Yep, the internet changed everything. I knew a few actresses from the 80's in LA (and some from the late 70's). No big names, but were active in the biz. Got to know Sheri St. Claire. She was an interesting lady and a blast to "play with". Fond memories of her hot tub with one of her vids playing in the background.
Yep, there were some local producers that never made it big and probably never intended to make it big. Just having fun and very limited distribution. There were a couple here in Colorado, but I don't remember their names.
It's amazing how the internet destroyed the once venerable and recession-proof porn industry. One former porn actress I know personally has told me she fears the facial recognition technology and that it will result in the exposure of many people whose photos and videos are online, not just professionals but everyday amateurs. She was active back in the mid 1990s to early 2000s and was making six-figures. Luckily for her, she invested much of it and lives sensibly, if very frugally, today.
Actually, *many* of his models were already in the business or breaking into it and working their way up just, or as a one-time porn actress told me, "paying the bills." The DD series was tightly scripted by Powers, actresses told to pretend they're not pros, new to porn, etc. There was an actual "average girl does porn" series that was on VHS in the early to mid 1990s. The guy who produced it traveled the USA and recorded non-pro women he paid to perform. Not escorts or anything, but real encounters. Most were women who were single, working-class and obviously doing it for the money. The tapes were not distributed widely and were very rare.
I watched a bunch of Ed Powers series. Something about amateur and pro-am is a turn on for me. Amazing how many ladies in the DD series went into the biz.
Yeah, we're both old! I had several of Ed's Dirt Debutante VHS tapes back in the mid 1990s. Loved the one with Laina Sanchez, a beautiful Latina, he had oral, vaginal and anal sex with. I had sex with a Latina who appeared in one of his videos, Dominica, back in the early 2000s.