Page 40 - AVN SEPTEMBER 2024

“These are stars and you have to let them shine.”
More than two decades later, Jonni Darkko tells AVN his approach to any given day on the set has become simple.
He just wants to have fun.
“That’s where I’m at with everything,” Darkko says. “I just want to have great days.”
That happens more often than not for one of adult entertainment’s most prolific directors, who
toasted a career milestone this summer.
Darkko in June celebrated 20 years at Evil Angel, where his signature brand of hardcore has
helped define the greatest era of gonzo filmmaking.
A 2016 inductee into the AVN Hall of the Fame, the native of Chicago made an immediate impact
at the legendary studio with his first release, Angels of Debauchery, in the summer of 2004, less than a year after he made his directorial debut for New Sensations.
He has since called the shots on hundreds more titles that have been distributed worldwide by Evil Angel, earning critical acclaim, dozens of industry awards and a global following for his glamorous, delightfully dirty aesthetic.
“It’s been a crazy 20 years,” Darkko says. “It’s been a great time and I give props to [Evil Angel founder] John Stagliano for making it happen and for giving me the ability to do what I wanted to do and not dictate anything, just letting me do my thing.
“It’s had its ups and downs and some struggles, but I’ve persevered through everything and been able to maintain my business when a lot of other people came and went.”
When Stagliano first signed Darkko, the studio mogul called him “maybe the best cameraman I’ve ever seen in porn.”
“He really understands how to use natural light, composition, pacing, and the best camera angles to capture great sex,” Stagliano said at the time.
Fast forward to 2024 and Darkko gets excited talking about the star showcases he’s shooting this summer with two of his favorite stars—Jennifer White and Natasha Nice.
In fact he likes working with White so much that he embarked on his second showcase with her in the past two years on the heels of the ball-draining epic, Deep Inside Jennifer White, that hit the streets in July 2023.
“There’s no one in the business that does more than Jennifer White,” Darkko says. “She shoots more than anyone by a mile and she is consistently amazing. So I just absolutely love working with her. She has a sense of humor and we have great fun on set.
“I appreciate what she does and her vigor for doing amazing scenes. She wanted to do another one and we said fuck it, we do great business together and I actually enjoy when I go to set with her. I have no-stress days.”
Darkko reveals that this year’s White showcase will consist of three extended scenes—two gangbangs and an airtight.
“We just kind of want to maximize what she does with the group scenes,” he says. “That’s her jam and it’s what people watch and comment on the most. So I thought it was a good idea to do something that was really in her wheelhouse. I like shooting group scenes.”
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