LOS ANGELES — There are few, if any, godfathers in the realm of adult comedy. Mimicry, after all, rules the day. Trends spawn very similar trends. A high-profile interview here … spawns a gangbang of spotlights over there. Betas swarm the alpha’s sloppy seconds. Monkeys see. Monkeys do.
Yet, Will Ryder is undoubtedly the godfather of porn parodies. After his landmark “Not the Bradys XXX” (Hustler Video) triggered what mainstream media referred to as “the new gold rush in porn” a decade ago, in its wake, studios erected as many spoofs of mainstream intellectual properties as there are sperm cells in a creampie.
And while the number of parody productions has arguably been in a state of steady decline, the ever-returning Ryder refuses to fade. No matter how many times he rides off into the sunset on a triumphant note, like after his XBIZ Award-winning “Not Traci Lords XXX” 80s porn sendup … just when he thought he was out, they pull him back in quicker than Michael Corleone.
And once again, it is Adam & Eve that has inspired the maestro to reappear.
After all, they’ve proven to be an award-winning combo, with such titles as “Grease XXX,” “Not the Wizard of Oz XXX,” “Not Animal House XXX,” “Beverly Hillbillies XXX” and “Not Bewitched XXX” landing mountains of trophies at the venerated XBIZ Awards, where merit trumps politics … where skill supersedes superficiality.
And, with the wholly original premise of “Bad Babes Inc.” transcending the inherent limits of the parody genre, nothing less than a full-fledged interview with the Mad Hatter himself would suffice. Take heed, then, all ye mimics and originals alike, and bear witness to his brilliant mind!
XBIZ: Before we get into the nitty-gritty of this ambitious undertaking, what is the central plot of "Bad Babes Inc."?
Will Ryder: Playboy Ryan Davis (Ryan Ryder), owner of several successful companies, suddenly divorces his stay-at-home wife Jennifer (Katie Morgan), catching her completely blind-sided by his cheating ways and desire to split. The settlement gives her the house, but also something she didn’t even know existed; his failing porn movie company.
Shocked and bewildered, she’s instantly thrust inside the middle of the porn world with zero knowledge of how to run a business, let alone any personal knowledge of sex beyond the missionary position.
With the help of general manager Frank (Frank Bukkwyd) and Sherry (Kat Dior), the hippie pot-smoking receptionist, she acclimates to the wild world of porn stars, webcamming and sexy movies, transforming the company and herself from a doormat into a juggernaut. Revenge is sweet, as Ryan must accept his former wife’s success and the end of his personal porn dating pool.
XBIZ: How do you plan to surpass last year’s XBIZ Award-winning “Not Traci Lords XXX” parody (not to mention the legion of other decorated titles) with this latest title?
Ryder: “Bad Babes Inc.” is an entirely different animal. This is a massive feature comedy movie and is quite possibly the best work I have ever done. I shot it with a much keener cinematic eye, specifically with the plan of it playing on Showtime. The story is fully developed from beginning to end and there is a lot of heart, soul and emotion that tugs at the viewer throughout the movie, but we never abandon the fact that this is a robust comedy.
I believe, once edited, this will be a fantastic movie from beginning to end, and the funniest porn movie of the year. The characters are extremely humorous and thrust into real-life situations, with Katie Morgan playing the role of bewildered ex-wife Jennifer and Ryan Ryder mastering the art of womanizer. These are two great actors and the comedy sprinkles down throughout our very large cast of 20.
XBIZ: What led you to team up with Adam & Eve on yet another parody production?
Ryder: We've had an incredible amount of success with Adam & Eve over the past 12 years or so and recently some huge Showtime success on some really big projects — most specifically, “Love, Sex & TV News,” which currently plays on Showtime as “Channel Sex News,” and also with “The Young & the Rest of Us.” At this year's XBIZ convention here in Hollywood, Adam & Eve came to Scott David and me and bought us a Coke and asked if we could create a new original comedy. Original is the key word here, so I jumped at the chance to start writing.
XBIZ: Tell us about the movie’s cast. Who plays the main roles and what inspired you to choose these performers?
Ryder: It's a very large cast, so co-producer Scott David and I worked hard at developing a unique ensemble, swapping out some actors late in the game … including one during the cast read. Some of these characters are very unusual, quirky and funny, so in my mind, only a few actors could play those roles. So, we did our best to work out schedules.
We did cast one award-winning young girl in a major role but she was a no-show at our cast table read, so we had to dump her on the spot. Her agent had no idea where she was either and she wasn't returning his calls or mine, so she had to be brutally cut. I really wanted to work with her too and it was the night before our first shoot day, but this train stops for nobody that gets on the tracks. Ironically, she phoned us the morning of the first day as if nothing happened expecting to still have her spot in the movie but since nobody is allowed to fuck with the great Will Ryder, we had to say bye-bye. I will not mention her name, but Kat Dior came in to take on the role of the stoned receptionist and played it brilliantly — so much, in fact, that I actually thought she was stoned.
Kat did arrive on the set without a voice and the rumor was she was practicing naked cheerleading calls at 3 a.m. the night before or something sexy like that, so hot tea and honey were the only thing that saved the movie. Did I mention there was a lot of cast drama on this set? It's ironic that there probably was more behind-the-scenes drama on this movie than in my entire career put together, but that only adds to the flavor. Mostly drama that I was unaware of until after we wrapped, but each day I was relayed the various stories and they were very juicy. I think that is one of the reasons this project shot so well, because the emotion was flying out of everybody's various orifices, bringing these characters to life.
Tiffany Watson has that cute teenager thing down to a science and was really great. I love her. Sarah Vandella and Seth Gamble were fantastic in their roles as dueling divorce attorneys. Sarah Vandella is the most underrated actress in this business and she is truly a gem with words when she doesn't have a mammoth cock in her mouth. Seth Gamble is always good — he's like my go-to guy. Luna Star was stupid funny as the hot Latina housekeeper and brought Sofia Vergara to mind with some fantastic comic wit. Kimberly Chi, a terrific Asian actress, was hilarious as Bing Bing and steals some scenes. Zelda Morrison played a porn starlet exactly like a porn starlet should be.
Sunny Lane drove in from Las Vegas to be a part of this epic movie and I'm really glad she did. We've been friends for well over a decade and she always is fun to have on the set. We even had Tanner Mayes making her comeback appearance. One top pro that brought beauty and grace to the set was the beautiful Adriana Chechik and she played the role of a sexy model to perfection. I had not worked with her since “Grease XXX” so that was a wonderful reunion. I really love my cast. I had some extras like Loni Legend and Whitney Wright that I look forward to working with in the future because they deserve a bigger role.
As for some other guys, I brought in Chris Strokes because that dude can deliver the sausage and Moe “the Monster” Johnson played the hippie stoner guy and was funny as hell. Alec Knight played the gay guy that tries pussy for the very first time and if I didn't know that Alec was a stud, I would think he spent his nights on Santa Monica Boulevard cruising. My “glue guy” is Frank Bukkwyd and if I could, he would be in every production I created. He really holds my movies together, which is a tough thing to do. I met the very handsome Ryan Ryder in Las Vegas and hit it off with him and he was one of the best actors I've ever worked with. What a great guy, who took the role seriously and delivered a best actor worthy performance. He's a Scottish stud. Jeremy Steele also stars in the film.
XBIZ: What are the challenges of directing a large ensemble cast, vs. a smaller one?
Ryder: Wrangling talent is a huge concern, especially in porn. I'm not sure why this is, but porn people have a tendency to disappear at the precise moment you need them back on set. I'm constantly looking for actresses, when it should be the job of the talent wrangler, but usually they go MIA, so it's me running to the makeup room or wherever porn stars run to.
We also have to factor in the noise factor with a large ensemble. It's easy if the green room and the makeup room is far from where you are shooting, but if it's close, then you've got yourself a big issue, because talented people like to talk and many love to hear themselves talk. “Quiet on the set” has been replaced by “shut the fuck up” on my sets.
XBIZ: Give us a behind-the-scenes look at the shoot itself. Any memorable on-set hijinks, madcap mischief or stellar performances?
Ryder: This was one of my busiest shoots ever, so I was totally engrossed in the day-to-day endeavors of a director, but I could one day write a few chapters on the madcap adventure, sexual dalliances, weed smoking and other passion pleasures that took place off camera. It was truly entertaining to hear about it each day after we wrapped. I'm sad to say I missed most of it.
XBIZ: Any last words?
Ryder: I have not shot a porn movie in over a year due to my other business obligations, so it was fun getting back in the saddle and riding tall once again. I'm really happy that I had a great cast, a captivating funny story to tell and I'm always excited when I'm able to bring some hilarity and madness to the screen. The truth is, I got tired at the awards shows earlier this year watching my colleagues Brad Armstrong, Axel Braun and the beard himself Greg Lansky having all the fun wearing holes in the carpet leading to the stage, so I wanted to come back and kick their ass with this very funny movie. Mission accomplished. I doubt if any company will beat this as a comedy and honestly that's the main reason I came back. Oh yeah, that … and the chicks.
