Getting to the Bottom of Buttman Magazine Choice

This story originally ran in the April 2012 issue of AVN magazine. Click here to view the issue online. Buttman Magazine has been a successful part of the adult scene for 15 years now, and it’s well known for delivering some of the best photo sets and articles of any adult publication around. So it was only natural that the magazine would spawn a video line—one that’s very near and dear to owner John Stagliano’s heart. “Back in 2006, John decided that he really liked Jazz Duro’s work and how he shot: very ‘Buttman-like,’ very European but with a lot of the tease, a lot of the stripping, the gonzo style that really accentuated the ass,” explained Lia Baren, the honcho (honchess?) in charge of the Buttman Magazine Choice brand. “But Jazz was a performer and he didn’t have a lot of experience as a director, so John decided to start releasing videos through Buttman Magazine Choice. The videos, handpicked by Stagliano, were by individuals who weren’t as known as the Evil Angel directors. Also, Baren continued, “Some of the directors in our division still aren’t appropriate for the Evil Angel line because they’re very niche-y. But what the line has in common is that all the stuff that we release is stuff that John likes to jack off to. It’s like his magazine: He’s got a personal interest. The reason the magazine has been out as long as it has is because John still gets turned on by doing the magazine. And the fans of Buttman and his style of shooting love the pictures that he picks for the magazine, and pretty much love the videos that he chooses for his Buttman Magazine Choice video line. Even on most of our boxcovers, it says ‘Hand Picked by Buttman.’” But as wide and niche-y as Stagliano’s tastes seem to be, there doesn’t seem to be any discernable philosophy behind which videos will fall under the Evil Angel brand and which become Buttman Magazine Choice titles. “Take Buttman’s Stretch Class, for example,” Baren said. “You’d probably think, considering that John’s directing, it’d be something that he’d release through Evil Angel, but he’s on his tenth Stretch Class and he’s done two Detentions, so he’s done 12 titles for Buttman Magazine Choice, which is all solo girl masturbation along with very kinky stretching elements, whether it’s oral or anal or nipple, but it’s more niche-y and it’s something he’s more personally attuned to.” (Click here to see a photo gallery of images from Buttman's Stretch Class 10.) Fortunately, the line is popular enough that Stagliano doesn’t have to worry about fan overload. “If John is doing a Fashionistas, or if he’s doing a Buttman Goes to Brazil type title for Evil Angel, and at the same time, same month, he’s doing Stretch Class for Buttman Magazine Choice, it doesn’t seem to affect how his sales are on either side, because they’re two different styles and genre of movie,” Baren noted. And indeed, Buttman Magazine Choice is considered sort of a “farm team” for later graduation to Evil Angel, much as baseball players work in minor leagues before being selected for the majors. But it also encompasses some of the company’s most popular titles and directors. “I’ve got the Cruel Media line, Raul Cristian; he’s only doing titles through Buttman Magazine Choice anymore under the Evil Angel umbrella,” Baren detailed. “And then I’ve got Jay Sin Raw, which is the Winking 101 series. Jay started at Buttman Magazine Choice and was moved over to Evil Angel for his gonzo lines, but he still does a title called Winking 101 in Russia, which is my division. I also do a Rocco Siffredi POV line—it’s a one-on-one line—and Steve Holmes has released five titles with me.” “We carry facesitting-type lines by Roman Video, Asses of Face Destruction, and MeanBitch Productions, which Glen King directs, FemDom Ass Worship,” she continued. “They’re in a similar niche but they’re very different from each other in the way that they’re shot. Glen at MeanBitch uses more sets and more scenarios, and the girls, I think, are a little more dominating as far as being a mistress in the way that they talk shit to the guys. Asses of Face Destruction, they have scenarios but it’s mostly naked girls sitting on guys’ faces. They have a really big following.” “Sean Michaels has several series: Bottom Line; Hose Hoes, which is a stocking fetish series; and he’s got the Evil Cuckold series, which really does very well for us. But each time he decides to try something new, he runs it by John first to get his opinion and see if it’s something that John would be interested in. Mike Adriano has a line with us called Black Anal Beauties, which is really similar to the lines he does with Evil Angel but it’s all black girls.” “And then I have Kevin Moore Productions; we do very well with them. They do a Panty Pops line for me and they do Spandex Loads, and they just released a title called Titty Cream Pies, which is a titty-fucking title with an emphasis on not having the girls get the guys off except with their tits—there’s no hands, no mouth, no anything—which has just exploded; I can’t seem to keep that title in stock.” Buttman Magazine Choice releases between two to four videos per month, depending on whether the bimonthly magazine is also scheduled for that month—with one of their newest titles coming from some very old friends. “I just want to express how excited I am that we’re going to have Francesca Lé and Mark Wood joining the team,” Baren glowed. (Click here for more about LéWood's upcoming productions for Buttman Magazine Choice.) “She and I used to wrestle together back in the day, and we met stripping together, and she’s really cool. I’ve always liked watching her work, and she’s done a lot of work for a lot of directors at Evil Angel. It’s exciting that she’s going to have a line here, and I hope it does well. I think it will.” Hey—if Buttman likes it, how could it not?