LOS ANGELES—On Thursday night, legacy adult studio Wicked Pictures hosted a theater premiere for its big summer release, Once Upon A Time in the Valley, directed by Seth Gamble. The movie stars Jennifer White, Parker Ambrose, Blake Blossom and Ken Feels—along with a stellar list of popular performers in its large ensemble cast.
Many were there to see themselves on the big screen, including Isiah Maxwell, Melissa Stratton, Lana Smalls, James Bartholet and comedian Daniel Shar, among others. Wicked Head of Production Jessica Jasmin said she was glad to see the results of the cast and crew’s heartfelt work.
Hosted at an independent theater event space in Downtown Los Angeles’ historic core, adult stars and industry personalities turned out for the screening and enjoyed drinks and finger foods served on the rooftop bar, overlooking the area around Main Street and 3rd.
Unusual for an adult movie to host a theatrical premiere, much less against the backdrop of recent civil unrest in DTLA, the atmosphere was charged with energy and anticipation of the R-rated screening.
Industry personalities that were seen at the event included director Ricky Greenwood, Kira Noir, Wicked director Claudia Ross, Dominique Simone, Will Ryder, Selena Ivy, writer Tod Hunter, publicist Alexander “Monstar” Raymond, Jennifer White’s husband and producer, Deacon, Nicole Kitt, Ariel Demure, Lilly Bell, and director David Lord, among others.
Written by Gamble and adult screenwriter Melissa Monet, the movie’s plot is based loosely on Gamble’s experiences as a rookie talent, breaking into the industry during the heyday of gonzo content. Set in the ‘90s, the story has many insider’s references to well-known figures of the era, when Jim South’s World Modeling was the premier talent agency in “Porn Valley,” the fame of female contract stars—like the Wicked Girls—was fierce and sometimes fleeting, and for male talent, the competition was literally stiff.
South is portrayed by adult character actor Tommy Pistol in a non-sex role as the legendary agent. The role inspired by Gamble, a character named Steve Jacobs, is played by Parker Ambrose, while Ken Feels portrays the best friend turned manipulative rival, Jake Python.
“You know, that was me just giving the reality [of my experience],” Gamble told AVN. “I was able to do that, to get vulnerable in the film like that. And my cast and crew—they made my dream movie come true. I’m just grateful that I was able to bring what I can bring to the table, to be able to do something like this. And Wicked was willing to get behind me so I could actually put on this premiere and give everybody a fun night, too.”
Ambrose, who is 28 on July 4th and has been in the industry for three years, is still star-struck by the experience and playing a featured role.
“I’m extremely excited to see everything. I think that we did an amazing job,” he said before the screening. “I think it’s going to be amazing in general. I’m just a very big critic of myself, so getting to watch myself for the next hour is going to be very, very nerve-wracking in the fact that I’ll try not to critique every small thing I do.”
The rising male talent said he’d never seen himself on a big screen but had imagined what it would be like before even getting in the industry. “Most people look at you on a phone. Let’s face it… I didn’t think it would ever happen. I mean, growing up, I always wanted to see myself on the big screen. I thought it’d be cool to do. But it’s definitely… If you were to tell like 12-year-old me this is happening, I wouldn’t believe it.
“And so it’s funny, because I always look back, during my summer jobs when I was younger, I used to lifeguard. And so one of the seasons, we made a time capsule of like, where do we see ourselves in five years, ten years from now, right? And in my time capsule, I wrote down, I will be in LA making movies on the big screen,” Ambrose added.
Mature newcomer Ken Feels, who like Ambrose has been performing for three years and started in his late 30s, enjoyed his role as the insecure alpha male performer, who goes from mentor to mental as Steve’s star starts to ascend.
“That character is super interesting to play because it’s so far from who I am. It was cool stepping into someone I would hate,” Feels said after the screening. “I was looking forward to all the dramatic parts, but there are so many funny parts in the movie. It was just really cool to see it all come together and really, Seth wrote such a great script.
The female lead, Jennifer White, portrays Lotta Passion, a character based on exclusive contract stars like the Wicked Girls, who included the likes of Jenna Jameson, Stormy Daniels, Chasey Lain, and Julia Ann on their roster.
White gives a daring performance as the established star whose career has peaked, only to find herself unfulfilled and unsure of who she can trust. All the while, young starlets, like Paris Picasso (played by Blossom) are getting booked and being launched into the industry stratosphere.
“That was surreal. That was really, really cool,” White said after watching the movie with its other stars, from sofas, at the very front of the theater. “I really, really enjoyed it. They should do premieres a lot more often.”
“I think it was pretty spot-on, when it touches on the emotional element of what we experience as performers. I mean, we come into it with a little bit of that competition and attitude, maybe pettiness sometimes. Then there’s the other side, where there are genuine relationships and connection. I thought it was really thoughtful for Seth to touch on those things.”
While the audience was presented with a softcore cut, there was enough full-frontal nudity and sexy moments to keep the plot coherent and spicy, at around two hours. With eight additional sex scenes that will drop over the summer and will be included in the full, final cut, it’s a marathon and a memento of the business before the Internet changed everything.
Michael Vegas does a wild take on hyper-masculine, loud, obnoxious male star Rick Strokes, Ameena Green plays a savvy social-climbing starlet, Sinatra Monroe plays Python’s long-suffering girlfriend, and Gal Ritchie brings the bitch out for her turn as a competitive gonzo queen.
Drone footage of Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley, and dialogue scenes shot at an overlook on Mulholland Drive give the movie a familiar La La Land feel. The camerawork of Siren Obscura is unobtrusive and makes good use of natural light, which enhances the retro aesthetic. A scene featuring White dancing onstage recalls dimly-lit Hollywood strip clubs, like The Seventh Veil and Jumbo’s.
Advocating adult entertainment as a stand-alone genre, with its independent filmmakers like Gamble and adult actors who attract a loyal fanbase of followers to the movies, Professor of Film and Media Studies at UC Santa Barbara Constance Penley was in attendance, after welcoming Gamble into her class on adult films to preview Once Upon a Time in The Valley. Several members of the class also came to see the movie.
“Because we do a comparative history—we are studying, in my class, adult film, but we’re also comparing it to what we call ‘non-adult film.’ That’s what we call Hollywood. It’s like, oh, ‘that’s non-adult,’” Penley explained.
“Isn’t it odd that Hollywood films don’t seem to have any sexuality at all anymore?” Penley said further. “I love the films made by the adult industry, like a lot of the porn parodies, but [also] other films that mock Hollywood. You know, send it up for its pretensions, its hypocrisies for promising sex, but never delivering—and substituting violence for the sex it can’t show.”
“[Gamble] described this film as Boogie Nights meets Once Upon a Time in America and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Penley said. “Wow, that’s amazing.”
Once Upon a Time in The Valley is available on Wicked.com.
Photography by @kogafoto
For a full gallery of the event, click here.
