Lexington Steele Interview 2004 – Lex’s Bio & Movies
INTERVIEW: LEXINGTON STEELE (8/04)
All right let’s talk about what you’re doing now. What have you been up to?
Since my last release for Red Light in October of 2003, “Lex on Blondes”, I have been working on new projects. My movies have still been distributed by them, but those six titles will revert back to me at the end of this year. I will add those to my catalog. In April of 04, I released a movie called “ManHammer.” It was very similar to what had done with Balls Deep. It’s all hard-core and shot primarily in Europe. It’s an all-anal title with superior talent. We also have a title called “Black Reign” that is very popular. That line is being directed by Domina X. She is a female director who has been trained as I have been trained in the Mike John school of videography. I just released “SuperWhores 2” [and] “Lex Steele XXX 3,” with Katsumi on the cover.
You’re keeping really busy.
Yes I am. I’ve got a special project in the works called “Pole Position.” It is something new for the point of view market. There really aren’t any interracial POV movies going on. “Pole Position” will by my offering to the POV market and will find it different because of the angles I shot. I think this will be a favorite line of mine. I am able to deliver things that other guys can’t. My arms are very long and I am able to get shots that other people can’t get. There is also the size factor. There aren’t any big-dick POV movies on the market, certainly none that are shot with the same quality that people expect from Mercenary Pictures.
To clarify, you said that “ManHammer” was all-anal. Did you mean that every scene has anal or that all of the sex is anal with no vaginal?
There is vaginal in it, but every scene has anal or DP in it. What I try to do with my anal series is try to turn the intensity up a notch.
What else is new?
I am also working with the best editor I have ever worked with. This guy is fantastic. What he does with my work is amazing. It looks decidedly more intense than anything I got last year. Not to take anything away from my movies last year, it’s just that this guy adds a particular spice to his stuff. It has definitely impacted my work in a positive manner.
Is this a new guy?
No, he has been around a while. He was introduced to me by a prominent person in the business and he is well positioned. I will keep his name out of this in case his primary company isn’t too happy, but he is fantastic. The edge on my movie is well beyond anything we have seen before.
About a year ago we did a long interview that never actually got published. Things changed so drastically for you that we decided to scrap it and wait for this one. At that time you were with Red Light, but you split soon after we talked. What is your take on that?
Around September 30th it was brought to my attention that an individual, a criminal rat-bastard, who shall remain nameless, was stealing my product. Once I found out about it, changes had to be made. Word came to me from a person I trusted. Once I was alerted to that, my partner, who is an attorney of multiple-practice, went over my account statements. After seven and a half hours it all dawned on us. I immediately left the company and prepared to do my own distribution. Leaving the titles with Red Light for distribution was a smart move for me. I was not ready to go into self-distribution. I knew that my movies would continue to sell. By allowing them to continue distributing my movies I knew that I would have a steady stream of income. This helped finance the foundation of my own distribution. Getting away from Red Light was a situation that was brought upon solely because I was being stolen from. This is not to say anything against David, the current owner. He is a great guy. There will be some points of contention coming, but I have repaid every dollar I ever borrowed from them. The amount of money stolen from me is in the quarters of millions of dollars. Everyone there is so cool and I know that it won’t be cool after the shit hits the fan. I will say again that it was not David who did this. He was straight up with me from the beginning. It was another individual entirely.
All of your new stuff is on the Mercenary label, correct?
Yes. If people want to see my stuff they need to look for the Mercenary logo. That is not to say that the stuff I did before wasn’t good work, but there is a completely different flare now. The bottom line is that now, it’s put up or shut up. Every single dollar that goes in to production comes out of my pocket. Nothing is financed or co-financed by another company. Finally, I am putting my money where my mouth is. My stuff is better now, it’s stronger. Not only do you have Lexington Steele directing, but I have the opportunity to work with a fantastic female director who adds her own edge to things. You have the best performer in the business, the best videography in the business and you have a great business and legal affairs guys. I have a fantastic operations manager who is making sure all of our stuff goes out the way it should. I want to say two things before we move on to the next topic. First and foremost regarding the percentage that I paid to Red Light for their distribution; they earned every single penny of it. There was so much that I didn’t understand about distribution. I failed to appreciate all that they were doing for me while I was there. The only problem is that my product was being stolen. Secondly, there was not one thing that I have done with Mercenary that could have been done independent of the great people I have working with me. I did not do one thing on my own. I could not have done this on my own and I owe special thanks to my sales guy Hank. He has been around for seventeen years and he has been instrumental in getting our product to the market.
There have been so many stories written and rumors spread about this. Let’s be clear one more time. The split was about being stolen from and was not a clash of egos or a problem between you and Mike and Erik.
Mike John and Erik Everhard remain two of my best friends in the whole world. These gentlemen and I have traveled the earth together and it had nothing to do with them. When I made my move from Anabolic, it was because I felt I had to make a move that would put me in a position to do what I am doing now. That they followed me then was a testament to me doing the right thing. My decision to leave Red Light is me doing what is best for Mercenary Pictures. I won’t let someone piss in my face and tell me it’s raining. If those guys want to stay there, that’s fine. They are doing very, very well. You can’t stop those guys. Internally, there were some points of contention at Red Light. I have always put out the same type of box covers and that rat criminal bastard wanted me to change my box covers to look more like Red Light District’s. I had to remind him several times that, “No, you are my distributor you are not my boss. I design my own box covers. You sell my movies, I make them. Have my money. I don’t like little girls. I’ve never shot little girls so don’t tell me that my product would be better if I shot some eighteen year old girl who looks like she is sixteen and because I’m not attracted to her, I would fail in front of the camera. I don’t open myself up to detriment. I don’t run into burning buildings. Why am I going to do a scene with a girl who doesn’t turn me on? Why risk doing a bad scene? Every scene I do is gone over with a fine-tooth comb and I shoot the girls I want.” That is why I started my own stuff. If you go back and look at the stuff I shot for Anabolic, all of those girls weren’t super fine. I was shooting the girls that Anabolic wanted. That is going on no more. The reputation that my company has built itself on is having the finest women who know how to fuck. I will continue to shoot them. I will shoot women who look like women and not these, “here today gone tomorrow Sally from the Valley, looks fifteen, doesn’t do anything for me” girls. I think that men want to see women who look like women. Give us some big tits, some hips and a beautiful face on a girl who can put it down. I’m just not into the bullshit.
What is the current web site?
We have been doing a lot of work on our web presence. There is www.lexsteelexxx.com, there is www.lexsteele.com and www.lexonblondes.com. LexSteeleXXX is the primary site with Domina X as the webmaster. She has designed a powerful site for us. LexonBlondes is a site based on a movie I made by the same name. I have no intention of doing another LexonBlondes movie, but we want to take advantage of the web traffic that was going to blacksonblondes because so much of their material starred me. I want people to go to LexSteele.com because that is going to be the super site. That will be the site that brings it all together.
Let’s talk about the Playboy TV show.
The show is called “Lex in the City.” It is on Playboy TV. I’m the host and the co-host is Vanessa Blue. We have a show that is much like the Arsenio Hall show with a Chris Rock interview flavor and we have live performances by up and coming stars as well as established rappers. We’ve had Aaron Hall to Fishbone and every major ethnic star in the adult business on the show. It is really cool because I interview the girls, have the guests in and it has been a vanguard for ethnic programming on the network. They have since done four other ethnic programs. Had Vanessa and I failed, there would be no representation for our demographic, none whatsoever. We are pretty proud of that.
Is this the first ethnic show Playboy TV has done?
They have always had a show called “Nightcalls 411” which was always their attempt at garnering the ethnic demographic. The show lacked anything interesting to the target demographic so it really didn’t do so well. I have eleven appearances on Playboy TV and they decided to give me the opportunity to bring something that was specifically for the ethnic demographic. We have given them some reason to watch Playboy TV. We are in our second season and we’re looking to continue. They have taken the success of myself and of Vanessa to a level that even I didn’t expect. Half of the people who say hello to me these days have seen the show. We hope that these people will go out and rent my movies. I can promote the show on my DVDs and then promote the movies on the show. It pays well and gives me a chance to put more finances into Mercenary.
Are you performing only for Mercenary movies?
As a matter of fact, I just completed the last project outside of my own company that will be new. People are familiar with Lexington Steele’s Heavy Metal for Rosebud. It was started by Jules Jordan and I took over the title for volumes three through six. I have no idea when Rosebud will release the title, but that will be the last movie outside of the Mercenary label with me in front of the camera. What we are seeing now are a number of compilations. Devil’s Films has a bullshit compilation based on the Gangland movies called “Lexington Vs. Mandingo.” These are four on ones and they are just throwing the name out there. I am not going to knock Chris Alexander from Anabolic. The Black Bastard series is probably up to number nine and it is a compilation line. Chris has every right in the world to do what he does with those scenes. I appreciate the fact that he felt strong enough to put those new titles out. If that company needs to re-release my scenes to make themselves money and keep the company afloat until their directors come to maturity – I repeat, if he needs to keep releasing the Black Bastard movies until his directors come to maturity and gain tenure then they can keep doing that. That man taught me more about how to run a company than anyone. Chris taught me to spend money on production, he taught me to add production value to my movies. Watching the way that guy puts his money behind his production has taught me how to make my movies better. Without a doubt though, Gregg Allan from Diabolic has taught me how to run a company. Make no mistake, Gregg runs Anabolic and Diabolic. He is the man. I run my company very much the way I have learned from him. Another guy who has influenced me is James Alexander from West Coast. James has always been my mentor. I have watched him take his company from where it was in 1998 to where it is today. They put out some of the best ethnic and interracial titles out there. As I move into doing my own distribution I talk to James and to Gregg about business decisions. I have very good people around me and the people who I consider advisors of mine are Kings in this industry. I am well taken care of and I think that shows.
You mentioned the “Black Bastard” line from Anabolic. I read somewhere that someone felt it was an offensive title and that you should be upset by it. Any comment?
Let me clarify one thing. For all that Anabolic and Diabolic has done to develop Lexington Steele’s name, whatever they want to do with my performances for them, they can. Before I even got into this business I Anabolic and Diabolic were my favorite companies. I would put four tapes away to buy one Anabolic. Without them I would not be where I am today, period. They gave me a chance from the start. The origination of the Black Bastard is very simple. Vince Vouyer, myself, Erik Everhard and Mike John were sitting around in Budapest discussing Austin Powers. We were joking about the Fat Bastard. We kept joking about it and laughing. Now I smoke marijuana; I smoke week every day and had been smoking that day. I said, “Yeah, I’m the Black Bastard.” Vince who is very funny said, “Why yes, you are black,” which is from another movie. That is where it came from. If people are familiar with my titles, they know that I use many monikers, the Black Bastard, The Dark Prince, the Black Viking, the Impaler. There are so many we use to get this character out there. The Black Bastard was created in jest, I created it and I appreciate that they titled the compilation series that. I am the black bastard because in many ways I am people’s worst nightmare. I stand by what Chris and Gregg do with my performances for them.
So to anyone who has a problem with it, you say what?
They can get over it. I put it out there, Chris used it. Make some money Chris.
You mentioned certain directors at Anabolic needing to come to maturity. What is the status of your relationship with Wanker AKA Chico Wang?
He directs now? That is just a testament to the direction that the company has had to go to stay afloat. Taking a guy who was a very good webmaster, from what I understand, and giving him a chance to shoot shows their confidence in hiring new talent. I think it can be said now that anyone can take a camera, point it at sex and call themselves a director. I don’t harbor any feelings about Wanker. To be honest Rog I haven’t thought of that individual in quite some time. I fully realize that much of what he said years ago were probably at the request of his boss at Extreme, Rob Black. It’s water under the bridge and I hope his movies do well. Given the same platform I was to direct for that company I think he will do well. I don’t harbor any ill feelings or waste any time on negativity at this point.
You have three of the last five AVN Male Performer of the year titles. This year it was Michael Stefano who won. What do you think of that?
I have this to say. Outside of myself, Erik Everhard is the best performer on the third planet from the sun. That this guy has not won a Male Performer of the Year award is the most insane thing I’ve every heard. This is a guy I have relied on for years to have my back in these DP scenes. Many times I may not have done as well as I had wanted to in a scene and that guy powered through, carrying the weight of both of us in the scenes. Erik Everhard is the best white guy to ever work in this business. I am the best black performer, ever. It is open for discussion as to whether I’m the best American ever, but I know for a fact I’m the best black performer. Mike Stefano was deserving of the award, but I feel that if the nod doesn’t go to me then it has to go to Erik Everhard. It should go to Erik every year until he retires. Not until I’m done or until Mike quits. Erik deserves it every year until he quits.
What do you think of AVN separating the European male talent from the Americans?
I think that they should separate us. You have some very talented European performers who get overlooked because I’m in the business and Erik is in the business and Mike Stefano is in the business. With all of the good Americans around, people like Manuel Ferrara, Steve Holmes, Nacho Vidal, Toni Ribas get overlooked. They are masters of their craft and that they would fall by the wayside compared to the spectacular performances from the North Americans isn’t fair. I think that the best European right now is Nacho Vidal. Toni Ribas is a superb performer.
Would you be in favor of a separation of black and white performers?
No. I am not one to decide about their awards, but I don’t think that this is a designation that needs to be made. They have shown that they have no problem awarding the Best American Performer to a black man. It is a tribute to how porno continues to push the cultural parameters. I don’t think there should be separation between ethnicity.
In your interracial titles you shoot black on white, but you also use white male talent with women of color. That is different from is usually considered interracial.
In this business interracial is generally black male on white female.
What feedback have you had from this aspect of your movies?
I have never heard anything bad about the black male on white female scenes. I have heard some negative comments about including black women in some of my interracial titles. I will say this: The motivation behind my movies is not interracial sex. It’s great sexual energy, aggressive sex caught with videographic expertise. It really matters not to me whether it is a black guy fucking a white girl or a white guy fucking a black girl. What matters is that it is a great scene. I do have a line that is specifically for ethnic females, the “Black Reign” line. That title is not a black male to black female movie. There are white guys having sex with beautiful black women in those movies. I think that is an appreciation of women that is important, not what color the dude is. You are buying my movies for how hot the women are and what is going to happen to them. Whether you have a black dick or a white dick matters not. You get what you pay for with my movies.
On the other hand, you are one of the only directors who shoots ethnic women with quality male talent.
The consumers buy the movies based on the females, but from the interior it is the male talent that makes the movie. When you place a very talented male performer with a beautiful black girl or a beautiful Latina girl or beautiful Asian girl then the potential for her to turn in her best scene exists. When you put her in there with Zenza Raggi with a beautiful black girl, it is going to be a great scene. I think that it is about giving the girls the opportunity to turn in her best scene. She may not have ever been captured the way she is on a Mercenary project. She may not have been afforded the first-rate make up job or wardrobe. She may not have had that chance with Heatwave or Video Team or “24/7.” We give the ethnic girls the chance to give their best scenes. This is evidenced by Jada Fire or Angel Eyes. Each one of these girls will tell you that we got their best scenes. I have always felt that black girl movies lacked the financing to make them better movies. We put the same production qualities behind our ethnic series that we do the interracial series. Black Reign remains one of the top selling lines.
Your titles don’t fall into the ethnic stereotypes either.
No. You will always have the “booty” this or the “ghetto” that, but it is unfortunate that companies aren’t thinking beyond that. Going back as far as “Women of Color 3” for Anabolic I [asked], “What if you add the same production values to a black girl movie?” You end up with the best black girl movie on the market. I won’t flood the market with cannon fodder like companies like Hustler does. The flagship of my company will be how I present ethnic women.
The recent HIV situation is still fresh in everyone’s mind. You were not part of the quarantine list were you?
No I wasn’t. I would like to say that Darren James is a friend of mine. He is a very nice guy. The way this guy was vilified was painful. People forget that this guy is a victim, every bit the victim that those females who contracted HIV from Darren are. If they are victims, so is he. People hung him out to dry. That guy worked with a girl who misrepresented herself to him. He didn’t create that and come back to LA to deliver it. No, he is every bit the victim. I don’t bullshit with you Rog, so let’s be honest. Perhaps Darren should have gotten a test as soon as he got home. Every performer who travels knows that you always medicate when you leave and test as soon as you return. I would bet money that if you look at the last time Erik returned from Europe that his test was done within 48 hours. I test the same day. I schedule my return flights home so that I can test on the day I return. Perhaps he should have had that test before he started working. We should all be thankful that because of Sharon Mitchell and the work she has done we are saving lives. The number of lives that could have been at risk would have been exponentially higher had she not instituted the programs that she did. Her work deserves more attention. This is a woman who puts her name and face on the front lines every day as we put our bodies on the line every day. Back to Darren: I want everyone to know that Darren did NOT do drugs. He did not smoke anything, not even cigarettes. As I have said, I smoke weed, daily. I don’t drink. Darren didn’t smoke or drink at all. Then the suggestion that Darren was homosexual or bi-sexual – he was a man’s man. Everyone liked Darren. He is one of the coolest individuals and we were lucky to have him in the business. He was a victim and did not deserve the way he was vilified and I believe that it had something to do with the fact that he is black.
Do you think that the industry also treated Darren the way they did as an over-reaction for the shameful way they treated the women who contracted HIV from Marc Wallice a few years ago?
No I don’t think that. What happened that time was well before the industry was ready to police itself. Marc was noted for being very recreational in use of certain things and partook in several things that would not be considered Biblically acceptable and was in direct contrast to Darren who did none of that. I think that the fact that he is a black male who passed it on to white females had a lot to do with how he was treated. All of the people who have been infected are victims and because he is a black victim he is discounted. What is the value of a black male in this country? Is it less than their white counterpart? I think yes. Darren has been hung out to dry because he is black.
Would you be in favor of a mandatory quarantine period or at least mandatory testing immediately for international travels who want to perform?
I will never condone the necessity for a person who travels outside of the country to be under self-quarantine. When a person comes from Europe, are they supposed to quarantine himself? When Toni [Ribas] comes to the US is he supposed to not work for two weeks? If you go out of the US to shoot, no matter where it is, it should be mandatory that you test immediately upon return. If you go away you should test immediately. I would condone that because I place that responsibility on myself, as do Erik Everhard, John Strong, Michael Stefano and other responsible male performers. I won’t come home and touch my girlfriend, so I am not going to work with an associate of mine and put her at risk.
In Vegas I interviewed Digital Playground contract girl Jesse Jane and she said that you are on her list of performers to do a scene with. Are you aware of this and have you been approached by them to do a scene that we all know would be awesome?
First of all Digital Playground wouldn’t do the scene. I don’t know if they even hire men of color. They are one of those companies like Vivid or VCA who won’t hire black men. I don’t think they would hire me anyway. That said, if Jesse Jane is saying she would like to work with me I appreciate that. She is a very cute girl and I have seen some of her work. However I know for a fact that it’s a crock of bullshit. I have been in a work environment with Jesse Jane and her policy toward working with black men was very evident. I know definitively that anything in the media is a total misrepresentation of her true feelings. If given the opportunity to work with a black man she wouldn’t. If she says she would, that is bullshit. A lot of contract girls feel that way and that’s fine. There are plenty of people for us to work with, but don’t misrepresent yourself in the media. Don’t use my name to get some hype for yourself and your company. I don’t need to bullshit.
So you are saying that what she told me was bullshit. I will ask the question though. If Jesse Jane were to call you up to do a scene would you do it?
Absolutely not. It’s nothing personal against Jesse, but I am no longer going to put another scene out there for a company who can make more money from it than I will. Digital Playground would not allow me to participate in the revenues. Now that I own my own company I have seen what goes on behind the scenes. There is a demonstrative difference between the money made by talent and the money made by the companies. I think that talent needs to make more money.
Anything else we need to cover?
One more thing: There are contract girls who are genuinely do not have feelings of bigotry. There are women who enjoy working with men as a gender and don’t see color. In most cases it is the companies who prohibit the behavior, not the girls.
OK, did we get it all?
I think so Rog. Thank you again. Let’s turn it over to Domina X for a while.
