AP-102 · FILM AND TELEVISION

Cross Country Pimping

The first Cross Country Pimping film: Michael Maroy's interview documentary that gave the Too Real for TV series its name.

Film card: Too Real for TV / Hood Box Office.

Cross Country Pimping is a Too Real for TV documentary by Michael Maroy, the Las Vegas filmmaker who ran the label as a one-camera, direct-to-DVD operation. Hood Box Office, which now carries the film, calls it "the Michael Maroy film that started the Too Real for TV series," and its title became a numbered series that reached a fifth part in 2014.

The film is interview footage. Men who present themselves as pimps speak to Maroy's camera at length, with little narration and no opposing voice. The retail DVD listing recorded in this archive's Maroy entry credits Pimpin' Ken, Archbishop Don "Magic" Juan, Minister Seamore, Pimp Ju Ju and Pimpsy. Like American Pimp before it, it documents how these men describe themselves; it is not independent evidence of what they did, and the women around them are not given an equal voice.

The release year has not been confirmed from the disc; the archive's Maroy record dates the DVD to about 2006. Hood Box Office's page for the film also says Maroy appeared on ABC's 20/20; no ABC record of that was found. Disclosure: this archive is maintained by Hood Box Office, which hosts and sells the film; descriptions quoted from its pages are the seller's own copy.

STATUS
Unknown

ERA
c. 2006 (DVD; date not confirmed)

ASSOCIATED WITH
Michael Maroy; Too Real For TV; Pimpin' Ken; Bishop Don Magic Juan; Minister Seamore; Pimp Ju Ju; Pimpsy; Hood Box Office

STANDING
Partly documented

DOCUMENTED RECORD

A Too Real for TV documentary directed by Michael Maroy; offered to rent or buy by Hood Box Office (2026).
Hood Box Office describes it as "The Michael Maroy film that started the Too Real for TV series."
Retail DVD listing (ASIN B000IOMYAM), as recorded in the archive's Maroy entry, credits Pimpin Ken, Archbishop Don Magic Juan, Minister Seamore, Pimp Ju Ju, Pimpsy and Michael Maroy.
Followed by numbered sequels, including Pt. 3 (2008) and 5: Truth Be Told (2014).

NOT ESTABLISHED

The release year: about 2006 is an estimate, not confirmed from the disc or a distributor.
"Started the series": Maroy's World Famous Players Ball (2002) is an earlier Too Real For TV release, so the claim holds at most for the Cross Country Pimping line.
Hood Box Office's statement that Maroy appeared on ABC's 20/20 with Diane Sawyer: no ABC listing or transcript was found.