Page 18 - AVN May 2015

WHO’S WHO
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS | |By Mark Kernes
Phil Varone Launches Las Vegas-based The V Agency
Former Skid Row drummer and current adult film director
Phil Varone has announced that he is embracing the adult
talent business by launching a new talent agency called
The V Agency (TVA).
TVA, a licensed Nevada-based talent agency that has
been signing new talent as well as seasoned vets, is
“approaching the talent business in a completely different
way,” according to Varone. “The V Agency has been in the
works for a long time. We wanted to launch our agency
the right way, with a solid business plan in mind. We have
been gathering new talent like newcomer and rising starlet
Zoey Wood as well as veterans like Dick Chibbles.
“We have retained an award-winning marketing agency
to help each client build their brands as well as the agency,
and have been reaching out to all the major studios and
creating new business relationships so our agency is
always on their radar when casting their next movie,” he
added. “We are very excited to officially announce the
formation of The V Agency and look forward to a very
successful year.”
The V Agency differs from conventional agencies in that
it brings levels of marketing and personalized dedication
to each and every client, Varone said. Whenever the agency
signs a new performer, he and the TVA staff sit down with
the performer to create a road map for success and set
specific goals for the individual. TVA is focusing on signing
performers who are professional and can be built into a
brand rather than signing as many as possible.
“We don’t just sign people to contracts, put their
pictures on the site and wait for someone to call and
book them,” added Varone. “We are always talking to
production companies and selling our talent. So far, we
have had a large amount of shoots booked through the
agency which has attracted more and more talent to sign
with us. TVA has booked talent with A-list companies
including Naughty America, Hustler, Porn Pros and
Brazzers.
For more information, go to TheVAgency.com. To book
TVA talent, contact Varone at phil@thevagency.com.
(Photo of Phil Varone by Hew Burney)
Meet X Agency: The New Talent Agency on the Block
What do you get when you put together an ace
cameraman with 31 years’ experience in adult film,
who often doubles as a hardcore actor, and a guy who’s
been producing and directing adult since the late ‘80s,
and even scored an AVN nomination for one of the first
all-girl series, Girl’s Affair? You get XXX’s newest talent
agency, The X Agency.
“We’re going to do it the old-fashioned way,” Ben
Fisher, who holds the new agency’s license, told AVN.
“We’re not going to charge the girls any agency fees,
so we’re going to go the old-fashioned way like World
Modeling and Pretty Girl International; we are a fee-free
agency for the girls. We will only charge the companies.
Also, we’re going to focus on training the girls, due to
our 50 years of experience between Jake and I, on how to
be prepared and show up on the shoot ready to go, from
A to Z; again, like it used to be back in the day.”
“I’ve found that too many new talent are ill-informed
on what’s expected of them, how to conduct themselves,” said Jake Jacobs, who
acts under several names, including Jay Crew.”I’ve been in this business for
31 years,” he continued, “and one of the constants has been the lack of good
information for talent on how to be prepared and successful, and I’ve never been
in a position to be able to say something about that. So when Ben presented this
partnership to me, it was an opportunity for me to make a
difference.”
Jacobs and Fisher have even set out several rules
for themselves, some of which, besides not charging
performers a booking fee, include not soliciting talent from
other agencies, providing a driver to get the ladies to and
from the set, plus plans to set up a “model house” where
the X Agency gals can live and even webcam when they
aren’t shooting video or internet content for someone else.
The new agency is actually a revamping of Fisher’s old
agency, The 877X Agency, and the new partners are already
working to update Fisher’s 877X website, as well as
establishing offices in both Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Part of the reason The X Agency won’t be charging
booking fees to the talent is because they’re also partners
in a new production company, Wild Image Pictures,
and to charge the girls to appear in that company’s own
productions would be, in their minds, a conflict of interest.
“We’re shooting on the 4K camera; both Jake and I will be directing, and he’ll
handle most of the camera work,” Fisher advised. “But the main focus, again, is
the agency. We have a full staff at the office.”
Talent wishing representation can call (818) 860-2957 in Los Angeles or (702)
203-4840 in Las Vegas. (Jacobs and Fisher at XRCO Awards; photo by Rick Garcia)
Howard Levine Now Casting for a New TV Show
Exile Distribution’s Howard Levine, who worked on the FX show Sons of Anarchy,
has announced that he is currently casting for a new mainstream television show.
“I am looking for men and women to do a full frontal nude
scene,” he said, adding, “There is no sex involved.”
He said he can’t reveal the name of the project just yet, but added, “I
can give you the details of the show if you are picked.” And he did drop
one juicy hint: “It stars one of the main actors from Sons of Anarchy.”
Levine’s instructions to actors: “submit a non nude photo to howard@exile-
dist.com with your name and contact number. Please email only, no calls.”
While Sons of Anarchy was on the air, Levine helped get many porn stars
get some screen time on the show, including Puma Swede, Alexa Aimes, Alexis
Adams, Daisy Marie, the Starr sisters, Callie Calypso, Mia Li, Cassandra Cruz,
Jennifer Best, Vicki Chase, Allison Moore, Chanell Heart, Brittany Amber, Christina
Cinn, Julie Cash, Kelly Shibari, Misty Stone, Mr. Marcus and Nick Manning.
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