Spunk L Davis of Viv Thomas- Exclusive Interview part 2

by Jon

What made the Pink Velvet trilogy such a success and why has there never been a sequel?
Maybe because it was the first of it’s kind. I think LezLoveVideo.com have to take some credit for the first Pink Velvet movie. They inspired a lot of that in terms of the sensuality and the romance, which was all pretty new to explicit lesbian porn at the time. We made two sequels after the first movie and I think the third one was really, really special. The series had become so popular we didn’t want to just milk it for financial gain, it seemed right to just preserve what we’d done. We had thought about a spin-off featuring some of the characters from the series which we might still do, I don’t know, lets wait and see.
Unfaithful is now in it’s fifth episode.

What do you think it is that attracts people to story driven porn?
It can be more erotic for some, it’s different, and I think a lot of people who like watching porn that has some context feel that there aren’t enough producers catering for them and making the kind of porn they want to watch. I think that’s especially true for women. There was something about the Unfaithful series which really connected with a lot of people, especially women and couples. I can’t tell you how satisfying that has been. I’ve had emails and messages from women who have really been moved (even on an emotional level) by those films and it’s so encouraging and inspiring when that happens, mostly because it’s unexpected and very rare for this kind of film to get any reaction, never mind that kind of reaction.

Why do you think The Office Girls and The Art of Kissing have been so popular?
Again, I suppose at the time they were quite different from most other porn that was out there. The Office Girls is a lot of fun and it’s very positive but also very passionate and the sex scenes get pretty explicit with the ass-play and the wetness. The Art Of Kissing is a very simple format, one that we’ve seen before many times, but the sex is very tender and romantic with a big emphasis on kissing, so maybe at the time it was also quite new. I don’t know. It’s very hard to sit down and actually work out what exactly makes a title successful. There are a lot of different variables.

Inside Peaches was unique in that it had scenarios written by forum members. Would you try this type of project again?
Yes, just recently I’ve been interacting with people on our forum and listening to new ideas for next year. In fact one of the last movies I shot was based entirely around great concepts posted by one particular member on our forum. We’ve always listened very closely to people’s ideas, thoughts and concepts, but it’s difficult to film a script submitted by someone which is rich with detail and specifics, you risk unsatisfying the writer by not properly realising their vision, it’s the same case whenever a director takes on someone else’s script, they interpret it their own way. Lots of scenarios are submitted with a cast of girls already worked out and often people don’t realise sometimes it’s impossible to make that happen, also most of them have the sex scenes written out in huge detail, which I’m happy to film, but usually if I film a scene that is so heavily directed and crafted like that I’m crucified on the forums. But yes if an idea or a concept is submitted which really grabs me I am very happy to correspond with the writer in depth and work with them to put their ideas on the screen realistically.

What was it like working with Sylvia Saint?
We’ve worked together on about half a dozen movies now and it’s great. She is a brilliant model and a really great girl, fun to be around, professional and she’s down to earth. Silvia is also unbelievably beautiful when you see her close up in real-life.

What are the qualities of the original Viv Thomas girls such as Jo, Peaches, Vera and Lisa that have created such a loyal following?
Beauty. Genuine enthusiasm. Again, I don’t think it’s easy to attribute success to specific things. Although they all have the looks and the bodies, these girls are all individual; Jo had an innocent and youthful demeanour which I think people found attractive, Peaches is kooky and clumsy, Vera is funny, they’re different. I also think the EU girls behave differently on camera to American models which perhaps has something to do with their popularity.

Who are the company’s new rising stars?
Lola, Zara, Lucy Bell, Blue Angel, Nikita, Sasha, Natalia, Brandy Smile. There are currently lots of girls we are really excited about and I think we’ll see a lot of new girls next year, and maybe the return of some more established girls too.

Can you tell us about some of your new lesbian videos that have come out this year? Which has been most successful and why?
Mums and Daughters has been quite a success, it’s a fairly taboo title, which helped, but it has really hot and explicit lesbian sex too! Most Subscribed and Unfaithful 5 are doing well, I think they are all quite different titles but let’s be honest they all contain very real and passionate sex scenes between beautiful girls, which is probably the main reason people are responding to them! One of our most successful titles in 2009 was The Art Of Sex, which was a straight title, shot with the same kind of attention we give to our lesbian films. It was a simple format with no story, just sex scenes, but they were really passionate, really intense and intimate, full of romance, shot tastefully and they have really found an audience.

When the recession is over would you like to film in America again? Which American girls would you like to work with?
Man, the list is as long as my arm. Yes, we definitely want to get over there again though. In The Family wasn’t satisfying enough for me, I want to put together a cast of American girls and make another movie, something different though, I don’t want to just take the best models and put them in our environment. I want people to see them in our movie like they’ve never seen them before.

Would you describe your boy girl series as hardcore or couples porn with more realistic lovemaking? Was it hard to get the performers to change their style?
Currently, we don’t have a boy/girl series that I am directly involved in. The last great straight movie I shot was one I already mentioned called The Art Of Sex. It was made as ‘couples porn’ or porn for women, yes, but the response to that title and that style of porn has been incredible. I think men, women and couples alike find it so different to anything else that is out there. It really is fantastically erotic. When we shot straight scenes in America is was impossible to get the performers to change their style. In Europe it was easier, but still, it took some serious work and quite honestly not everyone can do it. You really need to find the right models to make it work, and I know immediately when it is or isn’t working the way we want.

You recieved 9 AVN Award nominations in 2009. Despite this has it been hard to break into the American market and why?
We have been closely associated with LezLoveVideo.com in America since the start of this decade, our relationship with them goes beyond business, I love those guys. They have done so much for us in the American market, it’s all down to them that we’re even known in America. As for AVN Awards, it’s a very American-orientated awards ceremony.

Your great new site has justifiably gained an AVN Award nomination this year. Can you explain some of the features to the readers here?
The videos are undeniably much better, with the ability to search through all scenes and browse by film-title, most popular or by genre. The quality is better too as we have re-encoded all our content and offered scenes in flash format with the option to download to own copies in WMV, MOV or DivX files.
We also update the site with one full video scene every day (streaming flash file and downloadable WMV, MOV and DivX files) with regular bonus updates in addition like video-interviews, behind the scenes videos, trailers and freebies. Eventually every single one of our 170+ back-catalogue will be online and available to members (to stream in Flash or to download in scenes as a WMV, MOV and DivX files) – from opening credits to the closing scene.
We have over 140,000 images the photo library and we retain zip files and flash slideshows for each and every photoset. Currently we are uploading all new sets in hi-resolution 2400pixels.

Next year as the site fills up with new video, because we’re planning to release everything first through the website before DVD and before download, it will be a very, very exciting website.