LOS ANGELES — Adult star Cassidey has left Ninn Worx_SR after a short stint as a contract performer for the company.
Both sides maintain that the split was amicable and that Cassidey simply wanted the freedom to pursue other prospects.
"Cassidey had pretty much made her decision that it was time for her to move on," Ninn Worx head Michael Ninn told AVN. "We knew when she started that we were going to be lucky to have her for as long as she decided to stay, and she has been a true professional. That last scene that she did for The Four with Reno ... that was worth it.
"At the beginning of this, I said, 'She's gonna break my heart,'" Ninn added. "I knew this was going to happen. And dammit she put in a beautiful scene!"
Cassidey announced her decision in a post on her agency's website LADirectNews.com.
"I really enjoyed working with everyone at Ninn Worx_SR, particularly Michael," she wrote. "And working on the epic The Four, Ninn Worx_SR['s] adaptation of the Grecian Spartans battle over the Persian Empire at Thermophylae was a rewarding challenge that I'll always feel proud to have been a part of.
"I am equally excited at again being independent and available to roam around from studio to studio as the directors cast me," the starlet continued. "You know I've always been a rolling stone, right?"
Cassidey signed with Ninn Worx_SR in November 2007. At the time, plans called for her to star in at least four big features in addition to her role in The Four. The studio shipped her starring vehicle Meet Cassidey on March 26.
Cassidey is the third Ninn Worx_SR contract girl to part ways with the company in recent weeks. Jana Jordan and Nikki Kane announced their departures in March.
Ninn Worx_SR CEO John Gray told AVN that the changes in the studio lineup represent a shift away from the contract girl as an economically sound convention in adult.
"When I got into this business, the whole issue of exclusivity seemed kind of puzzling to me," Gray said. "Cassidey's great, and there's no problem with Cassidey whatsoever. And we're certainly not hurting for money, we're a rich company. The problem that I'm having as a business guy is to a large extent [that] exclusivity by a contract girl is largely an egotistical-driven matter by the film company or producer.
"Today, contract girls are unknown to some extent, comparatively speaking, by the general public," he went on. "If we can get the typical girl to work for $1,200 a scene, and if our movies typically have three scenes with her, that's $3,600. And if we're going to do six movies with her in a year, as in the typical contract girl, are we really benefiting by an exclusive contract with a girl to the tune of $40, $50, $60,000 more than you could get the typical girl for a per-scene rate?
"So for us, when Michael went out and he wanted to get all these contract girls, for us to pay them two and a half or three times what their day rate would be for the equivalent, that kind of turned my head to the side. We wanted to put more money in the movie aspect of it, special effects, et cetera. To me, the contract girl is only beneficial to us if we promote the living hell out of her, which is a lot of time and effort, and we're largely pushing movies like The Four, which is more production than artist. You need very good girls, but in The Four, those names aren't carrying it, it's the fact that we dumped a shitload of money in CGI, the musical score, et cetera. So my goal is, it may not be a Jenna Jameson or Tera Patrick in it, but by god, it's not gonna look any different than 300 did for $130 million in the mainstream theater.
"Cassidey's a great girl, all those five that Michael had are great," Gray concluded. "I just couldn't justify in my own mind the difference in money over and beyond the day rate. Particularly in today's market, where everybody's selling fewer out the door and for a lesser price, I didn't think it made sense."
David Sullivan contributed to this story.
