LOS ANGELES—(October 18, 2013)— After four years of chart-topping blockbusters, three consecutive AVN Director Of The Year trophies, and a couple dozen other awards, Axel Braun surprisingly announced today that he is leaving Vivid Entertainment effective November 1st.

“It’s an absolutely amicable split” said Braun, “Vivid is a terrific company, and everybody there has always been great to me. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Steven Hirsch, but I simply felt it was time to hit the reset button and challenge myself with different endeavors.”

A 23-year adult industry veteran, and by far the most critically acclaimed adult director in recent history, Braun first started collaborating with Vivid in late 2009, when he signed a distribution deal for his namesake company Axel Braun Productions. His first ABP title, the hilariously sexy Batman XXX, became the highest selling and highest renting title of the year, winning a slew of awards and effectively jumpstarting a superhero parody craze that took the industry by storm. From Superman to Spider-Man, from Wolverine to Iron Man, there aren’t many costumed crimefighters left that Braun hasn’t successfully parodied, much to the delight of his loyal and ever-growing geek fanbase.

“I’m first and foremost a comic book fan” said Axel, “I notoriously obsess over the tiniest details to make sure that the characters I spoof are portrayed as accurately as possible, and I guess that resonates strongly with other fans. It’s easier to give an audience what they want when you’re part of the same demographic.”
But comics are not the only target of Braun’s parodies, which often take on his childhood heroes, like in the case of the multi award-winning Elvis XXX, or his favorite movies, as with last year’s top selling and top renting Star Wars XXX, another ABP mega-hit in which the director’s legendary attention to detail was once again in full display.

“I’m not going to stop shooting parodies,” assures Braun, who recently signed superstar Riley Steele to an exclusive 2-Year contract. “I just want to take ABP in a slightly different direction and expand my catalogue, and I feel the need to have more control over every aspect of this phase, and more time to focus on promoting Riley. Meanwhile I will still continue to collaborate with Vivid on the post-production of the many projects that we recently completed, while I’m looking forward to this exciting new stage of my career.”

About Axel Braun: The son of legendary porn-pioneer Lasse Braun and grandson of a diplomat, Axel Braun was born and raised in Italy, where he received a privileged upper-class upbringing. Fluent in five languages, a member of MENSA, a film-school graduate, and the bearer of a Ph.D. in psychology, Axel has a unique cultural background that sets him apart from the many other directors in the adult industry. A second-generation AVN Hall-of-Famer, over the span of his career he has won dozens of awards all over the world for directing, producing, screenwriting, and editing, including three consecutive “Director Of The Year” AVN awards. For more information visit www.facebook.com/AxelBraun and www.twitter.com/axelbraun