Ginger, Congratulations on your new position with The Simon Wolf Organization. In the Director of Marketing role you will have a great opportunity to promote the Company and the industry in general, but also have a great say in the great work that will continue to be developed. Secondly, as fans that go back with you to the early eighties, we are truly honored to be able to chat with you. You are a true legend and it is a pleasure for us both.
GINGER:
Thank you! The pleasure is all mine.
AH:
In the past few years we have been able to see you back on film. With this management role will your fans be disappointed with your absence on screen?
GINGER:
The first portion of my adult film career was brief, yet sensational. I feel that my comeback has been just as amazing. I came in with a bang (no pun intended), I left my mark, and now it’s time to bow out gracefully. I’ve appeared in excess of 70 adult films over the years, so I believe there�s enough of me out there to keep even the most fanatic Ginger Lynn fan happy.
AH
Do you miss that part of your life?
GINGER:
I starred in a new feature for VCA Pictures in February 2002 entitled ‘Sunset Stripped’, so I haven’t really had a chance to miss the business yet. I’m ready for a new adventure, but I’m sure I will miss the thrill of performing in adult films. Fortunately my mainstream career is going very well, and I will continue to work in the industry.
My most recent mainstream release, ‘The Independent’ directed by Stephen Kessler,
starring Janeane Garofalo and Jerry Stiller has been in theaters since November of 2001 and has received rave reviews. Although my role is a small one, it’s one that I’m quite proud of.
Head animator for The Simpson’s Brad Abelson gave me the leading-lady role in his newest project ‘Save Virgil’ which a cross between ‘South Park’ and ‘Space Jam’. Character animation should be complete soon, and we’re hoping for a series on Comedy Central.
I begin principal filming on a thriller called ‘Samhain’ starring Richard Grecco in early April.
So, all is good on the mainstream front. Although my acting career is going well and I have no intention of giving up on ‘Hollywood’, my position with the Simon Wolf Organization is my main focus today, and I look forward to the thrills and challenges that lie before me.
AH
After you get settled, in what ways will your experience be able to shape the direction and future of The Simon Wolf Organization?
GINGER:
My career in the adult film industry has to date covered a span of nearly two decades. Simon produces the type of films that I chose to appear in and personally find the most appealing� high quality, passionate productions geared towards couples and women. It’s completely natural for me to be able to market Simon’s product. The fact that I already know most of the adult film reviewers personally makes it all that much easier.
AH
It is clear that a great deal has changed in adult film over the last twenty years. As an insider what do you see as the most positive change and the most negative?
GINGER:
Twenty years ago the adult film industry was made up of a small group of people who enjoyed what they did and just happened to get paid for it. There was no fame, no fortune, but there sure was a whole lot of fun. Today it�s a business� and a multi-billion dollar one at that. The intimacy that made the industry so charming back then is more or less gone. There was a time when the talent, the producer, the director and the crew were one big (or small) happy, incestuous family. Those days are long gone, and I don�t see them ever returning.
The most positive change in my opinion is the open-armed acceptance of porn by society in general, and the ease at which we can get just about any kind of film that turns us on. There are also many ‘beautiful’ people in films today where as back in the 80�s there were only a handful of attractive performers. On the other hand so many women in the industry have chosen to alter their natural beauty with plastic surgery that it is sometime difficult to tell one from the other. Same nose, same tits, same lips�same old same old. I find the uniqueness of a natural woman or a man much more appealing than cookie-cutter porn stars.
AH
It seems that there is a huge surge in the adult entertainment business. Studios have posted record sales, retail purchases and rentals have continued to grow and since the 9/11 this has been one of the only industries that have been unaffected. Any thoughts as to why this is?
GINGER:
Sex sells. Always has�always will. People want to feel good, and porn is a wonderful way to do so.
AH
As an executive in the business, in what ways do you think marketing and PR play a role into making adult film a true part of the American mainstream?
GINGER:
‘Adult film’ is American mainstream today. Most red-blooded Americans find erotic entertainment to be a vast segment of their home viewing pleasure. Marketing and PR play the same role for adult films as the do for any other type of film entertainment. They provide the prospective viewer with the opportunity to discover what�s new and who�s in it, as well as to help in creating their erotic wish list.
AH
With more maturity in the public�s view and the fact that between the Howard Stern Show, Entertainment Tonight and the E! Network continue to showcase industry talent, it seems that America has developed quite a curiosity around adult film. How do you recommend couples go beyond this distance view and jump in to the fan arena?
GINGER:
In my opinion there�s no better way to get your feet (and other erogenous zones) wet than to dive in headfirst. Go to your local video store and rent something that strikes your fancy. Check out a Simon Wolf feature. Many gentlemen�s clubs feature adult actresses�go see one. Join an adult web site. Get on the Internet and surf.
AH
Looking at yourself, Ashlyn Gere, Tori Wells and even Marilyn Chambers it is nice to see the longevity of everyone�s career. Going back a few years, who were your favorite male and female performers to work with and why?
GINGER:
I�ve always enjoyed working with performers who enjoy what they do, are good at it, and are down to earth and who are sexually adventurous. Of the 80′s adult film stars my favorite male co-stars are Tom Byron and Peter North. Christy Canyon, Amber Lynn and Barbara Dare top my female co-star list.
AH
Who do you like in film today for men and women and while?
GINGER:
I felt like a kid walking into a candy store when I made my return to adult films in 1999. There are so many wonderful performers today that it was difficult to choose. I especially enjoyed working with Chloe, Kylie Ireland and Sindee Cox. Sean Michaels, Michael J. Cox, Evan Stone and Voodoo really turned me on.
AH
Speaking of the talent, we noticed that Simon Wolf Productions now has Tabitha Stevens as a contract star, formerly associated with Jill Kelly Productions. Not to be taken as a pointed question, in order for a girl to have ‘made it’ is an exclusive contract necessary, or is an independent performer or ‘jumper’, one who goes from studio to studio a viable alternative?
GINGER:
Being under contract definitely doesn�t hurt a performer, but I don�t believe it�s a necessity to becoming a ‘star’. If a performer has what it takes, is reliable and does not over-expose themselves they can go just as far independently as they could if they were under contract. But, going independent does require a lot more hard work, diligence and self-promotion. If you are lucky enough to get signed with a reputable company such as Simon Wolf, an exclusive contract can make a new, unknown starlet a household name.
AH
Where do you see the industry in five years? Public television? The AVN Awards broadcast on cable, on-demand pay-per-view 24/4, adult film stars as household names?
GINGER:
The adult film industry has grown with such leaps and bounds over the last two decades and has become so ‘mainstream’ that it is easily foreseeable that the next step will be primetime. Today adult films and their performers are often seen on public television, cable and pay-per-view. We are already household names. So-called ‘mainstream’ Hollywood, the music industry and the sex industry have by now begun to mesh. It�s just a matter of time until there is no longer a line drawn between adult and ‘mainstream’.
AH
As important, where can we expect to see Ginger Lynn Allen in five years?
GINGER:
Primetime of course.
Thank you so much for your time and we wish you all of the best and continued success!!