Page 76 - AVN March 2020

“No makeup, no pretty girls, no dialogue,
none of that. Just get in there and have real,
passionate sex. ”
makeup, no long days. Just good
sex and $. Who’s in?”
The response was immediate,
infectious and widespread. She’s
heard from female performers and
male performers of all ages. Even
some amateurs have hit her up,
as well as retired performers. And
famed non-binary adult star Jiz Lee
of Pink & White Productions tweeted
a question: “Will there be restrictions
in regards to gender (ie cis/trans/nb),
body (race/size/age/ability), or sex
acts (ie, does one have to get naked,
have to be penetrated, etc)?”
After checking in with Bellesa on
the company’s larger vision, St.
James said, she was happy to report
that Bellesa House will be open to
“anyone and everyone.”
It’s even an option for performers to
choose someone who isn’t working
in the adult industry, “providing they
will adhere to testing protocols, etc.”
She adds, “The only caveat here
is we don’t have enough days in the
year to get everyone’s story. So it’s
really trying to figure out how we’re
going to handle the volume.”
St. James will be joined on the
project by performer Jake Adams,
who will be shooting camera, and
her frequent collaborator, Shawn
Alff, who will do PA work, interviews
and still photography. But the focus
will not be on polish and technical
perfection. “It’s not going to be this
pretty little thing. Two people who
want to fuck—that’s what matters,”
she says. “It’s capturing the raw
passion without having to worry
about all the bells and whistles that
often come with other productions.”
Even doing the short vignettes for
Bellesa, rather than the full feature
movies that initially cemented her
reputation, St. James says the days
are still long. “We spend a lot of time
on it. They care about the story. It’s
not something you rush through to
get to the sex.” And all that focus
on creating a narrative takes a toll.
“I’m exhausted as a director and I’m
not even having sex! So I can’t even
comprehend what they have to deal
with,” St. James commiserates.
The idea of fostering chemistry
between performers is not new for
Bellesa—or for St. James. “You make
sure everyone is happy with whom
they’re working with. But they’re still
not working with that person in the
manner they might want to.”
With Bellesa House, the performers
will dictate the tone of the scene and
the actual sex that they’ll be sharing.
And they’ll also control the wardrobe.
“They’re going to wear what they
want. Obviously, I’m going to say
things like, ‘Don’t wear logos.’ But
for the most part there are no pretty-
girls; it’s not like they have to buy new
underwear. Come as you are. If it’s in
stiletto heels, more power to you. Or
if you wanna wear sweats, that’s fine
too,” she asserts.
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