Adam Wilcox posts on www.xxxwasteland.wordpress.com –

With a near-decade of experience under her belt, Jenna Haze has cemented a reputation as one of the top adult cinema actresses of the new millennium. In addition to receiving countless awards and nominations from prominent industry outlets such as Adult Video News, XBIZ and the X-Rated Critics Organization, Haze was dubbed “arguably the most popular performer in porn today” as part of a recent CNBC piece profiling XXX starlets and has occupied the number-one slot on FAME Registry’s Top 10 Porn Stars list for a remarkable 27 straight weeks.

In 2009, Jenna utilized her knowledge and expertise by founding her own production company titled Jennaration X Studios, which itself claimed three AVN honors in 2011 and recently released the critically acclaimed “Legs Up Hose Down” feature film, among numerous other popular videos.

Jenna kindly spoke with XXX Wasteland this week to discuss her recent trip to Hawaii during the earthquake and tsunami tragedies in Japan, launching Jennaration X Studios and more.

You can check Jenna out at her official website, www.JennaHaze.com, and follow her on Twitter (@JenXStudios).

(Special thanks to Acme Andersson of Rising Star PR for arranging the interview. Photo #1 courtesy of Michael Alexander for Sugar Bear Media. Photo #3 via Jenna Haze‘s Tumblr page)

Q: I wanted to ask about your recent trip to Hawaii, as you appeared to be in the midst of a large piece of the earthquake and tsunami disasters. Can you give us your perspective of those events?

A: It was crazy. I live in California, so I’ve been through earthquakes and stuff, but I’ve never been evacuated. After hearing about Japan and everything else and seeing all of those horrible videos and everything coming out of there, to all of a sudden be told during my dream vacation that I’m going to have to be evacuated, leave my room and leave all my belongings and stuff, I was like, “What?” First, I was shocked. Then I was super scared because I’ve never been through anything like that.

We didn’t know the (full) impact. Some of the islands ended up getting hit pretty hard and some of the islands ended up barely being hit at all. I was really lucky that I was on a wahoo in Waikiki Beach, actually. That week I was staying at the Royal Hawaiian. Their hotel doesn’t have that many floors and it’s right on the ocean, so they evacuated us to the Sheraton next door on the 30th floor. I just sat there for literally about eight hours. There was about two to three hundred people just crammed in this lounge watching the TVs and wondering what’s going to happen. It was definitely a life-changing experience.

Q: I can’t imagine anyone reading this being unfamiliar with you, but may I ask about your beginnings and how you broke into the industry?

A: I was 19 years old and at the time I was a waitress at a restaurant. I broke up with my boyfriend and I started going out with a girlfriend of mine to 18-and-over clubs where they would serve alcohol, but you had to have a hand stamp – I wasn’t of age, so I just went there to dance and hang out. I ended up meeting a couple of guys who knew Peter North. I started hooking up with one of the guys and he was like, “You really should do this.” And so, like a day later after they told me about this, I went and got my test and I just started working – and I quit my job as a waitress. (Laughs)

Q: And it turned out to be a really great move for you. (Laughs)

A: Yeah, it turned out to be what I was supposed to do with my career and everything, so it’s pretty cool. I sort of just fell into it. Before that, I had wanted to be in porn with my ex-boyfriend – the guy I was with during my high school and teen years. We had talked about when I turned 18 us doing a couples video for Shane’s World or something like that – and we contacted them to do it, actually. They said, “Yeah, when you’re 18, let us know and we’ll do it.”

We were all gung-ho to do it. I turned 18 and all of a sudden my boyfriend at the time was like, “I don’t want to do it.” So I was like, “Okay, whatever. We won’t do it, then.” So I just worked my job as a waitress. Then when I broke up with him, to have it come to me and have somebody approach me about it, I was like, “Well, why not?” So I just kind of went with it and did it – and it’s turned out pretty good so far! (Laughs) I can’t complain at all.

Q: (Laughs) Wonderful. There was a big piece featured on CNBC recently where the author wrote that you were possibly the most popular adult film performer in the world.

A: That’s crazy. (Laughs)

Q: Did you know about the article?

A: I did know about it. My publicist made me aware of it or else I probably would have never seen it. (Laughs) It’s crazy. I don’t know … I’ve been in the business for 10 years now – it will be my 10-year anniversary this summer. It’s gone by so fast, I’ve done so much stuff, had so many fun times and made so many awesome movies. It’s pretty cool to hear that. I’m very flattered and it makes me want to blush. I just do my job and have fun at it. It’s kind of weird when people are like, “You’re the biggest star!” I’m like, “What? No, I’m not! What are you talking about?” (Laughs)

Q: I also received a press release recently stating that you have topped the FAME Registry Top 10 Porn Stars list for 27 straight months.

A: That’s crazy. (Laughs) They gave me a voted award last year. They’re pretty awesome. I don’t know how they tabulate all of that, because I know there are girls who have way more Twitter followers than me and stuff like that. I keep my page private and I approve people for my Twitter site. A lot of girls have crazy numbers. I’m like, “Jenna Jameson has like a quarter of a million followers!” Damn! (Laughs) To me, that would make her the biggest star, but right on. If they think it’s me, awesome. I’ll run with it.

Q: (Laughs) For sure. I also wanted to ask about your production company, Jennaration X Studios. Quite a few performers have transitioned into directing, but there aren’t many who have actually founded their own studios. Why did you decide to launch Jennaration X?

A: I had been working for so many people. I’ve done the contact girl thing, done the independent thing, went through the “new girl” stage, then went through the getting-out-of-my-contract stage and then coming back to doing guys. I did all that and then I did some years of working around the circuit for all the companies. It just got to where I was like, “I have these ideas for things.” I didn’t want anybody else making money off of those ideas, so I didn’t want to just launch my ideas to somebody and be like, “Hey, let me direct this movie for this company.” I wanted to do it myself.

I got tired of doing things for just a scene rate. If I am going to be having sex on film, I want to be the beneficiary after all these years. Why should other people be making money off of me forever? (Laughs) So, it was like, “Just do it.” I feature danced for many years and I saved up a good chunk, so I was able to go into the company without having investors and doing it all myself – not only being the director and star of the movies, but being the producer as well. Which is crazy, because I think most of these girls have investors when they start a company or they have other money backing them.

That’s the biggest thing: Realizing how much these movies cost to make. Actually putting them together you see the money go. The first year was really scary. It was extremely scary, because you put out all these movies and you don’t see anything back for a while, because it takes a while for people to pay you back for them – it takes about six months to a year. So I put out all of these movies and I was like, “I don’t know if I can do this if I’m not going to see any money!” (Laughs) And then, of course, it starts gradually coming in, you put out more and it becomes like a cycle. But it’s really kind of a scary thing at the beginning, and since it was my own money and financing I think it was extra scary – not just my name and image that I built, but it’s my money as well. (Laughs) My hard-earned money that I saved for so many years. It was just something that I felt I had to do and I’m having fun with it.

Q: You make a good point about being the beneficiary of your work as the owner of a studio seeing as performers in the porn industry do not receive royalties for the videos they appear in – you get paid once and that’s it.

A: Yeah, this way I have licensing deals to other countries for cable and things like that. I believe Playboy, for their cable channel, has bought every single movie I’ve put out.

Q: Nice – that’s great.

A: Yeah – there’s all that stuff that I had to learn about! (Laughs) That’s the thing: Being just a performer and dancer was so much easier. (Laughs) The biggest thing I had to worry about was getting my nails done and making sure I had the proper wardrobe for a shoot. Just show up, look pretty, have my test, fuck and go home. Now I have to think of paperwork, I have to think of editing, camera, how it’s going to piece together, music, what I’m going to write for the back of the box cover, what pictures I’m going to use for the advertisements, the budget … there’s just so much more to worry about. I pick all the girls and all the guys that fuck them, the match-ups, the scenarios, the camera angles – I do it all. It’s quite overwhelming. (Laughs)

Q: I didn’t know you were involved to the point of actually writing the box covers as well. Wow!

A: Yeah, I do all that – read it! (Laughs) I write it so people will read it, so check it out! It’s not bad. (Laughs)

Q: You’ve obviously done so much in the adult world, but is there anything left you wish to accomplish?

A: I’m still learning this whole director thing. I got my first nomination this year for a directing award at AVN. I’m not going to quit performing anytime soon, but I’d like to earn some accolades as a director and really establish that. I’d like to branch out and brand my name a little bit more and get some more merchandising deals that I’m working on. I would like to conquer a little bit more of mainstream, because I’ve only had a couple of small cameos. I really think I should do a lot more with that. I would like to get a real doll of me made at some point. There’s all kinds of marketing things now that I have the company name and everything I want to brand.

Q: What are some of your hobbies and interests outside of work?

A: I read a lot of books. I’m kind of a bookworm – I always have my Kindle loaded up with new books for when I travel. I collect certain authors and whether I buy those on the Kindle or not because I have to read them right away, I still buy their stuff in regular form. (Laughs) I have my bookcase stuffed full of books. So that’s big hobby of mine. I play a lot of video games. I like to shop a lot. I really like to hang out with my dog. I’m kind of a foodie – I really like to eat, I like cooking.

I like really good wine. I really like watching movies, but I’m not really into TV, I only follow a couple of shows. I’m really not into television at all. It’s funny, I have like three televisions at my house and none of them are ever on. (Laughs) I don’t really have that much time, but I like vacations. I really like going to the beach – being in Hawaii, I think that was my eighth trip to the islands.

Q: Wow, nice. You mentioned your dog. I remember when I first saw a picture of her I thought she was a tiny puppy, but then I realized she’s actually pretty big. (Laughs)

A: Oh, she’s not that big – between 22 and 25 pounds. I can carry her in my arm. She’s a Pug and a Beagle mix, so she can’t be that big. (Laughs)

(Laughs) I thought she was huge for some reason.

Everyone thinks she’s a Boxer because of the way her face is. In pictures, some people are like “She’s big,” and in other pictures people are like, “She’s small.” It’s funny, because people say the same thing about me. A lot of people realize how tiny I am, but a lot of people think that because of my pictures I look so tall and slender. That’s the number-one thing I hear from fans when I meet them: “Oh, you’re so short.” And it’s like, “Of course I’m short! I’ve always been short!” (Laughs) I guess in pictures the perception is off.

But she’s my best friend – she’s awesome. (Laughs)

Q: Oh, she’s adorable.

A: She’s so smart too. And she’s like the best cuddler. She’s great. (Laughs)

Q: Are there any upcoming projects in the works that you would like to mention?

A: Actually, I just finished shooting a movie. It’s in the editing bay now and should be out in mid-April. It’s called “Breast in Class: Naturally Gifted.” There’s going to be another Breast in Class coming out in about two months. That’s going to be all of my enhanced, fake-booby friends that I really love. It’s going to be the only movie that I’m actually shooting fake boobs for, because in my company I don’t shoot fake boobs.

But I decided that I have so many good friends that I really wanted to put in a movie and I was doing all of those natural boob movies, so I decided to make it a series where it’s Breast in Class and then certain subcategories. I’m going to be doing Naturally Gifted and then there’s going to be an enhanced boob one which is going to be called Breast in Class – “Something” – but I don’t want to give it away yet. (Laughs) Someone might copy me in like a month, so I can’t say.

I’m also working on Just Jenna 2. It’s almost done. The first version won an award in January this year for AVN. It was an all-sex release, so that was pretty exciting. So now I have a lot of hype to live up to with the sequel and I’m like, “Ahh!” (Laughs) I was actually supposed to have it out in February, but I pushed it back because I want it to be ultra awesome.

So I’ve got those three movies that are in the works and they should all be out: One in April, one in May, one in June – bam, bam, bam. (Laughs)

Q: Quite a bit coming up for sure.

A: Yeah, and I’ve got a lot of dancing gigs coming up as well. I’m doing a tour over the summer. And a lot of conventions. I’m doing all the Exxxotica conventions – the one in Miami, the one in Chicago, the one in L.A., the one in New Jersey and New York. Those are always really fun and it’s great to meet my fans.

Q: They do seem really fun. I’ve actually never been to a convention.

A: You should come. They are really fun. I like them.

Q: I’m hoping to go to AVN week one year and attend the convention, awards show and just experience the entire few days.

A: For you, it would be really fun because you just get to walk around and stuff. For me, it’s a lot of work. We’re lucky if we literally get three hours of sleep every night because it’s get up at eight o’clock, sign autographs, do interviews, have business dinners, host a party at night or have to go to some red carpet event to schmooze with everybody, get to bed at four in the morning and get back up at seven o’clock. It’s crazy, but it’s an awesome, awesome weekend. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. It’s just exhausting at the end of it. (Laughs)

Q: I can imagine. (Laughs) In closing, is there anything you wish to say to fans and readers?

A: Just keep watching my Jennaration X movies – I’m going to keep pumping out some amazing stuff. Every movie I put out last year won some type of award, so I’m putting out quality stuff. And my website is getting a completely new design. I’ve been on it with the updates and stuff. It’s been really interactive: There are polls every week or so and web shows twice a month. So, keep watching and I’ll keep fucking!

Q: (Laughs) I’ve visited your website and you do a beautiful job.

A: It’s getting a redesign. It needs to be modernized a little bit because it’s had the same front page and everything for a while now. But there’s been a lot of new content over the last year and it’s doing really well. I’m really interactive on the web shows. That seems to be one of the biggest things: They love the web shows.

Q: Yes, I’ve noticed that you host quite a few web shows featuring a lot of great talent.

A: It’s awesome – super cool. (Laughs)

Q: Thanks very much, Jenna. I appreciate your time.

A: No problem, my pleasure. Have a good day.