATA has prevented any meaningful cuts in pay to talent speaks more to their ability to work as a cartel, and not just as a trade organization. And if models don't think they're earning enough for the work they're doing and the risks they're taking, then of course they're likely to leave the business. This is Economics 101.

Pay is down for everyone, not just for talent--one of my clients has told me several times that he pays one of his LA shooters $150/day for 10 still sets and three masturbation videos, and the guy apparently uses his own full frame DSLR and HD video equipment.

beat up on me all yall want i got thick skin... I just calls em as I sees em... id also like to remind yall I dont nor have I ever called myself a "journalist" its op -ed deal widdit

I have no idea, that's what it says in his article that directors are defending him because they are getting "cheap rates".

p.s. miss those photos from moblog

I'm still posting photos on Twitter (marcophoto) and on Instagram (marcophotola). Mobog was a lot of fun, and years ahead of its time.

What a douche.

true, a journalist would also have a basic sense of grammar and spelling

Yeah man, I saw some of this and heard they been kicked out of LATATA. I've known Mark Schechter and his wife Margie for many many years. They come from my side of the tracks, they are web nerds. When they got into the adult modeling side of the business I asked him why he would even want to do something like that to himself, but he seemed pretty confident that he could do something different can make it work. I don't think he thoroughly familiarized himself with the politics surrounding this three ring circus and all the politics with different agencies.

I know LATATA you made a bunch of accusations about him. From all of my dealings with Mark an accusation like this is completely out of character... he has always been one of the most professional porn / not-porn guys I've ever met. I was extremely displeased to see his name slandered in such a way.

If you connect the dots they all lead back to the usual suspects as far as the source of all this...

Mark has my support any day of the week:thumbsup a

:2 cents:

there ya go....and another thing all you know it alls might wanna actually consider how many people I talk to on a daily basis....thatd be lots....and that Luke Ford never paid anyone a dime...for the record I told him that was NOT christy lake in those hpotos and that he was crazy to say it was.

But I reckon it all depends on whose Ox is getting gored huh? I didnt see any of yall stickin up for Derek Hay when he was under the gun for similar shit...or dirty D when he was being accused of shooting an underage girl....

It all comes out in the wash...carry on...

Sounds like he probably should have kept up with his rabies shots...

I wish everyone got this upset about their content being repeatedly stolen and exploited by other stand up guys in the business.

i don't think Mark would do what he's been accused of. Although I'm fresh to this bored, I've been involved in porn for over a decade. Mark is an upstanding guy. Even if he did fuck one of his talent, he wouldn't be the first. Pot calling the kettle black.

even though you are new you nailed that right on the head:thumbsup

You might want to look up the definition of op-ed - Your site does not fit. :2 cents:

Maybe next time well you are talking to all these people you should add the person in question to your long list of conversations.
Out of all the people you talked to in this case you opted to not talk to 1 person, Mark...

Btw when did you stop calling what you do reporting?
http://www.mikesouth.com/avn/avn-and...y-for-me-7422/

Remember the day you typed these words:
"only guy out there doing any kind of honest reporting about the industry,"

How about:
http://www.mikesouth.com/avn/i-dont-...t-get-it-7782/

"AVN wonders why their magazine has shrunk to about the size of comic book and XBiz wonders why people in the biz go to me to get hard news. while I was reporting on that story AVN and XBiz were busy with fluff peices about Tristan Taormino and Manuel Ferrara, respectively."


Maybe you should stop referring to your site as a new site/source for news and yourself as a reporter... :2 cents:


"There is an old saying that power corrupts and that absolute power corrupts absolutely." I would suggest to YOU that maybe YOU needs to do some reflecting on these things.

Fucking morons calling this "slander". It's "libel", dipshits.