Page 18 - AVN April 2016

INTERVIEW | | By Dan Miller
Meditating WHO’S WHO
begins the same way.
No matter what Greg Lansky shoots he realizes it always
“It always starts with a beautiful woman and then we
work our way down from there,” he says. “So then it’s like
‘OK, we have a beautiful woman, let’s get to work.’”
And when Team Lansky shifts into work mode the results have
begun speaking for themselves.
The French filmmaker is only a couple months removed from
January 23, what he considers “the most amazing night of my life,”
when he and his studios Blacked and Tushy combined to win 16
AVN Awards at The Joint inside the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
“It was a very humbling experience,” Lansky said. “I thought
we did something great last year but I guess when you really put
your heart into something you don’t expect anything in return; the
reward is really the experience of collaborating with all the people.
“But when I saw the recognition and all the awards that we won
it was like being in a dream. It took me literally like three days
afterwards to be like, did that really happen? It was just an unreal
experience. I would do anything to relive it again.”
“Every award was amazing,” Lansky said. “The Director of the
Year was very touching for me because that’s the kind of award
where once you win that no one can ever take that away from you.
That’s such an honor. I feel like it’s also a responsibility.
“I feel like over the years AVN has rewarded people not only
for their work, but also because of who they felt could be a good
ambassador for the adult industry. So it’s a show of confidence.”
The night marked “an achievement of a lifetime” for the talented
shooter, who admitted, “I’ve wanted to be in the adult industry
since I was like 13.”
He honed his skills directing more than 200 movies and
hundreds more web-based scenes—eight years for Reality Kings
after getting his start with New Sensations/Digital Sin—since
arriving in Los Angeles in late 2005 from his native Paris.
18 | AVN.com | 4.16
on Success Director of the Year Greg Lansky looks inward
Lansky worked in the nightlife industry and as an assistant producer for Cellcast, the company
behind some of the most successful TV shows in Europe, before trying his hand at porn. Now that
he is pursuing his passion he’s always in the lab.
“I don’t take days off. I work every day—Monday to Sunday,” Lansky said. But he makes time to
recharge, too.
“I meditate a lot. That’s been a huge part of my life. Whatever happens I meditate twice a day.
That’s really what allows me to do what I do and it has helped me to outgrow the person I was a
few years ago.
“Obviously, surrounding myself with amazing people was a big part but meditation has really
allowed me to extend the person that I am and to be more creative and more focused.”
It’s a focus that has driven the growth of Blacked and Tushy to the point where in less than two
years they are standing with the elite brands in adult entertainment.
Known for paying top dollar when casting a big movie, Lansky said each decision starts with
“being able to communicate.”
“Especially when you speak of performers like Riley Reid or Kendra Lust or so many of the top
girls,” he explained. “When you speak to girls at that level you have to talk to them on an artistic
level. You aren’t going to sell them into it. They know better than that. They didn’t get there by
being easily convinced, so I never try to convince anyone.”
Lansky continued, “I don’t think there’s a limit to a performer’s worth. With performers, first of
all it’s an unbelievably hard job. Every day when I do this job I’m like, wow, I am so thankful for all
the adult performers that I work with that have the courage to put themselves out there and have
the courage to perform their art even though 90 percent of this planet is judgmental of them.
“They deal with the hate on Twitter, the hate on Instagram. They deal with the hatred and
nonetheless they keep on going. They keep on performing and I have so much respect for that. So
when I approach a deal I don’t come with preconceived notions. I don’t look at it like what does the
average performer get for this?
“That’s not my approach to my business. I also feel like if a performer is able to monetize their
career and make as much money as possible and I can contribute to that, then I’m very happy to
do so. And I can still have a successful company and produce a great movie. To me they’re the last
people I want to be greedy with.
“So, yes, I spare no expense for anything. For the cameras to the locations, to the performers, to
the outfits, to everything. I’m looking for quality.”
That includes the guys, too.
Lansky has both Flash Brown and Jason Brown under contract for Blacked, recognizing that male
talent make or break high-stakes scenes.
“The thinking was that I love working with you, you love working with me. We do awesome
stuff together. I want you to be your best when you work for me. That was the thinking behind
that,” Lansky said.
“It’s a difficult thing when you’re an actor to put your emotions and your mind to a certain thing
sometimes being a completely different character and going through all kinds of emotional changes.
[Hollywood] actors usually do a few movies every year at most. Performers sometimes have to
work Monday through Friday fucking—that’s super difficult. You cannot expect performers to be
their best all the time. They’re not machines.
“But if you want to have them at their best all the time then maybe you need to make an effort
to work out a contractual deal with them. That’s what I’ve done with Flash and with Jason. And
I’ll continue to do that in the future any time I feel like it’s necessary. Hey, if performers can make
more money and physically work less, that’s a great thing for everyone.”
It was Lansky’s sincere regard for the performers who star in his movies that defined his
acceptance speech for Director of the Year. His message was adult performers are “artists.”
“We live in an age where I feel like people are genuinely trying to be more sensitive and trying to
promote diversity, but I don’t see it really happening for the adult industry,” Lansky suggested.
“When is it going to be time for sensitivity toward adult workers? Let’s ask ourselves the
question, why do people have such a hard time admitting or accepting that pornography is art? It’s
performance art. It is art on any level you want to put it on.”
Looking ahead, Lansky revealed he plans to launch a new website this year that will be “along
the same lines as Blacked and Tushy” in terms of aesthetics.
“I haven’t figured out everything yet but I’m coming in strong for sure,” he said with a grin.
Above, Greg Lansky on stage at the 2016 AVN Awards Show; photo by Nate Smith