Page 32 - AVN October 2015

WHO’S WHO
Bonnie Rotten (continued from page 24) When it comes to choosing female performers,
Rotten said, “Obviously, I shoot girls with big
names.” But she has her personal preferences. “I
like girls who have pretty eyes—that’s one thing
for me. I don’t really care for hair extensions or
things like that. If a girl has a boob job or a butt
job, that’s fine, but I like a more natural size. ...
Personality is a big thing because I want to be
able to enjoy my time with that girl being on
set. I don’t want to have to tiptoe around a girl; I
don’t want the girl to be a diva.”
What about the guys she chooses? “I’m not
about all the guys having giant dicks.” Rotten
said. “I always look for guys who have a great
attitude. I don’t want to deal with divas, because
guys can be almost bigger divas than girls.”
Getting specific, Rotten said, “Will Powers is
one of my favorite guys to shoot. Will comes in,
and he’s eating an apple with a smile on his face
… He’s goofy, fun, a lovable guy. And he does a
great scene. He doesn’t fuck up the cum shot, he
doesn’t bust early, he’s not impotent or he can’t
get it hard—he always does a great job, and I
believe he’s very underrated. I love Will Powers.
I would shoot him in every movie.”
As a director, Rotten has learned the
importance of hiring a reliable male performer.
“A girl can suck, and you can put her with a
great performer like Manuel [Ferrara] or Toni
[Ribas] or Ramon [Nomar]; they’re going to
make it a great scene.”
She also mentioned on a conversation she
had with Rocco Siffredi, with whom she recently
made the movie Bonnie vs. Rocco. He had talked
about how some male performers confuse
being rough with being passionate. “I didn’t
understand where he was coming from at the
time,” she recalled. “He said, ‘You don’t have
to smack a girl on the face to be passionate, to
make the scene. You can look in a girl’s eyes and
have that passion with her, and you can do a
crazy scene with her, but you don’t have to beat
her down.’ But I had to experience that and feel
that for myself to really get what he was talking
about. Then I started noticing it—that some
guys use being rough as a copout.”
Asked about who inspires her behind the
camera, Rotten said, “Mike Adriano was one of
the first people who made me want to direct.
We actually did a scene trade—I did a scene for
him and he did a scene for me in Anal Candy
Disco Chicks [a Mental Beauty title distributed by
Girlfriends Films]. … I started talking to him in
the beginning and said I had an interest in this
and he said, ‘Keep working at it, keep doing your
thing.’”
She also mentioned a predecessor at Elegant
Angel. “I always enjoyed working with William
H. because he’s such a nice guy, very soft-
spoken. … He always has such beautiful,
beautiful product in the end. And he did a lot
of the squirt movies for Elegant back in the day,
so that was something really cool for me to do
the titles that he did before, because it was like
32 | AVN.com | 10.15
I’m in one of my favorite director’s shoes right
now.”
After her baby is born, Rotten said, “I’m just
going to continue to direct and produce and
be on the road for feature dancing. It’s crazy. I
was traveling four times a month to do it. I was
booked from January through to April of 2016.”
For now she’s had to cancel some of those
gigs, but she’s already looking to get back on
the road. “I’ve started booking for next year. I
booked three jobs for April and June. It’s a lot
of fun. You get to go out, go to a different town.
I’m a foodie, so I love trying the local food, going
to the local big spot.”
And most important, there’s the chance to
meet fans. “It’s really cool—some guys will
come with books, photo albums that they’ve
been collecting photos for 10 years. Or some
guys will come in with 20 DVDs for you to sign.
You just have all these great fans in different
areas. Some of these guys can’t make it to AVN.
… So it’s cool to meet these people all over the
country.”
She’ll also keep up her website. “I own
my domain. I got that before I was even in
the business. And another thing is, I got
trademarked from the beginning—on everything.
When you start a company, that’s very
important.”
Rotten also went into detail about why she
got into the business, and how she feels about
that decision now. “I was stripping and doing
all that stuff. I was in a very adult-oriented
environment. And then I started doing fetish
modeling—it was kind of like, I’m having all
this sex, I get naked, what’s the difference?
I’m going to try to excel, try to be big in
this community where it’s celebrated rather
than looked down on. I’m from Ohio, where
somebody could be doing the exact same thing
[privately], but you’re the slut for doing it. To be
in a community where it’s embraced, and to be
celebrated and to be able to do all these things,
it was really cool.”
Also, practically speaking, given the fact that
by age 17 she was heavily tattooed and hadn’t
gotten her G.E.D., “It was either be a stripper or
a model or work in fast food. It’s funny, because
a lot of fast food restaurants wouldn’t even hire
me because of my tattoos.… I’m not saying I was
forced into a decision or forced into a choice, but
all the things were stacked in favor of being in
the adult industry.”
She continued, “People ask me, ‘Are you
ashamed?’ I have nothing to be ashamed of. Is
it going to be hard to explain to my child, once
she’s old enough to understand what’s going
on? Yes, it’s going to be hard to explain. But I’m
going to do my best to show her that there are
positives to our industry and to me doing what
I did. Maybe don’t go down the same path …
but if you did do it, I wouldn’t hate you and I
wouldn’t shun you and I wouldn’t think less of
you, because my family didn’t do that.”
Candida Royalle (continued from page 30)
In response to an inquiry, Royalle’s longtime friend Nina
Hartley wrote, “She was a fierce, proud feminist. She navigated
the male-dominated world of sex toy design and development, and
led the way as an entrepreneur in a very challenging marketing
environment. Five years before the Pink Ladies Social Club began,
she and her friends in NYC started Club 90, a peer-support group
for women in the adult entertainment industry.
“A dedicated heterosexual, she was kind enough to let me flirt
and dance with her. She had style, dignity, self-worth, intelligence
to burn and never gave up on love. She enjoyed the finer things in
life without shame. She loved her home, her cats, her friends and
the life she made for herself, on her terms.”
Howie Gordon, the former Richard Pacheco, contributed the
following poem:
“This was a life well-lived!
“She drank every drop!
“What a joy it was to watch her blossom!
“What gifts she brought for everyone!”
“Saddened by the passing of Candida Royalle; it was an honor
and a privilege to speak with her and learn from her,” Gordon
added. “A legend and a pioneer upon whose shoulders we stand
in the world of art that challenges patriarchy and pushes for
better art that explores sexuality, and in my humble opinion a
better, healthier world. Thank you for the inspiration and lessons,
Candida. We carry them on …”
According to Sprinkle, “Memorials in New York, LA and San
Francisco will likely be held sometime around November, so that
there is time for everyone to plan.”
One of Royalle’s admirers was Jill Nelson, author of Golden
Goddesses: 25 Legendary Women of Classic Erotic Cinema, 1968-1985,
who recorded Royalle’s self-examination of why she went into
adult entertainment in the first place. Nelson described some of
her own interactions with her subject.
“Intelligent, articulate, insightful, sincere, gracious and
thorough, I was greatly appreciative of her time. … “In compiling
Golden Goddesses, interview sessions with Candida stand out as
some of the most fascinating and informative, as Royalle spoke
with reverence and sensitivity with respect to her childhood, teen
years, feminism, her foray into adult films and eventual transition
to directing with a focus on couples, eroticism and romance when
she launched her own company Femme Productions in the early
’80s. One of the true giants of the erotic and feminist movements,
Candida’s Royalle’s legacy will burn eternal, through her stellar
work, her gutsy actions, and the power of her own words.”
Several adult performers also had praise for the departed legend.
“To say I’m grateful for Candida Royalle’s contribution to
womankind would be a gross understatement,” said Wicked
Pictures contract player Asa Akira. “I’ve never met her in
person—and I’m sad I won’t have the chance now—but her spirit,
dedication, and bravery are things I carry with me nonetheless. I
thank her for her time here.”
“While Candida Royalle wasn’t the first female director of
pornography, she had a major part in forging the path so many
pornographers are able to take today,” declared former Digital
Playground star Stoya. “Directors and production companies
who cater to groups other than the raincoated punter, female
performers who create and control their own performances, and
all pornographers who wrestle for platforms from which to speak
authoritatively on our own experiences in sex work without being
silenced—we all owe our own work to what has been built on hers.”
Ever succinct and to the point, award-winning actress/director
Kayden Kross added, “She was a true revolutionary who paved the
way for female directors in this industry.”