Max Hardcore

{{Infobox person

| name = Max Hardcore

| image = Max Hardcore 2015.jpg

| caption = Max Hardcore at the AVN Expo in Las Vegas, 2015

| birth_name = Paul F. Little

| birth_date = {{birth date|1956|08|10}}

| death_date = {{death date and age|2023|3|27|1956|8|10}}

| death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.{{cite news |last1=Miller |first1=Dan |title=Max Hardcore Passes Away |url=https://avn.com/business/articles/video/max-hardcore-passes-away-917357.html |access-date=28 March 2023 |publisher=AVN |date=28 March 2023}}

| alias = Vince 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,{{cite news |url=http://www.citypages.com/1998-01-14/arts/devil-in-the-flesh/2 |title=Devil in the Flesh |last=Scholtes |first=Peter S. |date=January 28, 1998 |website=City Pages |publisher=Stern Publishing |page=2 |access-date=March 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125165855/http://www.citypages.com/arts/devil-in-the-flesh-6725325 |archive-date=January 25, 2016 |location=Minneapolis }} which in 1994 was awarded the X-Rated Critics Organization's award for Best Amateur or Pro-Am series.[http://dirtybob.com/xrco/oldies.html THE BEST OF 1994 (1995 Show)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006194605/http://dirtybob.com/xrco/oldies.html |date=October 6, 2014 }}, retrieved October 1, 2014. Gerrie Lim, formerly a writer for AVN (Adult Video News) has classified Hardcore's works as gonzo pornography and "testing the limits of acceptability".Gerrie Lim, [https://books.google.com/books?id=UX1Oc-tqlLkC&pg=PA191 In Lust We Trust: Adventures in Adult Cinema] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125165855/https://books.google.com/books?id=UX1Oc-tqlLkC&pg=PA191 |date=January 25, 2016 }}, Monsoon Books, 2006, page 191 He was a member of the X-Rated Critics Organization's Hall of Fame.http://www.dirtybob.com/xrco/hall.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205103142/http://dirtybob.com/xrco/hall.htm |date=December 5, 2013 }}, retrieved October 1, 2014. He spent two and a half years in prison (2009–2011), following conviction in a trial for obscenity.

Nature of content

File:Layla Rivera , Catalina, Max Hardcore at a screening of Deep Throat.jpg

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.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/Archive/Article/0,4273,4153718,00.html |title=A rough trade |access-date=April 10, 2009 |author=Martin Amis |date=March 17, 2001 |work=The Guardian |location=UK|author-link=Martin Amis}}

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.Katharine Viner, [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/jun/05/gender.katharineviner While we were shopping...] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320234900/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/jun/05/gender.katharineviner |date=March 20, 2017}}, The Guardian, June 5, 2002 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.[https://avn.com/business/articles/legal/jury-finds-max-hardcore-guilty-on-all-counts-in-obscenity-trial-53133.html Jury Finds Max Hardcore Guilty On All Counts in Obscenity Trial] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207072327/https://avn.com/business/articles/legal/jury-finds-max-hardcore-guilty-on-all-counts-in-obscenity-trial-53133.html |date=February 7, 2019}}, AVN, June 6, 2008 Films by Max Hardcore often depict their director and star inflicting apparent pain and humiliation on his co-stars.Eriq Gardner, [http://thresq.hollywoodreporter.com/2010/02/max-hardcore-11th-circuit-decision.html The most Hardcore obscenity decision ever] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100328161426/http://thresq.hollywoodreporter.com/2010/02/max-hardcore-11th-circuit-decision.html |date=March 28, 2010}}, The Hollywood Reporter, February 10, 2010

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.Stephen Walker, [http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-936830-my-fears-for-all-felicities.do My fear for all Felicities] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100924085646/http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-936830-my-fears-for-all-felicities.do |date=September 24, 2010}}, London Evening Standard, March 29, 2001Evan Wright, [http://www.salon.com/health/sex/urge/2000/01/18/hustler "Maxed Out"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100311190426/http://www.salon.com/health/sex/urge/2000/01/18/hustler |date=March 11, 2010}}, Salon.com, June 18, 2000 A British documentary crew witnessed Hardcore's unsimulated violent treatment of a woman who had been reluctant to work with him, and members of the documentary crew interfered with the production "for fear of being complicit in her rape."{{Cite news |last=Bindel |first=Julie |date=2011-07-14 |title=The Hardcore truth about women in porn |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2011/jul/14/hardcore-abuse-of-women-in-porn |access-date=2024-05-10 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

Max Hardcore's films and alleged work methods reportedly made him "among the most hated men in the industry".[http://www.citypages.com/1998-01-14/arts/devil-in-the-flesh/1 Devil in the Flesh], Minneapolis arts, January 14, 1998, page 1 {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125165855/http://www.citypages.com/arts/devil-in-the-flesh-6725325|date=January 25, 2016}}

Prosecutions and post-prison

=1998 arrest and 2002 trial=

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."{{cite web|url=http://business.avn.com/articles/16157.html |title=Max Hardcore – Free At Last! |access-date=November 15, 2007 |last1=Kernes |first1=Mark |last2=Rutter |first2=Jared |date=May 18, 2004 |work=AVN |publisher=AVN Media Network |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090822153533/http://business.avn.com/articles/16157.html |archive-date=August 22, 2009 }}

=2005 arrest and prison sentence=

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:

{{blockquote|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.{{cite web|url=http://business.avn.com/articles/23459.html|title=Max Hardcore Raided by FBI|access-date=September 1, 2007|date=October 6, 2005|publisher=AVN|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090822153743/http://business.avn.com/articles/23459.html|archive-date=August 22, 2009|url-status=live}}}}

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{{cite web|url=http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0531071max1.html|title=Feds Nail Hardcore Producer – May 31, 2007|access-date=May 31, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070602111559/http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0531071max1.html|archive-date=June 2, 2007|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2007/May/07_crm_393.html|title=Producer Paul Little Indicted on Obscenity Charges|access-date=December 6, 2008|publisher=DOJ|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207013349/http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2007/May/07_crm_393.html|archive-date=December 7, 2008|url-status=live}} showing fisting, urination, and vomiting. Little was subsequently found guilty on all charges and sentenced to 46 months in prison.{{cite web|url= https://avn.com/business/articles/legal/jury-finds-max-hardcore-guilty-on-all-counts-in-obscenity-trial-53133.html|title= Jury Finds Max Hardcore Guilty On All Counts in Obscenity Trial|access-date= June 7, 2008|author= Mark Kernes|date= June 6, 2008|publisher= AVN|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190207072327/https://avn.com/business/articles/legal/jury-finds-max-hardcore-guilty-on-all-counts-in-obscenity-trial-53133.html|archive-date= February 7, 2019|url-status= live}}{{cite news |last1=AVN |first1=David Sullivan |title=Judge Denies Max Hardcore's Request to Delay Prison Sentence AVN |url=https://avn.com/business/articles/legal/Judge-Denies-Max-Hardcore-s-Request-to-Delay-Prison-Sentence-55549.html |access-date=1 October 2022 |work=AVN}} 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.{{cite news |last1=Gardner |first1=Eriq |title=The most Hardcore obscenity decision ever |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/hardcore-obscenity-decision-63654/ |access-date=1 October 2022 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=21 December 2010}} Little began serving his sentence on January 29, 2009.{{cite press release | url=http://www.xbiznewswire.com/view.php?id=104083 | title=Max Hardcore Ready to Surrender; 'I'm Not Down, I'm Up' | access-date=January 25, 2009 | last=Hunter | first=Tod | date=January 24, 2009 | publisher=XBizNewswire.com | page=1 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090129112123/http://www.xbiznewswire.com/view.php?id=104083 | archive-date=January 29, 2009 | url-status=live }}{{cite web | url=http://business.avn.com/articles/34339.html | title=Max Hardcore Surrenders To U.S. Marshals | access-date=February 1, 2009 | last=Kernes | first=Mark | date=January 29, 2009 | publisher=AVN.com | page=1 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090611232517/http://business.avn.com/articles/34339.html | archive-date=June 11, 2009 | url-status=live }}

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

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.{{cite web | url=http://business.avn.com/articles/video/Max-Hardcore-Letter-From-a-Former-Inmate-424124.html | title=Max Hardcore: Letter From a Former Inmate | access-date=January 24, 2011 | last=Little | first=Paul | date=January 16, 2011 | publisher=AVN.com | page=1 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111130022929/http://business.avn.com/articles/video/Max-Hardcore-Letter-From-a-Former-Inmate-424124.html | archive-date=November 30, 2011 | url-status=live }}

After release from prison, Little continued appearing in scenes, using a strap-on dildo in later years because his ability to maintain an erection was compromised following a prostate surgery in 2015.

Death

Little died on March 27, 2023, at the age of 66.{{cite news |last1=Miller |first1=Dan |title=Max Hardcore Passes Away |url=https://avn.com/business/articles/video/max-hardcore-passes-away-917357.html |access-date=28 March 2023 |publisher=AVN |date=28 March 2023}} 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 septic shock, pneumonia and organ failure.

Awards

1994 Anal Adventures of Max Hardcore was the winner in the XRCO's category Best Amateur or Pro-Am Series.
1996 Max 8: The Fugitive was the winner in the XRCO's category Best Male-Female Scene.{{Cite web |title=Max 8: The Fugitive (1995) |url=https://www.iafd.com/title.rme/title=max+8:+the+fugitive/year=1995/max+8:+the+fugitive.htm |access-date=2023-03-30 |website=iafd.com}}
2009 Admitted to XRCO's Hall of Fame, in the category "Outlaws of Porn".

Popular culture

In 1997, Little had a cameo role in the mainstream comedy film Orgazmo as Award Show Presenter.{{Citeweb|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0362065/|title=Max Hardcore(1956-2023)|publisher=IMDb|accessdate=April 12, 2025}}

Little is a subject of the 1998 David Foster Wallace essay "Big Red Son", which analyzes the American pornographic industry of the 1990s.{{cite book |last=Foster |first=David |title=Consider the Lobster |date=2006 |publisher=Bay Back Books |location=New York City |pages=3–50}}

Little is interviewed in the 2023 web series Beyond Fantasy - Episode 3: "Hardcore".{{cite web |title=Beyond Fantasy: Ep 3: Hardcore |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVr0jfVt7F0 |website=Beyond Fantasy | date=March 23, 2023 |publisher=Magic Lantern Pictures}}