Last week I had the personal pleasure of interviewing Candida Royalle, the adult film star-turned porn pioneer accredited with producing the first wave of adult movies specifically for women. Royalle started Femme Productions in 1984 which helped release numerous films which include Bridal Shower, Three Daughters and Afrodite Superstar which won Best Musical Score at the 2007 AVN Awards recently. One difference, besides telling a story in-between sex scenes, is that you won’t see any money shots. She’s also created Natural Contours, a line of personal massagers, and authored How to Tell a Naked Man What to Do in 2004 and continues to solidify her name in the adult film community as a leading woman on the film scene.
Without further adieu, I present my first Q&A of 2008 with a bone-fide star:
How did you decide to go from porn star to working behind the scenes?
CR: I was in 25 adult features between 1975 and 1980 and took some time off from the industry to decide my future [and ask], is (the adult film industry) a good thing for women or bad and did I take part in a sexist industry? At that time, people were trying to do some interesting things, but sex films were still crude and formulaic.
What do you think makes a good adult film?
CR: A good plot and good characters and context are really important. It all affects the wrapping of the sex scenes and that doesn’t change over the years.
There’s a sense of humour in a lot of the films you produce. Why is that important?
CR: Humour is so wonderful in an area with hypocrisy and can help break the tension. It’s more like the human element in everyday life and we’re able to laugh at ourselves (in the films), gently. In Three Sisters, there’s a scene where the youngest daughter does a really endearing and funny thing by wearing the older sister’s lingerie and tries it on incorrectly. It helps relieve the tension.
What’s been the impact your films have made in the industry?
CR: In the beginning, women would thank me. The husband would bring home porn for his wife and she could relate to it. I had one woman say that after years of being married and having kids, my movies helped her sex life.
Happy Humpin!