Porn 'n' Chicken was a club based at
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
. The secret society blazed briefly in the headlines in 2001 when members announced plans to make their own
pornographic film
Pornographic films (pornos), erotic films, sex films, and 18+ films are films that present sexually explicit subject matter in order to arouse and satisfy the viewer. Pornographic films present sexual fantasies and usually include erotic ...
on campus starring other Yale students, although the film was never released or even completed. Nevertheless, a fictionalized version of the club's experiences was produced as a
TV movie titled ''Porn 'n Chicken'' and broadcast on
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy program ...
. A Porn 'n Chicken club has been confirmed to exist at the University of Virginia.
In the news
In the October 2000 ''
Yale Herald
''The Yale Herald'' is a newspaper run by undergraduate students at Yale University since 1986. A weekly, the paper aims to provide in-depth, investigative reporting, and includes personal essays, interviews, opinion pieces, culture articles, revi ...
'' article by Joseph Ax that is the first known public discussion of the club, it was mentioned that the club planned to shoot its own porno film that spring. The film's name, later infamous, had already been selected -- ''The StaXXX''. "Everyone is invited to audition: undergrads, TAs, professors, local high school students," one of the club members explained. "We're pretty serious about this film. We'd like to have a screening at UPIX."
In November 2000 they posted around campus for actors and actresses, and even filmed their first scenes in late January (one of their actresses was taking a semester in
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...
during the bulk of the filming, so her scenes were completed early). Blurry snapshots of the action appeared in the ''
Yale Daily News
The ''Yale Daily News'' is an independent student newspaper published by Yale University students in New Haven, Connecticut since January 28, 1878. It is the oldest college daily newspaper in the United States. The ''Yale Daily News'' has consi ...
''. A week later the ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' had the story, and a national media frenzy ensued.
''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issue ...
'',
Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ...
Boston, ''
Hustler'', ''The
New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'', ''
Brill's Content'', ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...
'', ''
Premiere Magazine'', ''
The London Evening Standard
The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format.
In October 2009, after be ...
'', and others all inquired for information. Club organizers claimed that they were getting irritated by all the interview requests, and shut out
MTV, the ''New York Post'', and the ''
New Haven Register
The ''New Haven Register'' is a daily newspaper published in New Haven, Connecticut. It is owned by Hearst Communications. The Register's main office is located at 100 Gando Drive in New Haven. The ''Register'' was established about 1812 and ...
''.
According to the stories that followed, many students wanted to be involved, but few were willing to let their names or faces appear in the film. The movie's plot accommodated this by following the induction of members into one of Yale's secret societies, allowing the actors to wear masks.
''The StaXXX''
Towards the end of the school year, nobody saw any filming going on. Word leaked that the scenes that had been filmed first had since been destroyed at the request of one of the actresses. Sentiment shifted to the hypothesis that the film, if not the entire club, was merely a prank. Students who had been contacted earlier in the year heard nothing more. Posters were hung in April advertising a preliminary screening of the film, but the public was not invited and many doubted that any footage existed.
Club members insisted ''The StaXXX'' existed, and even asserted that a sequel was in the works. This film, to be called ''Dubya'', would depict the sexual exploits of U.S. President
George W. Bush during his years at Yale. The budding filmmakers offered that they were being represented by the
Creative Artists Agency
Creative Artists Agency LLC (CAA) is an American talent and sports agency based in Los Angeles, California. It is regarded as an influential company in the talent agency business and manages numerous clients. In March 2016, CAA had 1,800 employ ...
. When contacted, CAA acknowledged that it was representing a Yale student named
James Ponsoldt in connection with PnC, but Ponsoldt vehemently denied having anything to do with the club.
PnC (or people pretending to be PnC) continued to host events on campus, including a movie screening and lecture by ''Village Voice'' sex columnist
Tristan Taormino.
A trailer for ''The StaXXX'' was ultimately released and was shown before a screening at the Yale Film Society,
'StaXXX' trailer has stacks -- and some skin
, Chris Rovzar and Eli Muller, ''Yale Daily News,'' April 25, 2001 but no other footage ever emerged.
In media
Ponsoldt, along with other Yale alumni, sold the Porn 'n Chicken stories to Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy program ...
, which filmed on the Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...
campus. The movie premiered on Comedy Central on October 13, 2002. Porn stars Jenna Jameson
Jenna Marie Massoli (born April 9, 1974), known professionally as Jenna Jameson (), is an American model, former pornographic film actress, businesswoman, and television personality. She has been named the world's most famous adult entertainme ...
and Ron Jeremy appear in the film as guest speakers at a club meeting.
References
Sources
* ''The New Yorker'', "Talk of the Town," October 14, 2002
*
*
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*''New York Times'', January 26, 2001
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*The New York Observer February 15, 2001
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*''The Daily Pennsylvanian'', September 19, 2002
*''Ball State Daily News'', October 14, 2002
External links
* {{IMDb title, 0331321, Porn 'n Chicken
2002 television films
2002 films
2002 comedy films
American television films
Yale University
Films set in 1996
Films set in Columbia University
2000s English-language films