Porn Valley – Selena Silver, www.selenasilver.com began what will probably be a very successful series on www.KSEXradio.com. Silver’s interviewing female porn directors, and Kat Slater was her first guest. Kent Silver observed that guys are fascinated by women who are directors and in porn. “We’re going to bring the porn listener the best women directors in porn today,” Kent said.
Selena said she has worked with Slater on several occasions [Campus Confessions 8 & 9; Young Sluts Inc. 14]. “She’s just awesome.” Slater directs Campus Confessions and Young Sluts Inc. for Hustler.
According to Kent Silver fans are relaying their wish that Slater would do scenes. Silver also made reference to the current article in Las Vegas Weekly on Slater https://adultfyi.com/read.aspx?ID=3081. Kent Silver also pointed out that Slater made a mainstream movie- The Smokers- for MGM in 1999. Slater explained that it was about three bad[teenage] girls in boarding school who decide to fuck men the way they’ve been fucked. “So they decide to rape at gun point.” Slater joked that it probably was her start for Barely Legal.
Slater worked 8 years to get that movie done, she said. “Three years, 26 movies [in porn] 8 years, 1 movie.” Out of college, Slater moved to L.A. and started writing the film. “Between odd jobs to support myself and re-writing the script- I was a night receptionist so when my boss wasn’t around, I was writing my script.” Slater lost count as to the number of people she pitched her film to.
Silver didn’t know how many porn directors have had mainstream movies. [Anthony Spinelli directed One Potato, Two Potato before going into porn.] On the other hand, Slater said she’s heard of porn directors who have had success on the other end after-the-fact. [Greg Dark and Mike Sedan come immediately to mind.]
After Slater did the movie she went to her parents house in Wisconsin and along the route stopped in Vegas to see an old friend from college, Richard Abowitz.
“He saw my movie and he was writing an article for the Las Vegas Weekly on the porn industry in Vegas.” Slater said they were chatting with Caroline Pierce, a porn star. For the most part Slater said she was checking to make sure that her friend wasn’t getting any diseases.
“In fact I ended up interviewing this chick and liking her so much. She was a normal, cool woman.”
Abowitz started putting the notion in Slater’s ahead about directing porn. “It was another 1700 miles for me to think about it,” she said. Slater said now she gets lots of input from people who seem to have great insight about what will work for her.
Asked if she was twisted growing up or had porn inclinations, Slater said it was a natural thing for her parents.
“We all have sex. We’re all here because someone had sex along the way. My mother likes to look at it as, ‘it’s a good thing you’re doing that for all those couples out there that need some help. I was raised open minded. Relax, it’s just sex.”
Slater looked at the whole process as just making another movie. Slater recalled shooting her first Barely Legal vignette. “The girl came- I was told they would have to have their PCR-DNA test from AIM and their IDs. Well the girl comes. She shows up to my house the night before. We’re going to shoot on a Sunday- when AIM is closed. The girl didn’t bring her test. I made her sit in front of a video camera and made her sign a statement that said I do not have AIDs.”
Slater laughed about how she now makes all her boyfriends go to AIM to get tests. Slater said she hears the comments all the time about drugs and diseases. “Is everyone on drugs? Well, How many people are on drugs in YOUR business? It’s probably going to be the same number.” Slater said the porn business is a fun business and she loves it.
Kent asked Slater if on her 1700 mile road trip she started picturing her first porn movie and where did her name come from. Slater said she’s not a cat person. “I like dogs.” But her friend Abowitz has numerous cats.
“But I liked this one cat and bonded with the cat. This particular cat was in heat and I decided along my road trip that Cat in Heat was going to be the name of my first porn movie.”
Slater was picturing a Gone With the Wind now realizing that porn was predicated on the series. Slater said her first credited name in Barely Legal was Snowy Rivers on the assumption if she was going with cheese it would be cheese all the way. “I was saving Kat Slater for Cat in Heat.”
Slater thought with a mainstream credit she’d be automatically accepted by the porn community. “The irony is I go and my first place is VCA. I knock on their door and they essentially tell me come back when you’re directing porn.” Slater thought about finding investors knowing full well she didn’t know what she was doing. “Maybe I should go work for a company.”
A friend of Slater’s then introduced her to Jimmy Flynt. Jr.
“In that meeting they basically said the same thing, come back when you’ve directed a porn. I said I’m not coming back.”
Slater showed them the trailer to her movie. “They liked it- it was hot chicks. They said why don’t you go do a Barely Legal vignette.”
The first day on the set Slater wanted to know what a d.p. was thinking it was a director of photography. “Poor Simon [Wolf] on my very first shoot finally realized I needed the 101 of Porn.”
Slater has yet to shoot in Europe but met someone on offered her his villa.
“I’m thinking about taking the next winner of Reel Joe and some girls and bringing some boys over from France. And getting some of the European girls.”
Slater explained what Reel Joe was – a winner of a random drawing in video stores throughout the country.
“We randomly did a drawing and found a guy out of Boston. He is a Reel Joe. Never did porn before. We fly him out. He got to live at the house for the weekend with Aurora Snow, www.aurorasnowxxx.com. She was one of them. Like six girls.”
The Reel Joe also got to meet some of the male porn stars. “And Joey Ray gave him big advice.” According to the scenario the Reel Joe lives in the house with the six girls for the weekend and gets his pick.
“They were hanging out- drinking, partying. Actually they played a funny game of Truth or Dare. They did a lot of fucking. It was basically free-for-all of people hooking up with other people. That kind of stuff. Sunday was the big day that Reel Joe had to confirm which girl he was doing.” The scene was then shot at the Hustler studio.
Slater said guys who are interested in participating in future show need to see the first video where Aurora Snow puts up the website address. Slater said the show’s in post and will probably be out in a month or two.
Slater was asked if it was harder or easier being a female porn director.
“I don’t feel that it’s harder at all. When I came into the business I knew the mainstream roots and knew how to make the girls look beautiful. I had all the beauty-stuff down. What I had to figure out was the sex. It’s been three years- and that’s the fascinating part for me- getting inside men’s heads. You name it I’m like, what do you like? Does this work for you?” Slater said once men find out she directs porn, they’ve very open. “Also as a woman I can immediately put the girls at ease.”
Otherwise, Slater feels that she was in the right place at the right time.
“Hustler had this whole notion of let’s do something different. Hustler let me do Young Sluts Inc. which for me is a very beautiful, interesting piece. As I progress in numbers, it gets harder and harder in terms of sex. But it’s neat because it’s kind of artistic. The stories are quirky and fun and they let me have my way.” Slater said she’s written all of Young Sluts.
Addressing the issue of what makes a good pornographer, Slater, who tends to give pep talks to her performers before shooting the scenes, suggests that it’s about being open-minded and adventurous.
“But as a woman [director] you’re not going to be freaked out or limit yourself in any way. But you have to give what the guys want- hard, aggressive; it’s intense. But as women we understand the tricks. We get those things down and so I think we can do better than the boys. I think we can blow those Anabolic boys out of the water.”
As a carryover habit from her mainstream film, Slater would whisper during the sex. But on the porn shoot she was told to speak loud. In one instance Slater took Joey Ray and a porn actress out to the desert. “I was used to dealing with this other mainstream actress who freaked out about showing her panty lines through the nightie.”
Similarly, Slater said she was whispering on the porn set trying to set the mood. Ray told her that he couldn’t hear her when she talked like that. “That was the beginning of the end,” said Slater. “Now I’m like spread her ass cheeks! I want to see that hole. Give me that gape!”
Slater said her next big project for Hustler is called Swapping the Jizz featuring cum swapping and anal.