Born in Versailles, France in 1967, François Clousot shot his first short film when he was just nine years old. His early love of movies influenced his later choices in college, and after traveling to Australia, New Zealand, and Caledonia (where he helped create a TV channel) he spent three years studying cinema at the prestigious French film school IDEC. This creative period also saw him working in mainstream films and television as an assistant director.   

After another period of wanderlust, the multi-talented Clousot moved to the United States, where he began establishing himself in the Los Angeles film community by taking virtually every movie-related job he could find, a career strategy that ironically led to him working as a gaffer on numerous early Wicked Pictures productions. Success came early to Clousot, and by age 26 he was working steadily as an adult film director in both the United States and in Europe, where he won the "Hot d'or" in Cannes before his 30th birthday.  

Preferring to live in Los Angeles in recent years, Clousot has received enormous critical acclaim for his work as both a videographer and as a feature filmmaker. In 2005 he began working with increasing frequency for Wicked Pictures as their cameraman of choice, bringing his jeweler's eye for erotic detail to such varied projects as Jonathan Morgan's acclaimed slasher parody "The Camp Cuddly Pines Power Tool Massacre," and Brad Armstrong's shot-on-film historical epic "Eternity."   

With such impressive titles on his resume, it came as no surprise when the 2006 AVN Nominations recognized this visual artisan's skill with a fistful of important nominations, including a Best Cinematography nom for his stunning work on "Eternity."  

Impressed by both the lush tableaus of desire and abandon   he was seeing on screen, and the positive feedback he was hearing from his contract directors regarding Clousot's talent and work ethic, Wicked Pictures President And Owner Steve Orenstein brought Francois into the family full-time in February 2006, making him the company's first contract videographer/director.   

As always, it didn't take long to see that Orenstein's impeccable instincts were once again right on target, with Clousot receiving an impressive array of 2007 AVN nominations, including Best Cinematography for both Armstrong's "Manhunters" and "FUCK," as well as a Best Videography nom for Michael Raven's "The Visitors."   

The end of the year also saw the release of Clousot's first work for Wicked Pictures as a director, the charming jessica drake vehicle "Tiffany's." A visually elegant exercise in sophisticated couples' erotica, the DVD reveals the filmmaker to be as gifted in working with actors as he is in capturing arresting images on film and tape.  

As Clousot enjoyed some of the best reviews of his career for "Tiffany's," further validation came his way in the form of a 2007 AVN Award for his picturesque work on "FUCK."  The stylish, assured direction of his current Wicked Pictures release, the sexy Julia Ann vehicle "Around the World In 7 Days," has proven that "Tiffany's" was no fluke, and left critics near and far praising it as a model of efficient and inventive filmmaking.  

In a career already spanning a quarter of a century, Francois Clousot is happy with his decision to join the Wicked family and continues to fulfill his lifelong goal of working as a "triple threat" screenwriter, videographer, and director.