Page 36 - AVN September 2017

LIGHTS, CAMERA
OUT OF THE BOX
Wicked’s Jessica Drake unleashes her inner pansexual
humanize us and not demonize us. We’re all girls here and it’s an all-girl shoot, which I’m
so happy about, because now we can be able to just vibe on the sensuality and be able to
play with the sensual aspects.”
Besides Venus, the other performers had similar experiences with casting.
“Jessica reached out to me and the other girls on social media asking if we’d be
interested, and of course we would,” nodded Domino. “It’s amazing to be working for
Wicked and I’m glad to be part of it. I want to thank Jessica for making it happen.”
“I haven’t ever worked for Wicked before, and I’m so excited!” exclaimed Aubrey,
AVN’s reigning Transsexual Performer of the Year. “It’s a huge stepping stone, not just for
me but for trans performers in general. Jessica contacted me at the TEA Show, and at the
AVN show too. They [Jessica and Brad] came up to me at AVN and they’re like, ‘We’re
thinking of doing something; don’t know; can’t really talk about it,’ and then at the TEA
Show, they brought up the same thing and we started talking, and it’s finally happening.”
The transgender scene, titled “Beauty,” is one of five scenes that will comprise Jessica
Drake Is Wicked. Viewers will also be treated to “Cirque de Sex,” featuring a circus
performer orgy; “Teamwork,” a blow bang; “Original Sin,” a hardcore retelling of the
Adam and Eve Bible story; and “Detention,” where Jessica gets to play a bad teacher à la
Cameron Diaz to a bunch of tattooed students.
But of them all, “Beauty” seems to be closest to Jessica’s heart, in part because of her
work in sex education.
“When I speak at colleges and the subject of transgender comes up, people are way
more willing to talk about it now, whereas before, I think it’s something that was really
held in secrecy and people were reluctant to talk about it,” Jessica said. “There was a
lot of shame surrounding it because of the issues that we as a society have projected
onto people, but I think now, we’re starting to unpack those issues and peel away some
of the layers of shame, and I hope that by doing this, I encourage performers from all
areas of the industry to do what they want to do with whom they want to do it within
the parameters of their own comfort, and it shouldn’t be a big deal. To thine own self be
true!”
Viewers should be warned, though: This isn’t a whitebread scene by any measure. For
one thing, there are plenty of leather bustiers with metal buckles and spiked collars to go
(Continued on page 106)
ON THE SET | By Mark Kernes
It’s such an unassuming title. After all, Jessica Drake has been a contract
star for Wicked Pictures for years, so why not release a movie titled
Jessica Drake Is Wicked? It could even be a comp, showcasing some of the
performer’s most popular scenes.
Nothing, however, could be further from the truth.
“In our 25-year history, this film has the very first trans scene that Wicked
has ever done,” Drake told AVN. “A transgender scene was something
that I’ve always wanted to do, but when I initially pitched it, we [Drake
and partner Brad Armstrong] weren’t sure if it was in alignment with the
company and the brand, because we’re branded as a heteronormative, softer
company. But I think, as time goes on, you really can’t generalize the type
of porn that people want to see, and it’s really hard to put people in boxes.
Besides that, I think that when I became part of the sex education side of
I
the industry, a lot for me personally changed, so this scene is reflective of
not only who I am as a performer but it’s also very introspective of who
IT’S TIME TO BE MORE DIVERSE
I am as a person. I identify as ‘pansexual,’ and it’s something that never
AND EMBRACE SEXUALITY FOR
necessarily carried into my professional life, but there’s no reason for it
not to, and when I asked two years ago to do this scene, there was a little
question about whether or not we could or would do the scene, but it’s
WHAT IT IS, AS OPPOSED TO JUST ALWAYS PUTTING PEOPLE
time, right? It’s time to be more diverse and just embrace sexuality for what
it is, as opposed to just always putting people in boxes.”
IN BOXES.
To that end, Jessica gathered three of the top transgender performers
—JESSICA DRAKE
in the adult industry—Aubrey Kate, Venus Lux and Domino Presley—to
create Wicked’s first trans scene, and the gals were definitely down with the
challenge.
“Me and Jessica, we talked about two years ago, and she attended one
of the Trans 101 panels at this convention and I was there with Grooby
and a few other performers, discussing trans issues and how we can
be able to have more awareness,” recalled Venus Lux, a two-time AVN
Transsexual Performer of the Year. “Jessica was in the audience and she was
so inquisitive about how to support the trans community, and from then,
it kind of blossomed. She asked how, and I said, ‘Just set a good example
and be able to one day be open to work with trans women, and that would
be a stepping stone for other people to kind of follow and lead.’ Back then,
I thought it was something of a fantasy, but you always have good hopes,
good expectations of support, and fortunately enough, this came to reality
and here I am. I’m still a little shocked and I’m definitely having a great
time here.”
But the fact that this will be the first time Wicked has released
transgender material isn’t lost on her.
“It’s monumental!” she exclaimed. “It’s definitely monumental because
as I said before, Jessica didn’t have to do this and it was by choice, and it’s
a huge privilege to be able to see someone who is of Jessica’s caliber to be
willing and open and free and sex positive about this, and be able to kind of
36 | AVN.com | 9.17
Jessica Drake (top) finally got to shoot with trans performers—and she hit the jackpot with Domino Presley, Aubrey Kate and Venus Lux.