Happy New Years to everyone, and thanks to The Gimp for having a place for us to express our ideas.

Here's hoping everyone a happy and fulfilled year ahead.

Peace,

Iago

I'll be there whenever they come out with my credit card ready, but as Tom Petty said, "The waiting is the hardest part." (^_^)

I received my copies of Forced Entry and South of the Border one a few weeks ago. They were both outstanding. I have to say that I liked SOB a little more though. My only grip being that Monica wasn't in it more. On that note I would like to ask for a little advice on my next purchase. Now I already have the second in the Reporter series and now I have the first SOB. My question is which would be the better buy if you only had enough for one tape and you want to get the most “Monica for your buck. SOB 2 or the first Reporter movie? I would greatly appreciate any advice on this matter. Going by the previews to both I am leaning towards SOB 2 right now because Monica is totally nude in that one. Thanks in advance.

In the future, If you for ANY reason cannot post directly to the guesbook, don't hesitate to just email me your entry and I will post it in archives. That way the forum will always keep going without interruption. The archives are completely updated, in case you haven't already noticed...

But first I need soem advise again from all of you experts...:-)):

What would you consider the best Courtney Bishop video and why??

To refresh memorie: The more ropes, pain, clothpins, gags, torture (oh well...just everything ZFX has to offer...) The better! Seeya!

Damien: The best Courtney Bishop video? For me, the choice is relatively easy: "Belly of the Beast". She's a little tipsy as she and her date come back to her hotel room after a night out, which affords him the opportunity to make out with her on the bed. But she objects when he slaps some handcuffs on her, and from then on the situation turns a little more violent, as he gags her and rapes her (a nice long rape) while she's cuffed and gagged. The acting is very convincing, and I think it's one of the best rape scenes Rick has ever shot.

But it gets even better later, because he has her tied in a pretty unique fashion, on her stomach with her hands tied out in front of her, and tied to a lamp on one end of the room, and her ankles knotted together and tied to the same fixture. Clothespins are tied onto her tits and she is gagged with a thick strap gag. Really, the ropework is a pleasure to look at, and I recall that we saw it from several different angles. Anyway, her Date From Hell decides it's time to party some more, so he greases her up and penetrates her in the ass! Great stuff. Big-busted babe Victoria Vixen also has a nice bondage rape in this one, as well.

Happy New Year! Millenium!! etc!!!

Ralphus I like you, but I'm still afraid I must KILL YOU!!!! Just so you are aware, Videoconnection has been a HUGE pain in my ass. I hate to see them being promoted as a good sorce for product as they have been anything but in my experience. I contacted them because people were complaining that they were not delivering tapes that were ordered. We placed an order with them and it took a long time to get the product(2mos and 3 emails). I think they realized they were being stung by the manufacturer, and had to scramble to get a real tape. I think they MAY be bootlegging but I haven't caught them. Bear in mind, a dealer can't usually make a profit at 29.00 on a ZFX tape because the wholesale price on low quantities is close to that. But in the adult industry, things can at times defy finacial reality, so it is theoretically possible they could be selling real tapes. If I was to go on instict and experience with pirates, Videoconnection fits the profile to a tee, but as I said, this is only my best guess. Just remeber, if it doesnt have a full color printed box (like on a printing press not a laser copy), its a bootleg. If you think you have bought a bootleg from them , or anyone else, please email me and let me know.

Many are asking when the will the site be updated and the new shows be out. I said January 2000 didn't I? Doh! I know your going hate me, it will be a little bit yet. I will not even attempt to give a date at this point, but I assure you it won't be too much longer. I realize that as usual I am behind schedule, but I am working on the new material as quickly as possible. I don't like to keep people waiting and no one wants these shows out more than me, but ZFX has never been a cookie cutter operation, so things take time and it's hard to predict exactly when they will be done. I want to put out the best material, not the most, but I know sometimes I seem to move at a glacial pace! My appologies for keeping you waiting, but I assure you I'm working as quickly as possible to bring new shows to the market. I think you will find them worth the wait!

Ok, time shut up and get back to work! Please have patience and keep the faith!

Rick)

Be warned!!! It IS to good to be true!!! This guy is one of the bootleggers who seem to keep Rick to busy to provide us with new vids! (BTW: Rick: I'm sorry, but i don't buy that story. I believe they keep you busy, but THAT busy??? NO WAY!).

Skippy: in other words: This guy sells dubs, sometimes copies-from-copies. So KEEP AWAY FROM HIM!!!

Damien

As far as them being bootleggers, I will have to say that from my experience with them, they shipped me five genuine ZFX originals, all in the factory boxes with the gold ZFX labels. I can tell the difference between an original and a copy, and these prints were all legit. As far as the low retail price, I don't know. It's possible they were using the $29.99 price for new ZFX as a sort of loss leader, the same way that supermarkets price milk at 99 cents in order to get you in there to buy more merchandise. As I stated before, most of their ZFX is now up to $39.99, so maybe their promotion is over.

Regarding Video Mayhem, yes, they sell copies, and they make no bones about that. I know the gentleman who runs that company and I've traded with him a few times. He mainly deals with out-of-print adult videos and Japanese imports. My own opinion of "bootlegs" is that they supply a need that couldn't be otherwise filled by legitimate sources. Without such companies, I never would have seen "Erotic Perversion", the legendary film loops by Cole in the 1970s that were undoubtedly an influence in many of ZFX's works. I never would have seen countless Japanese bondage and torture epics that far surpass most of the dreck that is masqueraded as bondage videos in the United States today. I never would have seen many of the classic adult films from the 70s and early 80s that combined rape, bondage and hardcore sex, which are now only available as fuzzy dupes due to the Meese rulings in the mid-80s. Do I like the fact that they are copies and the quality is inferior? No, but if that is the ONLY way to acquire them, then yes, I am glad they are there.

Now before anyone goes screaming, I can see why video makers, and Rick in particular, would have a problem with others ripping off his work. The number one reason is that he puts his time, money and creativity into such a project, only to have unscrupulous pirates merely make an inferior copy of his work and sell it to make themselves easy money, while Rick gets nothing and his fans get a less-than- stellar product. It is thievery, plain and simple, and not enough is done to help out adult distributers, because the authorities really don't seem to care. I worked undercover a few years back helping the MPAA sting a video store that was renting out duped copies of studio movies. What was interesting was that it was companies like Disney and Warner Brothers that they cared about; the MPAA couldn't care less about the adult product, even though they were illegal dupes as well.

In short, I feel strongly against those who rip off others' work just to make a profit, and in fact have contacted ZFX directly a few times to report others that were bootlegging their tapes. On the other hand, if a video is unavailable from any other source, which I believe is the case with Tourist Trap and the other tapes mentioned, I will sometimes consider going that way. Tourist Trap has been out of print for years, unfortunately, so finding an original print is next to impossible. So if you really want to see it...it's up to you.

At Gameport, for instance, (my favorite dealer!!!) you can still get these.

Damien

This, I find, is the key in adult tapes as it is in everything. So, while I wouldn't necessarily recommend the "Damien approach" (13 in a row is just unbelievable), I would say that saving up to buy 4-5 at a time certainly pays off. When in the colonies, I went through what I thought at the time was the "official" ZFX-Shockwave page (it seems to be run by Nick Long and Kerri Downs (!?!), zfxshockwave.com), and they too offer volume discounts.

As to retailers though, I have had problems. In The Big Easy, there was one great video store, but they rarely could keep the one or two copies of Rick's latest in stock very long. And when they did, it was equally often that some schmuck had taken the original video and replaced it with a home copy. I cannot count the number of times a ZFX video cut off in the middle of a scene that (fairly obviously) was not the end of the movie.

In fact, this happened to me again whilst in Chicago. Thanks to the excellent guidance of those on the book, I found my way to Te-Jay's. They had a decent assortment of ZFX and Shockwave stuff, but nothing really new. My first choice, "Supermax," turned out to have a completely wrong film in it, and they couldn't turn up the real one at all. The second one I tried, "Machine Head," cut off in the middle of a scene with Lisa Kinkaid that wasn't anywhere near a conclusion. No closure, no previews, no nothin' -- and often the previews are just as scintillating as the rest of the stuff!

Anyway, while it was not altogether pleasing, it was nice to see the stuff again. And Damien, Lisa does wear the collar in "Machine Head." I can't really recommend the film, as it is more bondage than punishment and I prefer the latter, but she does look awfully sweet bound against a pole wearing the thing!

Anyway, Happy New Year to all, and to Rick, my full support in the campaign against bootleggers -- even where the mfg. no longer puts the tape out, it just hurts everyone. You may get a better price, but you're also putting guys like Rick out of business (in the long run, anyway) and who really wants that?

Cheers.

Regarding the whole "bootlegged tapes being too short" thread, I bought a copy of The Van when it first came out from B&D Pleasures. I don't do business with them anymore, but at the time they were one of the few places I could find that carried ZFX. The tape was too short, and cut off during the movie. B&D replaced it, saying that Rick had dubbed it on the wrong length tape. The tape itself looked genuine to me. It had the full-color box, ZFX label,good picture quality et. al., and B&D didn't give me any trouble exchanging it (one thing they were good at), so I never had cause to think it was bootlegged. It might be possible that this is still an issue with ZFX sometimes, but that's the only time I encountered length issues. Also, since sources in my area have dried up, I'm pretty much ordering ZFX through internet sources these days, or at least those with 800#s that I can call in an order to. Secure server my ass, pardon my French.

Peace,

Iago

Rick, you're really keeping us on the edge of our seats. Are we close?

Oh, and has anyone seen Erotic Bondage Confessions (old)? Is it a must-see, or just see-if-you-have-the-chance? I saw a preview, and it looked like it had Victoria Vixxen in some nice breast bondage. (Since Rick is having trouble getting the new stuff out, I have been reduced to perusing the older titles).

It's been a while since I've seen this one, but it was quite good, I remember. I know that Alison Parish and Victoria Vixxen were in it in varying forms of bondage, and I especially liked Victoria's scenes. Don't remember much about the plot, if there was one, but one of the scenes that I recall really liking was when Rick forced Vickie to smoke a cigar (could have been better, but I liked the idea) and used the same cigar to burn her on her big boobs. Again, the idea was probably better than its execution, but it was a worthy effort, and it's an idea that could make a great torture scene if he chose to repeat the whole forcing/burning scenario with a little more detail in a future video. What do you think, Rick?

Gimp: Thanks for removing the "annie" post. Sorry about my short comment. My irritation was not directed at you, but at those inconsiderate people who put blatant pitches wherever they see a spot. You provide an invaluable service to ZFX and bondage fans all aroung the world!

BBF: not to be picky, but being "reduced" to seeing the old ZFX titles is not, I think, a bad thing altogether. In our eager anticipation of new faces, new "tortures," and more sophisticated work from ZFX, we often forget that there is a lot of good work in the old stuff. "Erotic Bondage Confessions" is not, I admit, a "run-out-and-buy- this-immediately" type of flick. But it is worth seeing; if I remember correctly, Alison Parish (always good) is put in a couple of intriguing situations, and the large, bound breasts of VV are always worth a look. Had rather forgotten about the cigar scene though.

Also among the older titles, I find the first two in the "Alien Probe" series to be classics, in the sense that while they may be a little "dated," they are the basis of the genre in many ways. "Southern Discomfort" is also PDG, and I would recommend "Abduction of Sweet Christine" to anyone.

In short, don't neglect the older stuff, but savor the classics. I doubt we'll see any more of Alison Parish or Holly Weston, Victoria Vixxen, Darby Fox, et. al., and they were all quite good in different ways. As I've noted before, I am somewhat of a Darby Fan, and Alison is always at the top of the list -- until Lisa or Penny or Monica can convince me otherwise! And please, ladies, (and Rick) do give it a shot, eh? Cheers.

BTW, Prof, several months ago you mentioned seeing a line of videos from "Noose Productions". I have seen a couple of those in my local vid store, and am curious if they are worth renting. Do you know of a web site where I could check out the whole line?

Anybody else seen it? Give it a look...I was surprized not expecting anything desent fron Snyder.

Normaly, I couldn't agree more about real sound beeing essential to a good video. But in the case of HOM??? If you never saw one of their Bondage Classics, PLEASE give them a chance....Otherwise, you'll never know what you're missing!

Trust me,

RR: While I wouldn't go so far as to say that the old silent HOM loops beat anything by ZFX, they are indeed a fine early showcase for a lot of the same stuff that ZFX puts out today. Who else recognized Kelly McKay's breast tie-up scene while tied sitting to a rack in "Underland 2" was a direct homage to the HOM classic "Rope Burn"? Similar type of rack, same binding of the hands above, same breast bondage, same clothespins on the nipples; the only real difference is that Masters added clothespins to her pussy and used a ball gag instead of tape. Otherwise, the two scenes are virtually identical. And that's cool with me, since "Rope Burn" was one of my all-time favorite HOM movies.

I think a lot of the appeal of the old loops is that because they had no sound, you could mentally fill in the screams and the fantasy dialogue as you watched them. For those of us who had our first bondage experience from watching the flickering silent eroticism of the HOM films, nothing can possibly take away those magical feelings they might still generate.

Anyone know anything about this film at www.videomayhem.com?

29.Captive- girl is kidnapped by terrorist gang. Lots of bondage, nudity as they try to brainwash her to join their side.

Of course its only $12 so I don't expect it to be an original tape (hint: copy). I haven't had much luck finding a studio-production tape.

Believe it or not, you can get the entire "Ginger" series at www.amazon.com ("Ginger" "The Abductors" "Girls Are For Loving"). Decent 1970's campy B-movie. The last two are better, in my opinion.

For Rick: Is there any chance that you might re-do the actor list on your site when you update it? It would be helpful if, along with the pictures of the different women, you listed what movies they appeared in. It would make it easier for folks to find the films with the models they like the most. Which would really help you too, yes?

Thanks,

Iago

I like your suggestion. I was thinking the same thing. It would have really been helpful for me to know all the videos that Amy van Allen starred in.

Madman,

I can't help you concerning your question as where to buy in Germany but can suggeat to hook up with Damien ( from Holland...or more politically correct...The Netherlands ) as far as information is concerned with ordering. His e-mail address is listed in his contributions to the forum and I remember him saying he did not mind any direct e-mails ( Damien...if this is not correct...my appologies ). Good hunting and better viewing.

Later, AvF

Just to let our brothers and sisters over in Europe and the rest of the world know, there are no authorized resellers of ZFX products outside of the U.S.A. I have attempted to convince serveral wholesalers and retailers that ZFX will sell in Europe, but they just scoff because they don't think softcore will sell overseas. Also, Europeans want to buy rights to movies, not purchase finshed product because they dont want to have the customs hassles and I dont like to sell the rights to my products, thus an impasse. Actually if anyone ever came to the table with a reasonable offer, I might consider it, but thus far that hasn't happened. Pretty much alot of the same old adult biz shuck and jive with a accent though hehe! As of right now, the only resellers of ZFX products are in the states, and of those the only people who actually buy ZFX PAL tapes are Fantasy Food(my web retailer) and S&L Sales. We caught one company bootlegging ZFX PAL(quality REAL sucky) here in the states, so others might be doing likewise. Anyway, that's the current situation. Still looking for a distributor over there, but so far its not looking too promising.

Just to let you know, the releases are coming along nicely, 1.5 movies left to edit. I'm gonna post something with titles and brief synopsis in the near future...

Thanks to all who comment, read and watch the shows, keep the faith!

Rick

And all we get as a reason is a lame excuse about chaseing bootleggers. Sure, they must have taken some (maybe even a lot) of your time. But that much??? NO WAY!!!

And now we're asked to keep the faith??? Sorry, Rick, no can't do. Too little, too late...

I realize you won't loose any sleep over one disappointed fan, but I felt you should know how I feel.

Damien

English IS my second language, so maybe I didn't make myself clear: Let's try again, hoping to do a beter job.

Sure, I'm impatien. Aren't we all we all looking forward to the new titles? I'm sure I do. My problem is NOT the waiting. But they have been announced just once to often. I feel like that old donkey, made to walk by that carrot he just can't reach. And no matter how tasty or juicy the carrot, it's just a carrot and he'll never get it. But he keeps walking. Yesterday, I stoppped to walk.

Beeing asked to keep the faith again and again, and NOTHING happens but beeing asked to still keep the faith may work on that donkey, but doesn't work on this donkey any longer.

I absolutely DO NOT buy the "busy-with-bootleggers" excuse any longer. Again: I've heard it once to often. I really feel we're in title to a better explanation. There must be a better reason, a more believeable one, at least, but for some reason we don't get it. Even the "putting out good struff takes time" 's not good enough. Most of the tapes Rick did during the years have been "good stuff", we all agree on that, right??? But NEVER have they taken so long! If there's a relation between the time to produce and the quality of the material, these new titles should be AT LEAST three times as good as the best Rick ever did. Call me cynic, if you want, but I have my doubts.

Did I insult Rick??? I don't think so. I gave him a piece of my mind, but that's something different. Though I feel insulted by endless delays and lame excuses, I never intended to insult anybody. This is an ADULT site, insulting is rather childish. Not my style.

What I did was give a strong opinion. If that insulted anybody: TOO BAD!

Damien (The faithless)

You know what the beautiful thing about the internet and this forum is? You get to express your opinion regardless of anybody agreeing with you or not. I have said in the past that I respect everybodies right to their own opinions. But I also have my own opinion and hope that you guys are willing to listen to me as weel.

Damien, I can very much understand you position. I was the same way after we shot the footage up here, until the time that the movies came out. Yes, I know that you were talking about the fact that you were told soon and then that got pushed back. Same thing happened with me. I was very anxious to see the videos and my involvement in them. Probally more than anyone of you guys were. So I know exactly where you are coming from.

I probally would have been the same way that you are if not for the fact of behing behind the scenes. I really wish that you could have a chance to see what went on, I think that you would change your mind or at least soften it down.

When we shoot the footage up here we worked for about 6 days with the average time spent per day would have to be about 12. Now thats 12 hours spent in a dirty dusty basement while outside it was a spectacular fall day. We didnt Mess around we did our job. At the end of that time all of our bodies were sore and tired Even the male actors as well as Rick.

Let me ask you a question? have you ever edited a movie on computer? Have you ever worked on any multimedia program on computer? I have and It takes a hell of a lot of time to do. Multimedia is currently what I am going to school for. These little clips or programs that you see on the web that only run for about 5 seconds can take up to a month or so to design.

I am going to mention this because you said it a couple of times. Do you actually think that the Rick fighting bootleggers was an excuse. How the hell would you feel if you spent a couple months doing a project or whatever and somebody came by and ripped it off? I bet you would be pissed! If you think that Bootlegging dosent happen go bad to the archives on this board and see all the examples. Then talk to some of the other guys on this board who recieved the shitty tapes.

One last point before I shut up. If you look at most production company They usually have a staff of at least 5. Rick does this all himself, From the story to the hiring of models to the shooting to the set building to the editing of the footage to the bookwork to the paperwork to the legal aspect of it. Now you sit here antd tell me that you could do all of that and get the product off on time. I know that Rick tries very hard and is committed to quality and his fans. I am not Rick protector and He can very well tell you this all himself. I am just trying to give you an insight to what goes on.

I am sorry guys, that this is so long. But I just felt that I needed to get that off of my chest. Damien, like I said you are entitled to your opinion and I respect that but please just bear in mind that there is a lot more to making a movie than just filming it and selling it.

Peace all
Mad Dog

Peace all
Mad Dog

Thanks for the insight on making these great videos we all enjoy so much! 12 hours a day, 6 days a week???? Oh man.... I only WATCHED ZFX vid's for 13 hours in a row once, and was exhausted....I for one appreciate all the hard work all you people do VERY much, as expressed in many of my prior postings, and will do so even more after reading your insight.

Now to some of the questions you asked:

Do I know anything about editing a movie on a computer??? NOT ONE BIT. Nothing. Zip. Zero. I do however know a little bit about cartoon animations, and therefor am fully aware of the ENORMOUS amount of time it must take to edit a video frame by frame. If Rick didn't do it himself, but had to hire five guys, payed by the hour to do it for him, prices would go up beyond our imagination. BUT: Since the beginning of ZFX, filming, producing and edditing have always time-costly operations. This however, never stopped Rick for producing plenty of excellent titles a year. many more than last year. And all we get, each time we're pushed back is ONE excuse: fighting bootleggers.

Do I think fighting bootleggers was an excuse??? Sure I do!!! I'm convinced these assholes kept Rick busy. They're not only ripping him of, but also all of us consumers. Some by selling VERY bad quality, and those of us who buy the genuine original stuff by keeping the prices higher than they needed to be if ALL the profit went to those who did honest, hard work for it. Well: here's a suggestion: Maybe Rick could get some of his cash back by basing a movie on this theme. Maybe even one with a few sequalls. A possible title could be "Videopirates"....

What I REFUSE to believe is that fighting bootleggers is "THE" reason for all the delays. It's the only reason given, several times, and therefor, IMHO an excuse. A LAME excuse!

Finally, I'm glad we have a mutuall wish: I also wish to be able to see what's foing on........I'm not sure it would chance my opinion, but hey! I'd be willing to give it a try...:-))

Iago: I appreciate your call to go easy on me. But really, there's no need. I'm a big boy, I can take whatever you guys wanna dish out. As long as we all remember Mad Dog's wise words on respecting eachothers opinion. I gave my opinion and, trust me, will keep doing so. But I never ment ANY disrespect to ANYBODY. And I have given no reason to anybody to think otherwise.

Damien

Glad to hear you have only 1.5 movies to go. I would suggest as you get done that you post what you have. If you have 2 or 3 movies ready, why not post a title and a few pics as they get done?

I would really like to see your website updated more ofthen.

Later

Kane: "Xtractor" was an older all-girl ZFX title, with Alison Parish and Margo Feller. Worth a check if you can find it, if you are into all-girl bondage. I wrote a full review of "Vacum" a while back on this site, but it has since scrolled off and I'm still waiting for the Gimp to add it to the Reviews section in the Guestbook Archives. He wrote me and said they would all be replaced by the weekend, but that was 3 weeks ago, so it looks like I'll have to get out the cattle prod and go to work on him! Hopefully, it shouldn't be much longer.