GRANADA HILLS, Calif. - Pulpo Inc. is in post-production on its third feature release, Dirty Queen. Shot with twin Red One digital cine-cameras over a six day period, the high-tech, high concept film raises the bar on adult features and establishes Andres Tabogo as adult's most exciting and innovating director. AVN caught up with Tabogo at his editing facility in Granada Hills to get a first look at Pulpo's latest trailblazer.
"The Red One cameras show me everything; they don't miss a thing. You have to prepare every shot carefully when you shoot," Tabogo explained. "Make-up is airbrushed because you can see regular brush strokes on the faces of the performers. They make these cameras to catch every detail."
Developed by the Red Digital Cinema Camera Company, Red One cameras provide the quality of 35mm film with the convenience of digital. Notable directors such as Steven Soderbergh and Peter Jackson are heralding the technology as the future of Hollywood filmmaking. Soderbergh's upcoming Ernesto ‘Che' Guevara bio-pics, Guerilla and The Argentine, were shot entirely with Reds, and this summer's Angelina Jolie vehicle Wanted features selected Red-shot sequences.
On Tabogo's monitor, an extravagant salsa dance number is cued. Every detail, from the grooves on a vinyl record to the reflection in a dancer's shoe, is eye-popping. "Everything-everything-is in focus," Tabogo enthused. "It's amazing."
Tabogo informs us that the dancers hired for the scene are all professional, except for starlet Penny Flame who, regardless, "definitely has rhythm." They dance to reggaeton recording artist Don Omar's popular Latin radio hit ‘Dile.'
"In most porn movies, the music comes from a library or they compose it themselves to not pay for rights," said Tabogo. "We have a deal with Miami Records. Salsa, reggaeton, mariachi-we have access to real artists."
When Penny Flame reappears on the monitor, she is sucking cock in the salsa club's bathroom. "I always pick the smallest places to shoot," Tabogo laughed. "It takes time to shoot scenes like that because we use so many lights and two cameras-sometimes on a crane. The performers aren't used to doing that. It freaks them out."
But Tabogo doesn't mind taking his time to capture what he needs. Nor does he feel the talent will regret the long hours on set when they see the finished product. "When they see what is created, they are always surprised and excited by how it looks," he explained. "We're a small company, but we like to make big movies."
Last year, with the release of Black Worm and Dolores of My Heart, Pulpo acquired a devout following of fans, multiple award nominations, and an exclusive distribution deal with 20-year industry powerhouse IVD/Pleasure. A non-X-rated cut of Worm scored the studio a Best R-Rated Adult Film award at the Venus Berlin show in October.
Dirty Queen continues Pulpo's commitment to story and style, but takes its approach to sex to newer ground with the inclusion of orgies, DP's, and anal sex. "Last year, we put out two movies and some people said, ‘the sex is too soft because you never did porn before,'" recalled Tabogo. "So, with this one, I want to show them that if we didn't do the porn before it was because we didn't want to do it-not because we can't. We have a lot of hard, explicit sex in Dirty Queen."
If the skull fuck Flame is enduring on the monitor is any indication, Tabogo means business.
"These movies are stressful to do," confessed Tabogo. "This movie [Dirty Queen] has more expensive cameras, more locations, more talent, and more crew. It's a very challenging production. But we do it because we're proud of our work."
Dirty Queen is slated for a May release. Cast includes Nina Mercedez, Rebecca Linares, Penny Flame, Brooke Banner, Tanya James, Carolyn Reese, Pleasure contract girl Tera Wray, Tony DeSergio, Derrick Pierce, Van Damage, and Tommy Gunn.
Pulpo's next project will be the epic period piece De Sade, an adult adaptation of the Marquis de Sade's works.