Page 55 - AVN May 2015

FEATURE
But when California citizens voted against the measure sponsored by
the AIDS Healthcare Foundation—titled “The California Safer Sex in the
Adult Film Industry Act”—one of the most significant political victories in
industry history also kept the majority of adult industry professionals in
L.A.
“We have seen the hysteria on and off the past three or four years where
it looked like everyone was coming, but then [AHF President Michael]
Weinstein kept getting defeated and the hysteria continuously died down,”
says veteran Brazzers director Vic Lagina, who has been shooting porn in
Vegas since 2006.
“Since I know the cost and logistics of moving and setting up a business
that is acknowledged and accepted by Clark County, I would not expect
anyone to make that move unless they wanted to or had to. If there is no
impending doom in Southern California, I expect things to stay the same
in the years to come.”
Lagina is one of Brazzers’ most prolific shooters, beginning with the
original incarnation of the company.
“I started shooting adult in LA back in 2002-2003 and moved back to
Florida, where I grew my business,” Lagina recalls. “I started working for
the original owners of Mansef around that time, and when I decided to
pick up stakes and head to Vegas, they were ready to grow their network.
Timing was perfect. So you could say I have been shooting for Brazzers for
close to 15 years, even before they were Brazzers.
“I didn’t want to live in L.A. again as I felt the cost of living was high
and one could stretch their dollar in Vegas. Based on a strong feeling in my
gut, I bought a house I had no business buying in Vegas in 2006 because it
felt right. Business boomed immediately and I have enjoyed lasting success
and employment out here.”
A native of Philadelphia who has a master’s degree in film production
and even taught college classes in South Florida before porn, Lagina shoots
his scenes almost exclusively in a 7,200-square-foot studio licensed under
Clark County.
“I love shooting out here and have no plans on relocating anywhere
else,” Lagina continues. “The biggest challenge we face is when we have
talent cancel on short notice, but with enough time and because me and
my team have been doing this for so long, we can rebound quickly and fix
the problem so we don’t lose the shoot.
“Summers can be tough to shoot due to the heat, but my soundstage has
climate control and we make it as painless as possible for our talent.”
Without question, just about everyone interviewed for this story agrees
the single biggest challenge to shooting in Vegas is the logistics of getting
performers from their homes in L.A. to the set in Vegas—on time.
One producer/director who asked not to be identified says that because
the performer pool in the city is so limited, flying girls in from L.A. is
unavoidable.
“There’s not a lot of talent out there,” the source says. “There’s some.
There might be 10 or 15 girls living out there at any time—probably five
good ones, five terrible ones and five OK ones.
“You go through them really quickly. So now you have to have a travel
agency to get everybody out there. Let’s travel the most irresponsible
people in the world for getting anywhere on time. If you book 100 shoots,
probably 20 of them get done like they’re supposed to get done. And you
gotta bring the male talent and all kinds of things can happen with that.
Travel isn’t that expensive, it’s just more a pain in the ass.”
Brazzers performer/director Keiran Lee echoes that sentiment, noting
that it’s the cancellations and endless travel mishaps that tend to put the
Vegas crews in the toughest spots.
“It has its pros in the sense it can be a little cheaper, but then it could
also cost you a lot of days, too,” Lee tells AVN. “If a girl misses her flight
and for example it’s a boy/girl anal scene, to try to get a girl to fly out to
Vegas to do anal at the last minute is really hard. And Brazzers is very
particular. Obviously, we have certain sites that we have to shoot for.
“If we’re shooting for Teens Like It Big, we need a teen girl. I can’t be
just like, ‘Oh I’m going to shoot this girl instead.’ A lot of people can be
like that where they can swap girls and shoot whoever, but with us it’s
very specific. Vic might want to book for example Elsa Jean but I just shot
her last week. Elsa Jean could be available to fly out but I just shot her for
Teens Like It Big last week so Elsa Jean is out of the equation now so they
have to find another teen.”
Lee, who considered moving to Vegas and even back to his native
England last year, doesn’t see the Vegas contingent getting any bigger.
VEGAS CHEERLEADER Adult performer Richelle Ryan says she’s “here for life.”
“PEOPLE DON’T BELIEVE ME
WHEN I TELL THEM IT’S
ACTUALLY A VERY QUIET CITY.”
— RICHELLE RYAN, PERFORMER
“I think everybody’s settled in L.A.,” Lee says. “Yeah, there is a lot of people who have
moved out there and it’s cheaper and everything like that, but what you’re finding is a lot
of them are regretting the move because they’re missing out on so much work.”
All things considered, Vegas-based producers say the talent agents do an excellent job
accommodating their needs.
One agent who knows the intricacies of the Vegas market well is Derek Hay, the owner
of LA Direct Models, who opened an office there in September 2013.
“It’s always changing just a bit,” Hay says. “When I’m explaining to a newer model what
they can expect, I tell people these days I think Los Angeles accounts for about 75 percent
of all adult film shoots; Vegas 15 percent and Miami about 10 percent.
“Vegas has expanded enough to be more important than Miami just in terms of volume,
but also because in Miami they are very focused on shooting new girls.”
Hay notes that a typical new girl may do four or five shoots in Miami and an exceptional
one might get booked for 10 in a two-week span, but after that the South Florida circuit
tends to be all but exhausted for that performer for the rest of the year and often just
period.
“Whereas with Vegas and L.A., producers do have an interest in brand-new girls, but it’s
not centric to that,” Hay adds. “They’re hiring models for the most part because she fits the
role for any particular scene or movie.”
FEATURE | By Dan Miller
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