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Max Hardcore

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Max Hardcore
Max Hardcore at the AVN Expo in Las Vegas, 2015
Born
Paul F. Little

(1956-08-10)August 10, 1956
Racine, Wisconsin, U.S.
DiedMarch 27, 2023(2023-03-27) (aged 66)
Los Angeles, California[1]
Other namesVince Hardcore, Paul Hardcore, Video Paul, Sam Smythe, Max Stein

Paul F. Little (August 10, 1956 – March 27, 2023) was an American pornographic actor, producer, and director better known by his stage name Max Hardcore. He rose to prominence in 1992 with the film series The Anal Adventures of Max Hardcore,[2] which in 1994 was awarded the X-Rated Critics Organization's award for Best Amateur or Pro-Am series.[3] Former AVN writer, Gerrie Lim, has classified Hardcore's works as gonzo pornography and "testing the limits of acceptability".[4] He was a member of the X-Rated Critics Organization's Hall of Fame.[5] He spent two and a half years in prison (2009–2011), convicted in a trial for obscenity.

Nature of content

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Max Hardcore with frequent co-stars Layla Rivera (left) and Catalina (middle)

Max Hardcore's films generally consist of sexual acts executed by himself, with women, often porn industry newcomers who act like girls or their upset mothers.[6]

The sexual situations depicted in Max Hardcore's films frequently include acts such as urinating on his female co-stars, fisting them, or inserting specula into their anuses or vaginas and widening them to extreme degree.[7] There are also scenes wherein the actresses, at his direction, vomit or blow mucus into their mouths or on themselves, or drink urine from their anuses using a tube.[8] Films by Max Hardcore often depict their director and star inflicting apparent pain and humiliation on his co-stars.[9]

The treatment by Hardcore of his female co-stars has been described by several critics as occasionally abusive and the tone of Hardcore's work has been considered misogynistic.[10][11] In 2004, the British documentary filmmaker Stephen Walker was able to prove in his Channel4 production "HARDCORE", in which he became an eyewitness to the practises of Max Hardcore on his own film set, that Max Hardcore's alleged "acting" of sadistic sexual conduct is not just a representation, but real and violent sexual abuse.[12]

Max Hardcore's films and alleged work methods reportedly made him relatively unpopular in the porn industry.[13]

Prosecutions and post-prison

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1998 arrest and 2002 trial

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Based on Max Extreme 4, the city of Los Angeles in 1998 charged him with child pornography and distribution of obscenity. That the actress was over the age of 18 was not disputed; charges were brought because the actress was portraying a character who was underage. Just before the case was brought to trial in 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (in Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition) that the statute prohibiting adults from portraying children in films and books was unconstitutional. Based on this ruling, the child pornography charges against Little were dismissed. The misdemeanor charge of distribution of obscenity was retained, but the jury failed to reach a verdict. An additional obscenity charge was subsequently levied against him by L.A., again resulting in a hung jury. Little commented after the trial that it "was a frivolous waste of public resources."[14]

2005 arrest and prison sentence

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On October 5, 2005, while Little was in Barcelona to attend an international FICEB Erotic Expo, the offices of Max World Entertainment were raided by the FBI. Five video titles and the office's computer servers were seized, ostensibly for research toward a federal obscenity indictment or a charge related to the record-keeping law (18 U.S.C. 2257).

After the FBI raid, Little released the following statement:

Once again, the government is wasting tax dollars and otherwise invaluable law enforcement resources to try to force a minority view of morality on all of America. Five of my movies have been targeted by the Federal Prude Patrol. There is no indication of any crime to be alleged except obscenity. If indicted, I will fight to protect my liberty, as well as the liberty of consenting adults to watch other adults engage in lawful, consensual, pleasurable sexual action. Shame on the Bush Department of Justice. I am proud of the movies I make and proud of those who buy and sell those movies.[15]

In 2007, Little and his company, Max World Entertainment, Inc., were indicted in Florida by the United States Department of Justice Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section with five counts of transporting obscene matter by use of an interactive computer service and five counts of mailing obscene matter, relating to five movies[16][17] showing fisting, urination, and vomiting.[18] Little was subsequently found guilty on all charges and sentenced to 46 months in prison.[18][19] On appeal, the 11th Circuit Court in Atlanta, Georgia upheld the conviction, ruling that materials published online can be judged by local community standards in Florida even though Hardcore did not live there or produce the materials there.[20] Little began serving his sentence on January 29, 2009.[21][22]

The jury ordered the internet domain www.MaxHardcore.com to be forfeited but declined to forfeit Little's house in Altadena, California.[18]

Little was originally assigned to the Federal Metropolitan Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles, and then transferred to Federal Correctional Institution, La Tuna in Anthony, Texas, a low-security correctional facility for men. He served the final five months of his sentence under house arrest.[23]

After release, Little continued appearing in scenes, using a strap-on dildo in later years because his ability to perform was compromised as a result of prostate surgery in 2015.[1]

Death

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Little died on March 27, 2023, at the age of 66.[1] According to his business partner, Little had finished chemotherapy for thyroid cancer when he was hospitalized with an infection in his throat that spread to other parts of his body, causing his organs to fail.[1]

Awards

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  • 1994 Anal Adventures of Max Hardcore was the winner in the XRCO's category Best Amateur or Pro-Am Series.[3]
  • 1996 Max 8: The Fugitive was the winner in the XRCO's category Best Male-Female Scene.[3][24]
  • 2009 Admitted to XRCO's Hall of Fame, in the category "Outlaws of Porn".[5]
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Little is a subject of the 1998 David Foster Wallace essay "Big Red Son", which analyzes the American pornographic industry of the 1990s.[25]

Little is interviewed in the 2023 web series Beyond Fantasy - Episode 3: "Hardcore".[26]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Miller, Dan (March 28, 2023). "Max Hardcore Passes Away". AVN. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  2. ^ Scholtes, Peter S. (January 28, 1998). "Devil in the Flesh". City Pages. Minneapolis: Stern Publishing. p. 2. Archived from the original on January 25, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c THE BEST OF 1994 (1995 Show) Archived October 6, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, retrieved October 1, 2014.
  4. ^ Gerrie Lim, In Lust We Trust: Adventures in Adult Cinema Archived January 25, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, Monsoon Books, 2006, page 191
  5. ^ a b http://www.dirtybob.com/xrco/hall.htm Archived December 5, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, retrieved October 1, 2014.
  6. ^ Martin Amis (March 17, 2001). "A rough trade". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved April 10, 2009.
  7. ^ Katharine Viner, While we were shopping... Archived March 20, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, The Guardian, June 5, 2002
  8. ^ Jury Finds Max Hardcore Guilty On All Counts in Obscenity Trial Archived February 7, 2019, at the Wayback Machine, AVN, June 6, 2008
  9. ^ Eriq Gardner, The most Hardcore obscenity decision ever Archived March 28, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, The Hollywood Reporter, February 10, 2010
  10. ^ Stephen Walker, My fear for all Felicities Archived September 24, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, London Evening Standard, March 29, 2001
  11. ^ Evan Wright, "Maxed Out" Archived March 11, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Salon.com, June 18, 2000
  12. ^ Bindel, Julie (July 14, 2011). "The Hardcore truth about women in porn". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  13. ^ Devil in the Flesh, Minneapolis arts, January 14, 1998, page 1 Archived January 25, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ Kernes, Mark; Rutter, Jared (May 18, 2004). "Max Hardcore – Free At Last!". AVN. AVN Media Network. Archived from the original on August 22, 2009. Retrieved November 15, 2007.
  15. ^ "Max Hardcore Raided by FBI". AVN. October 6, 2005. Archived from the original on August 22, 2009. Retrieved September 1, 2007.
  16. ^ "Feds Nail Hardcore Producer – May 31, 2007". Archived from the original on June 2, 2007. Retrieved May 31, 2007.
  17. ^ "Producer Paul Little Indicted on Obscenity Charges". DOJ. Archived from the original on December 7, 2008. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
  18. ^ a b c Mark Kernes (June 6, 2008). "Jury Finds Max Hardcore Guilty On All Counts in Obscenity Trial". AVN. Archived from the original on February 7, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2008.
  19. ^ AVN, David Sullivan. "Judge Denies Max Hardcore's Request to Delay Prison Sentence AVN". AVN. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  20. ^ Gardner, Eriq (December 21, 2010). "The most Hardcore obscenity decision ever". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  21. ^ Hunter, Tod (January 24, 2009). "Max Hardcore Ready to Surrender; 'I'm Not Down, I'm Up'". XBizNewswire.com. p. 1. Archived from the original on January 29, 2009. Retrieved January 25, 2009.
  22. ^ Kernes, Mark (January 29, 2009). "Max Hardcore Surrenders To U.S. Marshals". AVN.com. p. 1. Archived from the original on June 11, 2009. Retrieved February 1, 2009.
  23. ^ Little, Paul (January 16, 2011). "Max Hardcore: Letter From a Former Inmate". AVN.com. p. 1. Archived from the original on November 30, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  24. ^ "Max 8: The Fugitive (1995)". iafd.com. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  25. ^ Foster, David (2006). Consider the Lobster. New York City: Bay Back Books. pp. 3–50.
  26. ^ "Beyond Fantasy: Ep 3: Hardcore". Beyond Fantasy. Magic Lantern Pictures.
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