With autumn squarely upon us, here at AVN we celebrate a different changing of the seasons. September traditionally has been a flurry of activity, with many studios releasing titles by the last day of the month in order to meet the deadline for AVN Awards consideration. This year is certainly no different.
The Fall Preview Issue has been a mainstay of Hollywood movie magazines, so we figured it was high time this publication began its own annual tradition, in a month that adult retailers and porn fans alike circle on their calendars.
The following list of notable fall releases covers movies from a variety of genres, including big-budget feature, parody, comedy, black comedy, thriller, high-end all-sex and gonzo. It represents a cross section of companies, directors, performers and creative visions.
One thing these titles all have in common is buzz: Critics, fans and retailers are going to pay attention when these titles hit the street. And while buzz doesn’t necessarily guarantee blockbuster success or come from a big budget, it’s pretty safe to assume that most of the movies on this list were the most expensive ones each respective studio shot this year. While much has been made about slumping sales, the blockbuster release—and all the marketing hype and hoopla that go along with it—seems to be alive and well.
While predicting blockbuster success is no sure thing, you can bet your bottom dollar that you’ll be hearing a whole lot more about these movies. If you’re a retailer, our advice is to stock these titles deep; if you’re a fan, you’d be wise to add them to your collection.
Alice | Cheeky Monkey Productions/Cal Vista Pictures/Metro Media
Having already hit the street late last month boasting an Editor’s Choice rating in the August AVN, this updating/pornographizing of Alice in Wonderland marks a triumphant rebirth for Metro feature label Cal Vista. It also serves as a felicitous collaboration between visionary directors Erica McLean and Carlos Batts, as well as a pitch-perfect starring vehicle for Porn’s Sweetheart, Sunny Lane. Released in a lavish, two-disc package loaded with extras, Alice is sure to do wonders in Pornoland this fall—especially given its stellar supporting cast including Andy San Dimas, Kimberly Kane, Katie St. Ives and April Flores.
The A-Team XXX: A Parody | Adam & Eve Pictures
Director David Lord has pulled out all the stops for this all-star parody of the popular ’80s TV series. Here, the team—led by Randy Spears as “Cannibal” Smith, and including Evan Stone, a mohawked Tyler Knight and Scotty Lyons as “Morecock”—have to save reporter Bree Olson’s boyfriend Seth Gamble from head bad guy Roy Karch and his minions—and this of course leads to plenty of fights, car chases, gun battles and a 40-foot fall, all helped along by some mainstream stunt people who wish to remain nameless. “We just took our motorcycles and went out in the desert one morning, bought the guys lunch, and they were loving it,” Lord recounted. “Everyone wanted to be a part of this. They’re all real big fans of the TV series.”
BATFXXX: A Dark Night Parody | Bluebird Films
Starring Nick Manning as The Bat, this costume drama takes place in the Dark Knight version of “Gothard City,” where The Jo-kerr (Paul Chaplin) is threatening the citizenry with his dangerous laughing gas, which The Bat and his allies Batchick (Isis Love) and Robina (Krissy Lynn) have to stop—as well as defeat the Jo-kerr’s nefarious pals, Katwoman (Madelyn Marie), Poisen Ivy (Tory Lane) and others. All the popular Batman gadgets are on display, including his cape, which gives him the ability to fly, his laser torch and his “Bat-Grappler” which allows him to climb tall buildings—but are they a match for Katwoman’s whip and Poisen Ivy’s lethal botanical garden? With four orgies and 61 cast members, parody fans will be sure to enjoy this CGI-heavy superhero romp.
Beach Patrol | Jules Jordan/Jules Jordan Video
Jules Jordan possesses the cure for the post-summertime blues—the first volume of his new series, Beach Patrol. Taking his A-game out of the Porn Valley McMansions and to the sunny shores of South Beach for the first time, Jordan is giving his fans a little something different this time around. The lush, natural settings gave Jordan ample opportunity to shoot extended tease sequences on the beach itself before retreating to local beach houses to film the hardcore sex. For a director who has won more awards than he has shelves to put them on, Jordan is mixing things up and keeping it fresh with this release, combining established performers with newbies. Beach Patrol has “gonzo blockbuster” written all over it.
Body Heat | Digital Playground
All five Digital Playground contract girls—Jesse Jane, Riley Steele, Kayden Kross, Raven Alexis and Katsuni—play major roles in Body Heat, a Robby D.-directed big-budget blockbuster. Of course, with such a scalding hot quintet of girls, it’s only appropriate that the requisite contract girl orgy takes place on a fire truck. Giddy with anticipation yet? We sure are. With Robby D. calling this release his “biggest-budget and best,” you can be sure it will be quite the barnburner. Using real fire trucks, ambulances, uniforms and locations, Digital Playground keeps it authentic. “The Body Heat story is intimately engaging and the movie brilliantly acted,” CEO Samantha Lewis said. “It promises to appeal to adult audiences everywhere, especially couples.”
Bonny & Clide | Bluebird Films
Bluebird held a blowout wrap party at its shooting mansion way back in May for this X-rated take on the classic crime drama, and based on the decadence of that swanky affair, one can only hold high hopes for the final product from Paul Chaplin and co. For some, the lure will be getting an imaginary uncensored glimpse at the sort of carousal you just know Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway (back when both were young and hot) got down to rampantly in those days. For others, the star lineup will be more than enticement enough. Directed by Nicolas Steele, this Depression-era period piece stars popular nude model Natasha Marley as Bonny and Paul Chaplin as Clide, with supporting cast including Andy San Dimas, Madelyn Marie, Krissy Lynn, Dylan Ryder, Julia Ann, Jessica Bangkok, Jenny Hendrix, Bobbi Star, Celeste Star, Alexis Texas and Riley Evans. Look for three orgies, as well as Natasha’s first-ever on-camera boy-girl scene, which is sure to have newcomer fans’ guns cocked and ready.
Carbon Girl | Belladonna Entertainment/Evil Angel
After recently moving into a new, spacious downtown L.A. studio, Belladonna found her mind going wild with the possibilities her new production base presented. One of the first products of that creative surge is this phantasmagoric dreamscape in which Bella portrays, in her words, “the female version of a twisted Geppetto.” As a little extra-twisted flourish in keeping with the theme, there’s a scene between Ashli Orion and hot new tranny performer Bailey Jay (the rest of the movie is all-girl). “Carbon Girl is not for everybody,” Bella cautioned, “but it’s fun for us to go there—we love going to dark places. I’m excited for the people who are fans of our movies like Iodine Girl and My Ass Is Haunted, because those fans are definitely going to enjoy it.”
The Condemned | Vivid Entertainment Group
Penned by one of adult’s most acclaimed screenwriters, David Stanley, and helmed by in-house Vivid auteur B. Skow, The Condemned is generating advance buzz as an electrifying powerhouse of a picture. In fact, AVN founder Paul Fishbein has declared it “a modern classic that should stand the test of time.” A sort of fairer-sex Fight Club, the movie centers on an underground band of tough girls who take violent vengeance on perpetrators of crimes against women. Nikki Jayne headlines, with Kimberly Kane, Faye Reagan, Meggan Mallone, Kagney Linn Karter and Tory Lane punching in as just some of the other big names on this bill.
D2: Deviance | skinworXXX/Adam & Eve Pictures
How do you follow up the Best High-End All-Sex Release winner at the 2010 AVN Awards? By making a second one, naturally. Director Joshua told AVN that while the first edition was focused on the now-retired Eva Angelina, D2 is stocked from top to bottom with A-list performers. To wit: Jenna Haze, Nikki Benz, Alexis Texas, Teagan Presley and the return of Adrenalynn after nearly two years away. “Combing your darkest secrets with your most elusive fantasies D2: Deviance is the next evolution in all-sex,” Joshua said. “Gloss and filth collide in D2. The movie isn’t just about darkly lit sets, it’s about dark fantasies that take place outside in broad daylight too.”
The Human Sexipede | Tom Byron Pictures/Evolution Distribution
How does one take perhaps the grossest premise in movie history and turn it into strokeable porn? Leave it to director extraordinaire Lee Roy Myers, a man that’s been mixing humor and hardcore since he arrived on the scene. In his first movie for Tom Byron Pictures, Myers takes on the cult hit The Human Centipede, only this time taking three people (Keni Styles, Sunny Lane and Danica Dillan) who end up being guinea pigs in a mad sexual educator’s twisted experiment to create the human sexipede, which is accomplished via sewing three people together, mouth to genitals. “What would the AVN Awards be without three people surgically attached to each other genitals to genitals?” Myers asked. “I’m hoping to win Most Outrageous Sex Scene.”
Joanna’s Angels 3 | BurningAngel Entertainment/Vouyer Media
When her most beloved male co-star and 2007 AVN Best Male Newcomer Tommy Pistol suddenly announced he was coming out of retirement from performing, Joanna Angel knew what she had to do: immediately crank out the long-awaited third chapter of her signature franchise, Joanna’s Angels. This time around, Joanna and her Angels are out to stop a strange epidemic unleashed upon Los Angeles by Evan Stone and his “Affucktion” clothing line, which is infused with a secret ingredient that turns people into douchebags. Like adult’s answer to Toy Story 3, expect this one to be entirely worth the wait and then some.
Malice in Lalaland | Miss Lucifer Productions/Vivid Entertainment Group
When we first reviewed this title on AVN.com, it had yet to find U.S. distribution, and so we concluded the write-up with a hope that “as many people get a hold of it as any justice would demand.” Considering that Vivid subsequently secured those distribution rights, somehow we suspect that won’t be a problem.
Not Charlie’s Angels XXX | X-Play/Digital Sin
The other big “Angels” movie of the season, this inaugural release of X-Play’s latest distribution pact—with fellow porn parody giant New Sensations/Digital Sin—harks back to the Golden Age of adult cinema, in that it uses the original Charlie’s Angels of the same time period as its source material, rather than the new millennium McG version. And with Andy San Dimas, Sunny Leone and new-to-the-scene blond bombshell Lexi Swallow in the leads—not to mention such scorching supporting players as Heather Starlet, Breanne Benson and Vicki Chase—it should come as no surprise if this turns out to be the biggest runaway blockbuster to date on director Will Ryder’s blockbuster-festooned résumé.
Sanatorium | Orona Stevens Productions/Zero Tolerance
AVN Hall of Famer Tabitha Stevens always has had a dark side. She brings this side to bear in Sanatorium, directed by her other half, Gary Orona. The psychological thriller stars Stevens in a twisted storyline of political intrigue gone awry. The perverted leaders of a corupt system—senators, lawyers and priests whose public images as anti-porn crusaders are in opposition to the lives they lead behind closed doors—get exposed for the hypocrites they are. Sanatorium also stars Kagney Linn Karter, Sara Sloane, Raylene, Francesca Lé, Nick Manning and Ashley Roberts, with non-sex cameos by Ron Jeremy, The Bunny Ranch’s Dennis Hof and The Howard Stern Show’s High-Pitch Eric.
The Sex Files 2: A Dark XXX Parody | Revolution X/Digital Sin
Kimberly Kane reprises her 2010 AVN Best Actress-winning role of Dana Scully for this sequel to the movie that also tied for the honor of AVN’s very first Best Parody award (with X-Play/LFP’s Not the Cosbys XXX). Sex Files 2, however, is actually a prequel containing appearances by some of the most celebrated characters among X-Philes, including the Cigarette Smoking Man, Alex Krycek and the Lone Gunmen. Also back are Anthony Rosano as Mulder and director/X-Files aficionado Sam Hain, who pledges that “if you’re a fan of the series and of adult material, in theory, you could have these two adult films fit into continuity with the actual series.” Them’s big words, but hey, we can believe …
Speed | Wicked Pictures
In director Brad Armstrong’s most mainstream production to date, Kirsten Price plays the youngest daughter of a family of motorcycle enthusiasts, whose father (F.J. Lincoln) is in prison, and the cops enlist Kirsten to spy on other biker gangs to get her dad a reduced sentence. Along the way, she meets an Asian gang, a black gang, a white gang and a “rebel” gang,, each of which has one or more Wicked girls as members ... which of course leads to a massive orgy before the credits roll. Top production values—they even closed down freeways and bridges for this shoot—and hot performances make for what is sure to be a fan favorite.
‘Superstar September’ | Elegant Angel
Elegant Angel knows the meaning of blockbuster with the return of Superstar September. The month features four star-driven movies, including Asa Akira in her first anal scene; Jayden Jaymes in three anal scenes; Rachel Starr in her first anal scene; and Tori Black, returning from last year’s award-winning movie, Tori Black Is Pretty Filthy, in her first double-penetration scene. All four titles also will be simultaneously released in a box set with special packaging. With all of the four movies directed by either Mason or William H., Elegant Angel is banking on star power to sweep it through a spectacular month.
This Ain’t Avatar XXX 3D | Hustler Video
A lush 3D homage to the sci-fi extravaganza that’s become the highest-grossing mainstream film of all time, Avatar XXX is directed by Axel Braun and written by Marc Star. The parody (or perhaps it’s more properly called an homage) stars popular actor Chris Johnson as the main human character, “Jake,” with Misty Stone as Chris’s native love interest.
This article originally ran in the September 2010 issue of AVN.
