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Candida Royalle
Catching Up with a Porn Pioneer
Candida Royalle began
her career in adult entertainment decades ago on the “acting” side of
the camera. Today she is the industry’s leading female director. With a
singular vision of erotica produced with a woman’s sensibilities in
mind, Ms. Royalle has blazed a trail and her titles continue to sell
even years after their release, a rarity in the business. It’s been
three years since she spoke with ErosZine. Catching up with Candida,
she fills us in on her latest movie, the paperback release of her book
and exciting personal news!
ErosZine: Your last interview with us was just after Stud Hunters was released. What have you been up to since then?
Candida Royalle: Well, for one thing, my book: "How to Tell a Naked Man
What to Do: Sex Advice from a Woman Who Knows"! [Simon &
Schuster/Fireside. Published in hardcover Oct. 2004, re-released in
paperback in Feb. '06.] And I just shot a new movie, a comedy called
"Under the Covers," due for release in September '06.
EZ: Tell us about your latest movie.
CR: It's a sexy comedy about women in the field of sexuality, from a
sex therapist to a dominatrix, a sales girl at a woman-friendly erotic
store and an author, and the disparity between what they try to present
to the public and what they really do in private..."under the covers!"
Jamye Waxman and I came up with the concept and story together and I
wrote the script. It features a cast made up of local New York talent,
mostly new, and two actresses flown in from LA, Syren and Lisa Ann, and
we also flew in Johnny Dannon whom I first introduced to the world in
“Stud Hunters.”
EZ: How difficult is it to cast your movies with people who aren't the same porn stars we see in every adult movie?
CR: It's not easy! I appreciate the "pros" because they know how to
perform for the camera, they're used to this work, can usually perform
under pressure, deliver lines, etc. I like the freshness of new talent
but they can often freeze up under pressure, especially the guys, and
it's hard to find people that both look good and can act! Also, when it
comes to my movies, people often come to the set thinking, "Oh, all I
have to do is like to fuck,” but then they get to my set and there are
all sorts of set-ups and a lot of acting and I have all kinds of
sensual foreplay I want from them. It's not just strip and fuck on my
movies and they sometimes freeze up and have to be told what to do
every second. Actually, that sometimes even happens with LA pros
because they're so used to going on the set and just fucking and
sucking. It's a whole new kind of movie when they get to my sets! It's
real movies with sex that is character driven and motivated by the
situation rather than a few lines and then just jump in to the standard
formula sex.
EZ: What else have you been up to over the past three years?
CR: Aside from my book and the new movie, I also continue to create new
products with my designers for my line of Natural Contours chic sex
toys for women [www.natural-contours.com]. We came out with a new model
called the LIBERTE and a great Kegel exerciser called the ENERGIE. It's
important for women to know that they don't have to go get that icky
vaginoplasty surgery in order to tighten their vaginal muscles, all
they have to do is do their Kegels. It helps to use a Kegel exerciser
like the ENERGIE because the weight resistance makes the muscles work
harder and get toned faster. And the more toned a woman's vaginal
muscles are the more sensation she'll feel and the stronger her orgasms
will be. Not to mention she'll have a nice tight pussy for her man!
I continue my active schedule of public speaking, having spoken at such
venues as the New School for Social Research, the 2004 Annual
Conference of the American Psychiatric Association, New York University
and the New York Rotary Club, to name a few.
And now I'm actively grooming young new female directors to work for
Femme Productions. Jamye Waxman will get to direct her first feature
this coming winter and Abiola Abrams is directing what will be a first
in our line of Erotica for Ethnic Couples. I will executive produce.
I'm also creating a whole new web site for candidaroyalle.com with a
couple of very savvy women who are also developing branding
opportunities for myself and Femme Productions. The new site should go
live in July.
And...I got engaged! I’ll be getting married this September!
EZ: Congratulations! Wow! It sounds like you’ve been really keeping
yourself busy! Barbara Nitke lost her lawsuit, the 2257 laws are
causing people to self-censor and the current administration is
anything BUT porn friendly. Does all the current fear of prosecution
stifle your creativity at all? Affect you at all?
CR: No, my movies are so vanilla compared to some of what's out there,
I'm not concerned. That said, I always take into consideration what's
happened in the past, like the big attack on the industry back in the
late '80's, early '90's after the Meese Commission. I was active in
fighting back and helped form Feminists for Free Expression
[http://www.ffeusa.org] in response to all the efforts at censorship
back then, on both adult movies and other forms of free expression. I
know what has gotten the industry into trouble and avoid anything that
could one day become a problem again, such as scenes of domination and
submission, so I’m careful to show that it’s mutually consensual. The
problem with a lot of start-up companies and new directors is that they
either weren't around then and/or they refuse to learn from the past
and push the envelope until the ugly hand of censorship and intolerance
rears up again and starts busting down everyone's doors.
EZ: There seem to be way more women producing and directing adult
movies these days. How does it feel to have blazed the trail? And to
have more female peers?
CR: It feels great! I just wonder why it took so long! I started Femme
in 1984. It's taken a whole generation of women to get out there and
create their own erotic voices in movies! I just wish more of them
would do something different. Much of what I see still looks like the
same conventional porn created by men for the last century. Come on
girls, get creative! It may be that women have to create their own
companies. As long as men are running the companies the women direct
for, they're kind of obligated to deliver what they're told to. I
always worked for myself.
EZ: Do you think there's more female friendly porn as a result?
CR: Not necessarily. But I do think more young girls are watching
standard porn. Not sure how I feel about that. More young girls are
also getting boob jobs and performing oral sex on guys without looking
for their own pleasure. I think Ariel Levy's book, "Female Chauvinist
Pigs" is an important read on this subject. It's controversial and made
many rear up in disagreement but I think we should at least read it and
consider what she has to say.
EZ: And is there a more broad range of types of porn available?
CR: Yes, but again, I'm not so sure how much of it is truly made from a woman's sensibility.
EZ: What are your feelings about the over-the-top porn...the really objectionable stuff?
CR: I think if we want to live in a world where free expression is
allowed, we have to accept that there's going to be stuff we don’t like
or agree with. The best way to counter it is to get out there and
create what you'd like to see yourself. Then let the public choose for
themselves. You can't force people to choose the positive stuff, but
hopefully if it's available, that's what they'll go for. On the other
hand, if you try to censor stuff, it just becomes more desirable, like
"forbidden fruit." I think it's important to censor and prosecute
people who make materials that victimize children and animals. The rest
of it...if it's with people who are adults and it's consensual, if
someone likes to be spat on and slapped, who are we to forbid them to
do it? I have the choice not to look. It does concern me that so many
men like to see brutal violating behavior like this, but so do some
women. And look at the violence in our mainstream non-sex movies. Is it
any different? These are the challenges of living in a free society.
EZ: Who do you think is making great porn these days? Any one or two directors whose work you enjoy?
CR: Umm....can't think of anyone off hand, but then again, I really don't look at other porn.
EZ: Who do you think will be the "next generation" of producers, directors and entertainers?
CR: Abiola Abrams and Jamye Waxman!
EZ: There also seem to be many more female-centric web sites, sex toys, etc. How have things changed over the past few years?
CR: There are lots more women everywhere, making websites and other
erotic stuff. It’s great! I noticed that the women in my new movie,
“Under the Covers,” were real exhibitionists and really got off on
performing in front of people. No more "just for extra money" type
performers, at least not the ones I hired in New York!
EZ: Is there anything else you'd like to expound upon? Feel free to get on a soap box!
CR: I think I'm done with my soap box, thank you. Off to plant flowers now!
EZ: That should do it, then! Thanks Candida!
CR: Thank you, Abby, for giving me this opportunity!
[Written May 2006]
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