Carving out a career in the adult industry usually doesn’t begin with a gig at Bed, Bath & Beyond even though bed sheets might have been the catalyst. But for director MimeFreak, his part-time job at the home goods store was the quirk of fate that opened the door to his vocation that now includes directing for major studio, Elegant Angel.
MimeFreak recalls that he met photographer / videographer Chris Streams in 2005, who at the time was with 3rd Degree films and Zero Tolerance, when Streams came into the store looking to purchase high-quality sheets. He even helped Streams return the sheets after they were “brutally shredded,” giving the would-be director pause as to what happened that would result in the ripped bed wear. He could only assume it was the result of some hellified sexual antics — and he wanted to know more about the industry that’s always intrigued him.
I don’t need the limelight as a director, I would much rather people judge me by what I’m able to create. —MimeFreak
“Still to this day I don’t know what the fuck he did to those sheets,” MimeFreak says, but only two weeks later he found himself a protégé of Streams that he now says allowed him to learn everything he knows about adult filmmaking.
“Chris was like a human almanac for this shit. The most important thing he told me was, ‘you will have to be like me…you will have to learn to be a production assistant, photographer, videographer, and director.’”
After paying the required dues, MimeFreak directed his first film, an all-Black title called “Black Da Fuck Up” from 3rd Degree Films under his former name, “Dynomite Dolomite.” The newbie director was assisted by performer/director Pat Myne along with major talent Marie Luv and Jada Fire.
He also helmed Black Ice’s “Swallowing Sluts With Big Ass Butts” and “Black Azz Orgy.”
But MimeFreak didn’t want to be pigeon-holed simply as a “black director.” He instead wanted his talent to shine through like some of his heroes including John Stagliano (whom he calls a “god”), Jay Sin, Mason, Richard Avery and Hype Williams.
“I was told that if I was limiting to all black and interracial movies my career would end as fast as it started. Plus Dynamite Dolomite was rushed and there wasn’t really a meaning behind it. However with MimeFreak, the meaning means so much more. A mime is an art or technique of portraying a character, mood, idea, or narration by gestures. A mime is also a form of a mask that hides a person’s true identity so the consumer can focus purely on the art. So with that being said, I don’t need the limelight as a director, I would much rather people judge me by what I’m able to create,” MimeFreak explains.
The new moniker and fortunate associations led to other adult contacts including Mick Blue and Carlos Dee at Elegant Angel that eventually led to a sit-down with adult luminary Patrick Collins.
“I told myself that if I wasn’t able to get something going I’d be done with the adult business, but after meeting with Collins, I was given an interview with Jim Crawford. My initial thinking was ‘who the fuck is Jim Crawford?’ After my meeting with Jim, I really didn’t know if I was destined to be a director for Elegant, but Jim called me in for a second meeting and that meeting was concluded with a friendship… We are the new ‘Ebony and Ivory,’” MimeFreak says.
But that’s not all that’s on the director’s plate. He’s also a videographer and photographer for Tori Black Inc., Open Life Entertainment, JuliLand, Evil Angel, and Zero Tolerance.
But his big show chops come from his exclusive arrangement as an Elegant Angel director, that include “Big Tit Fanatic 3,” “Up that White Ass 4,” “Anal Freak,” and two scenes in “Performers of the Year 2014” with Maddy O’Reilly and Bonnie Rotten.
Describing his shooting style as distinctly “raw,” MimeFreak believes today’s films are “watered down.”
“With the nature of the business being more pirated than ever, most producers/directors don’t feel the need to be as creative due to the revenue drastically changing. Then there’s the parody affect … let’s take something that’s already been done, duplicate the characters with porn personnel, include sex, and hope it sells. I would much rather go back to the old days of porn where you had handlebar mustaches, mullets, Afros and bushes. There was no script, no high definition, and nothing but hot fucking sex,” MimeFreak says.
Despite his penchant for hardcore, the director does take issue with another quick-buck approach to today’s porn films. He says the “beat a bitch, slap a bitch, and choke a bitch and call it a movie effect” negates the sex itself. “I love rough sex, but when it starts to get away from the sex it no longer has my attention.”
MimeFreak also believes that talent has changed, especially since the recession. Where before, performers were more focused on their careers and delivering quality performances, today’s economic hard times have forced a number of performers to get into the business “just to get paid.”
“We lost quality talent,” MimeFreak laments. “What I mean by quality is we didn’t have a bunch of boys and girls forcing themselves to be a part of something for a quick buck but actually care about this business. I say business because that’s exactly what this is. It’s a fucking business and we now have a lot of boys and girls being reckless, careless, and overconfident,” the director believes.
He also notes that some of the agents are to blame. He feels that when agents cast talent they should be able to ascertain who can really cut it and those who can’t. “I’m tired of hearing a girl wanting to do things they want to do but have agents come back and say we feel you should hold out for more money. Just because you have a pretty face doesn’t mean you can suck, fuck and swallow, and just because you have a 10-inch cock doesn’t mean you can lay pipe.”
Even though the industry has its fair share of top talent, MimeFreak stresses that because porn is in fact a business, the industry needs more talent that act professional. He wants to see more quality “superstars.”
“Men and women who do whatever it takes to get the job done by memorizing a script when asked, and without having to smoke weed to feel comfortable, or drink to get confidence,” MimeFreak says. What also sticks in his craw is talent that require “tens of thousands of dollars” to fuck someone of a different nationality. “Get the fuck outta here. Sex is porn … Porn is business,” he maintains.
MimeFreak is also concerned about the piracy, tube and torrent site issues that continually plague the adult industry and impact film production, noting that good quality porn often falls victim to theft.
The pitfalls of technology aside, MimeFreak says he does see saving grace in new technology. He likes the fact that technological advancements in cameras allow him to use a variety when shooting that best suits the situation, including the Panasonic AG-HPX170P, Canon 5D Mark III, and 70D.
He adds that another bright side of tech is that it allows for directors to go back to the old school days of production using new-school technology in order to make quality movies. And that’s what will be successful, he predicts. And it’s just what he’s planning to do.
