Canadian distribution veteran/former Private North America head Richard Arnold is spearheading a multi-faceted new studio with AVN Hall of Famer Michael Ninn called Pure Play Media Inc. that is raising eyebrows in the adult world.
"My training is from Canada," Arnold told AVN.com, "and because of the size of the country and relatively small population it is a requirement that to be successful in adult distribution you have to marry product lines together."
Arnold has set up Pure Play similar to golden era United Artists, with each production company controlling content creation and Pure Play supplying the business know-how and sales team.
After spending 17 years helming Canadian adult distributors Software Entertainment, and as part of the Private North America team, Arnold felt the itch to strike out on his own and soon found himself in a Summer 2002 meeting with Ninn.
"I was a fan but I also understood the business potential. So when I saw an opportunity to do something with Michael [I leapt at it]," said Arnold.
And Pure Play Media Inc. was born.
Since then Pure Play has released two Ninnworx titles, Fetish and Lost Angels.
Fetish is a new line directed by Ninn associate Laurent Sky. The first volume, Fetish: The Dreamscape is a two-disc collectors' set featuring a hardcore and an artcore disc.
"Fetish is the epitome of what sets us apart from other people. It represents the next trend. It's highly stylized, it's raw yet has lots of good sex and it's cut to great music. It's the merging of rock and adult videos."
Lost Angels is a new series directed by Ethan Kane, starring Nick Manning and AVN Performer of the Year Nikita Denise. In addition, the debut edition, Lost Angels: Nikita Denise, features the second-ever Playmate to perform in a hardcore movie, Elke Jeinsen, a trend the studio is continuing this trend with their feature Temptation, due in May at press time.
"Michael managed to land Playmates/Penthouse Pets Victoria Zdrock and Lynn Thomas. He attracts people who would not normally be attracted to this industry. The way he shoots it is an artistic event. He has termed his style 'artcore' and it absolutely defines what he does."
Ninn intends to create 24 titles a year for Pure Play Media through his Ninnworx production company. At least four titles a year will be features, with the rest being dedicated to developing series.
"But Pure Play is much more than Ninnworx," Arnold pointed out.
Seymore Butts recently exclusively signed on with the new company, committing to nine titles a year. As part of the agreement, Pure Play helped settle his haunting financial obligations. In return, they were granted the rights to over seventy titles from Butts' catalog, which they are converting into DVD. The deal has seen the release of two brand new Butts titles, Welcome to Casa Butts and Strictly BusinASS, as well the new-to-DVD release of titles such as ASStravaganza, Tunnelvision, Gaps of Wrath and others.
"I must have somebody looking over me, because I got really lucky working with Seymore right when he started the Showtime TV show, Family Business. The fans are coming out of the woodwork and it's just phenomenal."
Another way that Pure Play is reaching out into other arenas is through their deal with Score magazine, a successful Miami-based big breast magazine that has released a slew of specialty DVDs and videos previously only available via mail order. Pure Play has release four Score titles so far to great success, Boobs Ahoy, The Best of Chloe Vevrier, Mega Boob Olympics, and Voluptuous Xtra 2.
"When I brought this deal to Pure Play, [people] thought I was completely out of my mind. They didn't understand it. It's primarily a niche market, but the numbers on Score are unbelievable. There is a lot of pent-up demand for this."
Demand is right. With a team consisting of genre-defying Ninnworx, crossover sensation Butts, and an arsenal of chesty Score women, Pure Play seems poised to be the next big thing. But is America ready for porn-Canadian-style?
"I think so," declared Arnold. "As a result of my years working in Canada I've learned how to put different lines together so that they don't cannibalize themselves and in fact play off of each other and become more successful. We have a nice variety of products and the constant factor is extremely high quality. It's top of the line across the board."
Distributors who wish to obtain more information Pure Play Media Inc. may call Drew Dixon at 866.820.3000. /
