Source: AVN
Author: Dan Miller
Date: 2-16-06

Director Eon McKai has signed an exclusive deal with Vivid Entertainment Group, and will start a new label with the company called Vivid-Alt that reflects his unique brand of adult content.

McKai is credited with helping to spearhead the alt-porn movement that has staked a place in the adult industry in the past year. He got his start in November 2004 with VCA Pictures.

“I just really want to see the alt-thing happen, and at first I thought, ‘no way could I ever go to Vivid.’ It seemed like such a big brand and they would never be interested.’ But the more meetings I took, I saw how they were interested, and how far they would go to support [alt-porn] and give it a chance,” McKai told AVN.com. “They are going to give me the chance to take things in more of an alt-direction, and that’s what made me decide to bring it over here. The sheer amount of support and creative control I’m going to have is greater than it was before.”

McKai’s deal entails him directing four “big-budget” features this year and producing eight other features by up-and-coming alt-porn directors – all for Eon McKai Productions and Vivid-Alt.

“This guy is great and he’ll tap us directly into this exciting new trend in the adult movie industry,” said Vivid co-founder Steven Hirsch. “Eon will find the first actress to give a fresh, new face to the imprint. He’ll also be looking for all sorts of alternative and progressive talent and programming to keep us at the top of this genre. I can’t wait to see his first work.”

McKai, who has a master’s degree from the California Institute of the Arts and has taught filmmaking, said the first directors he would be tapping for Vivid-Alt productions are photographers Octavio Arizala, aka Winkytiki, and Dave Naz.

Winkytiki is a fetish photographer who has a book coming out and Naz has published three coffee table books (“Lust Circus,” “Panties” and “Legs”) and has had his work featured in art galleries worldwide.

“I really want to take what alt has started to become, and take those parentheses that are alt and push them really far to the right and really far to the left,” McKai said. “On the web, alt-porn has a much more diverse, eclectic voice. But on video, it’s just been us - Rob Rotten, Joanna Angel and me.”

He continued, “This is kind of a dream job. I was always at VCA knocking on their door to get so-and-so to make a movie. But over here, that’s my job.”

McKai revealed that his first project for Vivid-Alt would be called Girls Lie, which would be along the lines of mainstream films such as Over the Edge and River’s Edge.

“It’s a movie that’s kind of about that time,” McKai said. “You’re an adult, but you don’t really have your own place to have sex. You’re running wild in the street, finding different places. You’re a really young adult and you still have a lot of time on your hands. It seems like the kind of place that the youth that are buying my films are at.”

McKai said the terms of his Vivid contract include him being able to use his own production team.

“I’ll be slowly bringing my people over,” he said, noting that he’d be working closely with Suicide Girls photographer Lithium Picnic, among others.

The 26-year-old debuted in adult with Art School Sluts, and followed that with three volumes of Kill Girl Kill before releasing the critically acclaimed Neu Wave Hookers, which is currently No. 1 on AVN’s Top 25 Weekly Rentals and Sales Chart.

“It’s been a pretty quick ride,” McKai admitted. “When I came in there was no one really from the alt-world from the web, except for Rob. I’m really close with Rob Rotten, and he was telling me the other night, ‘Thank God you guys are here.’ It gives him context.”

McKai said response has been almost overwhelming for Neu Wave Hookers.

“It’s crazy. It’s the first movie I’ve made where I’m getting emails every day. I put so much of myself into that movie,” he continued.

McKai indicated he would continue to do mainstream work; he just finished directing a music video for Bedroom Walls, and previously shot a video for the band Louis XIV.

He said leaving VCA recently was “really heartbreaking.”

“I really loved being at VCA, I think VCA has a rich history. It took some time, but VCA really got it,” McKai said. “They took risks with me. That’s where I cut my teeth, where I found my voice. Peter Reynolds [director of sales and marketing], he was the first person who sold alt. He was the first guy who made the distributors understand what this product was because everything was happening on the Internet.

"It was really hard to go, but I feel like I have to take this chance. It’s good for alt, and by producing stuff for other people, I have the opportunity to expand what alt is. Joanna and I really wanted to stay together [at VCA], but we’re just going to work for both sides, and it’s exciting to have two big companies in the alt game. It will help alt have some staying power that maybe some other movements in porn haven’t had.”

I heard Smelly Monkey (allegedly ) was desperately trying to get McKai to sign for his new company, but once the news about the Vivid deal broke, he signed up Mike John instead in an effort to save face.

It's a smart move on Vivid's part in my opinion, because whilst John may have ascended to the rank of gonzo Godhood, he can't deliver the sort of poorly shot, dull, sexless man-ass-fingering action that these 'alt. kids' (who make up the vast majority of today's porn buying public) are looking for.

Vivid alt. is gonna be bigger than New Coke, just you wait and see!

It's a perfect match. Boring vanilla porn meets unerotic alt.porn. Whatever McKai does will never change the fact that Neu Wave Hookers is a total flop & the worst film in porn history. Congrats on that.

Vivid isn't even porn to me.

"It’s crazy. It’s the first movie I’ve made where I’m getting emails every day. I put so much of myself into that movie,” he continued."

Anyone wanna let this idiot know hes making porno not Shindlers List.

hey snowman consider how much advertising Hustler/VCA does, then we can talk about what Avn ranks in their stupid fuckin manufactured sales charts. Grow Up!

Sorry ... I don't buy that AVN totally fabricates the charts based on advertising revenue. Just because they haven't explained their methods does not mean they do not have one.

I'm sure a careful examination of the titles on the charts and ads places in the magazine will reveal there is no correlation, except perhaps the the obvious one - larger studios who move more product have larger advertising budgets. And of course, a large studio that releases a dozen titles each month has a better chance of producing a best seller. To some degree, it's a numbers game.

And I am grown.

Snowman...how do AVN purportedly collect the data used to compile the sales and rental charts? As far as I'm aware, it's largely anecdotal.

You are far better served looking at the Top Ten on a site like Adult DVD Empire...sure, it's not representative of the whole industry, but it is a fairly big site, and the placings reflect what people are actually buying.

Perhaps the best way to settle this would be for one of us to email Wetscrog Rex/Peter Warren and ask him to chip in precisely what methods AVN uses to compile it's charts, as well as the total industry worth figure as well. Gene Ross is forever kicking AVN's ass over that, just like Tod Hunter is currently tearing them a new ass because they still haven't reviewed 'Neu Wave Hookers' yet...seems to me AVN could shut both of these guys up if they wanted to by just providing the figures and the review, yet for some reason they seem rather reticent...

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You are far better served looking at the Top Ten on a site like Adult DVD Empire...

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Nope,that ones total bullshit too..

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Perhaps the best way to settle this would be for one of us to email Wetscrog Rex/Peter Warren and ask him to chip in precisely what methods AVN uses to compile it's charts,

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Its called a dartboard

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Gene Ross is forever kicking AVN's ass over that, just like Tod Hunter is currently tearing them a new ass because they still haven't reviewed 'Neu Wave Hookers' yet...seems to me AVN could shut both of these guys up if they wanted to by just providing the figures and the review, yet for some reason they seem rather reticent...

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well the fact of the matter is even AVN doesnt know what the hell is going on at AVN.They probably cant find the god damned screener copy of NewWaveHookers, which is why they havent reviewed it.....Hint...its under someones coffee cup.

They cant provide the sales figures because noone knows what they are. Except the people at the producer and they arent gonna give anyone anything even close to accurate, so everyone is left to make up whatever they want, which is exactly what they do, period

now its sat night im off to drink heavily and listen to loud repetitive music..

negatve, all top ten lists on any site, magazine, etc etc are all influenced by 1. Overstock (if your a retailer), 2. relationships...even DVD Empire...

1200 titles get released every month in the porn industry. Its impossible to guage what is outselling what, allthough it IS possible to tell who was the most friends in high places...

Here is an example of how idiotic AVN is- They reviewed the same title two months in a row and gave it different reviews then nominated it from their 2 to 3 star review. They are worthless and pointless and their time is limited while they continue to lose credibility and respect from Paul "big" joke Fishbein.. someone rob him again and get everyone's money back.

hey lets start a chain letter and everyone email this to that fucking jew stealing cocksucker fishbein at avn. I called over there an his email is paul@avn.com. Ok 123 I'll start...oh yeah and um.. (thinking) ok if for someone reason you don't then your family will all die in an al queda hijacked Defiance title that will blow up in your hands signifying the ultimate hand jihad movie.

It's very interesting that they can only 'agree' on 3 out of fifteen.

Here are some others:

Adult DVD Empire:

1) All-Time Best Teen 2 (Devil's Film) (comp)
2) Pirates (Digital Playground)
3) All-Time Best Cream Pie (Devil's Film)(comp)
4) All-Time Best MILF (Devil's Film) (comp)
5) Jesse Jane: All-American Girl (Digital Playground)
6) The New Devil In Miss Jones (Vivid)
7) All-Time Best P.O.V. (Devil's Film) (comp)
8) Award Winning Sex Scenes 2 (Vivid) (comp)
9) Busty Stars (Elegant Angel) (comp)
10) Fuck Dolls 6 (Red Light District)
11) Swallow My Squirt 2 (Elegant Angel)
12) Flower's Squirt Shower (Elegant Angel)
13) Cum Fart Cocktails 3 (Red Light District)
14) All-Time Best Teen (Devil's Film) (comp)
15) Big Wet Asses 7 (Elegant Angel)

Interesting to note that just under half of it is made up of cheap comps (and unless I'm mistaken, the Devil's Film comps are exclusive to ADE, which would tend to play into Frankenswine's theory about overstock and relationships). If I had extended it to take in the top 20 titles, it would have been exactly 50% comps...of course, all this goes to show is that cheap bastards shop at Adult DVD Empire...

There are of course other areas of convergence (Pirates, Swallow My Squirt 2, The New Devil In Miss Jones), but no 'Jenna In The Middle' for ADE as yet. Wicked's new biggie 'Curse Eternal' doesn't even make the top 20 as of yet, despite the fact that it's got Kaylani Lei in it !

Jake Malone's RLD stuff seems pretty popular too...one could only begin to guess where 'Throat Gaggers' might be, if only they weren't so prissy about carrying it (or 'Gag Factor' for that matter).

I think this would probably be the best way to construct a Top 10 (or 20 or whatever) list -- aggregate the top seller lists from as many web retailers as possible.

From these three charts, it appears that "Pirates" and "Swallow My Squirt" should be at the top of the chart. They are the only titles to appear on all three. It is interesting that "Neu Wave Hookers" is not on any of the charts.