CHATSWORTH, Calif. — AfterDark Pictures, the all-black label from West Coast Productions, has set a June 29 release date for its medical drama After Dark Nurses. A trailer for the feature can be seen here.
Written and directed by Bishop, Nurses uses its hospital setting as a backdrop to explore the power struggles that drive people to take extreme measures to achieve their personal and professional goals.
“After Dark Nurses takes place during the late shift at a local hospital. The story was based off of my own life lessons,” explains Bishop. “To put it simply, competition is fierce and there are some people out there that aren’t going to let any obstacles get in their way. You’re either in or in the way. The doctors are crossing the nurses and the nurses are crossing the doctors in this movie. It’s everyone for themselves.”
Of course, After Dark Nurses also raises temperatures with a healthy dose of phat and juicy ass, namely Aryana Starr, Baby Cakes, Staci Adams, Candice Nicole, and Luscious Louis.
The film also stars Tyler Knight and Nat Turner, both nominated earlier this year for their acting turns in Bishop’s gritty crime thriller Ransom. Ransom also scored AVN nominations for Best Film and Best Director. A prequel is currently in the works.
“Ransom has a huge fan base. It amazes me,” he says. “I have been longing to continue the Ransom saga for a while now. Ransom has a huge back-story. The prequel explains how some of the characters came about.”
Bishop is proud of the acting performances he has gotten out of his players, but acknowledges that his drive for the perfect take can have its toll.
“It can be extremely difficult to get the acting performances that I want from talent. I always have to keep in mind that they are not actors and many of them don’t want to be,” he notes.
“I create these features on ‘gonzo’ budgets. That’s not enough money to get the talent in for the rehearsals that I would require. Instead we get to set early and have full-dress rehearsals to get everyone up to speed. I get the take I want or we don’t move forward. It’s hard to believe that this is a bad thing, but it can be really destructive when you’re on set with talent that just simply have other interests.”
Keeping Bishop motivated is the knowledge that AfterDark Pictures is one of the very few studios providing character-driven adult entertainment to African-American audiences.
“All-black features allow us to tell stories from the views of black people,” says Bishop. “Additionally, there is a huge audience out there that isn’t getting its needs met. The fact is that most adult features don’t have roles for black actors. And, if there is a role, it’s a small one—and that is something I want to change.”
