CANOGA PARK, Calif. – Pulpo Inc. has wrapped production on its third high-end adult feature, Dirty Queen. Shot entirely with Red One cameras over six days, the film is director Andres Tabogo’s latest mix of sex, story, and style.
“We have more cameras, more crew, and more performers,” said Tabogo, “I didn’t want to compromise our quality because people already know our product—and we value their support.”
Pulpo pulled in a healthy share of market interest last year with Black Worm and Dolores of My Heart. The features not only garnered Pulpo a devout following of fans and multiple award nominations, they secured an exclusive distribution deal with 20-year industry powerhouse IVD/Pleasure in late 07.
Like Worm, Dirty Queen explores the sometimes sinister, often compromised, lives of characters caught in the undercurrent of high-stakes criminal life. “Nina Mercedes plays the Dirty Queen, the daughter of a big mafia guy in South America,” Tabogo explained. “Some news reporters have followed him to his homeland. The story takes place during the 24 hours they are there investigating him.”
Mercedez met Tabogo and business partner Mako at last year’s AEE.
“I had seen Black Worm and knew they were doing something completely different than anyone else,” said Mercedez. “Their production is bigger than Vivid and bigger than some of the stuff Wicked does. Vivid and Wicked tend to keep it porn, but Pulpo put extras in it that mainstream movie productions would do. I really wanted to work with them.”
Tabogo cast the role of the Dirty Queen carefully. “I wanted a performer that exuded confidence and attitude—She’s a bad girl,” explained Tabogo, “Nina had that maturity. She did an amazing job.”
After shooting for three days, Mercedez walked away from the set impressed with Tabogo’s work ethic. “They’re new to this, but they’re very understanding. They work with you. I like Andres a lot as a director. He tells you exactly what he wants which is something a lot of directors have a problem getting across when it comes to capturing the acting. I had a great experience.”
Along with Mercedez, Dirty Queen stars Pleasure contract girl Tera Wray, Brooke Banner, Rebecca Linares, Tanya James, Penny Flame, Carolyn Reese, Tony DeSergio, Derrick Pierce, Van Damage, and Tommy Gunn.
The stellar cast, however, were not the only stars of the production. Tabogo’s twin Red One digital cine-cameras emerged as the shoot’s MVPs. “The quality is 300% better,” Tabogo enthused. “Nothing compares to Red.”
Developed by the Red Digital Cinema Camera Company, Red One cameras provide the quality of 35mm film with the convenience of digital. Notable directors such as Steven Soderbergh and Peter Jackson have heralded the technology as the future of Hollywood filmmaking. The recent Doug Liman film Jumper and this summer’s Angelina Jolie vehicle Wanted both feature selected Red One-shot sequences. Sodenberg’s upcoming films, The Argentine and Guerilla, are shot entirely with Reds.
“It’s Soderbergh, Jackson, and Andres Tabogo leading the charge,” laughed Tabogo. “I did a lot of testing before using the cameras on Dirty Queen. It’s really high powered resolution so you can see everything clearly—even the people’s pores! The makeup has to be specialized because you can see the brush marks if not applied right.”
A fully equipped Red One camera can weigh 40 lbs. and require three operators to control frame, focus, and zoom. “There are too many people involved so you have to plan all the movements and coordinate all the people—film crew, audio guys, performers—and that takes time. It’s not just push REC and do it. But, it’s definitely worth the effort,” said Tabogo.
Dirty Queen is slated for worldwide release in April. TO see a photo gallery from the movie, click here.
