My experience in film/video means that I have everything, including a hearty budget, ready to go and though I have some connections—I’m close friends with sexpert Josey Vogels, my wife is the publicist for Come As You Are and my aunt is an adult content distributor with Entertainment Without Borders—all the people in the industry that I’ve managed to connect with haven’t been able to point me in a direction to find my one missing ingredient: the talent.
All those “amateurs” from Montreal must have managers? And aren’t there any agents in Toronto? All I have been able to find are agencies in L.A.
Dear Matt
,
With every single aspect of pornography picked over and oversaturated (including the kinetically charged, sweaty, beautifully shot sex that appeals to both men and women sector), I’ll be honest, my first impression was that you were being an arrogant schmuck who expected this socially beleaguered industry to be clambering for your attention simply because you’d thrown your crown of legitimacy in the ring. But you weren’t kidding Matt; there truly are very few adult casting agencies in Eastern Canada.
After scoping out one place that offered an incorrect phone number on their Web site, then trying to get in touch with their U.S. office to no avail, then going through the company Erobec in Quebec (which is mainly a production house but does have some access to performers), I found Eromodel (eromodelcasting.com). Daniel Perreault is the super nice owner of this small but spirited agency and he too stressed that it is difficult to find adult talent agencies here. “We’re not Los Angeles,” he admitted, to which anyone who’s been to Belanger street in the northeast end of Montreal where the Eromodel offices are located can attest. I think you should give him a call but be warned that Eromodel’s roster is limited in its international appeal because it is primarily francophone. This is precisely why there is such a heavy gonzo and, as you point out, “amateur” porn presence in Quebec. Wall-to-wall style, no chitchat. Tu comprends, mon chum? But again, Daniel is an amenable and experienced fellow so you may be able to at least glean some industry insights from him.
I also talked to Shine Louise Houston who directed Champion, a film that recently and very deservedly won Good for Her’s Feminist Porn of the Year award. Here’s what Shine had to say about casting her own kinetically charged, sweaty, beautifully shot films that appeal to both men and women. “In the beginning, it was friends and friends of friends that I got to be in the movies. Once we made our first movie and got a lot of good press, folks started to come to us. We now have a model application form on our Web site [see it here, it’s a good prototype: pinkwhite.biz/PWWP/model/] and get applications from first-timers to pros. I’d suggest starting very grassroots and asking people he knows first. This is also a good move for start-up companies with limited budgets.”
While you apparently don’t have a limited budget, other porn directors who shoot outside the mainstream have said the same thing to me. Some companies work with a stable of actors they know to be reliable and compelling, others set up their own application system, either way effectively becoming both casting agency and production house. You too may find yourself having to multitask to get the results you want. My friend Seska, who has been an independent porn performer for around a decade, also suggests that good old standby Craig’s List as a start. You might want to have a look at XPEEPS.com/index.php# as well.
I expect, upon publication, I’ll get a slew of enthusiastic biographies from men interested in your production. If you’d like, I will send them along. It is apparently hardest finding male talent, not because they’re not willing (I could open my own agency based on the letters I get weekly from men wanting to enter the business) but because, as even us amateurs know, desire is not always accompanied by talent.
