![]() | |
Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Pornography |
Founded | 1989 |
Headquarters | , U.S. |
Area served | Worldwide |
Products | Pornographic films |
Services | Video on demand |
Owner | John Staglino |
Website | Official website ![]() |
Evil Angel is an American independent production company and distributor of pornographic films, founded and owned by John Stagliano.
Stagliano and Evil Angel pioneered the gonzo pornography genre in the late 1980s. [1] [2] Several of the most acclaimed pornographic film directors have worked for Evil Angel, and its films have won numerous awards. [3] [4]
It has been described as "the top porn-film producer" in the U.S, [5] as one of the handful of companies which dominate the distribution of hardcore pornographic films in the U.S., [6] and as one of the most profitable porn studios. [7] [8]
The company's rise to prominence was fueled by the industry switch from film to videotape. In the late 1970s, a feature-length porn film shot on photographic film—usually 35mm—might have cost as much as $350,000. [9] In 1983, the VCR had been recently introduced, and producers were beginning to make pornographic films on videotape. A film using video could be made for as little as $5,000, compared to a minimum of $40,000 for a movie shot on film. Into the 1990s, by shooting its productions with video cameras, Evil Angel could still make films for $8,000. [9] Stagliano initially had little knowledge of filmmaking, but he made his first movie for $8,000 in 1983: Bouncing Buns, starring Stacy Donovan. For the next six years, he shot films for other companies to manufacture and distribute. [10]
In 1989, he started Evil Angel, to sell his own films. The origin of the company's name goes back to when Stagliano was working as a stripper: "There was another guy in one of my shows named John. So this MC started calling me Evil John to differentiate us. This was when I was doing Dracula and chains. At the same time I had a girlfriend who called herself Angel when she did strip shows. She was a very nasty girl and I suggested that she call herself Evil Angel. She didn't, but I loved the name and wound up using it for my company." [10]
The first Evil Angel film was Dance Fire, filmed in 1988 by Stagliano, starring himself, Trinity Loren, Brandy Alexandre and others. It would only be released on DVD 20 years later. [11] Influenced by amateur pornography, in 1989, Stagliano hit on the idea of performing in a film while also operating the camera, so that the viewer experiences the film through the eyes of his character. The first-person perspective was influenced by the 1960s film Blowup . [12] At the time this was in contrast to the majority of porn, which tended not to make viewers aware of the camera. [13] This technique is today known as Point of view pornography. He formed his Buttman persona, and shot Adventures of Buttman. [14] The early Buttman films were written, produced, directed, edited, shot and manufactured personally by Stagliano. [15] The first two Buttman films had lengthy scripts, but the series soon evolved into an improvised, spontaneous format. In contrast to his earlier work and the standard porn of the time, Stagliano did not link each scene together to form a conventional narrative. At times, the camerawork was shaky. [13] Partly due to his lack of funds, he did not use elaborate sets or locations. At the time, porn films had a traditional storyline, with sex scenes interspersed with dialogue by performers with little acting ability. Instead of that format, Stagliano chose to film "one sex scene which has a beginning, a middle and ends at a climax. Trying to make all that relate to a bigger story is very difficult and creates all sorts of problems that get in the way of making the best scene possible." [10] The distinct style of the early Evil Angel films would be widely imitated, and would come to be known as Gonzo pornography. [15] [16]
In the 1990s, Stagliano became one of the most successful figures in the American pornographic film industry. [17] In 1990, Patrick Collins and Stagliano founded the Elegant Angel label as a subsidiary of Evil Angel. [2] [18] In 1991, Stagliano established a production subsidiary in São Paulo, Brazil. [19] By 1993, the company was producing a new videotape every three weeks, and was grossing more than $1 million a year; [20] in 1996, it sold approximately half a million videos. [8] In the mid-90s, the company started using the phrase "The Evil Empire" on its box covers, in reference to its growing stable of directors. [4] In 1996, Collins established Elegant Angel as a separate company, and in 1998, it ended all cooperation with Evil Angel. [2] [21] His departure from Evil Angel has been called "less than amicable", and he and Stagliano are apparently "ex-friend[s]". [21] At the time Collins said that Stagliano "couldn't run a business, and would fail without him". [21] According to Stagliano, "Patrick's a bully ... he wasn't doing his job properly ... I should have fired him years ago". [21]
A 1997 U.S. News & World Report investigation identified Evil Angel as the most profitable pornographic studio. [8] In 2007, the studio received 127 AVN Award nominations in 60 categories, making it the fourth year in a row in which it received more than 100 nominations. [22] In 2008, EA won 18 AVN awards. Stagliano won the "Best Director - Video" award for Fashionistas Safado: Berlin. [23]
In 2015, company vice president John Grayson reported that transsexual pornography was by far the company's most profitable category or genre, earning about 20% more on a per-movie basis than any other productions. [24]
In August 2007, Evil Angel and Jules Jordan prevailed in a DVD piracy case against Kaytel Video Distribution and several other defendants, winning a total of over $17.5 million, which was the largest sum ever awarded in an adult piracy case. [25] Evil Angel was awarded $11.2 million and Jordan $5.3 million. EA had originally filed the lawsuit in November 2005. [26]
On April 8, 2008, Evil Angel and Stagliano were indicted on federal obscenity charges by a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C. [27] [28] Films named in the obscenity charges included Storm Squirters 2 by Joey Silvera, Milk Nymphos by Jay Sin and a trailer for Belladonna: Fetish Fanatic 5. [27] [29] Stagliano and Evil Angel were represented by Al Gelbard, who successfully defended JM Productions owner Jeff Steward in a 2007 obscenity case. [27] The company released a compilation DVD entitled Defend Our Porn, with proceeds going towards its legal defense fund, and set up the DefendOurPorn.org website to provide information on the legal proceedings. [29]
In December 2008, the BBC reported that Stagliano and Evil Angel were a client of UK lawyers Davenport Lyons who were seeking financial redress from people they asserted had downloaded copyright material using Peer to Peer software. [30]
The company differs from most other porn studios in that it contracts with in-house directors and permits them to own the films that they create, while Evil Angel handles the film's manufacture, distribution, promotion and sales and takes a percentage of the gross sales. [31] [32] Each director has their own particular style and is a star in their own right, with their own brand identity. [33] Stagliano adopted this business model due to his previous experience selling his videos to other companies. He found it difficult to establish his reputation when someone else owned his content, and he did not receive any more money if a film sold well. [34]
The company's roster of directors, includes Stagliano himself, Aiden Starr, Proxy Paige, LeWood, John Leslie, Rocco Siffredi, Joey Silvera, Christoph Clark, Nacho Vidal, Jonni Darkko, Jake Malone, Jay Sin, Jazz Duro, Manuel Ferrara, Lexington Steele, Mike Adriano, Steve Holmes, Uncle D and Belladonna. [32] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] Previous directors include Gregory Dark, Jules Jordan, Bruce Seven, Bionca, Alex de Renzy and Erik Everhard. [4]
Gregory Dark left VCA over "creative differences" in the summer of 1995 and launched his own film company, Dark Works, with Evil Angel Video handling all distribution. [40] His first film for Evil Angel was Sex Freaks, starring Stephanie Swift, Nyrobi Knights, Lovette and Tom Byron. [41] He also worked on Snake Pit and The Best Of Gregory Dark. [42] Dark has since stopped directing for the studio.
Jules Jordan formerly directed for Evil Angel, producing series including Ass Worship. [29] In 2006, he left to form his own company, Jules Jordan Video. [43]
Erik Everhard also worked with the company, after directing for Anabolic Video, Diabolic Video and Red Light District Video. [44] [45] He left Red Light District in 2005 to join Evil Angel, before joining Jules Jordan Video. [46]
Glenn King has also worked with the company producing several series including "Mean Cuckold" and "ManEaters". [47] [48]
Stagliano has directed several series for the studio. By 2003, almost 30 entries in the Buttman series had been produced, some of them shot in locations including New Zealand, Prague (Czech Republic), San Diego and London. [15] The premise of most of the films is Stagliano approaching a woman and persuading her to show him her buttocks, followed by their having sex. The films blurred the boundary between what was a pre-arranged set-up and what was real. [49] It has also been turned into a comic book. [50]
John Leslie had a successful career as an actor, then began directing for VCA Pictures in the mid-80s. The first film he directed for Evil Angel was The Dog Walker in 1994, after its script had been rejected by VCA. [35] Rocco Siffredi began working as a director for the company in 1994.[ citation needed ]
Joey Silvera started directing for Evil Angel in 1995. Previously, he had been an actor, then directed for Devil's Film in the early 1990s, from 1998 onwards, his 'Rogue Adventures' series (along with Devil's Film's own 'Transsexual Prostitutes' series) helped bring transsexual pornography into the mainstream. Christoph Clark joined the company in 1997. His first film was Euro Angels. Nacho Vidal joined the studio in late 2001. Jonni Darkko first directed for New Sensations. In 2004, he formed Darkko Productions and joined Evil Angel.[ citation needed ]
Manuel Ferrara released his first Evil Angel film in May 2006, after working for Red Light District Video for two years. [51] He was originally a protégé of Rocco Siffredi, and had an award-winning acting career, including an appearance in Stagliano's Fashionistas .[ citation needed ] Jake Malone signed an exclusive distribution deal in June 2006. [45]
Belladonna was first introduced to Stagliano by her then-boyfriend Nacho Vidal. Evil Angel is the exclusive distributor of titles under the Belladonna Entertainment and Deadly Nightshade Productions labels.[ citation needed ]
Jay Sin started directing for Buttman Magazine Choice in early 2007, working on films including Milk Nymphos 2, then became an EA director in January 2008. [52] Sin is known for his extreme anal pornography, more recently including rectal prolapse in some of his videos. [53] Many of his videos also feature women inserting objects such as oranges and baseballs into their rectums, then pushing the objects back out. Sin calls his films "artistic" and states that porn is "a way of life" for him. [54]
Evil Angel Publishing is the magazine division of Evil Angel. In March 2007, it launched Extra Parts, a 100-page publication featuring pictures from director Joey Silvera's movies featuring transgender women. [55]
The following is a selection of some of the major awards Evil Angel films have won:
Rocco Siffredi is an Italian pornographic actor, director and producer. Known as the "Italian Stallion", Siffredi has starred in more than 1,300 pornographic films since 1986.
John Stagliano, also known as Buttman, is an American entrepreneur, former pornographic film actor, producer and director who founded and owns the Evil Angel pornographic film studio.
Jenna Haze is an American director, model, and former pornographic actress.
The XRCO Awards are given by the American X-Rated Critics Organization annually to people working in adult entertainment and it is the only adult industry awards show reserved exclusively for industry members.
Joey Silvera is an American pornographic film director and former actor.
Jules Jordan is an American adult film actor, director, and producer known for his work in gonzo pornography.
Adam Glasser, known professionally as Seymore Butts, is an American pornographic film director, producer, and occasional performer who has produced hundreds of films in the gonzo genre of pornography.
Red Light District Video (RLD) is an American independent pornographic film studio headquartered in Chatsworth, California.
Gonzo pornography is a style of pornographic film that attempts to place the viewer directly into the scene. Jamie Gillis is considered to have started the gonzo pornography genre with his On the Prowl series of films.
Manuel Jeannin, known professionally as Manuel Ferrara, is a French-American adult entertainer and director. One of the leading actors in the porn industry, Ferrara has won over 64 adult industry awards including six AVN Awards as Male Performer of the Year—the record for the accolade, and was inducted into the AVN and XRCO Halls of Fame.
Elegant Angel Productions is an independent pornographic film studio located in Canoga Park, California and owned by Patrick Collins. The company is considered one of the early pioneers of gonzo pornography, and its films have won numerous awards.
Christoph Clark is a French pornographic actor, producer and director.
Michelle Sinclair, known professionally as Belladonna, is an American former pornographic and erotic actress, director, producer, and model. Since announcing her retirement from pornography in 2012, she has acted in several mainstream films, including Inherent Vice and The Ladies of the House.
Anabolic Video was an American independent pornographic movie studio headquartered in Chatsworth, California. The studio was a pioneer of gonzo pornography, and is considered one of the most successful gonzo producers. They have since gone out of business.
Devil's Film is an American independent pornographic film studio, based in Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California. Launched in 1997, the studio continues to specialize in swinger and gang bang oriented gonzo pornography and niche product centered on such popular fetishes as interracial pornography, transsexual pornography, and MILF pornography.
Lorelei Lee is an American pornographic actor and writer. Lee is non-binary.
Dana Vespoli is an American pornographic actress and film director.
The 25th AVN Awards was an event during which Adult Video News (AVN) presented its annual AVN Awards to honor the best pornographic movies and adult entertainment products of 2007 in the United States.
The 26th AVN Awards ceremony, presented by Adult Video News (AVN), honored the best pornographic movies of 2008 and took place on January 10, 2009, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Paradise, Nevada. During the ceremony, Adult Video News presented AVN Awards in 127 categories released between Oct. 1, 2007 and Sept. 30, 2008. The ceremony, televised in the United States by Showtime, was produced by Gary Miller. Comedian Thea Vidale hosted the show for the second time, joined on stage by actresses Belladonna and Jenna Haze.
The 20th AVN Awards ceremony, presented by Adult Video News (AVN), took place January 11, 2003 at the Venetian Hotel Grand Ballroom, at Paradise, Nevada, U.S.A. During the ceremony, AVN presented AVN Awards in nearly 90 categories honoring the best pornographic films released between Oct. 1, 2001 and Sept. 30, 2002. The ceremony was produced by Gary Miller and directed by Mark Stone. Comedian Doug Stanhope co-hosted the show for the first time with adult film star Chloe.
the smart girl's guide to porn.