On the Set: 'American Hustle XXX' (Smash Pictures)

This article will appear in the September issue of AVN magazine.

Click here to see a gallery of on-the-set photos by Rick Garcia.

In mid-March, at the tail end of what passed for winter this year, the heat was on for Will Ryder and Scott David of X-Play. Not only were the adult parody producers shooting "Innocent": Not Traci Lords XXX; they were also in the middle of a comic homage to David O. Russell's American Hustle for Smash Pictures. For the occasion Ryder had cooked up a script with 20 scenes involving 16 players. And the team planned to shoot it all in two days.

Sounds daunting, but it was still almost twice as long as they took for 2013's Not the Wizard of Oz XXX.

One challenge here would be coming up with the wardrobe and makeup to transport his cast to the late 1970s and early 1980s, when Russell's movie was set—but that probably wouldn't be a stretch for the men behind Not the Bradys XXX. But given the complexity of the original material—with its script loosely based on the FBI's ABSCAM operation—one thing would be certain: there would be a lot more dialogue than usual for Ryder to coax out of his cast.

AVN stopped by to take in a bit of the action: one sex scene, a setup with lots of dialog that involved most of the main characters, and some voiceovers.

As in the original, the narration is key. The story is told by con artists Irving Rosenfeld and Sydney Prosser—played in the original by Christian Bale and Amy Adams and essayed handily in the XXX version by Tommy Gunn and Penny Pax.

In their narration Gunn and Pax explain the hustle, which conveniently involves plenty of sex with hookers. "It was like taking candy from a baby," Gunn's character explained in voiceover. "Guys were eager to part with their hard-earned cash and there was no end in sight. We couldn't believe how easy this was. At least the guys got some pussy."

One of those guys is played by Eric John. Given the choice between a boat trip and a session where pro Luna Star rides his cock, his character chooses the latter. As they get ready to shoot, adult performer Jack Vegas—who's serving as production manager and also taking a non-sex role—checks over the details of the hotel room where John and Star meet.

Also there are director Ryder, cinematographer Miles Long, a sound man, and producer David, who's responsible for costumes and set design. David has worked hard on the look of the movie, picking up wardrobe items on eBay and in thrift stores and vintage shops. He's also dealing with the complexities of various vintage hairdos.

"We're exact opposites," he says of Ryder. "You can't get two more different people. You don't see me watching the scene. I'd be saying, 'Let's get out of here.' For him it's a playground."

Eric John hits the set wearing a forest green leisure suit; Luna Star is in a bright purple crocheted jumpsuit and clear Lucite stilettos.

"I have four whole days of pent-up sexual energy," Eric John says—which will serve him well, since this is an all-condom shoot and he's got to get through stills and softcore first. Soon the camera rolls and Star crawls across the bed to John and begins giving him a blowjob. "Sucking noises, please," Ryder demands. They run through various positions as Ryder and Long make sure all the action captured is softcore, telling the performers when they need to block the naughty bits.

Then it's time for hardcore, and they work efficiently through standing mish, standing doggy, cowgirl and reverse cowgirl, with Star's pneumatic ass in gear throughout. "We just sprinted through that whole fucking thing," John says. "What haven't we done?'

Finally it's time for the pop, and Eric John delivers like a pro after ripping off the condom.

"Can you show the new guys how to do this?" Ryder ask. This obviously pleases Eric John, who doubtlessly builds his endurance on live shows for his site ErotiqueEntertainment.com.

The next order of business takes place in a restaurant, involving most of the cast. Playing the pivotal role of Roselyn, Irving's wife (Jennifer Lawrence in the original), is Aaliyah Love. The pretty, slender blonde looks amazing in a mint-green jumpsuit with shoes to match. In the role of Richie DiMaso, the FBI agent who hooks Irving and Sydney into working for the feds, is Ryan McLane. Van Wylde—in his first role in a parody—plays Mayor Polito, the politician targeted by the trio—a basically decent guy whom Irving comes to respect even while bringing him down. Pert Carter Cruise is Polito's wife. Also on set are Rio Lee and Tommy Pistol as the gangsters drawn into the sting.

The restaurant set has several booths and small tables. On one end are Gunn, McLane and Wylde; on the other, wives Cruise and Love sit while Penny Pax stands next to their table, wearing a drastically low-cut gold dress. Cameraman Long zooms in on Irving and Carmine as Roselyn flounces by, slurring a bit as she says, "Come on people, let's get this party started." Irving says, "She's loud but she means well," giving an opening for one of the mobsters, played by Tommy Pistol, to chime in: "I happen to like loud women—it makes it easier to hear them."

Ryder runs the dialog again and again. Love, an experienced webcam performer who's relatively new to boy/girl scenes, turned out to be a natural, making her character come alive with few deft touches. Next Ryder turned his attention to veteran actor Pistol, demanding a broader reading for his Italian mobster caricature. "That's a spicy meatball," the director jests, echoing the classic Alka-Seltzer commercial.

Though we didn't get to see any of the six other sex scenes, we did get to witness one priceless moment: when Roselyn gives her husband's girlfriend a deep kiss—one of the most dramatic moments in the mainstream version. For his production, Ryder has Love and Pax do the scene exactly the same a couple of times, with Love saying, "You are such a bitch" before planting her lips on Pax's mouth. Then he stopped the two performers and says, "OK, this time I want you to motorboat her." So Love puts her pretty face into Pax's soft breasts and shakes it—giving the assembled cast a good laugh.

It's not certain which take the director's going to use, but we're looking forward to finding out when the movie comes out.

American Hustle XXX Porn Parody will be released by Smash Pictures on September 4. It also features Mia Austin and Kurt Lockwood, plus James Bartholet and Frank Bukkwyd in non-sex roles.