Director Eon McKai has signed an exclusive deal with Vivid Entertainment Group, and will start a new label with the company called Vivid-Alt that reflects his unique brand of adult content.
McKai is credited with helping to spearhead the alt-porn movement that has staked a place in the adult industry in the past year. He got his start in November 2004 with VCA Pictures.
“I just really want to see the alt-thing happen, and at first I thought, ‘no way could I ever go to Vivid.’ It seemed like such a big brand and they would never be interested. But the more meetings I took, I saw how they were interested, and how far they would go to support [alt-porn] and give it a chance,” McKai told AVN.com. “They are going to give me the chance to take things in more of an alt-direction, and that’s what made me decide to bring it over here. The sheer amount of support and creative control I’m going to have is greater than it was before.”
McKai’s deal entails him directing four “big-budget” features this year and producing eight other features by up-and-coming alt-porn directors – all for Eon McKai Productions and Vivid-Alt.
“This guy is great and he’ll tap us directly into this exciting new trend in the adult movie industry,” said Vivid co-founder Steven Hirsch. “Eon will find the first actress to give a fresh, new face to the imprint. He’ll also be looking for all sorts of alternative and progressive talent and programming to keep us at the top of this genre. I can’t wait to see his first work.”
McKai, who has a master’s degree from the California Institute of the Arts and has taught filmmaking, said the first directors he would be tapping for Vivid-Alt productions are photographers Octavio Arizala, aka Winkytiki, and Dave Naz.
Winkytiki is a fetish photographer who has a book coming out and Naz has published three coffee table books (“Lust Circus,” “Panties” and “Legs”) and has had his work featured in art galleries worldwide.
“I really want to take what alt has started to become, and take those parentheses that are alt and push them really far to the right and really far to the left,” McKai said. “On the web, alt-porn has a much more diverse, eclectic voice. But on video, it’s just been us - Rob Rotten, Joanna Angel and me.”
He continued, “This is kind of a dream job. I was always at VCA knocking on their door to get so-and-so to make a movie. But over here, that’s my job.”
McKai revealed that his first project for Vivid-Alt would be called Girls Lie, which would be along the lines of mainstream films such as Over the Edge and River’s Edge.
“It’s a movie that’s kind of about that time,” McKai said. “You’re an adult, but you don’t really have your own place to have sex. You’re running wild in the street, finding different places. You’re a really young adult and you still have a lot of time on your hands. It seems like the kind of place that the youth that are buying my films are at.”
McKai said the terms of his Vivid contract include him being able to use his own production team.
“I’ll be slowly bringing my people over,” he said, noting that he’d be working closely with Suicide Girls photographer Lithium Picnic, among others.
The 26-year-old debuted in adult with Art School Sluts, and followed that with three volumes of Kill Girl Kill before releasing the critically acclaimed Neu Wave Hookers, which is currently No. 1 on AVN’s Top 25 Weekly Rentals and Sales Chart.
“It’s been a pretty quick ride,” McKai admitted. “When I came in there was no one really from the alt-world from the web, except for Rob. I’m really close with Rob Rotten, and he was telling me the other night, ‘Thank God you guys are here.’ It gives him context.”
McKai said response has been almost overwhelming for Neu Wave Hookers.
“It’s crazy. It’s the first movie I’ve made where I’m getting emails every day. I put so much of myself into that movie,” he continued.
McKai indicated he would continue to do mainstream work; he just finished directing a music video for Bedroom Walls, and previously shot a video for the band Louis XIV.
He said leaving VCA recently was “really heartbreaking.”
“I really loved being at VCA, I think VCA has a rich history. It took some time, but VCA really got it,” McKai said. “They took risks with me. That’s where I cut my teeth, where I found my voice. Peter Reynolds [director of sales and marketing], he was the first person who sold alt. He was the first guy who made the distributors understand what this product was because everything was happening on the Internet.
"It was really hard to go, but I feel like I have to take this chance. It’s good for alt, and by producing stuff for other people, I have the opportunity to expand what alt is. Joanna and I really wanted to stay together [at VCA], but we’re just going to work for both sides, and it’s exciting to have two big companies in the alt game. It will help alt have some staying power that maybe some other movements in porn haven’t had.”
