VAN NUYS, Calif.—It’s Sunday morning in the San Fernando Valley, and some people are probably on their way to church, maybe the farmers market. Over the hill, in downtown LA, there’s an early morning lull in the civil unrest that has broken out since Friday, as a result of sudden ICE immigration raids.
But in an industrial area on the edge of Van Nuys, it’s a quiet weekend—except for the rear parking lot of the Spearmint Rhino gentlemen’s club, which is full of vehicles and activity. There’s a production truck and cables taped to the ground, leading into a large garage where two dozen extras are waiting to process paperwork so they can appear on-camera.
They will be audience members in two scenes slated for that day, for Elegant Angel’s big-budget gonzo star showcase Jennifer White: Hollywood Whore.
Between the extras arriving for their 8 a.m. call time and crew people loading in equipment, the club is lit up and abuzz. In the backstage area, White and 2025 AVN Female Performer of the Year Anna Claire Clouds are already in make-up; they will perform the first scene which is an onstage girl-girl stripper fantasy sequence.
Zac Wild is hanging out, early for the second scene, which will feature him, White and Isiah Maxwell in a VIP lap dance that turns into a three-way. He looks freshly shaven and showered.
“It's crazy,” Wild said. “It's awesome. Now, okay, so—I know the girl-girl that they're about to do is in front of the audience—I think that's so hot. Those girls are gonna be out there just fucking each other with dildos. It's so hot. Anna Claire Clouds, like, is incredible. With Jennifer White!
“This is her day. It's a huge day for her—so super excited. I hope she just has the best time. And I just want to put on the best performance with Isaiah,” Wild enthused.
With more than 30 AVN noms over a 15-year career, starting with Best New Starlet in 2011, White’s credentials speak for themselves, paving the way for this project. A sensual and striking brunette, White is a soft-spoken star with a sexual tsunami lurking beneath that quiet mystique.
For this movie, she and her husband-producer Deacon have pulled out all the stops. White has hand-picked the cast for six hardcore scenes, an eye-popping roster of A-listers she has worked with over her career, and they are bringing their A-game for her.
“I always get nervous before a scene,” White told AVN. As the lead in Seth Gamble’s recently released passion project Once Upon A Time in the Valley, White flexed her acting skills as the character Lotta.
The showcase will tap a different skillset and also include some firsts, like performing in front of an audience. “Not in a professional setting,” she said of spectator sex, “but I’ve hooked up with someone like in a party-type situation, but never like this. So, it’s going to be pretty cool—a big crowd. I love to do it all. I grew up doing musical theater, so any little bit of acting is really cool to me.
“And, uh, I’m a super slut,” she laughed. “So, gonzo is good for that.” Adding that she had some special tricks up her sleeve for the pole performance with Clouds, White laughed out loud about a move called “the flying eagle.”
Background dancers Danae Mari and Lacey Jayne arrived early, too, from Las Vegas where they’d been working the night before. Lives lived on the road, drove in for the gig that day and were already debating whether to drive or fly back to Vegas after the shoot. “We’re make-up and hair ready, energy-ready—we love our life and love our jobs,” morning person Mari bubbled. For the summer, she and Jayne have an leopard-skinned RV and will set out on a “Whore Tour” road trip, shooting content with folks along the way.
Deacon, who some on the crew jokingly refer to as “Mr. White,” is co-executive producer. A seasoned production staffer, on this morning he’s overseeing all the details, helping with paperwork, walking from room to room as lights are brought in and positioned, deciding on how best to block the shots, looking at light meter readings, and trying to figure out the logistics of the scenes. Determined to put the star of the movie, his wife, in the best possible light, he’s been busy. Several cast and crew members comment that his complete and utter support for White has inspired their efforts to contribute to a standout feature.
Sammy Slater, a director who is a longtime friend of White's, said, “I’ve known Jen for years, and [Deacon] is killing it on this thing. This is big, for any showcase, but if anyone deserves it, it’s Jen.”
Mike John, the director for White's showcase, is shooting primary camera. A master of gonzo style, he’s a veteran that’s been directing since 1996. His early POV work for Sean Michaels and Anabolic Studios, in the ‘90s, established him as a pioneer of the genre and was followed by titles for Red Light District and Jules Jordan. Deacon said when they were deciding on camera styles for the movie, John was their first choice.
“So, he just wants me to do what I do for the hardcore and then he's got these other guys, like Sammy, to kind of get some fancier long lens shots. So, when it's my time, I just work together with the girls and just capture it,” John explained. “I've shot Jennifer and Anna Claire, so I know how they work.”
Pointing the hand-held camera almost instinctively, his movements are fluid and unobtrusive, sometimes only inches away from the talent as they grind and groan, deep in the zone once they get going. He approaches each shot without much planning, letting the action unfold.
“I base my movements, not off a certain idea like, ‘oh, I need a wide, tight, medium.’ I base it off what's happening. And then I do micro-movements.
“So, if there's a breath in, I follow the breath in. And then, if there's a breath out, I follow it out wide, as to see why. Right? If the girl's doing something real intense, I get the face and then I come out. So it's just, it's not pre-planned at all. It's all about the moment and what's happening in the moment is how I respond to it,” the director said. “Because at the end of the day, what we do is relatively simple. Like people fucking is people fucking. They're individuals. So, how do you bring out the individuality? By paying attention to the individuality.”
“So, that's my thing. Today—being a little bit bigger than a gonzo—there's set-up to it," John added. "Like, usually if I'm shooting on a regular day, I'll shoot some tease and whatever. It's very, very basic. But on a day like today, you know, Mr. White has a whole concept around how these scenes are going to go together."
There’s always a lot of hurry-up-and-wait on a set, but because there are more than 30 extras in the audience, the atmosphere is lively. Some are chatting to pass the time or scrolling their phones. Mostly, they are friends of the cast or crew or otherwise industry-affiliated.
Veteran industry writer Tod Hunter is seated at the foot of the stage. Later on, he and White’s agent Mark Spiegler (who popped in for a visit) will receive fun lap dances that will be used for BTS footage.
The dancers, who seem uniformly clad in fishnet lingerie, G-strings, garters, and mile-high platforms, turn on two poles on the main stage, graceful and effortless as they grip and lift themselves into the high in the air, then slowly spiraling down with limbs outstretched, core muscles straining, while smiling seductively all the way to the floor with a click of their heels. Piles of fake money have been laid out on the stage and some extras are practicing how to “make it rain” then gathering up the piles again, all neat and tidy. Before White and Clouds make their entrance, the dancers also pose for “pretty girl” shots and B-roll footage, which helps the camera operators get the correct exposure level ratios for lighting the big room.
To stay on schedule for lunch at 2 p.m., the lights are finally turned down and Clouds ascends the stage. She starts a slow strip, twerking suggestively at the front row as they throw play money. She seductively turns and teases for the camera, eventually ripping her lingerie open. The mood becomes hypnotic. Enter White, stage right, as she stepped into the spotlight with Clouds. Some moves on the pole and a pink dildo materialized from somewhere. A technician trailed John, lighting the performance over the director’s shoulder, while a boom operator held the microphone aloft, out of the shot.
Onstage, it’s every strip club regulars’ fantasy come true, as bills floated down around the pair, the show building to an explosive climax. The audience let out a hearty round of cheers and applause. Then, it was time for a sandwich and salad lunch.
Maxwell, who arrived in time to be in the audience for the first scene, was ready to go with little preparation.
“[Deacon] really just presented this to me in a way that I understood how big and meaningful this project meant to Jennifer,” Maxwell said. “And Jennifer has been a part of my journey in this industry since the very beginning. One of my first big scenes was with Jennifer, Nikki Sexx and Sara Jay... when I was still considered a fan. Jennifer and I clicked the most on that set and so our friendship really blossomed from there. I’ve kind of been along with her on a lot of her milestone scenes and productions. I'm always happy that, you know, we've continued our friendship to still be as close as we are today about that.”
“They're a great team together,” Maxwell added, crediting Deacon. “I just appreciate the professionalism of dealing with both of them at the same time. Because I could talk to one and I know I'm talking to the other, vice versa. There's never anything I get miscommunicated in between all three of us and it's actually quite easier to deal with because a sentence that I start with him, I could finish with Jennifer. And it works seamless.”
After the strip club scenes that day, there was one more day left on the nine-day schedule and it would be wrapped.
“I just know how hard she works and how much it means to her—and how much recognition she gets within the industry,” Deacon said, during a quick break. “She gets it from her peers, which is very, you know—if you talk to directors and anybody on set and the girls and the other talent, she gets a lot of love from them. So, that's, that's very nice. But she just wants to tie a ribbon on the package.
“We had a DP with Seth Gamble and Vince Karter, which was amazing,” he said. “We have the boy-girl scene with Manuel Ferrara, which is great. She's got that anal solo because she's never really done a solo her way in a movie. So, she's like, 'I want to hit that category.’ That's interesting. So we have that. And then the last scene is a surprise to her. She doesn't know what it is. It's a surprise scene.”
Later that night, the club is scheduled to be open for business, so, after lunch there’s a slight time squeeze to try and be loaded out by 7. Optimally, the second scene would be completed by 5 to stay on time.
Maxwell and Wild were ready to go, as club patrons who were about to get the ultimate lap dance fantasy. After a quick walk-through with the performers, it’s a little after 4 when they start, with Deacon standing off camera, reassuring everyone that they have time. As the scene progresses, he glances at his watch. Maxwell and Wild, on either end of White, are aware of how much time is left and, like the pros they are, delivered the scene on cue.
SPOILER ALERT: The last day of production for the big finale scene featured a surprise double gangbang with Jax Slayher, Alex Jones, Vince Karter, and Hollywood Cash, as well as Lexington Steele, Seth Gamble, Manny Coco, Victor Ray, Charles Dera, Milan Ponjevic, Chocolate God, Slim Poke, Nade Nasty, Scotty P, Musa Phoenix, Donny Sins, Derek Savage, Damon Dice and Eddie Jaye.
Jennifer White: Hollywood Whore is scheduled for release in September. Follow White on X.com and LinkMe for updates, and visit ElegantAngel.com.
Photos 1, 3, 5, 6 & 7 by Jonni Darkko; 2 & 4 by S.W. Fotografs
