'Sons of Porn'? Fans of LDS film get shock

'Provo' DVDs pulled after 'Diary' turns up instead

By Leigh Dethman
Deseret Morning News
Published: Monday, Oct. 3, 2005 11:10 p.m. MDT
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The newly released, squeaky clean LDS film "Sons of Provo" has taken on a new moniker: "Sons of Porno."

Fans of the film came up with the nickname after two Utah families popped in their "Sons of Provo" DVDs and instead found "Adored: Diary of a Porn Star" on their screens, according to a Deseret Book cashier.

Deseret Book yanked the film from its shelves after two families in St. George and Riverdale complained they didn't get what they paid for — good, clean LDS fun.

"We're not going to play around with that, so we pulled them all," said Gail Halladay, a Deseret Book spokesman. "We will not put it back on our shelves until we're 100 percent sure it's the proper disc that goes into the packaging."

The PG-rated "Sons of Provo" chronicles the life of an LDS boy band, Everclean, on its journey to relative stardom. The lyrics of the band's theme song preach of the wholesome image both the band and film try to maintain:

Everclean, cleaner than Listerine

Mellower than Dramamine

Not even close to obscene

But somehow "Adored: Diary of a Porn Star" landed in "Sons of Provo" DVD cases, complete with label.

The independent film is unrated but is not pornographic, said Corey Eubanks, spokesman for Wolfe Video, the largest distributor of films featuring gay and lesbian characters and stories. However, the film does contain sexual situations and centers around a gay porn star.

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"It's a very heartwarming film about a porn star that reconnects with his family," Eubanks said. "It's not a porn film at all. It's just about someone who is a porn actor."

Both "Adored" and "Sons of Provo" hired the same Los Angeles company to make copies of their movies for mass DVD sales. Somewhere in the distribution process, "Adored" movies got mixed in with "Sons of Provo" DVDs and were shipped to Utah, said George Dayton, who oversees HaleStorm's business affairs.

HaleStorm refuses to hire any company that distributes pornographic films, Dayton said. However, attorneys for HaleStorm and the distribution company are arguing over whether "Adored" is, indeed, pornographic.

"This is hugely damaging," Dayton said. "We don't want our consumers to associate anything with us, whether it's some soft-core title or whatever, I don't know. But certainly this title doesn't lend itself to good, clean family or LDS-centered entertainment."

HaleStorm Entertainment executives recalled "Sons of Provo" and ordered a new shipment that could be back on shelves as early as this week, Dayton said.

E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com

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