Page 32 - AVN December 2017

LIGHTS, CAMERA
ON THE SET | By Dan Miller
She says classic ’80s Hollywood glam—
“Madonna-esque”—was what inspired her
wardrobe selection.
“Very poppy,” Jenn adds.
As Lansky inspects the After-Party set he asks
if there’s any more red carpet than the narrow
piece that’s on the floor. There isn’t, so executive
producer Mike Moz gets on the phone and less
than two hours later he and the crew are laying
down a wider red carpet.
“I’m Winston Wolfe,” jokes Moz, who now
produces as many as 30 scenes a month for
Lansky. “I solve problems.”
Lansky’s art director Matt Forrest is also in the
building, keeping tabs on the ambitious shot list
they’ve planned that includes everything from
paparazzi-themed vignettes to Rhoades clutching
the gold AVN trophy and spraying champagne in
the finale.
“I’ve been working with Greg for about two
years now,” says Forrest, a seasoned graphic
designer from L.A. who came to Lansky’s GL Web
Media from one of Hearst Magazines’ titles. “We
have a great team.”
Lana emerges from makeup sporting her black
Vixen bra and panties under a white vegan fur
coat. Lansky likes what he sees, but the guys are
another matter. Their tuxedo jackets don’t fit snug
enough, Greg concludes, so Jenn grabs some tape
and a few clamps to give them a tighter fit.
That’s not the only problem, though. Lansky
tells JVJ he needs to shave off his scruff, so the
French performer disappears for about 15 minutes
and returns clean-shaven.
While Lana poses for test-shots, longtime
Lansky collaborator and go-to director Lorenzo
Sky watches the monitor.
“How’s it looking?” Lansky asks.
“Perfect,” Sky replies.
“Perfect is what I’m looking for,” Lansky
answers.
Now it’s time to shoot.
“Very sensual,” Lansky tells Lana. “Slight smile.
We’ll do a fun one and then a serious one, we’ll
mix it up. You guys are always looking at her.”
He fires off a round. “Beautiful, absolutely
gorgeous. Music up a little,” Lansky says. “Let’s
get warmed up a little bit. … Bad bitch, hands on
your hips. Yes, love this. You look gorgeous. Yes,
mama!”
He tells Ryan Driller and JVJ to flank Lana and
focus on her “bodyguard-like.”
Then he instructs Lana to “act like you were
about to make out with them when I walked in the
room.”
She gives Ryan a little peck on the lips.
“More ass,” Lansky says. “Always tall, Lana.
Grab both their jackets now, yeah. Don’t pose for
me. … Subtle is much better.”
In their effort to make the paparazzi set look as
authentic as possible, Jenn says they rented five
professional cameras from Samy’s to use as props.
Lansky calls for all five guys to form a U-shape
around Lana so she can walk through them like
she’s a superstar leaving the show and they’re
fighting to get the photo.
“Like Cannes Film Festival,” Lansky says.
Good as Gold Lana Rhoades, Greg Lansky and Kendra Sunderland take a break for bubbly during the November Vixen Angel shoot.
Now they try some shots with Lana holding the Vixen AVN trophy for Best New Imprint.
“When I say go, start firing. Scream her name,” Lansky directs. “This shoot is obviously over the top.”
Lana prances through the mob, shoving Robby Echo’s head back in a funny moment that cracks everyone up.
“Don’t laugh,” Lansky tells her. “I want very dismissive. I know you’re a nice person. We gotta bring up the
mean, like you’re in a hurry because the limo is waiting for you.”
When they move to the red carpet set, Lana changes into a black bolero jacket for several more rounds of
paparazzi photos before they return to the red backdrop to pop champagne.
JVJ, who has performed with her several times and has become perhaps the busiest guy in Lansky’s rotation, tells
me Greg is “very technical.”
“He wants every detail to be perfect,” JVJ says. “Every position. Most people they just shoot you. It’s very
interesting, very cinematic. He pans a lot and does a lot of close-ups. He tells you to do this, do that, grab her. … As
a performer usually you don’t get that. They don’t direct as you do it. At first for me it was an adjustment but right
away I picked it up. I picked up his style of directing. It’s very cool, very different.
“Sometimes he’ll shoot the intro 10 times, just like walking into the room.”
According to JVJ, Rhoades is an “amazing” performer.
“Not only is she beautiful and classy, she’s very strong,” he says. “She’s very professional and very patient, as you
can tell. She can get fucked super hard and she never complains and she’s always sexy, always on point.”
When it’s over, Lana is all smiles.
“I’m so happy to be Vixen Angel and working with Greg,” she tells me. “One of my first shoots I ever did was for
Blacked and I did my first showcase with Greg and now he made me a Vixen Angel. It just makes me really happy
that he likes working with me and we have such a good friendship. He always helps me out.
“Shooting today was really awesome. Obviously, everything Greg does is over the top and amazing so I felt like I
was treated like a princess.”
Lansky tells me Lana was the clear choice when the team was discussing who’s next.
“I think she’s had a tremendous year,” he says. “I saw a lot of potential in her at the very beginning stage. That’s
why I did the showcase with her and throughout the year she’s really grown into an iconic performer with her
personality. Everything has really developed in such a nice way. … She’s also one of the highest rated models on
Vixen.”
“I had the best day ever,” Lana adds. “I learned how to pop bottles, got to smack Robby in the face and got to
hang out with all these sexy guys.”
32 | AVN.com | 12.17