LOS ANGELES—Every time a performer leaves the adult industry, a story begins—one that is just as fascinating as any adventure found during porn stardom. And each story is as varied as the stars themselves.
At last night’s press screening of After Porn Ends 3, directed by adult star Brittany Andrews, nine of those stories were revealed to a supportive crowd that included not only the filmmakers—among them Andrews and producers Bryce Wagoner, Andy Weiss and Michael Weiss—but also many of the individuals profiled.
Interspersed with short sound bites by current adult personalities, nine former performers talked about their current lives. Six of them—Priya Rai, Luc Wylder and Alexandra Silk, Jenna Presley, Christy Canyon and Herschel Savage—participated in a panel after the screening. The others profiled were Tera Patrick, Jenteal and Bonnie Rotten.
First up was performer Priya Rai, with some of the footage shot at a cage match at Dames N’ Games in Van Nuys. While Rai lost that bout in real life, she won over the audience with her indomitable spirit.
After Rai’s segment, Luc Wylder and Alexandra Silk told their story—and few sojourns in the adult industry are filled with more joy than the one traveled by this husband-and-wife team. The two founded Fallen Angel Entertainment in 1996 and are still making movies, but they also diversified into the field of sexual wellness, earning their doctoral degrees in human sexuality from the Institute of Advanced Study.
In stark contrast to their intimate love story, adult performer Jenna Presley walked a lonely path, finding little happiness in the industry. She recalls that she was enticed by “the Jenna Jameson fantasy” and was seeking validation. “If I can be perfect ... maybe I can be loved.” In the beginning, she says, “I felt beautiful.” Later, however, she descended into heroin addiction and ended up feeling “destroyed, helpless.” In addition to footage of the beautiful brunette in adult movies, the camera follows her in her new life as Brittni De La Mora, a pastor in the Cornerstone Church of San Diego. We see her good works, giving away food to the homeless and praying with members of the congregation.
For Vivid star Christy Canyon, the industry became a permanent refuge. She started out wanting financial security—“I had no money, and I hated being in that position”—and soon found she loved the work, especially after her second scene, which put her together with Ginger Lynn. “Back in the ’80s not a lot of girls were doing it,” she recalled. Canyon became a major star at Vivid, and basically never left, since she still has a regular show on Vivid Radio. “The fucking ’90s rocked” at Vivid, Canyon recounted. And though Canyon occasionally went on hiatus, she said, “Every time I got divorced, I made a comeback.”
Representing a different decade of adult stardom, Tera Patrick talked about what led her to begin an adult career in 1999. Growing up in Montana, where she was raised by her father, Patrick entered the Barbizon School of Modeling and traveled around the world before ending up as a nursing student. But fate had other plans; soon she ended up on the covers of both Playboy and Penthouse the same month.
Then came porn—and that changed everything: “Once you’ve had a dick in your mouth, you can’t unring the bell.” Patrick isn’t looking back, though. “My pussy made it to Europe,” she exults, talking about when she hit the red carpet at Cannes. Now she’s living in Italy, satisfied with what she achieved with her production company and website, and keeping her hand in live entertainment with feature dancing.
Vivid Girl Jenteal didn’t achieve Tera Patrick’s stratospheric fame, but she nonetheless expressed satisfaction with her time in the industry. Working at Vivid, she got to use condoms and pick her scene partners—and she only quit to start a family. Now, after an injury she sustained while working at Trader Joe’s, she’s engaged in promoting CBD oil, which she has found to be a therapeutic alternative to traditional medicine.
Herschel Savage, whose career started in 1974, waxed poetic about his time in adult, talking about the reverence he felt for his female co-stars. “It was like a universal snuggle,” he mused, describing the act of performing on camera. He proudly noted that one of those co-stars, Nina Hartley, described him as “steel wrapped in skin.” Savage added, “I would have taken an extra inch, but I was happy with what I had.”
The last performer profiled represents the modern era in all of its ups and downs. Caught by the interviewers after she had left the business three years ago, Bonnie Rotten talked about her tough childhood and rough introduction to porn. Raised by her grandfather, she left school at eighth grade. And her first porn experience led her to sue the man who shot it: the infamous Max Hardcore. “He has the devil in his soul,” Rotten said of Hardcore, but added, “He was the only person I encountered in the business who was like that.” At the time of the interview, Rotten was out of the business and not intending to return. But her journey took a familiar twist when she made a comeback, signing a contract with Brazzers in May.
In between the interviews, a number of performers are seen on camera, including 2019 AVN Awards co-host Romi Rain (“You have to have a strong will in this industry”), adult performer Alex Chance (“The internet is forever”), trans pioneer Buck Angel (“I’m proud of my big balls”), performer-turned-agent Tee Reel, Vivid Radio co-hosts Nikki Delano and Annie Cruz, power couple Kayden Kross and Manuel Ferrara, director Joanna Angel and performers Abigail Mac, Vanessa Veracruz and Michael Vegas.
After the screening, the panelists were asked about their reactions to the film. Wylder and Silk summed it up best. “I was honored ... so surprised,” said Silk, while Wylder praised the inclusion of De La Mora’s story. “I appreciated the balance. Thank you for presenting a well-rounded picture.”
Pictured above from left, Brittany Andrews, Herschel Savage, Priya Rai, Brittni De La Mora, Christy Canyon, Alexandra Silk and Luc Wylder. Photo by Gordon/EMMReport.com. Click here for more photos from the event.
