Red Light District, in a move that could signal a shift in the gonzo market, signed Mike John, Erik Everhard and Toni Ribas to exclusive directing contracts, AVN.com has learned.
The proven trio joins a stable of directors that already includes Vince Vouyer, Lexington Steele and David Luger.
Red Light District co-owner Dion Giarrusso said he closed the three deals late Wednesday afternoon. John will direct and own his own product that will be distributed solely by Red Light. Ribas reached an agreement allowing him to direct projects that he owns and Red Light District owns and also perform exclusively in his videos. Everhard, meanwhile, will direct videos exclusively for Red Light that he owns and also perform only in his own product.
Giarrusso said the new arrangements are effective immediately.
"We finally did the deal," Giarrrusso told AVN.com. "I'm a big fan of the male performers in the business. No matter how beautiful the girl in the scene is, if the guy can't fuck the girl with a lot of energy, it's boring. When you have a Lexington Steele or Erik Everhard or a Toni Ribas, the girls have no choice but to show some energy.
"The guys to me are the ones you want to get under contract. There are only a handful of very good male performers left."
Red Light District has been releasing four titles per month on both VHS and DVD. With the new acquisitions, Giarrusso indicated that his release schedule would increase to 6-8 per month. He said he was unconcerned about saturating the market.
"There are 100 new titles every week," Giarrusso reasoned. "My answer is people have the right to make a choice, and there's always room for something better. It's the people's choice. Either you buy my stuff or you buy other stuff. I'm not afraid to put the product on the shelves. Our first year was unbelievable, but to stay on top you have to move forward."
John, who has directed over 40 titles for Anabolic and Diabolic, is currently shooting an all-swallowing and POV line for Red Light. John previously shot several editions of the popular Up Your Ass, Down the Hatch and Panochitas lines, among others.
Everhard, a perennial contender for AVN Male Performer of the Year with close to 400 credits on his resume, directed four 2 on 1 editions for Diabolic and three Sweet Cheeks for Anabolic, among a handful of other videos. Giarrusso said he gave Everhard the greenlight to direct and star in a reverse gangbang with 20 girls, an orgy and a double-anal video.
Ribas, who lives in Barcelona, Spain, has become a major star in Europe with over 100 performing credits, including the lead the 2003 AVN award-winning Private Gladiator epic for which he was nominated for Best Actor. Elegant Angel has distributed 10 of Ribas' 12 projects as a director and two of those videos, Exxxplosion! and Leg Love, earned AVN Editor's Choices and AVN award nominations. Meanwhile, the eighth edition of Ribas' signature line, Hardcore Innocence (Elegant Angel), has been tabbed an Editor's Choice in the May issue of AVN.
In other Red Light developments, Steele's first videos for the company will hit the streets in May and June. Lexington Steele's XXX and Top Guns, which Giarrusso says is the "best guys in the business with the best girls," are on the release schedule.
Vouyer's next release is called Chock Full of Nut, an all-black internal video. And Luger on Wednesday left for Brazil to shoot four videos for the company with Mr. Marcus, Joel Lawrence and Mr. Pete.
