Page 16 - AVN August 2015

WHO’S WHO
INTERVIEW| | By Iris Blocks
Eurozone Erotica
Exile brings Rebecca Lord back to the biz
to the industry. Even more out of the ordinary is to return as a director with
a full-fledged distribution deal. But that was the news back in June, when
It’s not every day that a big star from the 1990s announces her plans to return
Howard Levine of Exile Distribution announced that French performer
Rebecca Lord—one of the biggest stars of the 1990s, and an AVN Hall of
Famer—had just signed an eight-picture DVD distribution deal for her
namesake production company.
Kicking off in August, the deal will see one title per month from Rebecca Lord
Productions released through Exile, including the big-budget all-sex movie Do Not
Disturb, shot on location throughout Europe and starring 2014/2015 AVN Female
Foreign Performer of the Year Anissa Kate.
Do Not Disturb includes sex scenes in a helicopter, in a limo, outdoors on an ATV
and more. Lord indicated that she intends to expand the movie into a series.
Lord commented on the deal, saying, “The DVDs of my movie will be
distributed through Howard Levine. Howard and I share the same enthusiasm for
what we believe is a return to better-quality movies.”
In this round of eight movies, Lord joined forces with Jon Yuma, producer-
director for Nasty Pixxx. The titles showcase top European performers and
contract stars, plus performers who have appeared on Met Art and X-Art. Among
the award-winning talent from France, Spain, Netherlands, the Czech Republic,
Russia, Romania, Hungary and Italy are Tiffany Doll, Silvie Deluxe, Ivy, Valentina
Nappi and Satin Bloom.
Rebecca helms her productions in stellar locations across Europe, while Yuma
runs the business and marketing side of the company from the U.S. Although
Yuma produced and directed 165 titles, he acknowledged, “Our division of effort
best reflects our respective skills at this point. These couples-oriented movies are
definitely Rebecca’s vision; I am proud to represent them.”
Yuma added, “Everything about her productions screams high-end quality
on-screen—beautiful and natural girls, striking locations, lighting, camera work,
video effects and special care in the editing.”
Though she left the business in 2005, Lord has continued to keep in touch with
fans via Twitter and Facebook, and she made a semi-mainstream return to the
screen in the 2005 indie film I Am a Sex Addict. But AVN wondered what else she’d
been up to since she moved back to Europe. Lord was more than happy to oblige,
answering questions in depth and also revealing that she has written a book,
which is coming out this fall from Bear Manor—also the publisher of non-fiction
titles about Marilyn Chambers, Jasmine St Claire, Seka and John Holmes.
You’ve said that you did not consider yourself retired, but for about a decade
you were not that active. What brought you back to directing?
This is a complex question as there is not one reason but a few.
I have been in the adult industry since 1993 and was lucky enough to have
known the golden years of porn, when companies had decent budgets and were
shooting great movies.
In 2006, I stopped directing movies for IFG Spain (I had a contract with them)
and therefore stopped performing in my own movies as well. IFG had financial
problems and we decided to terminate our agreement. I thought it was time for
me to take a break from the adult industry and decided to take a year off. I took
an extended vacation in Brazil! Extended because it lasted a little more than
anticipated: three years!
In 2009, I came back to France and directed a movie for Dorcel (The Secretaries).
For the first time in my adult career I felt something was wrong: Was I out of the
business for too long and had difficulties to catch up with a new market?
I was hired to write, produce and direct, but as it happened, I didn’t have any
freedom to do so: it was re-written their own way and I had to direct it the way
they wanted me to. I felt like a puppet not being able to get rid of his wires.
Anyway, I was sincerely dissatisfied with the result/spirit of the movie and
swore to myself that it was the first and last time I would work on a project that
was not mine entirely. …
Unfortunately, funding is no easy thing in our business anymore: I quickly
found out that most companies would allocate very small budgets. … I decided
to find private funding and in the meantime I took a closer look at the adult
industry—what was shot and by whom. I realized that, mostly, the movies being
shot were directed by men and for male viewers mainly.
At the time, a few new companies, like X-Art, were going to a different
direction. What they shot was (still is) more couple-oriented, softer, prettier. Nice
locations, good makeup, paying attention to details. … While looking for that
private funding, I have asked a lot of questions about the adult market to people
I truly appreciate, like Evil Angel’s Christian Mann (I truly miss him), Adam &
Eve’s Bob Christian. ...
I wanted to make sure that the day I would be ready to shoot, I wouldn’t be
out of touch, that I would be able to bring something more than just performers
having sex on camera.
In 2013, I found a private investor who was willing to take the risk to let me
shoot movies my own way: I was back to directing movies.
What has occupied most of your time since you left Porn Valley? And have
you been in Europe for much of that time?
I left the U.S. when IFG (in Barcelona, Spain) offered me a two-year contract to
shoot movies in Europe. It was a new challenge since I have made 95 percent
of my career in porn in the U.S. and didn’t know much about shooting porn in
Europe.
I kept running my site as long as I had the time to do so. I stopped in 2006 for
that three-year extended vacation in Brazil, and never had the time to take care of
it since. But I have been pretty active on Facebook, then Twitter, to stay in contact
with my fans.
So, yes, I have been in Europe mostly since 2009.
After spending so many years in the U.S., I spend most of my time with my
family and friends. I didn’t dance on the road in Europe: way too different than the
US. Too tacky for me!
It took a while to organize a good crew to be able to shoot the way I want
(which is the way I learned in the U.S). … In Europe it is quite difficult to get
good professionals: most of the time they work for the same company (like Dorcel
in France) and won’t work for others.
For me, having a great cameraman is highly important. I used to work with my
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