Porn Valley- www.iesb.net- Interviews Jenna Haze. Haze who was named Female Performer of the Year by the XRCO Thursday night celebrates her win with an appearance in Crank 2: High Voltage which comes out today. Haze was also seen in Superbad and has a part in the upcoming Judd Apatow film, Funny People.

Born in Fullerton, California, [Orange County] Haze entered the porn industry in 2001, at the age of 19 and recently launched her own production company, Jennaration X Studios (http://twitter.com/jenxstudios).

Haze spoke to IESB about her love of working in adult film, why she’s so confident being naked, what it was like to work on a Hollywood film like Crank 2, and where she sees her career going in the future.

She describes herself as coming from a poor family.

“But then I had to drop out [of school] really early to help support the family,” Haze says.

“And I worked a bunch of really crazy, crappy jobs.”

She worked at Taco Bell, did oil changes at Easy Lube, worked at Toys R Us, was a waitress at Marie Callender’s and, once she turned 18, Haze worked for one day as a stripper.

“Which was horrible,” she says.

“And then, I moved out of my mom’s house and was living with this girl that I was dating. We started going to nightclubs around the Orange County area, and went to one in particular, called The Boogie. We just started partying and hanging out with guys there, and we ended up meeting a couple of people who knew some people in the adult industry. I was pretty wild and flirtatious, and not a shy person, so they said, ‘You’d be perfect for our industry. Would you ever be interested in doing movies?’ I was like, ‘Sure, let’s go ahead and do it!’ So, I went down to AIM and I got my test, and the next day I did a scene that was supposed to be a double blow job”

“But I was really into it and I ended up doing full sex with both of the guys. Then, the day after that, I did my first real scene with a make-up artist and real cameras, for Joey Silvera in Service Animals 4. From there, it just went.”

Haze said she was fully into the idea of performing, that she began watching porn with boyfriends when she was 14 or 15 years old.

“When I was younger, I would see it once in awhile with guys that I would hang around with, and I would be into it,” she comments.

“But then, when I got a steady boyfriend at 15 or 16, I was with him for about four years and we started getting into it and collecting them. Our favorites were the Shane’s World films. We liked the way that it was just free-form. They just went and partied, had a good time, did crazy stuff like snowboarding, and just had sex. It wasn’t scripted, or anything like that.”

But it wasn’t until about three years ago that Haze began taking her porn career seriously with the release of Darkside.

“That’s when I thought, okay, wow, I can really do something with this,” states Haze.

“When I got into the industry, I didn’t really take it seriously as a job. It was just a fun way for me to make money. I was already at that club, taking home guys and having sex with them, so I was like, why don’t I do this on camera? I love being on camera.”

“I was always a camera hog,” she goes on to say. “Me and my friends always messed around with cameras and took dirty pictures, so that wasn’t an awkward thing for me. So, I figured, why don’t I do this and be safe? We get tested, so it’s much safer than just taking home a guy, and I got paid for it, too.”

“So, I did it as just a fun thing, for a long time, and then, once I put out Darkside, I was like, okay, I’m going to really work at this and take it seriously, and not just see it as fun and money.”

Haze also mentions that she’s been in three long term relationships.

“And they’ve all been for three and a half or four years. It’s crazy!”

Haze addresses the inevitable issues of jealousy that crop up in porn relationships. Her boyfriend is Jules Jordan.

“I get my kicks at work and I feel secure at home,” states Haze. “I’m able to express myself and my crazy sexual fantasies through work, so I don’t really have to go anywhere else. I have my boyfriend who I love and who I make love with, and he’s my partner and best friend. And then, I go to work and I can have the crazy, insane sex that I would have from just picking up a guy at a club. It’s always a different adventure at work, but at home I have my steady, monogamous thing. It’s almost like two sides to a person.”

Haze says she’s okay with watching her performances but goes through periods where she’s not.

“We’re all insecure, in our own ways, and we’re all our harshest critics,” she says.

“Sometimes, I see stuff and I’m like, oh, my God, I can’t believe I made that face again!, or oh, wow, I really have to get to the gym!”

At the same time, Haze says that in order to learn how porn is shot, become a better director and camera person, and put out movies that are of good quality, she needs to watch herself on camera.

“So, for the last year or so, I’ve been checking them out, and it gets easier to watch myself each time. You have to separate yourself from it, a little bit. Otherwise, you start to question everything you do, and I always want to be real on camera. I don’t want to be fake.”

Haze, like most porn performers, rarely carries her screen image by wearing sexy dresses off camera.

“When I’m at home, I don’t wear anything like that,” Haze says.

“I wear flip-flops and sneakers, and jeans and tank tops. But, the sexual energy and the sexual persona is completely the same.”

Now that she’s been in the industry a number of years, Haze has learned that she’s more of a business woman than she thought she was.

“I’ve learned that people think I’m prettier than I think I am. And, people seem to like me more than I thought they would. Girls in this business need to realize that they’re the ones in control. You need to be in control of your destiny.”

“I’ve learned to be strong and stand my ground and hold my value of myself. People will try to take advantage of you and they’ll walk all over you, but if you’re smart, you can take this business in a very good direction, in a very positive way for yourself, and be very successful.”

Haze also attributes her long term success to the fact that she likes her job and likes being on camera.

“A lot of these girls don’t like it,” she comments.

“They come into the business for the wrong reasons — for the money, to prove something to themselves, for drugs, for a boyfriend, or to rebel. I came into this business for fun, for the pleasure of doing it and the experience. Now, of course, the money is a factor, and I enjoy the money, but when I’m not enjoying myself anymore, I’ll move on to something else.”

“But, right now, I’m still having a hell of a time being in front of the camera. A lot of these girls are just not right for it, and it’s sad because it’s something that they should think about before they do it. It is a life-altering thing. I can’t go and be that English teacher that I wanted to be when I was in high school. That’s not going to happen.”

“No one is going to let their kids around me. There are certain things you have to let go of and accept, when you come into the business, and it’s cool. It’s worked for me. I take everything one day at a time, and just try to enjoy myself and do my best at work, every day.”

Haze is often recognized in public and approached by fans. She comments on that.

“ I’m more surprised in the way that they approach me,” she states.

“The things that they say are quite interesting. I’ve heard everything from, oh, my God, you’re that anal girl!, to the people who know who I am, but they try to say things like, you look really familiar. Do I know you from someplace? I could swear that I’ve seen you before. Did you go to this school? Do you know this person? And, I’m like, you know where you’ve seen me before. Let’s not beat around the bush.”

“But, I’m never surprised. Everybody watches porn. It’s very mainstream, and the industry is getting more and more accepted. Personally, I think it’s a step I the right direction because I believe that society, in general, views sex as something that is wrong, when it should be something that is celebrated and talked about, viewed in a safe manner, and educated about. It shouldn’t be shunned. Certain porn, of course, should be banned, but the good, healthy porn should be enjoyed by adults who want to view it.”

Haze also addresses the question why she’s remained freelance instead of signing another porn contract.

“I did the contract thing when I was with JKP (Jill Kelly Productions),” she points out.

“And, while contracts work for some girls, I think I like to work too much and I like to be in control of my own destiny. I like to be in control of my job and my projects. I don’t like being told, this is the movie you’re gonna do. This is what it’s called. I like people who call me and say, hey, do you wanna be in this movie?”

“I like picking and choosing the days that I work. I want to do my own thing. If I want to decide that I don’t want to work for four months, I’m not going to work for four months.”

“After I did the contract thing, I decided that I didn’t want anybody to make that much money off of me,” she continues.

“It’s bad enough that when I freelance and do these jobs, where I do one scene for a gonzo movie and they put me on the box cover, they’re making tons of money off my name and I’m only getting a small scene fee. That’s why I decided to launch my own company. If I’m going to do this, I should be making the most money off myself.”

“Nobody else should be making that much money off my name ‘cause I built my name, so I launched my company. I’m going to work for people for the next year, and then I’ll probably just be exclusive to myself, and just do special projects, here and there, like big features.”

Haze’s mainstream career began materializing when she did a Saliva music video where she had a small part.

“Then I didn’t do anything else mainstream for awhile,” she says.

“And then, I got a call one day from someone at Sony Pictures who said, we want you to do this behind-the-scenes thing for this movie, and I was like, really? Okay, sure. This has gotta be a joke, right? I still don’t know how they got my number. They said, it’s for Superbad, and I was like, what’s Superbad? I hadn’t seen 40-Year-Old Virgin, or any of those movies, so I didn’t take it too seriously.”

“They said I would be doing it with (porn star) Aurora Snow, and I was like, I know her, so even if it’s stupid, we’ll both be there together. So, I went and did it, and it was completely silly. I didn’t know that it was going to be a big deal. I got paid $700 for it, and it was the easiest money I’ve ever made. I didn’t hear anything about it for awhile, and then I got invited to the premiere, so I went and that was awesome. There were so many famous people there. It was so cool!”

According to Haze she’s still not actively pursuing mainstream gigs.

“They called me to do Crank 2,” she explains.

“I didn’t ask to do it, they just called me for it. And, I did a little thing for Judd Apatow’s new movie, Funny People. Aziz Ansari is in the movie, and I did a little thing with him that they’re probably going to put on the bonus disc, or on Comedy Central as a promotion for it. But, I’m not really actively pursuing it. I’m just seeing what comes to me. I’m taking the mainstream thing as a hobby, more than something serious.”

“My heart is in porn, and I will always be into porn. That’s my love. If I happen to get a mainstream job, here and there, then cool, but it’s not what I’m going after. Using porn to cross over to mainstream just sounds like a silly thing to do. If you want to do mainstream, you should just try to make it in mainstream. I’m always going to be known as “that porn girl”. I’m always going to be known as a porn star, and I’m fine with that. That’s cool with me.”

Haze was then given a call to see if she’d appear in Crank 2. She was told they needed some porn stars in a scene to be on strike.

“And they said to bring some sexy outfits. My call-time was at 6 am, in this horrible ghetto area in L.A. It was really cool! I had my own little star wagon. (Former Vivid contract star) Monique Alexander was also there.”

“She had a little part in it to, along with Ron Jeremy and Lexington Steele. I’m surprised at how much notice I’m getting for it because I didn’t think anything about it. I even made it into the little trailer online. I was so excited! It was really funny.”

Haze saw the first Crank film and thought it was a very high-energy, high-action movie.

“I don’t really remember too much about it, except for that it was totally crazy and totally unbelievable,” she says.

“I knew Jason Statham from The Transporter.”

Asked what she got to do in Crank 2, Haze explains, “Jason Statham was driving a cop car with Amy Smart in the background, and I jump on the cop car and start screaming stuff, and I flash my boobs while he’s looking at me. I don’t know how much of me they left in it, but they left some dialogue that I said. They had me scream into the camera, saying all this stuff. We were porn stars on strike, so we had to protest. It was hard for me to protest because I was like, but, I like my job! I make good money. I wouldn’t really be protesting.”

“The camera would come to me and they would say, Jenna, scream something! and I’d be like, you guys wanna see me suck that dick? You know you do! I know you wanna see it! You’ve gotta pay my rate! It was really funny. It was a really good experience. It was an interesting role. I don’t know how much they left in and how much they’ll put on the DVD. I’m just glad I made it into the trailer and onto some of the press releases. It’s pretty cool to have my name alongside Amy Smart and Dwight Yoakam.”