SIMI VALLEY—Movies featuring interpersonal relationships are the fastest-growing new genre in adult, in part because women, after years of hovering around being just 20 percent of retail store customers, are a fast-growing demographic—and companies are eager to give them what they want to see.
But for many companies, relationships between characters have always been secondary to plot, and the retooling necessary to attract this new market has forced adult directors to reexamine both their methods and objectives in movie-making.
A relationship movie “is much harder,” admitted Stormy Daniels on the set of The Fate of Love, her second movie for Wicked Pictures' romance line, Wicked Passions. "I have to direct the performers a lot more; I have to keep them in the right space; I have to make sure they stay on the right path; I have to make sure they maintain that connection. Also, speaking of the sex stuff, the performers are so trained on how to be sex performers—open up to camera; cheat open; arch your back; point your toe; look over your shoulder so we can see your face; make sure we can see the penetration; let the light in.
“And when you're doing all that,” she explained, “it automatically disconnects you with the person because you're trying to connect to the viewer. So if the girl's in cowgirl, usually, you would want her to look over her shoulder so the guy at home can see her pretty face. Here, if a girl is looking over her shoulder, there is no connection to her partner, so they're having to relearn and basically do everything they think is wrong, everything they've been taught. And when you have performers who've been around for a very long time, they're just trained a certain way, and you have to just keep going, 'No, no, no, don't look back; don't worry about cheating open; maintain eye contact.'"
That scenario isn't just difficult for directors; it’s also tough on performers.
"First of all, it's just harder acting-wise to handle the dialogue and the crying and the emotions," Stormy observed. "Anyone can get on camera and make a jackass out of themselves. As long as you have a little bit of comedic timing, comedy's easier to do, because if you mess up, it's funny. It's hard to go to a place and be comfortable in a dark enough place to portray those types of emotions; you have to dig pretty deep. And as far as the sex goes, it's two things. First of all, most of us are friends, so it's hard to have romantic love, to make that change to being passionate with someone you regard as a buddy. And then I think a lot of performers are used to sort of detaching, and that's how they separate the 'this is work' from the 'this is my real life' relationship, and I'm asking them not to do that here. Some are very good at it and some have a little harder time with it."
From what we saw, performers Kirsten Price and Rocco Reed have successfully made the leap. The pair play star-crossed lovers—he because his wife (April O'Neil) has recently died in a tragic accident; she because she keeps a dark secret: She's had a heart transplant and fears she's “damaged goods”—and The Fate of Love is the story of how they attempt to overcome their individual pains.
The scene we saw occurs late in the story, with Kirsten bedding Rocco for the first time. Look for lots of kissing—of lips, neck, breasts and, of course, his mouth on her pussy—which inspires her to return the oral sentiment. From there, the pair engage in missionary, doggie, cowgirl and spoon, with his hands exploring every inch of her body and her frequently caressing him, until he finally ejaculates on her pussy. It's a beautiful scene, made more so by the actors' ability to convey a psychic connection.
Supporting cast includes Alexa Nicole ("I've always wanted to do a movie where she and Kirsten play sisters,” said Stormy, “because they look so much like sisters anyway"); Ash Hollywood, Seth Gamble and Bill Bailey.
The Fate of Love will be released by Wicked Pictures on Sept. 21.
