“If it doesn’t happen, listen, I’m happy to talk over and over again.”
So says Marvin Love, director of Digital Playground’s latest comedy, “Single Minded.” Two days before, Love and I had conducted an excellent 45-minute interview, covering topics ranging from his upbringing in Nigeria, to his transition from mainstream movie production to adult directing, to his establishment of The Bakery Talent Agency. It was loose, funny, and very insightful.
And now, due to a technical glitch on my end, we have to do it again.
“We can't trust technology, can we? So I totally get it,” he adds.
Considering Love’s hectic schedule, a reaction from mild annoyance to outright hostility would have been warranted once I told him I hadn’t managed to record a single word he’d said during our original talk. But after a combined hour and a half of conversation, I've learned two important facts about Love: the man loves to talk, and he just might be the nicest person in adult.
But you don’t have to take my word for it.
“Besides the fact that Marvin is a professional from start to finish, he is a wonderful human being,” says Sinatra Monroe, who plays the lead in “Single Minded.” “He genuinely cares about the people.”
Co-star and reigning XBIZ Performer of the Year Seth Gamble, a noted director in his own right, adds: “I think Marvin has a great personality, which leads to a very refreshing environment on set. He makes the days very fun. I can’t ask for anything more than that.”
Love's somewhat circuitous route to directing in adult began when he came to the United States in 2015 to attend film school, only to find himself several thousand miles from where he expected to land.
“I got into a film school called New York Film Academy, so I got an apartment in New York,” he recalls, laughing. “But then I see that my dad booked a flight to LA. ‘Why did you book a flight to Los Angeles?’ I asked him. ‘It’s called New York Film Academy!’ But I read the acceptance letter again, and it said New York Film Academy, LA campus. So, change of plans! I moved to Los Angeles.”
Fortunately, the move worked out well for the budding filmmaker. After graduating, he went to work as an assistant director on several mainstream productions, including an Amazon comedy series titled “Velvet Prozak” and a globe-hopping sports show called “Adventures in Golf,” produced by United Airlines.
“It was a documentary where this guy goes around the world playing golf in the oddest places on Earth,” Love explains.
After producing a number of short films, he landed a side gig as a PA for a few adult shoots. That is how he first caught the attention of Aylo, the parent company of Digital Playground and Pornhub.
“In 2020, the director I was working for had to move back to Ukraine during the pandemic,” Love says. “No one knew what the world was going to look like once everything began to return to normal. Toward the end of 2020, Aylo reached out to me and said, ‘Hey, would you like to be a director?’ At first, I thought it was kind of odd, asking a PA to move right into the director’s chair. But I knew that, at the end of the day, I am a filmmaker.”
He initially worked with Pornhub, shooting virtual reality content, which later led to an invitation from Digital Playground to direct his first feature.
“It was called ‘Obsession,’” he says. “It was a psychological drama where this woman suspects her husband of cheating, but she finds out that he is just a sub to a financial dom. And then the financial dom takes her in and starts domming her as well. It's a bunch of psychological fuckery!
“I learned a lot from it, but it was too dark for me,” he adds.
Not surprising, since what Love really wanted to do was direct comedy.
“I want to laugh!” he proclaims. “I want to have fun! But it took a few more films for me to get the opportunity to make something more in my wheelhouse.”
His first chance to explore his comedic side came when he directed a series of comedy scenes for Digital Playground's sister studio, Brazzers, which led to his big break.
“Brazzers is a comical brand that relies a lot on humor and ridiculousness,” he says. “Digital Playground had not done a lot of comedies, but they had this action movie called ‘Payback’s a Bitch,’ and they asked if I wanted to direct it. So I tapped into the inspiration of just approaching that feature as a Brazzers movie, with humorous moments, and they liked it.”
When Digital Playground came calling again, it was with a pure comedy script called “Single Minded.” Love jumped all over it.
“It is just pure humor,” Love says of the bachelorette-party sex romp. “First of its kind for Digital Playground, or at least in a very long time.”
The first performer he thought of for the lead role of the bachelorette was Monroe.
“The first time I saw her was in a Brazzers ad, and I thought she was hilarious,” he says. “Her facial expressions — she has these big googly eyes — I was like, ‘Wow, I love this girl!”
This would be the first lead in a feature for Monroe.
“It was exciting!” she says. “But at the same time, it felt very natural. I enjoy being in front of the camera, and this film allowed me to showcase my talent. I thoroughly enjoy doing comedy.”
“Single Minded” features a number of female performers who are fairly new to the industry. Along with Monroe, the cast includes Nicole Doshi, Baby Gemini, and Codi Vore — who, while not a newcomer, was making her return after a hiatus. Love pairs the female stars with a murderer’s row of veteran male talent: Charles Dera, Dante Colle, John Strong, Van Wylde, Will Pounder, and Gamble.
It was Love's first time working with Gamble.
“As a director working with another director, it's kind of nerve-wracking because you feel judged,” Love says. “Every time you tell him to do something, you wonder, ‘Hmm, is he questioning why I made that choice?’ But he made me feel so comfortable.”
For his part, Gamble has nothing but praise for Love’s directing style.
“I had a great time,” he says. “He knows exactly what he wants to shoot, which makes it a very fluid experience under his direction.”
And how does Love feel about the finished production?
“It looks so good!” he gushes. “I was so happy that we were able to get something visually amazing. The movie is my favorite out of everything that I’ve shot.”
With “Single Minded” in the can, Love is eager to continue branching out. Recently, he shot a passion project he’s wanted to direct for a very long time: the Nigerian wedding-themed Brazzers release “Nigerian Owambe,” which dropped last week.
“Right now, my goal is to put more of my culture and more of a different visual and narrative out there,” he says with pride.
“I want to include different kinds of people so they can see themselves as sexy and appealing. Pornography sells the idea of hotness, and if you don't see your type in it, you think, ‘Oh, maybe I'm not a sexual being. I'm not being sexualized in a positive way.' I used to always search for porn featuring Africans, but I could never find stuff I personally loved until I got the opportunity to do something for my country.
“We love big parties and colorful outfits,” he adds. “And we love Jollof rice — which is in 'Nigerian Owambe'! There's no better homage to Nigeria than that. Even if it's just one video, there's a video that shows Nigerian culture in a great light. That makes me so happy!”
