She is not your typical adult star.
Oh, the characteristics are all there: pretty face, curvaceous figure, boundless sexuality. But those are the essentials most adult stars use as badges of attraction granting them the inalienable right to create sensual fantasy. What she brings is something else - call it a much-needed gusto - to the often-dull fricassee of adult entertainment. And if there is a standard perception about the life style of women in the adult industry, and we know that there is, hers is surely an exception to that notion. Hers is a story about the business of pleasure, a tale better told by the Wall Street Journal than Hustler.
She is not your father's porn star.
While the ambition for many a starlet goes no further than the bed on which they perform, she is among a handful who are wise to the strengths of the adult market and have parlayed success of the naked variety to that of a confluence of business deals and corporate strategies. When she says 'places to be and people to see,' she means it: The cell phone rings incessantly, the PDA has become a valued assistant, her production schedule is jam-packed with personal appearances and photo shoots that leave little time for relaxing, and her calendar is getting more and more crowded by the day.
So, yes, just in case you were wondering - Devinn Lane is very busy.
***
It's a warm summer day, and I'm standing outside the office waiting for Lane to pick me up. Due to her busy schedule, she thought it would be a good idea that I tag along on some errands.
Through the haze, a sleek, fire-engine-red truck pulls into the parking lot. Lane sits behind the wheel. Her smile says, "Let's get this show on the road."
Even without make-up and dressed rather casually, she's stunning. At first glance, she resembles Sex and the City's Kristin Davis, but not as dainty; with the right hat and ponytails, she might look like Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island, but with bigger breasts.
Otherwise, Lane could be any young career woman. Always on the go, trying to juggle a life comprised of business, pleasure, and in this instance, family. Being an adult star is beside the point. If anything, it simply adds to the plot. But she has been connected, in one facet or another, to the adult business for the better part of her young adult life.
And just as the adult industry has broadened its scope, cementing itself as a lucrative and legitimate market, so too has the girl whose name appears above the title of her movies.
Lane has enjoyed a vibrant two-and-half-year career with Wicked Pictures, signing on as a contract player on Jan. 1, 2000. The company has not only helped to author her ascent, but also afforded the opportunity for her creative talents to flourish. With the titles of director, producer, and all around creative guru added to her slate of acting duties, she is a multi-hyphenated entertainer, the Jodie Foster of the X-rated set.
As we navigate toward the highway, I inquire about her choice of automobile. I'd stereotypically assumed that she would be whisking me around town in a garish two-seat convertible, but she informs me that the flatbed truck is a lot easier for lugging production equipment from one location to the other. In other words, this gal doesn't mind getting her hands dirty.
Weaving through traffic, she gives me the latest skinny on the building of her new company, Trilane Productions, Inc. Her very own AOL/Time Warner, if you will. After rigorous and downright absurd legal dust-ups with cyber-squatters and the like, she finally trademarked her name six ways from Sunday to ensure that no one treads on her nom de plume.
For her, it's just another mini battle on the warpath to constructing a successful business. "I'm planning for the future," she says, "and working toward creating a business that makes a lot of money. With that come the vultures."
Though she may steer her corporate ship in a number of directions, she says her focus is likely to remain with adult entertainment and the Internet.
The wheels are already turning. She believes that the X chromosome set may be the source of the Golden Egg. "I think capturing a large female audience is ultimately the key to success in the future," she opines. "You are finding more and more women accepting adult material these days.
"The 18 to 25-year-old male market will always be there," she continues. "That's easy to sell. The harder people to sell to are the women and the couples, and they are starting to come around."
Spoken like a true mogul in the making. As we take the off ramp, I wonder if an issue of Forbes might be in the truck somewhere.
What's interesting about Lane is her devotion to The Plan, a skein of her life objectives. "I set up five-year goals," she says, but she doesn't like to schedule past five years because to her it seems "slightly unrealistic." As for her current five-year stretch, which is at its mid-point, "I'm on track," she notes confidently.
Much of her get-up-and-go attitude can be attributed to a healthy dose of competitiveness. "I always win, I played sports in school, and I'm patient," she says.
The cool precision of her focus is downright irresistible. Part of her charm is that while she can be as genteel as an autumn day, she can also whip up a tornado of hellfire in a split second. That's not to imply she has diva issues; it's an honest assessment that Lane is no pushover, but rather a smart and sassy young woman who relishes a good tete-a-tete.
When I comment on her "need to succeed," she tells me that her two greatest motivators are boredom and anger. "Nothing gets me fired up more than being bored," she says, "and if you - so help me god - piss me off, then you better watch the fuck out because I will come up from behind, and I will win."
We arrive at our destination, 20th Century Props in Burbank. She's in pre-production on episodes three and four of her naughty, variety show-inspired series, The Devinn Lane Show, and we're here to find set d�cor.
The mega warehouse offers one-stop shopping for every conceivable piece of furniture, lighting, and whatnot imaginable. Chrys - decked out in cowboy hat and boots, and just back from Nebraska - is our guide.
Sizing up beanbag chairs in a dark warehouse might not be as hip as posing for half-naked photos on a Jamaican beach, but things are different when you're the boss, and this is business. As we zigzag through a maze of long corridors, I realize I'm always a step behind. She's on to desk chairs while I'm still perusing lamps. I catch up as she surveys a necropolis of couches, one of which will become a vital component in a future sex scene. Lucky couch.
As she hastily checks her leather-bound notebook for varying missives regarding set design, I can sense ten anomalous thoughts running amok in her brain at once. Then she is off and running again while I try to keep up.
After some additional neck craning at lampshades, Lane and I bid adieu to Chrys, and head out the door to lunch.
Waiting at a stop sign, I ask Devinn about her decision to direct the February 2002 debut of The Devinn Lane Show. Why, I wonder, does she continually add projects and responsibilities to her already hectic schedule?
"I never make it easy for myself just because there's no challenge," she says, keeping a sharp eye on the traffic. "I pick areas where it's hard to succeed, and conquer them."
Turning right, she adds, "It's the Aries in me."
But those qualities derive from more than just being a lucky winner in the Astrological sweepstakes. She describes herself as having "strong survival instincts," having dealt with, as she puts it, "a lot of high highs and low lows.
"I have had all kinds of life experiences that most [young] people haven't had to go through," she says, "like the death of a parent, being out on my own at a very early age, and supporting myself. And with that I have become a stronger person."
As we cruise the streets of Burbank, I ask if there's anyone she might compare herself to. (Dumb question, but it's either that or, 'If you were a tree...?')
Her response is typically succinct: Sigourney Weaver's character in the film Working Girl. Lane digs Weaver's Katherine Parker, whom she describes as "the evil temptress with a just little bit of attitude."
Homogeny understood.
The restaurant is crowded; it's a weekday noon, after all. As we sit among the hungry masses, waiting for a table to clear, I can't help but notice the stares directed at Devinn; such is the lure of beauty and/or fame. A few stray pairs of eyes move off Lane and glance my way; an acknowledgment, I suppose, of just how lucky I am to be enjoying a meal with her.
Our lunch is an easygoing affair. She has a big salad, I have the ravioli. The conversation is full of casual opinions and random chitchat.
We cover a variety of interesting topics: Her Website ("I'm not interested in trading content"), my favorite Wicked film (Vegas or Bust), the promptness of Gregory our waiter, current industry scuttlebutt, and her former career as a dominatrix ("In order to be a good top, you have to be a good bottom first").
Happy and contented after our meal, Lane decides we should head across the street to IKEA, mother ship of Swedish furniture, to browse funky floor lamps and all things beech colored.
The trek through the cavernous store is quick and thorough. There's no dilly- dallying around. Lane knows what she wants, but for today at least, IKEA comes up snake eyes for her.
During the long drive back to the office, Lane speaks open and honestly about her life, the struggles she has endured and overcome while climbing the ladder of success.
"For me, being in this industry is not just a matter of being successful as much as it is that I feel the need to prove that you can be in this business and you can be intelligent; you can be a productive person in society, you can be a good neighbor, you can be a good parent, you can treat it just like any other business, and should be treated just like anybody else."
The actress in Lane has benefited from life's emotional roller coaster. "I'm given a script, I look at a character, and I go 'how do I relate to this character? 'What life experience can I pull from to bring this out?
"There has not been, so far, not one character that I have not been able to relate to."
***
An Internet presence might not be an absolute necessity in the pursuit of triple-X glory, but one look at the top 20 adult superstars (regardless of who's list you subscribe to) and there is a Website address not far from the name. Vanity site or not, a proper Website is tantamount to a 24-hour-a-day/seven day-a-week public relations campaign.
Wicked Interactive (www.wickedia.com), the Internet business arm of Wicked Pictures, is a vital element of Wicked's revenue model and that of the careers of its contract stars, offering fans and casual partisans yet another outlet for content, content, and more content.
As Director of Wicked's Internet Division, Richard Naimy plots the course for the company's Web endeavors, which began in 1998. "We started with the Jenna J [Jameson] site and went right into developing WickedPictures.com," says Naimy, seated next to Lane and Wicked publicist Daniel Metcalf in a cozy conference room at Wicked headquarters.
While WickedPictures.com is the flagship destination for Wicked Pictures online, membership does not include access to the contract girls' Websites. However, there is synergy in the form of specified content, such as Lane's Web chat archives, which air on the company site as well as Lane's.
Content is the key, and having access to Wicked's video and photo library plays a primary role in keeping the six Websites fresh and provocative. With some 300 titles in Wicked's library, Naimy's team is able to position new downloadable film titles on the girls' sites each week.
There is design continuity between Websites, and Naimy points out the joint effort between star and Internet division in shaping each site to fit a desired style and personality. "Some of the content overlaps," he says, "but with her [Lane's] site, she has a daily diary, her personal content, and she has Devinn Lane TV, which broadcasts images from her home."
Naimy adds, "We couldn't do it without the girls' help and support."
At Wicked On Demand (www.wickedod.com), Webmasters can strike up a relationship (be it business or pleasure) with access to interactive tools, online services, exclusive content, and affiliate programs. A Video On Demand catalog offers full length, full screen movies, customized with DVD quality features.
And although she has not been a contract star for Wicked in some time, Jenna Jameson remains a hot property for the company, especially the Internet division, which hosts Jenna Vision, a valued collection of streaming videos and image galleries.
Even though Wicked Interactive built Lane's Website, she has played a major role in its development, all the while infusing her own creative spin. "She'll shoot me some e-mails, and I'll have it up on the site that day," says Naimy, commenting on the constant exchange of ideas with Lane.
"I think it's important once a year to do an upgrade," says Lane, as the talk of her site elicits a creative rush. "I'm really getting into this whole message board thing. The message board is very cool, and I see a lot of sites popping up with it."
Naimy thinks big. His vision is to embrace cutting-edge technology and take the Wicked formula of high-end entertainment to the people. "I want to reach every person and let them know about our product, just try to do the best marketing job we can, get out there, get people involved, teach them about the industry and get them open to it."
With his team of five, Naimy has worn many hats in the four years he's spent building a strong Internet entity. He has witnessed the gradual emergence of a traditional brick-and-mortar adult company jumping hip deep into the wacky world of the Web, and formulating an identity.
Asked about day-to-day operations, Naimy says, in a somewhat comic, exhaustive tone, "A lot of coding." But he does point out that the construction of a mega database helps in the daily maintenance of the sites. "The database really helped streamline our efficiency. No more hand-coding. Now it's all dynamic."
From posting news and events, scanning chromes, and encoding videos to answering e-mails and handling customer support, Wicked Interactive is always busy.
"We really have to work together as a team," says Naimy. "And that's one of the great things here is that everybody has great team work. We all have a really good time."
Naimy knows the technology boom is the lifeline for what he and team can do with Wicked Interactive. He preaches careful study of new trends and understands that patience is vital as the world continues to link up.
"We always stand back and figure out what is a good route to go.
"But," he adds, "we are always forward-thinking."
Lane understands full well that not being online means not being in the game. Her revolution will be digitized. "If I play my cards right, I will be able to live off of my Website for the rest of my life," she says.
Working closely with the Wicked Interactive team, Lane has nuzzled up to the Web's countless possibilities and in doing so, cultivated a palpable Internet presence.
***
Devinn.com is the "official" site of Devinn Lane. Like her, it's awash with energy and shines with individuality. And though Wicked Interactive designed the site upon her signing as a contract player, increasingly Lane has co-opted the role of creative director in shaping the site's evolution. "Obviously I work well with others, but when it comes to really making something and creating something, it has to be mine," she says. "I need to be directly involved - with the success or the failure."
With a redesign set to bow in early September, Lane's artistic renovations will result in a Website that has an edgy, more modern style.
Still, with Lane, the basic elements, which gel into top-notch usability, are what counts. "The site is easy to read, it's easy to navigate, and the tour tells you everything in just a few pages," said Lane. "I hate going to sites where the tour is like eight pages long. A tour shouldn't be any longer than four pages."
Lane says new features such as message boards, a revamped and "even sexier" Webcam show, and an online auction section would be introduced in the upgrade.
Comparing the design, content, and functionality of Lane's Website to those of the industry's other premier starlets, Devinn.com ranks fairly high. Because she's eager to catch inspiration while surfing other sites, Lane keeps a pad and pen handy for her own brand of idea sketching. "I see what's out there and then I sit down with my paper, and I literally draw stick figures because I'm not really an artist," says a chuckling Lane. "Then I hand it to my graphics designer and say, 'Okay, here's what I want to do.'"
She adds: "But I do draw everything out for my site, as far as what I want it to look like before I get the designer involved."
Because her acclaim is indigenous to the traditional video/film side of pornography, the Website is merely an aftereffect of her initial success. Like so many of her contemporaries who utilize a Website to amplify their wares to mean themselves as living brands Lane's site could be construed as a spin-off niche. Still, the site is unique thanks to a wealth of personality that shines throughout and with Lane's vow to give her fans something fun and original.
"The other girls that have what I think of as 'star sites,' with the pictures, the models and all that, but I try to give a little of both...some pro and some amateur," said Lane. "Because you capture all audiences."
She continues, " For me, the Web is something different, it's not one set thing. I have pictures on my site of me with no make-up, waking up in the morning, and I put those photos up because I'm not embarrassed, and I'm not afraid to push that envelope. I think a lot of girls that are successful in this industry are, or they don't want to be seen without make-up, and that puts them... I think... someplace different than me."
A firm commitment on Trilane Inc.'s business plan is still a work in progress, but Lane does have a general idea of how she wants her Web interests to operate. Whereas some stars have launched their own production shingle, replete with contract girls, mega productions and the like, Lane figures to shy away from traditional content production and follow the lead of an online entrepreneur she has worked closely with in the past, Danni Ashe.
"I've known her [Ashe] since I was just a magazine girl, and I just watched how she dealt with people, how her company was growing, and I knew that she was a pioneering figure," said Lane. "The difference between Danni and me is that her site is all softcore, and I think it's possible to do something like her site, but to have hardcore content as well."
Lane reiterates her point on how the Internet can be tapped for great �clat. "If you set it up properly, you can live off the Internet for a number of years," she says, "and Danni is a perfect example."
Lane harkens back to her years in the domination sub-culture as helping to shape her style of negotiation and business savvy. The basics of such a lifestyle have taught Lane to stand her ground both on and off screen. She is but a select few who only perform with women on camera.
"There will always be plenty of people out there that are never going to be tired of watching girl-on-girl sex," she said. "It's a matter of grasping that market and saying, 'These are the people I want to sell to, these are my fans, these are the people I wanna love and theses are the people that want to love me.'"
Lane also rejects the theory that one must splatter their content all over the Web to catch the surfers' eyes. Instead, she places a high priority on keeping her image under close watch. "If you keep your content exclusive, it's just more valuable to you. I think one of the worst things a girl can do is trade content with a lot of people. Because then it's not exclusive to your site, it's not special."
She continues, "If you're shooting with a bunch of photographers, that's great, but if you're actually creating the content yourself, then there's still that personal touch, that extra work that you put into it to make something for yourself and to give to your fans, and I think people really appreciate it."
Lane says it's always been about pleasing the consumer, the fan base that has supported her from the beginning. She is adamant about her connection to admirers, especially where the Web is concerned because, she says, it tends to lack the visual immediacy of traditional video.
"Bottom line," she says, "I want people to be able to relate."
***
Two-and-a-half years into her stint with Wicked, Devinn's a bit awed that she remains a top draw performer. She says few girls are often successful past the two-year marker, an indication of burnout.
"The creative freedom is what keeps me going," she remarks. "As soon as I lack the ability to be creative, I'll get tired."
Lane is, perchance, as happy as she's ever been. Many of the voids in her life are full now and dreams have become accomplishments.
"I have definitely struck a balance, but I'm not sure why," she tells me as we sit outside a local coffeehouse. "Who knows, it could because of my upbringing, because of things I've learned on my own, people I know. But it hasn't taken place because of one person or one incident."
It would come as no big surprise should Lane become a motivational speaker, recounting life lessons and offering precious encouragement to others. Or perhaps one day she'll write a book. She's had enough joy and tumult already to fill at least nine chapters.
And when you least expect it, she surprises you with a treat, a tiny glimpse into her soul. "If I were ever a thief, I would specialize in picking locks," she discloses. "I can also forge signatures really well, and I remember numbers like nobody's business."
Visions of blackjack tables in Las Vegas flash before me. I mention a card scheme and she laughs, adding, "Yeah, we could make a lot of money."
There is a quality to Lane difficult to ascertain. She is both dazzling and detailed. An enigma? That's a bit dramatic, but there is mystery in her eyes, like someone in on a big secret. Call it the triple-X factor. I come away with the knowing that she has a progressive design for her future, whether in film or on her Website, one built on passion and hard work. Her maturity has been a benefit since striking out on her own at 18. Adrift at times, indulging in youth, it took Lane awhile to learn about the world, but she found her way. Motherhood, too, will make one determined and responsible.
Perhaps she's just like the Fun Fearless Female Cosmopolitan magazine spotlights each month.
As we get ready to leave, and I assemble my belongings, I realize Devinn is already up and walking back to the shiny red truck. Again, I am a step behind.
Aren't we all?
