The XCritic Interview: Ricky Greenwood

Ricky Greenwood

The guy is something of a force to be reckoned with in the Industry these last several years. It’s as if he floated into the world of Adult Entertainment from some magical land, far away … bringing with him a vision for how to make film the old-fashioned way. He writes a lot of it, he casts most of it, he directs all of it, and he shoots every single bit of it– the way that Ricky Greenwood thinks it ought to be done. All the while, he’s looking for better ways to … make films better. Period.

The faraway land isn’t that far, it’s a place called Canada.

His ideas aren’t that revolutionary, it’s just that a lot of directors don’t work the way they used to, the way that Ricky still works today – Old Skool.

Oh, and Ricky doesn’t have a rule book. He just goes with what looks right, what feels right, and what he thinks is hot.

So far, it’s been a pretty good way to do business.

Settle in for a bit and join me. I dialed the phone on a Tuesday afternoon, and talked with the award-winning director for a little over an hour. If you don’t know about Ricky Greenwood, you’re missing out. Give him a few minutes of your time and find out why Ricky has become such a welcome sight in the world of adult film.  

It was fun. Actually … it was a fucking blast!

Here’s the transcript of our call.

***

Jim Steele– Ricky, I do appreciate you taking some time with me today.

Ricky Greenwood– No problem. I think I talked with Don (Don Juan DeMarko) a few months ago, it was in January. That's what I was telling Erika Icon, when she asked me for the interview, but it was before the awards shows.

Jim– Yeah, I actually talked with Don last night. He was excited that we were going to be able to do an interview. I was too. I was stoked and was pretty excited about it. So, let’s get right into it. But, it’s definitely an honor to talk with you.  

Ricky– Oh, it’s my pleasure.

Jim– I've got to sit back for a minute and take a breath, because when I'm talking with a director, especially one like yourself, one that seems to appreciate the finer points, the first thought that comes to my mind is “Where did he go to film school?” And that's not to denigrate anyone else working today. But I watch your film, and that's what I think, every time.

Ricky– I was like, I've been in school, I always made movies since I was a kid. So I went, I did that. Like when I was a young kid, I was making movies, and then I went to college to study filmmaking. So, after that, I did a couple of TV shows and a documentary. I did a lot of short films with friends and with myself. And I did a lot of production and directing for big projects. So, I did that. I learned a lot too. Before I came into the porn business, I had about 15 years of experience in moviemaking.

Jim– And so, where was that? What was that, Canadian television? Is that correct?

Ricky– Yeah, it was in Canadian television. Most of them were French TV shows.

 Jim– Ok, I'm curious. So, you spent 15 years doing that. What was the push, or the, I guess the nudge, if you will, that pushed you towards the adult film making industry?

Ricky– It was the offer that Jon Blitt (Vice President at Mile High Media), made me at the beginning I was really into. He said, “You got to come to the porn industry, it’s like any mainstream.” I mean, for people who have to jump to porn from the mainstream, we are always like… okay. You see it as a downfall, a place that you should not go. Almost as if, it could be the end of your career, and stuff like that. So, you try to avoid going there because the thinking is, obviously if you are in the adult industry, a big studio will not want to be attached to a porn director. So, it's scary, because it could mean the end of your mainstream career. That’s true, for many people it's scary. For me, it was more than that. It was more about the movies.  I didn’t want to do stuff that is not right for people, to do things that would not respect the rights of people, or was discriminating towards a group of people. So, they called for me at the beginning. I was the assistant director for one porn movie earlier in my career, and it was ‘not great’.

Jim– Ok., so define “not great”.

Ricky– When people talk about porn, when it is degrading, that's exactly what was happening on that movie set. So, I was like, “OK, I don't want to be associated with that type of entertainment.” I spoke with Jon, from Mile High, and he assured me that the productions he was doing were not like that at all. So, I agreed to do three month’s work with him. He brought me to Los Angeles, showed me the set of James Avalon, and Dana Vespoli, what would eventually be our entire team. Jacky St. James, for example, she works with him. I saw that those directors treated people like they were in regular mainstream. Basically, I realized that this was exactly what I had been doing in mainstream. So, I agreed to work for him as a production manager. Eventually, I tried my first movie, “Confessions of a Sinful Nun”. From there we moved to “Becoming Elsa”, and “Talk Derby to Me”. After that, John offered me a full-time directing gig. So, I sold everything, moved to Los Angeles, and since 2018, I've been directing full time.

Jim– I enjoy your work. I know that a lot of people do as well. But, starting out, the directing part of Adult. Was it better than you expected?

Ricky– Yes, much better than I was expecting. The thing is, I always answer when people ask about the difference between mainstream and going to the Adult Industry– “It's a weird beast.” Because you have the big studios like Mile High, MissaX, Vixen, you have Gamma. These are companies that treat their people amazing, and make the porn industry look like mainstream, and make serious products and everything. But you also have another side of the porn industry that is not always like that. Still, my experience in the porn industry, it has been amazing. But I know that some people have a totally different experience. So, I won’t say that the porn industry is the greatest thing ever. But for me, it's been very good, and has treated me well. I haven’t had an issue with the porn industry, and I don't regret what I'm doing. But again, I know that it could be a totally different experience for other people.  

Jim– Sure. And, you mentioned something. Well, it was a couple minutes ago. But what do you think is the number one thing, from your mainstream experience, that has carried over into the adult industry filmmaking that you're doing now?

Ricky– I think it is storytelling. I think the stories that I bring are more like mainstream. I think also that, look… the style. I like to do B movies, so I bring that vibe to a couple of projects. I think that “Prison Heat” and “Sweet Sweet Sally Mae” were like that. You know, those all had that B movie vibe. Then there’s the other side, the more serious movies that I make, they really have a cinematic look. I try to treat each movie that I make …  like a movie, and not necessarily a porn. For me, porn is a genre and can include different types of movies. You can have action, comedy, drama, and you can do porn, and they’re all in that same spectrum. Obviously, adult is for adult people. But for me, I try to treat them as the same type of movie. I try to bring that mainstream spirit that I have to the porn Industry. I think that will be my contribution, the spirit of film. That is what I have brought over from mainstream.

 Jim– You mentioned the Confessions of a Sinful Nun. I think that's a really good example, and it's not your only, or necessarily your best, but it's a really good example of what I would call true cinematography. Inasmuch much that you've got Nina Hartley and Magdalene St. Michaels, but the scene is … I'm talking about Chapter 4 of part 2, it's nearly 14 minutes in before any nudity. To do that and pull it off is certainly what I would call classic cinema, because at any moment I feel like I'm waiting for a commercial break. But then, I'm like, “Oh, whoa, whoa. No, let's see what the story does,” Of course, it turns into adult and a porn scene. But it could almost stand alone with just the story.

Ricky– That's the point and the way those movies are made. We didn't do it for the second one, but we did for the first one. I remember the first one, we released an extra version of it. So, when you buy the DVD, you have two discs. And the second disc was like the movie without the sex. I mean, there was sex, but those scenes were cut a lot. It was less explicit, very romantic. And it was like, a 90-minute, regular movie. I'm not sure, but I think you can find that a lot of people were putting that one on a website, because you can only find that version on the DVD. You cannot find it on any porn sites. I saw that a lot of people uploaded it. I got a lot of e-mail about that, commenting about the fact that many preferred the soft version to the hard version.

Jim– It's an odd thing, though, as an adult film director, to have people say that. Right?

Ricky– Yeah, but a lot of my fans are people who like movies. If you don't like movies, you will not like my work. There are times, like you said … take the work I'm doing for MissaX, sometimes we have 45 minutes of dialogue before anything happens. So, if you don't like dialogue, and you just want to, you know, see two people having sex, of course, you will not enjoy my work, because it's a long buildup. A lot of my scenes are also attached to each other because that’s the story. Sometimes, the back story of a character has a lot to do with it. They might have sex in scene four, but their backstory is in scene one or two. So, if you don’t watch the whole thing, you won't understand what's happening here, because the story is spread across the whole movie. That's also another thing with my work, I see a movie like it’s the whole thing.

For example, at XCritic right now, you have a scene review of The Rose Retreat, which is a full movie. The last scene of the movie is Vanna Bardot and Jade Baker. But, the whole back story of Jade is in scene two. So, if you want to know the whole story of why Jade is alone in her room, and why they send Vanna Bardot in there, you need to watch scene two to catch that. But, that's why most of the time, you need to watch the whole thing. And I remember with John, not just me, but Jacky St. James, and James Avalon, said that we are one of the few film companies … or Video On Demand (VOD), making films that people will watch the first part, and then they come back for the second part, the third, and the fourth part. They come back to finish the movie, because they want to know what's happening. They are invested in the story. And I think it's good. It gives people a different vision of what porn is.

Jim– And yeah, when I agree with you, when I said it was odd, I meant odd for what we are normally used to seeing in porn. It's very refreshing. It, what you are doing, definitely puts the art back into the filmmaking process. I like it, and know many others that do. So, that's what I meant by odd. But your style is certainly not odd, it's wonderful.

Ricky– Thank you. We try hard. It is teamwork. Matt is a very cinematic camera guy, so he knows. He challenges me at times, when I am more like, “Okay, that's okay. Now I think I see. I think that is good.” Matt will say, “Let’s try this angle or that one.” He challenges me to keep the look of the movie. At times, it can be discouraging to do the same story. I’m like, “I think I did that story already six times. How many times will he have sex with his stepmom?” But, you know, we get it figured out.

Jim– Ok, but the stepmom is always a hit! Haha. So, you're doing all that, and you're doing all the right things to make a good film. If you want to go back, just using “Sinful Nuns” as an example, I think you shot that in something like three days, and you were … I think you come in a lot of times at ½ or 1/3 under budget of what a lot of other people are doing? How are you getting all the different angles, the different takes, the direction, and still coming in so quick and without a lot of money?

Ricky– Well, it is what it is. If that is the money that they give me, I take it, and I do the best I could with it. That’s how you have to work. It's funny, I did another interview for a movie that we were releasing. I don’t’ know if you guys saw the trailer for it, “A Blue Moon Rising”, which is a werewolf movie. I had this guy on set and he was like, “Oh, this is all moving too fast, and this is a lot of work.” But that’s the thing. A true filmmaker will find a way. We don't have the budget to re-shoot; we don't have budget to recast. If something goes bad, we have to figure it out to make it work. We have to be writers. There are a lot of people in that situation, and not many people have endless funding. You know, you have a few big companies, and they can afford to re-shoot. They can cancel the shoot and do that, or recast, and spend a lot of money on a fancy location or fancy stuff. But most of the people in the porn industry, they don't have that luxury. If you look at people like Jacky or Mike Quasar, they manage to do a great movie with a low budget, you know? It was the same thing for me.

We do it with a low budget and we still make it work. We like what we're doing, and we're working our ass off to make it work. It's just a love of doing it. Of course, if I had the chance to work with, like, a big studio, and we had a big budget movie, it would be different, but the same. The movie would be different because we might have time to make it more cinematic, because I would have had more time to make it work. As an example, like lighting the room a little better. Not that I do it bad, but it just takes some time. Sometimes what I mean by lighting better is that you get the room set up for a 360 shot, because you know that when you do it wide like that, you will do a single and then a single. In a mainstream production, you would light each shot perfectly. So basically, I will light my room for the single, and after that I would light the other single. I would have re-lit for that single and then re-lit for a wide. With a low budget, you don’t have time for that.

The best you can do is to light your room to get the best shots possible for all your shots. Sometimes you will end up, “Oh shit. OK, he's a little bit shadowy. Alright, let’s put the light there to fix it, but you don't have time for a full re-light. So, if I had more time and more money, I would probably invest that in the more technical aspect of it. That would make the movie better, but I don’t think it would be a huge change, it would just make it look … a little more pro, to look bigger. Of course, it would be nice to have that, and be able to work like that, to have bigger scenes, you know? For example, in Confessions of a Sinful Nun, I always wanted that to be a big nun orgy; you know, with a lot of nuns having sex with each other.

{The thought of nuns, piled on top of each other in what would amount to a Holy ruckus of pussy licking and Hail Mary’s, Holy Fucking Mother of Grace … it’s a delightful image. Both of us share laughter for 5, 10, …nearly 15 seconds}

Ricky– (Collecting himself, continues), Obviously, budget wise, you can’t do that. If I did that, that would mean that I might have to cut another scene, shorten some of the story … something. So, you have to make a choice. With a bigger budget, I would be able to do that crazy orgy scene with all the nuns and stuff.

Jim– You mentioned all the technical aspects that go into this, the lighting and from, you know, everything that you have in your brain to make this work, to pull it off. But … the talent that you choose, when you're stacking up talent, to support your vision. Do you find that you have a real wide, or a deep pool to choose from? In other words, Nina is a real good example. And we keep going back to Sinful Nuns, but it's a great example. She had a role that’s got a terrific depth to it. So, when it comes to talent, do you have any favorites that you can really lean on? Performers that you know who are really going to pull through for you all the time?

Ricky– Yeah, you see them in most of my movies. You know, like Charlotte Stokely is one of the first calls I will make. Kenna James is also a good call. You know, they get the job done very well. Some of the guys, like Tommy Pistol or Seth Gamble, they can act. They are people I can trust. But starting out, I will give someone a small line, a small part in the movie, and see if they can build that character. If they can, then I will give them bigger roles. For example, the best example of that would be if you look at “Terror Camp”. Charlotte Stokely and Aidra Fox were the leads in that movie. Aiden Ashley had a small role in a movie, but she was very good at it, and she studied her lines. So, after that, we worked together on “Killer on the Loose”, and she was amazing in that film. Now, she's in my next movie. So, it's always like that. If I'm not sure about a person, I give them a test, like a small role, and develop everything a little more after that.

Jim– OK, that makes good sense. So, let's see here, girl/girl shoots … not to completely change the subject, but I will. At least kind of shift it a little bit. It's not the only thing you have. Certainly not. But I think that you do it well. And, I'm interested, aside from the genre, it's almost a universal favorite for most guys, and a lot of girls as well. What is it about the lesbian performances and productions that makes you say, “Yeah, I can do that better than anybody else, I can make this a stand out film?”

Ricky– Oh, I don't know. For me, girl/girl it's always my favorite because … I will say that it's the easiest way for sex. By that I mean, it’s like, unless the girls don't like each other, it's easy. There’s nothing in the middle of it. When you do gay, when you do the trans, when you do straight, it is like you have dicks, and more dicks. The more dicks you have in the scene, the more chance you take that he takes longer, or has problems. Because, you never know, some guys will get soft, or something will happen. You know, it’s like, he's not coming, you know, right away, and we need a little bit more time. Some of those things are uncontrollable. Even if the guy is good, sometimes it's a bad day, maybe his head is somewhere else, or he had a bad day at home. Anything could happen. So, it's way more difficult to manage than girl/girl. But, on the other side, in girl/girl, everything is pairing. You need to know the girls. You need to know if the girls are really into women. And you can only discover that by doing a lot of it. I was lucky enough to be able to do that with Sweetheart. So, I was doing a lot of girl/girl, and I learned how to know the girls, find what they're like, what type of performer they are.

After that, it is just a matter of finding a bunch of strong lesbian performers. I put them in with, say … maybe there is a cute and popular girl, but she is not a very strong performer. But okay, we'll put her with a girl like Charlotte Stokely, and now your scene is hot, because Charlotte Stokely will help her bring that scene to another level. So, it's managing things like that. Also, I don't follow a recipe or rules. Meaning, I just book people that I want to see having sex together. I think that it will be hot to have them together. I do the same thing in gay sometimes. As an example, you have two daddies and a lot of the time people are like, “Oh, the daddy needs to go with a younger guy!”

I say, “No, let’s have the two daddies together. You never see those two together. There are two hot males, so we're putting them together.” Same thing with lesbians. You might have one girl, and she's a mommy and there’s another hot mommy. People ask me, “Why do you want to put the two mommies together, and not with a younger girl?” Well, because they are two hot actresses, and people want to see them have sex together. So, sometimes I avoid the tags, or the labels that are put on models, and I just go with, “I think they will be good together.”

Jim– So, the pairing … that was one of my questions I hadn't asked. Well, I kind of asked, but the pairing goes right along with grabbing your talent. But you have to know how to pair these performers up, because if they don't get along, or they don't have chemistry, then it's no good.

Ricky– Yeah, that’s a part of it. Also, you have to put the right people together, maybe they will have a good chemistry, but they don't necessarily fit together. Or, sometimes, you will have two superstars, and you put them together, and they’re good performers, but they don't necessarily end up being good together. For me, it's hard to explain, because most of the time, I go with my gut. I look at them, I know the personality of someone, and I know that they will mesh well together.

Jim– But when you find it, and you mentioned Don DeMarko, he reviewed The Rose Retreat and you mentioned that, I think that's a great example of finding the right pairings. Along the way, you're using every other tool at your disposal and you're just teasing almost every sensory perception that a viewer might have, the sight, the sounds. But to take that a step further, and you mentioned this when we talked about sets a moment ago, often times they're ordinary every day or, you know, period correct. The type of set and wardrobe is not overdone. But at the end of the day, I'm watching it and I'm like, “Well, that was a very well put together scene.” I think the question in that is, this style of shooting, where everything is really meticulously put together, and directed, and lighted; except, it's not overdone. Is it a case of less equals more? Is that accurate?

Ricky– Yeah. For me, I try to give the scene a natural look. It’s bringing mainstream and storytelling to a movie. Say, if the actress is a hot teacher, there’s no point for me to put a white blouse on her with a pink bra underneath. Meanwhile, everything is so tight that her boobs are about to explode out of it, or that her skirt is so tight, when she goes to bend over and you can see her pussy. I understand that some people like that, some studios like that? But for me, I try to keep it natural. So, if I have a teacher, her dress will be a little bit longer, and the shirt will be buttoned up to the top, and it will fit nice. When you watch it, you have the feeling that you are watching something real. It’s the same thing when you have two girls inside their apartment. You try to make it like there are two normal girls, dressed in everyday clothes, so that when you look at a scene, you have the feeling that you watching two young girls having sex together. You don't have the impression that you watching a porno. Also, by keeping it realistic, it gives you the feeling that you are watching a movie, because it's treated like a real movie. Sometimes we have, a porn outfit, like a black or purple bra and panties, with fishnets, and stripper heels. Well, you know, it's sexy, and some guys like that. But, at the same time, it takes you straight away to the fact that you're watching porn.

Jim– Yeah, and maybe it takes a little bit of the magic away from, you know, what could be there otherwise?

Ricky– Haha. It also goes with the story, you know? Like, if I'm doing a scene, and there’s a young girl, and she’s like, “Oh, I'm a virgin”. Except, she's dressing with stripper shoes, fishnets, and her boobs are almost out of her tank top? You will not believe it. You get it? “OK … Yeah. You’re a virgin. You never had sex.” Haha. It just doesn't make sense. You cannot make it work like that. It's a tough sell because it's not true. It's not real, it’s more like “porno”. That’s what I was saying, and it goes with my style of directing. It goes with the product that I am shooting.

I will never be able to do stuff like Evil, or Hard X. They are more like Gonzo. It's amazing that they are doing it, but for me, I am sure that I would do a terrible job. So, it always goes with the style of the director, and my style is more storytelling, more real. Even if I were to try and direct that type of scene, it would be very hard for me, because it's … I don’t see it work. Sometimes, that’s an issue that I will have as a director. You want to have a certain look, and my brain is like, “That’s not working”, because it's not really cinematic, and not what I'm used to. So, if I were to do a scene like that, I might be like, “It looks terrible.” Still, they would release the scene, and people would be happy, and it would be good. But, for me, I would have to stop my brain thinking about this cinematic style, and just go for a regular porno scene. That's where I struggle sometimes, to be able to deliver that style of scene.

Jim– When talking about different scenes, I would like to talk a little bit about MissaX, because I know that's … I don't want to say it's brand new, but it's new. For those who might be unfamiliar, it's billed as the Taboo Playhouse. So, it seems that you're moving into a little bit different area. It's involving Trans, Straight, Bi. Tell me a little bit of what is in store, and what do you have going on in the works over there at MissaX?

Ricky– They approached me last year before the pandemic. From 2017 to 2020, I was exclusive for Mile High, so I could only direct Mile High projects. In 2020, my contract was up, and I talked with John, there were some other people approaching me to do stuff. We made a decision that I would be able to work with other studios. So, MissaX was the first one that I was going to work with. But then … the pandemic happened. So, we didn't do anything for a few months. It gave me a chance to start some projects with them, and we developed ‘Killer on the Loose”. So, Killer was my second movie with them. But, you’re right, there’s a lot of mommy, daughter, step-dad type of projects. When I came in, Missa said I could pretty much do that type of projects that I want. I have to do, obviously the taboo stories, but they let me do crazy things too. I like to twist to play around with the taboo stuff. We did a movie called “The Cure”. If you haven’t looked at that movie, you should look. It's one of the craziest movies I’ve done. It’s kind of a twist about the taboo family movie concept, but it's completely different in a way.

It’s a doctor who brings home a young man because his wife wants to have a kid. So, like, the guy (young man in the movie), doesn’t know where he is, he doesn’t understand what's happening. I don’t want to spoil everything. But obviously, they end up having sex with two girls who live there. They technically see him as their brother. Basically, you have the same taboo mom type of story, but it’s a very twisted movie. You will learn that he committed suicide, and then you don't know if he's dead or dying, or if he’s existing between two worlds. The character is like, “What's happening?” He doesn’t really understand where he is. The movie has many different layers. I love that people who saw the movie when they say it is the most erotic movie they ever saw, but it is also very weird to be attracted to this kind of twisted story. But then, they say that it was well made. So, that's the thing that I try to bring to MissaX, the really twisted type stories, but also related to taboo situations.

We also have a movie out there, it’s not really taboo at all, more like a horror suspense. One of the new movies coming out is “Blood Moon Rising”. It's an old school werewolf movie. It's not really taboo, there aren’t any brothers or sisters, or sex with mothers, it’s just regular people. One of the girls, Aiden Ashley, is cursed by something and became a werewolf. That movie has special effects. A couple of my friends who do special effects for mainstream productions, they came up and we created that amazing werewolf transformation. When people see it, I hope they will be surprised by how much effort we put in it. It's old school, stop motion, like American Werewolf in London. It’s like that, with all those wolfmen, all those old school movies from back in the day. So, it’s very good. When I saw the movie The Werewolf, with full makeup and everything for the first time, I was like, “Oh my God. OK, we did that!”

And then, we have some other new things coming out. I’m doing a feature for Dorcel next month. I'm doing also another big movie for MissaX, for the awards season. We shoot that in … May, if I’m not mistaken.

Jim– You mentioned Aiden … Alex Cole. I know you have another one coming up, let's see here. I think it's coming out in April, “Second Chance” with Penny Barber and Tommy Pistol?

Ricky– Yeah. I'm directing a lot, so I don't have a lot of time to write. But like, with the second wave of covid, we ended up getting locked down at the beginning of January, and we couldn’t work for two weeks. So, it was the first time in a few years that I had time to write some stuff, and I wrote this movie called Second Chance to Love, I think it is just called “Second Chance”. The story has to do with a woman who came back from a date with her boyfriend, and she found out that her husband is not dead. Keep in mind, her husband had been in the military, and was declared dead. So, she had moved on with her life. Then, a few years later, he (the husband who she thought was dead), showed up at her door. Of course, she doesn’t understand what's happening.

Jim– … Wow, ...

Ricky– Yeah. Then basically, the guy tells her the story about what happened during those years. He was in prison, in another country, and he was tortured. And the boyfriend is not sure if it's really the husband, because there are things that just don’t add up. As an example, in the morning, she asks if he wants coffee, and … he doesn’t want coffee. Except, he used to drink coffee. There are some other things, weird things, like his old shoe size doesn’t fit anymore. So now, she is wondering if that is really her husband, or is it someone else? So now you also have the doubt of that, and the grief of thinking he was dead, and the other guy is still hanging around. I don't want to spoil everything. It's a very sad story. It's a very dramatic story. I feel like it's really well done. I mean, on the actor side, everybody is right on. Tommy Pistol, like usual, is amazing. He plays the soldier who came back from war, and has to deal with the fact that the wife that he loves is moving on, and having a boyfriend now. There is a scene in the movie, and he says, “It's funny, your whole life can fit in four boxes in the garage.”

Jim– I mean, that's real. That could be real life stuff. You know, the people …

Ricky– Yeah, yeah. Oh, that's what I think. Like, I try to give that. So, there are a lot of veterans, and some of them watch porn, to give them a kind of story like that, maybe someone could relate to it?  But you know, it’s like that. I get a lot of comments, from people who are happy because they can watch a movie like that with their wife. They say, “Oh, my God, my wife loves your work. Now I can finally watch a movie with her and she doesn’t complain, she’s happy to watch it with me.” You know, and they go on with, “She really liked the story.”

I always joke around that, if you finish my movie … Well, you know, you should never finish it. You should watch it with your wife, and get excited … and you start having sex with your wife and you forget about the movie. Or, you’re alone, you jerk off, and you came before the end. And I'm happy about that too. You did what you had to do, but you’re not supposed to finish it all. Or, you came back to it, a time or two, to finish it. But, my goal… Haha. It’s not for you to finish it at one time.

Jim–Well, at least not in the same sitting, so to speak. Actually, I think that’s the goal of a lot of people. But then, in many films, and you don't get past the first 30 seconds. Here we are talking, you know, lasting into 25 or 30 minutes. Maybe they're going to. So, that's a win for you.

Ricky– Haha, exactly.

Jim– With MissaX, and with the taboo and you just mentioned, the same level, the quality of filmmaking is going to be there, which I applaud. I'm looking forward to that, and I think in some ways it’s comparable to like a Tarantino, or even in some ways Scorsese. So, I'm happy to hear that we we're going to have that depth of the work of the cinema continue. It’ll be cool with the added kick in the pants that, you know, kink is going to provide to that. So … it's kind of kind of a neat thing to look forward to.

Ricky– Yeah. For me, I'm always looking for that. That’s where I’m at now in my career. I am working with many studios now, and … I can now bring a story and it say, “I want to do that story. Who wants to produce it?” I now have 3 or 4 studios where I can pitch it and see if they are interested in doing it. Most of the time, one of them will take it. So that's what I like about where I am right now, and that I’m not stuck in the same movie over and over. You know, sometimes, a director will get attached to a studio, and you do the same thing over and over for years. That’s fine, some of them are good with that. Me? I just want to have a chance to tell a different story.

I liked some of them … some people are willing to take more risk. An example is that Missa likes to push the boundary, and that's what I like about her. John is very cinematic and gave me my first chance. He likes that kind of movie. I appreciate that. Some of my best work was working with Mile High Media. You look at “Terror Camp”, “Confessions 1 & 2”, “Reform School Girls”. We had “Sweet Sweet Sally Mae” produced by Gamma and Adult Time, a Blaxploitation film. It's fun to have that freedom of creating what I want. So, yeah, I hope that will continue.

 Jim– You've mentioned … I know Jacky St. James is a favorite with you, and just a whole lot of people. I know some of the performers get together, after the shoot is over, sometimes they go home by themselves, sometimes they go out. Do you and your director friends ever just get together at a bar? I would love to be a fly on that wall. What do you guys talk about after hours, maybe over drinks?

Ricky– Oh, I talk with some. I will call Mike Quasar, and we'll talk about a lot of things. Last Saturday, we were both geeking out, because I bought a new Red camera and he bought the new Canon camera. We were just bitching at each other about who had the best camera and everything. But also, we're talking about where the Industry is going. I'm very close with Jacky St. James, and sometimes, when we find a good actor, we'll send an email or text to each other. We’re like, “So, you should use that girl. I used her last month. She was great and powerful,” … stuff like that. I’m friendly with James Avalon too. We play on the same hockey team. So, we play hockey together every Friday. He tried to teach me how to surf, but I’m terrible at it. Haha! Umm, David Lord is also a good friend of mine. We exchange stuff together. But yeah, I try to be friends with a lot of people. Robby Dee was the first guy who picked me up at the airport when I came in 2017 and 2018. He showed me a lot of stuff and he was a big help when I started in the business.

Jim– I know … at XCritic, we always hear about the performers kind of helping each other, you know, giving each other a helping hand sometimes. I don't always hear about the directors, or the writers, kind of hanging out and trading stories. And, I know that you guys do. It's just that it's not really widely publicized all the time. So, it's kind of a cool thought. You guys sitting around the table, you know, shooting the shit over a couple beers … or playing hockey. Haha.

Ricky– Yeah, yeah. We do that a lot. We go through the same struggles in a certain way. We have the same problems that we go through. There are times, especially like when I came in, I had never worked on an Adult set, I was more mainstream. So, there was a lot of stuff that I was not aware of … how to fix it. For example, in the mainstream, there is never really question that you will lose your location on the day of the shoot, or you will lose your lead the night before. But I can tell you, it happens. One day, everything is good, and the next morning, an agent for one of your actresses will be saying, “Oh, she cannot shoot. She's had like something happen to her, or her test is dirty or something.” So, you’re just kind of like, “Oh ok. I guess I have no leads!”  You call the agency, and all of a sudden, I am asking, “Who is available today?” Maybe you end up with a girl that doesn’t know any lines at all. She is trying to learn her lines on set, and now, the whole movie has changed. Maybe you have to rewrite some lines, because she was supposed to be the mother. But now, the girl who showed up is too young. So, you change the whole thing, and she’s the cousin or something.

The first time it happens to you, you freak out because it's not going to be the perfect movie you wrote last month. There were times like that, and I would call Jacky. She would say, “OK, just take what's happening, and try to go that direction.” Or, she will call me and say that so and so didn’t show up. I’ll say, “Oh, try this guy. He can learn his lines very fast, and he will be OK.”  That’s very important to have those contacts. But it's obviously not happening with everybody. It’s a very competitive field. Other directors, maybe they don’t get along, or they want to be in their own little bubble. But I know that Jacky, me, we get along and there is David, Mike, James Avalon, and we get along really well. For me, that’s a group of people that we have the same kind of energy, same kind of vibe. We are also used to the struggles of how to do really well with low budget filmmaking. So, we know all the tricks.

Jim– Well, it's kind of neat. I think my aim with that question, if you will, is that people will look at the director, and they think, “Oh, well, he knows everything. He must not need any help at all.” But of course, you do. And then especially when you throw the curveballs, like you've just mentioned, of somebody the morning of, “Oh, well, they're not going to be here. And here's somebody that doesn't know the lines.” So, it's definitely a skill set. I think you could be the best director in Hollywood. But then, you come across into the Valley, and all of a sudden, it’s like, “OK, what do I do now?”

Ricky– I would say that the porn Industry is filled with talented people. If you look at Killer on the Loose, I think we shot that in three days, the same thing with the Nun movies, both of them were three days. Sally Mae was two days. Terror Camp was two days. So, you do work that a lot of people, Hollywood people, who are amazing people, would never be able to do. I have one of my friends, he’s a good camera guy. He does a lot of Hollywood movies and commercials. We talk, and I’ll say, “You will never be able to do any of those kinds of movies if you’re over here.” And he’s like, “Why?” Well, I say that “It’s a different way of making movies. We have to be fast. We don't have time to spend on lighting a scene for like four hours. You know, we don't have time to take an hour and a half of blocking and going around. Sometimes I'm shooting seventeen pages of dialogue in one day.” It almost gets to the point where you’re talking about the style of writing and shooting that goes into TV shows. That's our approach. Most of the time, when it's not a feature, I would use the sitcom type of techniques. It's easier for me to fit a lot of pages in in a short number of hours.

Jim– Yeah. And I was I was just thinking when you mentioned that. You are shooting what might take regular mainstream several weeks in a matter of days. So, it's definitely, you know, the sitcom type, “Bam, bam, bam, get it out the door!” But it still has to look really good. So, I would imagine that it's probably a really steep learning curve on that.

Ricky– You need to be able to get through it, and make it work. No matter what happens, you need to use your brain and you’ll need to find a solution fast. You don't have time to be like, “Oh my God, I lost my lead. … Oh shit. Oh my God. What will I do with all that time that I’m losing?”  You need to cast someone else and move on. You don't have time to freak out. You also need to have a solid crew. I'm lucky enough to work with, in my opinion, the best camera guy in the business. My PA’s are very good, so are my sound guys. These are people …  I always use those guys, so that if I'm not there, they can basically do the movie because we are so used to working together. For example, I might be getting ready to ask my camera guy to move for a wide, but he is already doing it. It’s because we share the same brain after two or three years. That type of chemistry is very rare, and I was lucky to find out with my camera guy.

Jim– Give him give him a shout out if you want. I don't know him by name. Who is your camera man?

Ricky– It’s Matt Holder. He is very good at what he's doing. He used to work for Pure Taboo also. He did a lot of my stuff back in the day for Sweetheart. He’s been in the business for many years. A lot of old school guys, they are very good. Some directors, they say, “I want to have a younger camera guy, one of the young cool kids, you know, all those with the new technology.” There’s nothing wrong with that, if you use the newer tech stuff to do music, video, it’s still cinematography. But I like to work with guys who have been in the business for many years. We take their experience, and you tweak it a little bit, to make it more modern. I like to work with them because they know what they're doing. I like the fact that they will give me solutions, you know. It will be, “Oh, you want to do that? We used to do that back in the day. We were using this.” I look at it and say, “Oh, that’s not stupid, let’s try it!” And then you try it, and everyone is saying, “Oh, my God, that’s good!”  People see what you’ve done, and they say, “Oh, how did you do that?” Yeah, we did that old school. We didn't rent that spot for $10K, just to use that new effect. We just used the same things you would see in real life, and used something to create a sense of seeing that new effect. A lot of times, there is a cheaper way to make it without renting this crazy piece of equipment, you know?  It's fun to learn from their experience, and with their knowledge of going around those things. They used to do the same thing without the new technology back in the day. It's fun to see how they used to do it, and that we can still do it now.

Jim– Yeah, speaking of technology and even back in the day, we had VHS and then we go into DVD, and now we're into streaming. But now, a lot of … like you mentioned, some of the bigger studios are getting back to the film, to the storyline. So, for you, and I don’t mean for this to talk somebody out of giving you a paycheck, but I get from you that your goal is to make a solid film. Is that enough, in addition to the income, at the end of the day, to be standing tall, and be proud of what you've done?

Ricky– Yeah, for me. For me, the goal is to just make a movie. What I like about the Industry, and about those studios that help me, I’ll give you an example. In mainstream, if I want to do a werewolf movie, it would take me days and months and weeks and years to be able to finalize that movie. But for Missa, I just called one day and I said, “I want to do that movie.” And she said, “Oh, that's great. Can you write a script?” Well, that’s not a problem. It took us a month and a half to write a script, and after that she said, “OK, you shoot next month.” And, it was done. I can do everything I want. That's what I like, and that's what I want to do. That's why I'm proud of the movies I do, because it's just like we are having fun, and doing great movies. I hope that a lot of people will see our work, and like it. If people take time, and look at the product from those brands like MissaX, Mile High, or Dorcel, maybe they will find something different from what they’re used to seeing and watch.

They are entertaining movies, and sure, it takes some time. It's just like, you watch them, and it’s not just a porno. You become invested in the movie; invested in the story. As an example, if you take “Killer on the Loose”. You need to find the killer. What happened to the girl who was kidnapped? You get into it, and that's the point of it. Same thing with “Terror Camp”, that movie has some very scary, spooky moments. But each one is different. The movies we are making are for all tastes. We have love stories, drama. I believe you can find everything you want in the product that we're shooting, no matter what type of style, story, or movie that you like.

Jim– So, with all that said, everything that we've talked about … where you've been, where you're at now. What about your long, or even your short-term goals? The ones that you absolutely want to accomplish and say, “I did that, that was me.”

Ricky– If you consider all the effort that my crew made, all the effort from the cast, and people I work with, and for … I would like to win Movie of the Year. That would be great. I don't put a lot of like value in Awards. It would be more for the studio, the crew, for the actors, you know? It would be good for everyone to say that, “Oh, I was in the movie of the year!” That is something that I would like to accomplish someday. I don't really focus on my work on it. But, if eventually I could do that, I would be very happy about it. Every year, we do a movie or two for the award show. This year we have a good one in kink, so that one could be a possibility. We'll see. We try every year to make a good one. But mainly, it’s just offering people the best entertainment you can get. If that leads to an award for best feature, best actor or something … that would be a nice accomplishment.

 Jim– Ok, yeah. It's always nice. I know the awards, for certain people are … you know, that's the main thing. It’s a big deal, certainly for the performers. I can't say I would blame them for wanting that. It’s great when you have that peer recognition.

Ricky– It’s just that, again, it's just like in the studio, really, that most of them don't really put a large importance to it. It's more for your crew. You know, doing a feature is a lot of work. Any recognition that you get out of it, for the crew members, it’s like almost nothing. For an actor, like a girl who hasn’t had a lot of feature films, getting an award for her is fun, and it’s important. Because now, she was the best actress for that year, and that award could lead to bigger projects and work with other studios. For example, when we had Confessions of a Sinful Nun, the nomination that Magdalene St. Michaels had for best scene was very important. She was so happy, and I was happy for her. For her, it was one of her best moments. Or, you take a girl like Ariel X getting a nomination for best actress. She's been in the business for many years, and she's a great actress. I don't think she ever got a nomination before the wrestling movie. I could be wrong, but I don't think she got a nomination for acting before that.

For me, it’s great that we have those people. And for them, it means a lot, and represents all their hard work. Again, for Magdalene, she was very happy to get that. I know that last year, Aiden was very happy to get the nomination, and if she can get the award, she will be, just crazy about it. She was very disappointed when she didn’t win the last time, and she was amazing. I told her, “It's art, it's only one person who gets it. It's not something that is easy to get. It doesn’t mean that you were not good at it.” But, when you're so close to winning, and then you don’t? Yeah, I understand how that is upsetting. I understand what that is like, and can see why the performers run after it.  

{Interviewer’s Note ~ Ricky Greenwood is the epitome of humble, one of the nicest human beings I have had the pleasure of speaking with. The dude is completely un-assuming. He downplayed the significance of winning awards for himself, instead seeking to shine that spotlight on his performers and crew. Truth be told, Ricky has been nominated for a list of awards long enough to fill a page.

He’s won several, including:

2021 XBIZ Awards Director of the Year — Trans

2021 XBIZ Awards All-Girl Movie of the Year: Terror Camp (Sweetheart Video)

2021 XBIZ Awards Best Editing: A Killer on the Loose (MissaX)

2020 XBIZ Awards Director of the Year — Trans

2019 NightMoves Awards Best Feature Production Fans’ Choice: Confessions of a Sinful Nun #2: The Rise of Sister Mona – Sweetheart

2019 Urban X Awards Best Girl/Girl Release: Lesbian Beauties 20, Sweetheart/Mile High

2018 NightMoves Awards Best All Girl Release Editor’s Choice – Becoming Elsa (Sweetheart Video)

Yeah … He’s a big deal where I’m from. With that said, let’s get back to the interview!}

Jim– Well, and it's like you say, it's certainly a boost to their career. You get better roles, more publicity. So, I absolutely get it, especially from the performers’ point of view. And from your point of view, I understand completely. I think I do, when you say that you would like to see those awards, as nod towards your crew that has worked so hard. I appreciate that.

Ricky– Yeah, for me? It doesn't help me, to be honest with you. It doesn’t get me any more money. It doesn't get any more jobs. I can do all the movies that I want. So, if I don't win the award, that doesn’t mean I don't have a job. They aren’t going to fire me because I didn't win the award. I'm still doing the same amount of work; I have the same type of freedom. So, it doesn't really affect me. Of course, if I if I win, I'm happy, and I would appreciate the fact that my peers give the award. I'm not chasing it, because I don't really need it to help my career. But for an actor, like, for example, Performer of the Year. You could be like, “Oh, my God. I didn't hire her for two years now. Now she's the best … I should hire her. Like Aiden Ashely … I’ve never seen her before, but now, she just won Best Actress. I would be like, “Oh shit, she can act!” That’s great, and she ends up having more roles, maybe for a big feature, and having a nice movie to do, you know? Because, it’s interesting, not everybody knows that this girl is such a good actress. Then, she gets an Award and they’re like, “Oh, she can act.” Well yeah, she's really good, but no one noticed that until now. So, it's good for them. It's good for your camera guy. They are saying, “Oh, the camera work was amazing in that movie. Who did that?” Well, now the movie has a lot more exposure. So, that’s the main reason why I see those awards being important. But for me personally, except to say they would be grateful and happy for sure to win. It doesn't help my career. It would be nice to say, “OK, I did a great movie, and that Award validated the fact that it was a great movie.” That would be the good thing about it.

Jim– Sure, I get it. I understand. Wow, we’ve talked about a lot of stuff. I imagine I’m starting to cut into your afternoon! Haha. I think that's a pretty good place end, unless you think we've missed something?

Ricky– No, I think we have covered a lot. I am happy that we talked so much about the cinematic side of it. So, I’m happy with that.

Jim– Well, I can't begin to tell you how much fun this has been. I appreciate it. And I hope that you get that Movie of the Year in the near future. I'm happy that we were able to schedule this time to have a talk.

Ricky– Okay, cool. Awesome. Thank you for the interview.

A very special thanks to Erika Icon at TheRubPR , cyber5 (famed XCritic Editor), and XCritic for setting up this interview.

Also, we use the Internet Adult Film Database (IAFD) quite a bit in columns and reviews. It's a wonderful resource, not only for Industry use, but also for YOU- the fans. Interested in your Fav-O-Rite performer or director? Cruise on over to the hallowed grounds of the IAFD, type in a name or a title, hit search, and ENJOY!

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