The procrastinator's almost-too-late gift-giving guide to kinky cinema

Maybe it's our masochistic streak, but we always find ourselves waiting until it's really almost too late before we kick into gift-giving mode during the holiday season. Ahhhh the sweet torture...the rush of adrenalin, the sense of impending danger as we fear we've really done it this time...followed by the relief of just barely squeaking it out in time!

For those of you who also indulge in this ritualistic practice of self-abuse, a few choice tidbits of cinematic kink for your giving pleasure, all available with a little extra penance paid in the form of two-day (next-day?!) shipping via Amazon.

But hurry! Or not, if you really enjoy your punishments:

Preaching to the Perverted
As we mentioned earlier, there's a new Guinevere Turner-hosted edition of this sexy saga, the tale of a fresh-faced (and suit-wearing!) moral crusader who attempts to infiltrate the lair of fetish goddess Tanya Cheex (aka Guinevere Turner!). (Winner, Audience Choice Award for Best Narrative Feature, CineKink '03)

Silken Sleeves
Just in time for the new year, director Maria Beatty celebrates the four seasons of kink in the form of bondage diva Midori lavishing all kinds of attention on the helpless and beautiful Maya. Fall, winter, spring...mmm, summer! (Winner, Audience Choice Award for Best Experimental Feature, CineKink '08)

Swingtown: The First Season
Oh, the swinging seventies! We're still waiting for news that this engagingly sex-positive ABC(!) series will be back for another round--yep, we're masochists--but in the meantime, here's the first, glorious season all in one place.

The Notorious Bettie Page
We were all sad to learn of the passing of Bettie Page. This homage, directed by Mary Harron and starring Gretchen Mol, is a moving and tender portrait of the infamous pin-up star and the people who both created and consumed the imagery for which she's known best. (Winner, CineKink Tribute, CineKink '06)

Film Festival Secrets: A Handbook for Independent Filmmakers
You wouldn't step into a dungeon without knowing how not to flog somebody in the kidneys--well, at least you shouldn't. Similarly, don't set forth on the path of the film festival circuit without having some clue of what you're doing. Here's that and more, all jammed into one handy, travel-ready tome.

So, there's a good start! We're going to keep this brief since, well, we've still got some shopping of our own to do, but more rummaging can be found in our CineKink @ Amazon section--with past festival selections available here!

Don't mind the mess--we're still moving things around. And get shopping!

Alumni news: catching up with Madison Young

The Stagg Party, the latest web series from the prolific director Joe Swanberg--who we last saw gracing our "The Porn Police: Know the Rules" panel at SXSW--has been unspooling on IFC. Following photographer Ellen Stagg as she moves between the worlds of mainstream work and erotica, this week's episode, "Catching Up," features an appearance by CineKink alum Madison Young and a nod to her Femina Potens art gallery.

And, since we were a little distracted with running a film festival at the time, here's more of Madison, as profiled last February in $pread magazine.

Remembering Bettie

"I want to be remembered," she said, "as I was when I was young and in my golden times. . . . I want to be remembered as the woman who changed people's perspectives concerning nudity in its natural form."

We're sad to note that Bettie Page has passed away, reportedly never regaining consciousness after the heart attack she suffered late last week.

Quoted as above in today's LA Times obituary, Bettie reportedly refused to allow herself to be photographed in her later years, so the iconic images she created in the 1950s are what we have to remember her by. A brief slideshow of just a few of these--including her Christmas-themed appearance as one of the first Playboy Playmates--accompanies a memoriam which her business agent has posted to her Bettie's website. And with an "estimated 20,000 4-by-5-inch black-and-white glossy photographs taken by amateur shutterbugs from 1949 to 1957," the internet is blessed with an abundance of tributes and remembrances (see uncredited photo, below).



Another homage, the film The Notorious Bettie Page, winner of the 2006 CineKink Tribute award, is a moving and tender portrait of the infamous pin-up star and the people who both created and consumed the imagery for which she's best known. Below, its director and star, Mary Harron and Gretchen Mol, discuss the inspiration and legacy of Bettie Page and the impact she's had on our perception of sexuality:

I'm up on him, he up on me...

From the staff at the Babeland store in Seattle, an exuberant rendition of Single Ladies (Put a Cock Ring on It)-- and a reminder of how wonderful it can be when your passion also happens to be your work.

Thinking of Bettie

We're sending our best thoughts out to Bettie Page, who suffered a heart attack yesterday and is currently being hospitalized in intensive care.



Along with sunnily gracing the imaginations of millions over the years, the iconic 1950s pin-up star was also subject of the film The Notorious Bettie Page, which was awarded a CineKink Tribute in 2006.

A little more Bond-age, if you please

While we were more than a little disappointed that the latest Bond installation, Quantum of Solace, didn't feature a reprise scene of a naked Daniel Craig tied to a chair, we at least found that our renowned appetite for men-in-suits was, er, suitably sated.

And additional solace was discovered in the beguiling form of two new Bond "girls." Gemma Arterton as the perkily British Agent Fields, whose - spoiler alert - ultimate denouement is recounted pictorally by Violet Blue. And the sultry Olga Kurylenka who, also via Violet, talks below about her role in the French thriller, The Serpent, and her enjoyment of taking part in the movie's graphic and detailed bondage scenes: