Making my pilgrimage to a cinematic grotto hidden within the rusty confines of a Downtown LA warehouse to visit the set of “Drift,” the tentpole Deeper.com feature from Kayden Kross and Maitland Ward, I journeyed past an encampment of actual drifters. Yet the contrast between the shadowy shambling of those vagabonds and the vibrantly mischievous, wanderlust-fueled nightly sexcapades that Ward’s character embarks upon in the film could not be, well, deeper.
“Drift” doubles down on Deeper’s promise to take viewers on a Dante-esque descent into the psychological depths of sexual awakening, only this time with full-blown meta commentary on Ward’s own journey from sitcom fame to XXX stardom and becoming a published author. In it, Kross, Ward and Deeper are as inspired and direct as the monosyllabic thrust of their award-winning masterpieces “Drive” and “Muse,” as they conjure the experience of taking a profound fall before finding spiritual redemption, of collapsing into a chaotic maelstrom before arising as an ordered mandala, or losing all sense of direction before discovering true purpose.
Traversing the labyrinthine network of bookcases, chandeliers, elegant upholstery and electrical wires arrayed with the kind of expert efficiency a spider would find enviable, I came upon Ward studiously poring over scripts on a polished mahogany desk. Bookish inside and out, her spectacles flashed no less brightly than her bejeweled gaze before her smile lit up the room. Despite being a multi-award-winning Best Actress with laurels and success for days, the reigning XBIZ Performer of the Year’s humility and warmth belied her stature as recent host of the 2022 XBIZ Awards and first-ever star to grace the full cover of this magazine. I pulled out an ornate chair to sit across from her and began recording our interview.
“The premise of ‘Drift’ is very interesting,” she explained. “It entails something that I’ve never really played with before, because it’s sort of an artistic, more devious version of my real life.”
Planning for the film started back in April; this was the fifth day of shooting. Ward remarked on what an enjoyable experience the movie production had been thus far, especially because she got to write the sitcom-style episode anchoring the feature.
“I play this ‘America’s sweetheart’ sitcom star with Seth Gamble and Mick Blue as my co-stars,” she shared. “People are going to just love that. It’s really fun, and the guys did such a good job with it. They should have their own sitcom because everyone was laughing. It’s all sort of a play on the characters Cory and Shawn from ‘Boy Meets World’ — or any sitcom, for that matter.”
Ward played Rachel McGuire on the popular show, which ran from 1993 to 2000. Before that, she appeared regularly on “The Bold and the Beautiful,” and afterwards starred in the Wayans Brothers comedy, “White Chicks.”
“It’s funny,” Ward said. “Our whole sitcom universe is played with that ’90s style, but we also infuse it with a bit of the ’50s and ’70s because we have a ’50s couch and a ’70s shag carpet. So it was all sorts of family sitcom universes. It was very, very ‘WandaVision.’ It really plays into that.”
For those uninitiated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ‘WandaVision’ centers on a troubled superhuman who unwittingly traps herself in a reality-bending sitcom-esque domain.
“It was so surreal to get back into sitcoms,” Ward said. “When we were on the set, it felt like a ‘Boy Meets World’ set. Saying those lines like my character did and talking in that kind of tone, plus hearing the guys talk in that way — I think the audience is really going to love that. And they’re going to be surprised by it. We also do a very dark twist on it too, and make real statements about what happened during the sitcom. It really follows my journey in this fantastical way. It all ties into my book.”
The book in question is “Rated X: How Porn Liberated Me From Hollywood,” published by Simon & Schuster on Sept. 6. Its release ran in tandem with the initial episodes of “Drift,” which began premiering alongside Ward’s headline-making autobiographical bestseller. This convergence between marketing, real life, past history and present career success only serves to heighten the meta commentary.
“It will be cool to be able to watch this journey on Deeper along with my book,” Ward enthused. “It also ties into the fact that I was typecast as this wholesome girl-next-door, so much so that I couldn’t play any other roles. It also mirrors how I had to discover myself and my sexuality and what I wanted to be, as well as who I was.
“And finally coming to porn, and coming into my own and really becoming the person that I am — and being able to share that with the world,” she elaborated. “And being able to acknowledge the past and really tie that together. It’s not like I forget about my past or anything; it’s a great time. I’m just glad I can be a complete person now. And I think that’s what this character really discovers in the end.”
Commenting on the sitcom scene, she described how Gamble and Blue evoked “adorable, funny guys who basically can get away with anything.” The two characters are shown looking through her underwear and going through her diary, which actually mirrored mainstream sitcom scenarios that, upon reflection, Ward realizes were questionable humor given the premise of nonconsensual invasion of privacy.
“But they’re cute, so the audience laughs and they get away with it,” she said. “And I’m punishing them. I’m like, ‘No, you can’t do that.’”
“The mainstream producers back then would make sexual jokes or have me be in little lingerie outfits and stuff on the show, but then if I did anything sexy in real life, they were like, ‘No, that looks bad,’” she recalled.
“Drift” takes a more seductive turn, however, once the Hollywood lights go off and night falls. Then, Ward’s character can do away with pretense and the hypocritical societal niceties expected of her.
“We find out that at night, when I’m on my own, I travel down this devious sexual path where I’m discovering myself along the way,” she said. “Seth and I kind of make a bet on who can be more crazy for the night, because I’m jaded and tired of trying to be righteous, pretending to be something I’m not. And I have an assistant, played by Violet Myers, who secretly brings me people. It’s implied she does it all the time even if I do find stuff on my own.”
At that moment, Kayden Kross walked by in her comfy directorial garb, commenting, “She facilitates it. In all ways.”
“She has a very discerning eye,” added Ward. “And this particular night turns out to be really wild.”
“It’s a wild one for sure,” Kross underscored. “But it’s not unusual for her.”
“Yeah, it just shows who I really am,” Ward said. “And at the end, I come to a realization about who I am deep down when my two worlds come together.”
Kross then revealed that “Drift” originally started out as the third feature in the popular Deeper.com “Mistress Maitland” series, before taking on a life of its own with a unique character.
“I kind of wanted to make it stand out so it wasn’t just a threepeat,” she noted. “I wanted it to stand on its own. So we collaborated on the title and we both really liked the word ‘Drift’ for a lot of reasons.”
Ward highlighted that despite the single-syllable parallel to “Drive” and “Muse,” this film has more of an intimate softness to its flow, which conveys an element of wandering and being adrift.
“Maitland is drifting from experience to experience, looking for opportunities but following whatever comes,” Kross summarized, before being summoned away by a crew member.
While refraining from sharing too many spoilers, Ward did mention that at the end of the lascivious evening, her persona on television and her persona in real life come together “in a very cool, cinematic way.”
“They acknowledge each other and can finally be one,” she teased.
Ward also compared “Drift” to the classic American crime film, “Natural Born Killers,” albeit a sexualized version.
“Overall, I think it’s going to appeal to mainstream audiences who watch these kinds of storylines. They’re going to just love it.”
Pivoting from the overarching story arc to the scene being shot that day, Ward said she was filming boy-girl anal with Alex Jones, who plays a video store clerk that is a huge fan of hers.
“It ties into ‘Mistress Maitland’ as well, because I go into a video store and I see my ‘Higher Power’ scene from the first ‘Mistress Maitland’ playing on a television screen. In this universe, I play it off like I starred in an independent film called ‘Higher Power.’”
The encounter is a fantasy come true for superfan Jones, who has decorated the video store with movie posters featuring Ward’s character.
Sure enough, nearby in the warehouse was a fully realized Blockbuster-like store set replete with VHS-lined shelves and Maitland Ward movie posters with titles like “Lethal Stranger,” “Petite Mort,” “Bound” and “Les Diaboliques Redux.”
Beyond intricate set design, another vital component to the realization of the movie’s vision is the comfortable and accustomed dynamic between collaborators Ward and Kross.
“We really make great stuff and can play to each other’s strengths,” Ward said. “We just give so much to each other, and we make great art together. I can’t believe that it’s been three years since Kayden and I met up at Starbucks to get started on ‘Drive.’ I look at my journey and realize I’ve come so far. There’s things I’m still exploring, though. I have my first DP with Seth and Mick in this movie and I recently did a Blacked Raw gangbang anal train that was my first such scene as well.”
Looking back on her DP, filmed the week prior, Ward described it as very intense. But while ‘Deeper’ marked her first time working with Gamble, Ward did have an anal scene with Blue under her belt from last year. She was happy with how it turned out, lauding both men as stellar co-stars.
“I think each scene is really unique in this movie,” Ward said. “I also had one where Violet brings me Anton Harden, and I perform with Danny Mountain, who plays a patient with a neck brace.”
She chuckled at the amusing nature of the scene, for which Mountain had to wear a hospital gown and be “kidnapped” by Ward right outside of the hospital as she pretends to be a nurse.
“He was supposedly suffering from whiplash, but no one with whiplash could have done what we did during that scene!” she recalled. “I think that at one point, his neck brace comes off, and I start choking him.”
Their antics, she said, were infused with extra chemistry because Mountain was actually the first-ever adult star she had made indie content with before she became a studio performer.
“I had to wheel him out for the scene and he had this golden wheelchair,” she added. “We needed to look really classy on the Deeper set; we couldn’t have just any old wheelchair. It all has a look to it; everything has a look. And there’s another scene where I cuck a guy — A.J., the same one who starred in ‘Muse’ — who plays a non-sex role as I make his girlfriend Amber Moore have sex.”
At that moment, a makeup artist came by to spirit Ward away, presenting a good opportunity to seek out her co-star, Alex Jones. Charming and affable as ever, Jones relayed that while he had worked with Maitland once before for a group scene, it was not a one-on-one like what would later transpire.
“I’m a video store clerk who is a big fan of Maitland and her movies,” he said, leaning back on a divan and crossing his legs. “Then she magically walks in, and we have anal sex. I’m very excited about it because although I’ve been shooting almost every day for the last two-and-a-half months, shooting with Kayden Kross is very special. She puts time and effort into every shot, so it looks fantastic.”
Sure enough, Kross proved to be an expert field marshal, balancing hands-on direction with empowering the talent and mega production crew of audio and lighting wizards to do their craft. As chronicled in her cover story last year, the long-reigning XBIZ Director of the Year is a rare artist because she is as precise as she is creative. She is self-possessed and masterfully executes.
Ensconcing herself in the corner of the video store, where static-flickering television screens sat atop one another like an altar to a bygone MTV era, Kross removed her shoes and gently massaged her feet as she called out commands. When it came to the sex, aside from a few specific adjustments and wardrobe tweaks, she trusted Jones and Ward to light up the scene with smoking-hot passion, focusing her attention on the camerawork.
“Really focus on that kissing,” she instructed, “then go down on what her hand’s doing. Beautiful tongue action.” Taking a sip of water, she went silent as the lip-smacking and grinding intensified. Ward channeled her inner wanton wanderer, telling Jones just how she liked it amid expletive-laden cries of delight.
When Ward went harmonica-style with her blowjob, Kross requested, “Do it again.” Once the action progressed to impromptu breast-screwing, Kross said, “Gorgeous. Stick with that titty stuff. Toss your hair.”
After a few more lively takes leading to orgasmic release, Kross called for a pause, then said, “Maitland, give me a repeat of that orgasm with your head back before you move forward, because we’re set up now to catch it.” Sure enough, the cameras were in prime position to lap up her star’s ecstatic face.
“Pull back. And then this time look to your right side when you hear the bell, and then back to just ‘What the fuck?’ Then collapse. Cut!”
Now it was time for the acting-heavy moments in the scene. Kross had saved the more time-intensive dialogue portion of the video store scenario for after the sex, reserving the performers’ energy and enthusiasm for the fornicating rather than risk them being tired later in the evening. The crew reapplied makeup, banishing sweat as the stars clothed themselves anew while Kross took a brief nap in the changing room.
I took the moment to ask the still-glowing performers how they felt about the sex scene.
“For my first time one-on-one with Maitland, it was awesome,” Jones gushed, mopping his brow. “The chemistry was fucking amazing. She’s an incredible performer. And for it being an anal scene, girls are usually a bit more hesitant. But she was a fucking pro right through it. I can’t wait to see it.”
Ward concurred. “It was a fantastic scene. It’s one of the best. It was really hot, all anal with a lot of blowjob action too, but lots of different anal positions.”
She also remembered working with Jones on her gangbang scene the year prior. “He had great energy, and we thought it would be fun to see him back in a role like this. He definitely has a nice cock! This scene felt so organic, and just very orgasmic. It’s also fun because he’s watching my character like this deviant fan in his video shop — and then she just comes in and makes him fuck her in the ass. What better dream could you have?”
When Kross returned, refreshed from her power nap, she was also pleased with how the sex went.
“It was a fantastic scene, I’m really, really happy with it,” she said. “It’s definitely the best performance I’ve ever seen out of Alex, and Maitland always brings absolutely everything. The two of them together were very, very good.”
She then quickly orchestrated the next phase of shooting, arranging the multitude of angles from which the acting would be captured to allow editors a plethora of compelling options later, when stitching together the final product.
“So, Alex is watching the TV eating his licorice,” she said, before turning to his non-sex scene partner, also dressed like a video store employee. “Then Bill, as the co-worker, you’re just tossing Alex the keys to lock up, telling him, ‘Don’t shit the bed.’ Alex waves goodbye, with licorice in hand.”
She then blocked out their movements, down to how low Alex should duck behind the counter while organizing items, right when Ward walks in, in order to come across as naturally distracted and slow to realize the literal woman of his dreams just entered the store.
“Remain in view of the camera by coming around this way clockwise,” she said, opening up a cabinet drawer. “Tell her the store is closed and to hold on a moment. After the bell rings, Ward saunters in slow, closer and closer, not responding to your repeated reminders that you’re closed. Then it dawns on you something’s off and you say, ‘Ma’am, did you hear me?’”
Kross underlined that Ward should quickly take control, making him follow her like a lost puppy, before asking him to suck her clitoris. Kross then knelt before Ward and showed Jones what to do with the licorice, which it turned out was not merely for show.
A fog machine was brought in to create a hazy, reality-distorting effect, so that when Ward entered there would be an air of mystery and otherworldly beauty. It paired exquisitely with the moving traffic footage flickering “outside” the store. What might, in a more gonzo title, have been a relatively standard scene of a customer having sex with a store employee, was elevated to an opium vision certain to sate the cinephile appetites of Deeper’s fandom.
Photos courtesy of Vixen Media Group and Deeper.com.
