Hey folks! Apologies for being less active this year.... I'll try to jump back on and add new stuff as I can. And while I prep the next release, allow us to flashback to a much better time.... 2010! I was so young! I was so full of energy! And I found one of the most PERFECT models (at least IMHO) in Zarah, a gorgeous fitness model who went from Playboy... to dental-floss bikini events.... to, um, getting wrecked with pies and slime for 2 days straight.
Yep, this remains my most "epic" shoot to date, and I doubt it ever gets topped. Zarah was game for anything, along with being a true workhorse who kept getting destroyed, then showering, then doing it all again... without complaint... as we amassed NINE scenes. (Pretty sure we shot 5 on Day 1? PLUS the quick "Surprise" bits? And then we also hit the gym on Day 2 before doing the final 3 scenes? HOW?!)
The scenes completely run the gamut, and are probably the best-ever overview of the "standard-def" period of SlapstickStuff (Indoor Edition). A green-screen opening where Zarah gets "virtual" pies that weirdly predicts the rise of AI!! A truly spectacular "golden girl" slapstick revue! (Z had the rare ability to open her eyes post-pie without wiping, which might be my favorite look... and with shaving cream too?! Would never happen today!) The blueprint for future Cream Pie Maniac scenes with blindfolds & gags & handcuffs & lots of slime! A sexy baker clip! A coed clip! A sit-down pie-clip with legs a-flyin! And more!
One thing I realized in grabbing the footage to re-render: There was a "classic old-school TV" flair to the original DVD, where we cut in brief shots of Zarah in various outfits doing versions of a "Surprise" skit where that's the only line... and the only joke. "Pie blackouts," except most of the bits aren't messy? So if you watched the DVD straight through, you would see Zarah popping up between scenes, teasing the inevitable mess.... But you have to wait to see the final payoff. It's the way I discovered WAM as a kid, and obviously not relevant to now, but I find something charming and nostalgic about the whole thing. (For downloads and streaming, the "Surprise" bits are all bundled together as their own scene, basically 6 quick clips with a few pie payoffs. Not quite the same. But you get the idea!)
I'll share a few reminisces about Zarah in the next post, as this one is already crazy long. Enjoy SS97 & SS98 if you have a streaming sub, or grab the remastered clips (both edited and RAW) in the Vidown or UMD Stores!
Some random trivia, BTS, and "where are they now" tibdits about Zarah:
--She was a HUGE fitness person, and even did some competitions years later. We really did go to the gym one morning, and she both showed me some great exercises AND corrected my form.
--She found the whole idea of pies HILARIOUS and kept adding her own "flair" to the scenes, from those big bracelets she wears for the Cream Pie Maniac or the exaggerated makeup in the final scene. She also suggested that I "give away" the messy script page that was stuck to her face at the very end.... So some lucky person got that in the mail at some point?! (I did put it in a Ziploc bag at least.)
--She got a *little* irritated during the "Surprise" clips, which, in fairness, were shot about 8 hours in after 5 other scenes! Getting the box gag right was tricky.... My late dog Presley was supposed to pop out of the box in one bit, but she didn't quite behave! And my pie hits were a bit off too. "Jump out of box" setups are harder than they look! (That said, Zarah getting blasted with a quick barrage of 3 pies in her little sailor outfit is one of my highlights from this whole shoot....)
--We had a chill dinner post-shoot, and I made a feeble (and failed) attempt at scoring some weed after so she could wind down. (It was 2010, and I didn't have many options. Sorry!) I also remember we watched Scarface at her request, as she considered it an inspirational story. (I pointed out Tony dies in a hail of bullets at the end.) Must be some of her Cuban heritage peeking through....
--Her and "Crazy Heather" from SS189 were actually good friends in Miami! Ah, what might have been.... Sadly, by the time I worked with Heather, Zarah was long retired....
--I still regret not shooting with Z again. Not sure how that never happened. I think we lost touch for a spell, and then when we reconvened, she was married and pregnant, so the window had closed. We would msg and I'd fill her in on the state of modeling in the late 2010s.... She was SHOCKED that some women on IG were getting $500-1000 for a "mention" in a post or a FMF. (And this was before OnlyFans!!) Her exact words were, "In my day, I had to parade around in dental floss to win $100 at a bikini contest!" Again, it's all timing. (Also, not to be cynical, but she wound up "getting rich" the old-fashioned way: One of her personal training clients was super wealthy, and they fell in love, and now she gets to be a mom and a "food blogger" and nothing else...)
--Zarah still keeps in great shape! And she's still a super fun firecracker. I kinda wish we could shoot again, but she's 13 years removed from modeling (even let her hair go grey!) and I don't see it happening. (Also, her husband didn't approve of "pie shoots" a decade back, so not sure that's changed.... )
There are volumes you've done where I usually like 75-80% of the scenes, which is an excellent batting average. It's rare that every scene across a volume hits just right, given the variables in wardrobe, skit, mess, etc. Just natural variation, like listening to a great album (people still do that) and having 5-6 favorite songs and a few that are "just fine for me."
But this one? Every scene is killer. And it's incredible that you've gotten that across, what, nine scenes here?
Only times I can remember you catching lightning in a bottle like this across so many scenes during the SD era would be SS61 Toshia, SS63-64 Crystal, SS50-51 Marissa, and every scene Nikki ever did (ok, sans the overalls). And it really surprised me to realize that these clips were only *just* getting remastered.
Here's hoping they're getting the attention and second life they deserve!
Ghaxxxor said: One day, we'll all gather around the fire, listening to Old Rich and his guitar. He'll sing to let us know what it was like to pie women back then...
I'm picturing a glass a whiskey on a chilly autumn night, with tales of SlapstickStuff under the stars.
JazzTalker said: There are volumes you've done where I usually like 75-80% of the scenes, which is an excellent batting average. It's rare that every scene across a volume hits just right, given the variables in wardrobe, skit, mess, etc. Just natural variation, like listening to a great album (people still do that) and having 5-6 favorite songs and a few that are "just fine for me."
But this one? Every scene is killer. And it's incredible that you've gotten that across, what, nine scenes here?
Only times I can remember you catching lightning in a bottle like this across so many scenes during the SD era would be SS61 Toshia, SS63-64 Crystal, SS50-51 Marissa, and every scene Nikki ever did (ok, sans the overalls). And it really surprised me to realize that these clips were only *just* getting remastered.
Here's hoping they're getting the attention and second life they deserve!
Yep, I have my own scenes & models like that as well! I will absolutely agree with Marisa as well. And Southern Nikki.... Man, what a gem. Wish I'd had her longer. (Still, 3 shoots over a couple years...) SS41 might be prime Toshia for me though, but SS61 is right there. The first (and also last?) bikini-centric Toshia!
I do appreciate how (almost) every volume is SOMEONE'S favorite volume/model. And this one is up there for me. Another one that's definitely a crowd favorite is coming.... quite soon? Stay tuned for more tales around the campfire! Or maybe I'll tour the country doing speaking engagements! (In very tiny venues...)
97/2 with the gold bikini is my favorite for these two volumes. The second time she's soaking wet, then spreads her arms as if to say "hit me" and you do....sends me every time. And I just bought two from SS98 that i'd missed.
SlapstickStuff said: SS41 might be prime Toshia for me though, but SS61 is right there. The first (and also last?) bikini-centric Toshia!
See, I'm an abs/stomach guy, so 61 takes the cake, you might say. It's not to the degree that I like WAM, I wouldn't say I have a stomach fetish or anything, but if there's a wardrobe choice, anything from bikini to an equivalent (black pinstriped outfit circa SS61.2) or even bikini bottoms + topless.
Also one of my favorite "gold bikini girls," along with Jen.... who I think invented the look. (Well, I bought the top and the tiny briefs, and she wore them first! SS89!) Was Brin the final "Golden Girl"? Maaaaybe....
Scarface being an "inspiring story" in her mind is so funny. An utterly depressing look at a man destroy himself for lumpen capital as everyone dies around him. A tale of coldness and regret as the promises of the new age fall flat amidst the violence of the old....
Speaking of old, good scenes here rich! Hope that script with the pie remnants on it is sitting on someone's mantlepiece like its the Picasso's Girl Before A Mirror