Page 24 - AVN January 2016

IN MEMORIAM | | By Peter Warren
WHO’S WHO
Amber Rayne,
1984-2016
her and call her a friend.”
Daniels added that she is handling the care of
the beloved horse Rayne left behind.
Described as kind, funny and genuine
by all who knew her, Rayne’s passing sent
shockwaves through the industry. A continuing
flood of devastated comments from industry
heavyweights has appeared on Twitter,
including the following:
Wood Rocket: “Our hearts are broken. Our
friend Amber Rayne passed away. She was
one of the sweetest people our industry & the
world has ever seen.”
Christian XXX: “RIP @Amber_Raynexxx - I
knew you for a long time. This is truly a sad
day.”
Nicki Hunter: “My heart is breaking. Just
found out that @Amber_Raynexxx has just
passed away. May God hold you close now with
your angel wings.”
Ryan Driller: “Completely heartbroken to
hear @Amber_Raynexxx passed away. She was
a sweetheart and friend, through and through.”
Kayden Kross: “Sad to hear about Amber
Rayne passing. She always had a positive
attitude and was a credit to our industry.”
MimeFreak: “You were kind, generous and
pure. I will miss your smile. [Your] huge laugh
will always be in my heart. [You’re] at peace
now.”
Phoenix Marie: “I’m speechless at the
thought that @Amber_Raynexxx has
[passed]... She’s always been an idol of mine...
Fun-Loving, Happy, Beautiful...”
David Lord: “It’s a sad day when I must say
goodbye to a friend. My thoughts and prayers
are with your family. Love ya kiddo!”
Dee Severe: “Heartbroken to hear @Amber_
Raynexxx died, she was amazing, a friend n 1 of
my favorite ppl 2 work with.”
Jonni Darkko: “[News] of Amber Rayne has
me destroyed. One of the nicest and sweetest
people I have ever met. Very sad day”
Prince Yahshua: “My heart is bleeding & my
soul is crushed. There will never be another u,
never! @Amber_Raynexxx enjoy heaven as we
all enjoyed u on earth”
Tim Woodman: “Amber Rayne was one of the
BEST people I knew, in or out of the industry.
I’m beyond devastated I’m fucking shattered”
Ashley Fires: “@Amber_Raynexxx will be
missed. As an authentic human being. As a
friend. My hear goes to her family and her
horse.”
Veronica Rodriguez: “@Amber_Raynexxx
was an amazing girl with a heart of gold
she helped me so much in the past I just
appreciated her so much”
It’s no exaggeration to say that
the adult community in Southern
California was collectively stunned to
learn that performer Amber Rayne, an
industry veteran of more than 10 years,
had died on April 3. Sources close to
Rayne told AVN that she passed away
peacefully in her sleep at home. She was
31.
Rayne entered the industry in 2005,
and racked up close to 500 credits over
the course of her career. She was known
for both her wild, no-holds-barred sexual
performances and her commanding
acting chops. In fact, the Detroit native
had a background in professional acting
before turning to adult, and those skills
paid off, earning her immense acclaim
and multiple AVN Award nominations,
most notably for her supporting roles
in 2009’s The 8th Day from Adam & Eve
Pictures and 2015’s Wanted from Adam
& Eve and Wicked Pictures. Also in
2009, she was crowned AVN’s Unsung
Starlet of the Year.
Wanted director Stormy Daniels, who
was one of Rayne’s dearest industry
comrades, told AVN, “She was a really
good friend, and one of the best actresses
and performers that I’ve ever had the
pleasure to work with, and I’m just glad
that I had the opportunity to work with
24 | AVN.com | 6.16
(David Lord continued from page 22)
Visualized A climactic scene from David Lord’s Casual Encounters, starring Jessica Drake.
Photo courtesy Wicked Picturesthe movie. ... And getting the actors together for the commentaries.”
And because he’s a self-confessed workaholic, that led to spending
time on the weekends and on vacation shooting behind-the-scenes
footage. “That’s me. Work work work work work. And then I started
learning how to use the camera. Jonathan Morgan, actually, gave me my
first couple of gigs: ‘You work for free, I’ll fucking teach you how to do
it.’ And sure as shit I did. So thank you, Jonathan Morgan, for getting me
into the other side of the industry.”
His first directing credit was on Evil Angel’s Vault of Whores in 2005.
“That was right at the beginning of my career.”
Asked about his cinematic inspirations, Lord said, “I’ve worked with
some of the big heavy hitters, Brad Armstrong, Axel Braun, older guys
like Nick Andrews and Michael Raven. Old-school stuff would be, like,
New Wave Hookers, and the Andrew Blake stuff was really pretty important
for me. Tony Scott did a movie, Domino. I love Domino. The visuals in it
are just insane.”
But he’s not all about visual pyrotechnics. Sometimes he goes for
depth. “I did 9 ½ Weeks ... one of the first movies of my own that ever
actually invoked an emotional reaction. At the end, where she walks away
and he’s counting and he has his head turned, and she goes downstairs
and puts the watch on the ground, gets that strength to just walk away
from the abusive relationship. What is the Yiddish word? I was all
verklempt. It’s like, ‘Ooooh it’s so sweet.’ It’s the first time I’ve ever felt
an emotion other than arousal in an adult movie. Ever ever ever ever ever
ever. So I was very proud of that.”
In addition to his work behind the scenes on big Wicked and Adam &
Eve movies, Lord also directs for Devil’s Film. He likes directing, but he
also enjoys the lighter duties involved with producing. “I took some time
off, honestly, and just wanted to work. I didn’t want to have to write.
Because I usually write and do my own art direction ... it’s not just the
four days or three days or two days I shoot; it’s a longer commitment. ...
But I’m getting that itch again.”
On top of the movie work, Lord has two other enterprises. “The
Custom Culture Tattoo in Reseda and the Chop Shop in Woodland Hills
are both mine. Both wonderful businesses and I’m very proud of those.”
Musing on his career, Lord said, “Through all of this I’ve stayed pretty
consistent, and I think that is because of the fact that people know they
can depend on me and I don’t half-ass shit. I might not be the smoothest
person in the world—I could probably have some more tact and have a
filter—but I’m getting that with age.”