France-based studio Dorcel has convinced Riley Reid to return to studio work for a starring role in the company’s latest feature, “Strip,” which ironically focuses the company’s signature precision lens work on a distinctly unglamorous subject: the seedier side of strip clubs.
The story centers around the plight of sleazy strip club owner Tommy (Tommy Pistol), who screws over everyone in his circle while trying to get himself out of a jam. Reid plays the club’s manager, who does her best to look out for the interests of the club and the women who dance there.
Midway through the shoot, we catch up with the film’s cast and crew at the Blue Zebra Adult Cabaret in North Hollywood, including reigning XBIZ Director of the Year Ricky Greenwood, who shares what sort of world he wanted to create for his players, and how Dorcel coaxed Reid out of studio retirement.
According to Greenwood, Dorcel initially approached him in January to discuss getting Reid on board.
“The vice president of Dorcel said, ‘We never had a chance to do a scene with Riley Reid — I wish that we could do a movie with her,’” Greenwood recalls.
Though Reid remains prolific on her platforms, she had not performed in a studio title for years. However, Greenwood wound up having dinner with Reid’s long-time agent, Mark Spiegler, who clarified that it was not out of the question, and negotiations began.
Though Reid had previously been interested in working with Dorcel, geographical location had always been an obstacle.
She shares with XBIZ, “I was always shooting so much in LA that there wasn’t really much of a reason for me to go to Europe and shoot. Now, they wanted me for this feature and said that there would be girl/girl, there would be a lot of dialogue. So I was pretty keen on it.”
Around March, Greenwood spoke with Reid to discuss the project.
“Playing someone who’s trying to get things back on track was one of the things that made her interested in taking the role,” he reveals. “For me, it’s important that Riley shows her skills as an actress. If people just want to see her having sex, they can subscribe to her platforms, but if they want her acting in a moody feature film, that’s something that they will only find in this product.”
Evidently, Greenwood’s enthusiastic expectation of getting a solid dramatic performance out of Reid was well-merited. Once she agreed to return for the project, which includes a single sex scene with Gizelle Blanco and Jayden Cole, she went all in for the role.
“She was prepared, she knew her lines and her acting is on point,” says Greenwood. “She’s very involved in it. You can tell that she wants to be there, and her effort makes everyone else look good too. And pairing her with Tommy gave us a very powerful combo.”
Greenwood posted several images from the shoot on his X feed. One of them reveals a barely recognizable Pistol, who sports a bald cap with a grotesque comb-over, gold-capped teeth and an insane glint in his eyes.
“This is my Adam Sandler ‘Uncut Gems,’” Pistol beams. “I did not expect this kind of character-driven thing, and I love it. It’s a grueling process, being in prosthetics. Three hours in the makeup chair is a challenge! But this guy, Tommy, he’s such a scumbag. You just look at him and you’re like, ‘Ugh, I wouldn’t trust this fucker with anything.’ And when I hear Ricky and everyone’s response, ‘Oh my God, you’re nailing it,’ then I really feel it and know it.”
Many of those working on the project lauded Pistol’s performance, including Reid.
“It’s been really great being on set with him because he’s just such an amazing actor, and his energy is really great,” she says. “He’s such a talented person. I don’t think the world has given him the opportunity that he deserves.”
Pistol hopes that “Strip” may help change that.
“This movie is really big for me,” he affirms. “It’s something different, something I haven’t gotten to do in almost 20 years. It’s something I’ve been waiting for, so I’m very stoked to see everyone’s response because my personal opinion is: This is the best movie I’ve ever done.”
With Reid and Pistol set as the leads, Greenwood proceeded to flesh out the cast as deliberately as he could.
“It was important for me to get girls that had experience in stripping because I want them to dance, and I want them to look good on the pole,” he says. “So I got Jayden Cole, Gizelle Blanco, Kenna James, Anna Claire Clouds — people who do feature dancing in real life, so it will look good on screen.”
Ironically, Reid’s own experience with stripping was a bit underwhelming.
“I think the most money I made on a stripper night was like $80,” she shares. “I’m not a good stripper; the guys would hustle me and get my phone number. I was just really bad at it.”
Meanwhile, backstage in the dressing room, Blanco and Ameena Green share advice and client seduction techniques with Nicole Doshi, who sits in one of two makeup chairs, being touched up in advance of her photo shoot with Greenwood and Dorcel’s press team. Doshi listens and observes intently while Blanco demonstrates her impressive flexibility with some moves she recommends for getting men to throw money. She also suggests the use of various props to tease and cajole clients into submission.
Shortly thereafter, comfortably lounging in her Sanrio Pompompurin onesie, Blanco tells XBIZ that working on “Strip” has brought back memories for her.
“I’ve been dancing since I was 18,” she says. “I love to strip; it’s so much fun!”
Blanco danced in clubs for four years before getting into porn, and has continued to dance since, for a total of eight years’ experience. She says she appreciates the verisimilitude of the story in “Strip.”
“I love that there’s this sleazebag in the story, Tommy’s character,” she says. “I feel like it’s very true to strip club culture, because there’s always someone that owes someone money, I swear!”
Clouds admits to having a soft spot in her heart for such characters.
“There’s always at least one ‘greasy’ guy at clubs,” she says. “But you know, for the most part, even the greasy guy is kind of nice and fun.”
Beyond delivering his own performance, Pistol stresses, he puts a lot of effort into being supportive and encouraging on set.
“The more you work with somebody, the easier it gets, because you know each other’s likes and it feels more natural,” he explains. “But my goal is always to find out, ‘How can I make you comfortable?’
“We’re all coming onto set from whatever else is going on in our lives,” he elaborates. “When I’m on set, that’s my chance to switch off and just focus on what’s happening now, make the best of it, always be polite and try to make everybody laugh on set. People always say, ‘Tommy’s a goofball,’ or ‘Tommy’s crazy.’ I try to make things fun because if your head’s not there, it really affects everything and how the final product turns out.”
Ameena Green says she is enjoying playing a stripper who finds herself drawn to Pistol’s manipulative strip club owner character.
“I am playing Christie, who’s essentially a pick-me girl,” she shares. “She’s obsessed with Tommy — even though he’s a sleazy scumbag that’s fucked her over many times. I’m still offering to help him out and give him money; that’s when he actually holds me at gunpoint and robs me.
“It’s a very exciting scene,” she reflects with a chuckle. “Before he robs me, of course, I have sex with him and Val, who is played by Scarlett Alexis. Val is smarter; she knows Tommy is a complete scumbag and not to trust him, but for some reason my character still does.”
Alexis observes that the signature Dorcel production style lends a certain sheen even to sordid characters in sketchy environments.
“I love working for Dorcel and Ricky,” she says. “I like seeing the monitors; everything looks so beautifully shot and so beautifully lit, and the wardrobe is great! That’s part of why I love performing in features. I also really enjoy acting, so it’s always fun to be part of a real film project.”
Greenwood’s longtime cinematographer, Matt Holder, reveals that the aim of adding some luster to an otherwise seamy scenario — finding the beauty in a strip club and even in a character like the sleazy and despicable Tommy — inspired the director to shoot the feature with a specific lens that offers extremely shallow depth of field. Greenwood confirms this.
“The Canon Rangefinder ‘Dream Lens’ is a special lens that is open at f0.95,” Greenwood explains. “It’s very tricky, but it gives you a vintage look, a creamy look that is very different. I don’t like sharp lenses that look too new, too fresh. I want it to look like things that are old or dirty. I find beauty in that, and in the imperfection of that lens. Just like Tommy’s character, it is not pretty or perfect.
“That’s also what I like about this project,” he adds. “Because it’s a strip club, most people see it as dim and dirty. But we make you see the brightness and color.”
Is “Strip” a one-off for Reid, or does her return to studio work mean her fans might get to see her in other features?
While Reid won’t rule out doing more such projects, it is clear that she has a lot on her plate. She has been building her brand and pursuing various enterprises, including launching her clothing brand, Eighteen Plus; co-founding the Clona AI platform; launching her creator marketing company, A.S.H. Agency; and she is currently negotiating several potential product lines — such as pleasure products, games and lingerie — with Spencer Gifts.
“I need to be focusing on those types of things,” she concludes. “As much as I love being on set, I won’t be able to achieve my other goals if I only stay in the studios. If I get some of my other goals rolling, and I get my sex toy brand launched, then maybe I will have more freedom to come back. You never know!”
