MONTREAL—Adult Time today releases Stars, AVN Award winner Jane Wilde's true-life depiction of her own entry into professional sex work at the age of 18 after being manipulated by an older man.
Wilde makes her directorial debut with the project, joining Adult Time chief creative officer Bree Mills as co-writer and co-helmswoman. In the movie, Wilde plays "Julia," a nominally fictionalized version of her younger self. Three-time AVN Best Actor Seth Gamble, himself a contract director and performer for Adult Time parent company Gamma Entertainment, portrays "Kevin," the older man who preys on Julia when she steps into the world of webcamming. Filling out the cast are Cam Damage, Aiden Ashley, Robby Echo, Oliver Flynn, Dale Savage, Ryan Reid and Tommy Pistol.
“This film is the first step in what will be a lifetime of healing and reflection due to my experience. I’m honored that I was given the opportunity to turn what was a traumatic period of my life into art that can be consumed by so many people," Wilde said. "I’ve always loved writing, and getting my thoughts out onto a page just feels right for me.
“Stars was the experience of a lifetime for me to star in, write and co-direct," she added. "I’ve been thinking back a lot lately to the time of my life depicted in Stars, something I was scared to do until this year. I could never have imagined I’d be where I am now as a teenager living in Queens. My circumstances have changed, but what I was able to take away from those experiences will stay with me forever—as well as the experience of creating this film. I’ve learned that life is what you make of it. Thank you for letting me share a piece of my story with you.”
The movie was shot over seven days with a crew led by co-producer Siouxsie Q and cinematographer Michael Vegas. Commented co-director Mills, "When Jane first approached me with Stars, I knew we had to get behind it! It helps to reclaim a narrative that is so often spoken for and/or used against sex workers. What struck me most is how objective and relatable her experience was and, for that, I knew it was important to help empower her to share her story and be able to have the creative control to tell it authentically."
For his part, Gamble offered, "Working on Stars was a surreal experience; my relationship with Jane dates back to her first-ever scene, so I was super honored to get to play a character who had such an impact in her life and to be given the responsibility to play that out. It means a lot to me that Jane felt safe enough with me to take on this role.
"Those who know me best know how serious I take my career from performing to acting, but I felt emotionally connected to this as well, considering the source material and my history with Jane, and did not take that lightly. It’s hard to fully put into words how much this project means to me!“ he continued. "Having Jane co-direct this film with Bree was a beautiful sight to see and be a part of. She knew exactly what she wanted and executed without any compromise to her vision. I’m really excited for everybody to see what was created. It’s an important film about a true-life story!"
Stars releases today in its entirety on Adult Time.
To read an AVN report from the set of Stars, click here.
