Mainstream television audiences learned from the man himself what it took to make Vivid Video's name and reputation - not to mention what it takes to become a Vivid Girl - when Entertainment Tonight profiled the adult film studio and its mastermind Steve Hirsch on an April 30 segment of the popular entertainment news program.
The three keys, Hirsch told ET, were reviving the contract-player tradition Hollywood abandoned for adult entertainment; going outside the adult box for packaging design and art; and, shooting on film almost exclusively.
"We did the exclusive contracts that really had never been done before" in adult entertainment, Hirsch told the program. "The first one was done with Ginger Lynn and then we continued on from there. Plus we went outside the adult-film industry for mainstream packaging. We wanted our stuff to look different than everything else out there. And, along with that, shooting on film gave us a different look. You put those three things together, you come up with a product that's unique and different and you start to build a brand."
And, with Vivid performers earning anywhere between $40,000 and $200,000 a year - with some, especially gigastar Jenna Jameson making themselves into multi-millionaires by capitalizing on their images with savvy and, as Jameson put it, staying focused on goals - just how does one become a Vivid Girl? Three ways, Hirsch told ET: a unique look, strong marketing, and believable sexuality.
"You have to have a unique look, something that's not really out there; I think if you look at our girls you'll see that they're different than any other girls in the industry," Hirsch told the program. "I think they have to be marketed properly; you have to take each girl and see what her strengths are and focus on them. And then sexually, they have to be believable sexually and they have to be doing it more for just the money; it has to come through on-screen that they enjoy their work."
The ET crew interviewed Hirsh and Jameson while visiting a photo set for technology business magazine Business 2.0, where Hirsch, Jameson, Savanna Samson, Sunrise Adams and Kira Kener posed for a cover and an inside layout. The cover and layout will be out in June. (Scott Ross contributed to this report)
