Page 30 - AVN August 2017

WHO’S WHO
MICHAEL ZEN, 1935-2017
Director worked for Vivid, Wicked, other studios
Michael Zen, a prominent director of both straight and gay
adult movies since 1976, and whose film Blue Movie helped
cement the top status of both its star Jenna Jameson and its
producer Wicked Pictures, died June 9 of pancreatic cancer.
He was 83 years old.
“Michael was an editor in our business before he
became a director, and he directed many great movies: Skin
Hunger, Babylon, Satyr with Jenna Jameson, and he did his
series Stardust for Vivid with Jenteal—I think there were 12
episodes; everyone was in it,” recalled Penny Antine, Zen’s
frequent collaborator and screenwriter under the nom de porn
of Raven Touchstone. “Michael also taught filmmaking at the
college level, like UCLA and I think Marymount. He was first
a director of stage productions—theater was his great love—
M
and then film, and his whole life was about the creative arts.
He was brilliant. I thought he was perhaps the best director
in this business; a lot of people thought he was perhaps over
the top but I never did. It was great working with him. He and
I collaborated on many movies and I wrote them, he directed
them, and I would costume them as well. I loved this man. This
was the gentlest, kindest, most thoughtful person—one of the
most thoughtful and kind people in the business. Everybody who
worked with him loved him.”
Several performers shared Antine’s feelings about the director.
“Wonderful director, good man. Sorry to hear. I did some great movies with the
2 of you,” wrote Mike Horner on Facebook, referring to Zen and Antine, with Asia
Carrera adding, “Nooooooooo he was one of my all time favorites. I’m so sad to hear
this!!”
“In my dealings with Michael back in the ‘90s, he was definitely an extremely
nice man and very talented and very, very artistic in a sexual way,” observed Wicked
Pictures owner Steve Orenstein. “I think when he would describe a story or a
concept, his eyes would light up and he would picture the whole reason why they
would have sex and what was the motivation, and I can picture his eyes lighting up
as he was trying to describe what was going to happen in the movie, and he was very
into what he was doing both as a filmmaker and as someone creating a sex movie.
“Blue Movie was the first movie Wicked shot on film; I think that was shot in April
of ’95, and that following award show was a biggie because Blue Movie was up for all
the film categories and won, and Jenna won for that and the editing won, I think, and
the same year, we had The Wicked One, and I think that won awards on video, so that
was a turning point year for Wicked,” he added.
In fact, Orenstein first met Zen back in 1992 when Zen directed Secret Garden 1 and
2 for Xcitement Video, of which
Orenstein was co-owner.
“Secret Garden was a big deal,
definitely a big-deal movie—it
had some of the top players at
the time like Ashlyn Gere and
Melanie Moore, and it was
one of Jonathan Morgan’s
first roles, but I don’t think
we had full ownership to
that; I don’t think that’s
in the Wicked catalog,” he
recalled. “That was done in
the final days of Xcitement,
because I started Wicked in
March of ‘93.”
Zen’s very first feature
film was reportedly a non-
hardcore underground
comedy titled The Day The
Vagina Closed, which he
made in 1972, but about which no information
is available. But according to IAFD.com, Zen’s very first hardcore straight
movie was in 1977, at the instance of producer/director William Dancer,
Reflections for VCX, which starred Annette Haven, Kristine Heller, Sandy Pinney
and Linda Wong. The plot synopsis on the Internet Movie DataBase quotes VCX
as writing, “The twisted passions of Uncontrolled Teenaged Lust ... Reflect the
fantasies of Youth! Bob and Connie and Joan are cousins. Connie loves doing
to Bob what Joan refuses to do to Bob. Remembering her younger days when
Connie and Bob would send her to her room, Joan chooses her welcome home
party to pick and choose from her cousin’s friends in defiance of Connie and
Bob. Puts a whole new twist on Kissing Cousins!” However, Zen directed and
reportedly self-produced Falconhead, which was distributed by Caballero, a year
earlier, though IAFD believed that was a different Michael Zen.
In the years until his retirement in the late 2000s, besides Blue Movie and
another big Jenna Jameson hit for Wicked, Satyr, Zen was responsible for some
top-rated productions from studios like Vivid (the Stardust series starring
then-contract star Jenteal), Metro (Taboo 17-19, Things Change 3-4, Cinesex 1-2
and Revenge) and Caballero (The Filthy Rich), while on the gay side, he directed
for top studios like All Worlds Video, HIS/VCA and Vivid Man. Zen also edited
much of his own work.
IN MEMORIAM | By Mark Kernes
(Continued from page 22)
Habit Forming
“Mona can bring performance awareness and actual orgasms,”
Hartley said.
Hartley, whose mother was a Buddhist nun for 45 years, said that
in the past she had avoided doing movies that disrespect spirituality.
“I don’t appreciate blaspheming for blaspheming’s sake,” she said.
“It’s not my thing. But I was assured none of the scenes were like
that. They were all affection- and love-based.”
“What I like about Mile High is they make sure—get this—to hire
women who like women,” Hartley said, adding, “A Mile High set is
the best place to flirt with women.”
Overall, she said, “It was a lovely show—I like working for Mile
High because they still invest in storylines and not just vignettes.”
She also liked “that they had a couple days to shoot it … they had a
beautiful set, they cared about the lighting and the camera angles.”
The veteran star added, “So, go get the movie. Pay for your porn!”
That’s a sentiment Greenwood shares. “I hope people will love
it—maybe we can do a second part.”
Confessions of a Sinful Nun will be released by Sweetheart Video on
August 30.
30 | AVN.com | 8.17
(Continued from page 28)
Alpha Female
them all the positions and they really liked it. And of course every one
ends with girl/girl sex scene,” Styles said, adding, “At the end they all
sweat—no bruises, no scratches. It’s jut submission.”
She and Steele are also doing two orgy movies. One is based on a
video for the song “Call on Me,” recorded by Swedish DJ Eric Prydz,
which itself had been inspired by the 1985 movie Perfect, starring John
Travolta and Jamie Lee Curtis. “I created all the costumes—the girls
looks like in the ’80s with headbands and leotards,” Styles said. “I did
the choreography for the beginning.”
For the future, Styles said, “If I can produce one, two or three
movies a month it would be perfect for me. … And I want to bring
some other women I know, I want to offer them the opportunity to
make DVDs for Lexington Steele Media Group.”
The busy performer also makes regular updates to her own website,
SavanaStylesXXX.com, which is in the Pornstar Platinum network. In
addition, she can be booked for feature dance gigs through A-List.
To keep fans engaged, Styles maintains two Twitter feeds—
@SavanaStyles and @AlphaFemalesXXX—and is also active on
Instagram (SavanaStyles_) and SnapChat (SavanaStylesXXX).