Where is the 'Porno Valley'?

Belinda T. from Trenton, NJ writes..."Willy...where exactly is the f*&king Porno Valley? My friend and I came out to Hollywood last month and we drove all over the goddamn place in the 100 degree heat looking for porn studios, but the only thing we found was the Hustler Store on Sunset Blvd. I've heard it's somewhere in Sherman Oaks, but my friend says it's hidden in the Hollywood Hills. Please help!!!"

Belinda, not to fear...many people face the same frustrations when trying to find the seamy sex studios of the San Fernando Valley. Unlike Hollywood, The Porno Valley is an enigma...a mystical place that doesn't advertise its whereabouts, so I've created the map below to give the average porn aficionado an idea of where it all happens:



According to my calculations, the current epicenter of The Porno Valley falls in northwest Van Nuys, along the south runway of the Van Nuys airport. Many of the top porn studios are located right here in VN...though one would never know it, driving by the nondescript, two-story edifices (often in low-rent industrial complexes) that house the empires of Tera-Vision, Digital Playground, Jules Jordan, and countless others.  Vivid seems to be the only studio brave enough to pop their logo out on their building (which you can see quite clearly from the 101 when heading north from Hollywood to Studio City).

The majority of porn is filmed in rented residential homes ("porn houses") and warehouse "studios" found in Chatsworth, Northridge, Porter Ranch, Winnetka, Reseda and the surrounding communities of northwest San Fern Valley. The higher-end, big budget shoots happen in the Hills of Hollywood, Sherman Oaks, Encino, and Topanga...with producers paying 5 to 10K a day to have their stars spooge all over the covered couches of celebrity mansions with $50 million dollar views.

You have the mavericks--found outside the valley--which include Larry Flynt's Hustler empire (down in the Hills of Beverly), the mighty Vivid Entertainment (right off the 101 in Hollywood), and Hugh Hefner's Playboy, housed in the Wilshire district. And then, you have the hundreds of indie and amateur productions that happen all over the City of Titty each day, but again, the majority of them occur right here in the steamy Porno Valley.

Hopefully, this gives you a better perspective of The Porno Valley and where to search on your next trip out. Of course, knowing where it happens doesn't give you a key inside the magic kingdom...but, if you keep your eyes peeled the next time round...whether you're getting coffee at a Starbucks in Reseda, or doing a little grocery shopping at a Ralph's in Sherman Oaks (where I once ran into the lovely Kapri Styles buying bread), you may just catch your favorite porn star buying Maxi-pads for that first day of heavy flow...or a six-pack to wash down that after-coke-party hangover. Happy hunting, Belinda!