Forget those East Coast-baiting Instagram pictures of shorts-clad Californians enjoying sunny weather all year long — it was absolutely freezing at the rented L.A. mansion where Kay Brandt, Adam & Eve Pictures’ director of sex-positive/couples-friendly “romance novel” erotic features, shot a film based on the novel “Bluebeard’s Wife.” For some reason, the heat was not on. “It’s only a couple of days a year that’s this cold in the Valley,” Brandt said.
The XBIZ Award-winning director’s movies — fully plotted, often based on novels, with some of the longest continuously shot sex scenes being produced right now — take long hours, and this particular shoot, spread over two days, went so late into the evening at one point, that the director and part of the crew ended up crashing on set, wrapped in every available comforter and blanket. The night temperature, according to the smartphones flickering in the blackness, was in the 30s.
In my movies, and in Selena’s books, women in long-term relationships explore their sexuality and it doesn’t have to end up in divorce.
The tiny makeup room by the garage was the only heated part of the sprawling hillside MacMansion, a popular rental that can be seen in countless adult productions. The cast huddled there, waiting to get naked and perform in the chilly, imperial MacBedrooms.
“What if they can see our breath? They’re gonna have to digitally remove it!” someone joked from the shadows.
The big chill added to the sense of camaraderie, however, in the crowded makeup room.
“We are gonna be sooo nipply on camera,” said one of the actresses, and everyone laughed.
The Feminine Porn Mystique
Kay Brandt is a one-of-kind auteur in the 2019 adult industry. By steadfastly and deliberately sticking to work methods and marketing tactics of an earlier era, Brandt has managed to become, paradoxically, a maverick.
In an age of scenes and tube site teasers, Brandt makes movies. At a time when many gleefully announce the death of books and reading, Brandt writes erotica and keeps up with the current boom of self-published erotic romance novels. When the industry looks at algorithms and bets on dark taboo subjects, Brandt doubles down on sex-positive, couples-friendly odes to sexual joy from a female, and often feminine, point of view. When “progressive pornographers” get artsier and artsier as hardcore throwbacks get gonzo-er and rougher, Brandt champions the kind of porn that can be enjoyed even in America’s heartland. Her films for the North Carolina-based Adam & Eve Pictures feel like a kinky after-dinner treat for people who may also enjoy Hallmark movies and Nicholas Sparks adaptations.
And, as Brandt oft professes, her films are very popular, especially on DVD and VOD sites like HotMovies.com. She’s tapping into the same enthusiasm that made the various “50 Shades of Grey” franchises such a surprising moneymaker, but her spin is lighter and sunnier (cold days on set be damned). She also has a definite vision and point of view, the true marks of the auteur, and her approach is decidedly a departure from the various flavors of “male gaze” that are still, though probably not for long, standard for the biz.
Also, Brandt’s hip credentials might surprise those who think yoga-and-rosé, affluent-swinger-fests are her only flavor. She was casting Jiz Lee (in “Cherry”) almost a decade ago, has worked with trans performers, and Erika Lust herself is now distributing some of her work in Europe.
Brandt’s “The Seduction of Heidi,” adapted from Selena Kitt’s novel “Heidi and the Kaiser,” was widely received last year as a more honest “50 Shades of Grey.” “I personally love directing BDSM scenes and hot-as-fuck orgies,” she recently stated, “especially with the theme of a ‘girls night out,’ or women engaging in wild sex at nightclubs.”
Brandt has also been a recognized auteur since before the rise of the current crop of female (and many male) directors. Her “Cherry” movies, developed for Digital Playground in the early 2010s, were set in a diverse lesbian strip club with high production values and unusually literary characterizations.
Before that, Brandt worked with Zalman King, the 1980s-1990s premium label softcore legend who cast an obscure Ivy League educated actor-model as the narrator of “Red Shoe Diaries,” thus giving the world sex symbol David Duchovny.
“Nine years ago, I launched a high-end all-girl imprint, Jewelbox Films, while I was a contract writer/director for Digital Playground,” Brandt said during a break from filming in one of the MacMansion’s many corridors, while veteran cinematographer David Lord set up a stills shoot featuring Derrick Pierce, Victoria Voxxx and Cindy Starfall. “I created the two ‘Cherry’ films that won awards in 2012, which later evolved into a bestselling erotic book series. ‘The World of Cherry’ books were published by eXcessica Publishing, which is one of the companies owned by Selena Kitt.”
Brandt and Kitt — a New York Times and USA Today best-selling writer and publisher — have a creative partnership. “In 2015, when Adam & Eve decided to make my erotic romance novel ‘Safe Landings’ into a feature film, it sparked the conversation between me and Selena about adapting books into films. I had nothing to lose by asking her if her mega-hit bestseller, ‘Babysitting the Baumgartners’ was up for discussion for me to make into a film. When she said she was interested, that's when I knew we could really make an impact with book adaptations in adult cinema. The one we are shooting now is my eighth Selena Kitt adaptation!”
The book in question is Kitt’s “Bluebeard’s Wife.” A few weeks after the shoot, Adam & Eve settled on the release title “The Lustful Wife.” In Brandt’s film, Tara (Penny Pax) is married to John (Ryan Driller), but she is insecure about their sexual connection and thinks her husband is having a phone-sex affair. Her best friend Kelly (2019 XBIZ MILF Performer of the Year Bridgette B) is a much more sexually adventurous woman married to Chris (Derrick Pierce), who tries to expand Tara’s sexual horizons.
Makeup Room Dance Party
In the makeup room, Brandt gave Bridgette and Pax some general character-building notes. “You give her the right kind of guidance to lead her to the path of erotic lust,” she told Bridgette. “This is an emotional and physical journey that they take together.”
The three women bond over shared experiences that will color the performances. “I know at some point in your life you experienced something like this,” Brandt told them.
“I had an attraction I experienced towards a friend, but never had an erotic component. And one day, it just started getting a little closer. And then we had sex,” one of them confided.
This level of director-performer intimacy would obviously be much rarer on a male-directed set, or non-existent on the many sets where the only woman present is the female performer.
“I love working with this woman,” Bridgette shared with me. She was sitting on the makeup chair getting ready for her box-cover shoot. “I’ve always wanted to work with Kay, even now, 10 years into my career. She lets me do different things. I’m often cast as the homewrecker or a bitchy model, but here I’m the fun friend!” She laughed.
“I wish I could say that,” Pax remarked. “I’m always the innocent looking girl that gets turned into a whore!”
Brandt corrected her, chortling, “You ‘blossom into a whore.’”
Bridgette said, “I’m always the seducer or the corrupter, actually. Always been the case. At least here I’m corrupting a grown woman and not another teen. Everyone in the business has been my stepchild at least once!”
Pax, who celebrated her 30th birthday the next day by going to Disney World with best friend Adriana Chechik, has been in the business for seven years, she revealed. “I’m from Florida, like everyone else,” she added. “Spiegler says it’s something about the salt water that turns us into porn girls.”
There was a lot of what the three of them call “girl talk” about female friendships, threesomes and old boyfriends. All this bonding noticeably contributed to the dynamic between the two female leads once the cameras started rolling.
Bridgette took out her phone and started playing pajama party dance music (“Hopelessly Devoted to You” from “Grease,” “Do You Love Me” from “Dirty Dancing,” etc.) and belting out the lyrics, inviting everyone to sing along.
“You’re so womanly!” said Pax, admiring the exquisite curves of the one and only “Spanish Doll.” “I want to be seen as an adult!”
“And I wanna be a spinner!” answered Bridgette. “The grass is always greener.”
Warmth, Safety and Happiness
Brandt had invited Tom Tram, a stand-up comedian and podcaster, to check out the set, and he came bearing pizzas. Ryan Driller had brought some of the delicious“Uncle Frank” salsa that he makes. Derrick Pierce, who is a fitness fanatic, motivational speaker and personal trainer, commented on the nutritional value of the edible offerings. The atmosphere in the kitchen was relaxed and jokesy.
“So Ryan is an accountant, and you, the other husband, like to play golf,” Brandt informed Pierce, who made a mock horrified face.
“Oh, c’mon. People know me!” he said, flashing his big smile. “They know Derrick Pierce doesn’t play golf!”
“Ok—what do you play?”
“Basketball!” said Pierce. “Hey, everybody: Chris now plays basketball, ok?”
“Fuck golf,” added a crewmember.
The multitasking, always energized Brandt was also trying to plan a later scene, a lingerie party which doubles as a “sex toy party.”
“Is that like Tupperware party, but for dildos?” I asked her, confused. “Is that a thing?”
“Oh yes,” said Brandt. “Also don’t forget Adam & Eve is a big company in the novelty market and they also organize sex toys and lingerie parties”
In “The Lustful Wife,” sex toy saleswoman Kelly throws a bachelorette party for a bride-to-be (Victoria Voxxx). Katy Jayne and Lisey Sweet (replacing a last-minute no-show) have non-sex bit parts. This being porn, the bride and her maid-of-honor (Cindy Starfall) obviously ended up in bed with Kelly’s oversexed hubby, Chris. The crew was preparing to shoot the threesome that day.
Lord and his team are a stereotypically manly bunch. They talk guitar stuff (“that guy could shred all over that shit,” said Lord), and trade rare guitar collector stories with comedian/podcaster Tram.
Ignoring the “boy talk,” Brandt continued talking to XBIZ as the cameras and mics were placed and mirrors repositioned. “There’s a big trend now that sex stories have depressing or creepy plots,” she said. “I’m doing something else. In my movies, and in Selena’s books, women in long-term relationships explore their sexuality and it doesn’t have to end up in divorce.”
Lord came over then, asking, “Where would you like the pop shot?”
“On the boobs,” Brandt said, pointing at Starfall.
“Boobs it is.”
“How about Cindy smashes her boobs against Victoria’s and they smear it together,” she improvised. Lord agreed.
“I want to make content that’s more relatable, especially for women,” Brandt continues without missing a beat. “I want to make movies that are guilt-free. I try to be positive. Selena Kitt’s fan-base is elated. I also want to help men to communicate sexually with their partners. I want them to recognize one of my titles and tell their wives ‘this is based on that book you love, honey!’”
One gets the feeling that if Adam & Eve gave Brandt a bigger, Wicked Pictures-sized budget, she would be making historical romance novels — Fabio with fucking, perhaps.
“There’s a huge number of people who like erotic content and are book-centered,” Brandt said. “Even erotic audiobooks have a large fan-base that many people in the industry don’t know about — there’s even a Facebook group called Aural Fixation!”
Brandt’s other concern is making sure she is shooting scripts that are not triggering or traumatizing to female viewers and couples. “Adam and Eve has a therapist that puts a stamp of approval that the movie is safe for people to watch,” she revealed. “The therapist watches out for small things that could insinuate non-consent. The company image is sex-positive, couples-friendly and focused on pleasure.”
That spirit, she said, influences both the final product and the workplace. “On set, I try to create an environment of warmth, safety and happiness. What I’m putting out there is for the good: it’s entertaining and titillating and really doesn’t offend women.”
Lord came over again and showed Brandt some of his framing.
“Shoot the faces more,” she told him. “Adam & Eve really likes the faces.”
