The question of what a porn star does after he or she retires is an interesting one. Bryce Wagoner, who directed After Porn Ends, a new documentary that catches up with porn stars who have left the industry, used this as impetus for his new project. “I was working as an actor on a set and some guys were looking at porn… afterwards one of them posted the question: What do porn stars do after porn? That question stuck with me.”
At first Wagoner was interested in creating a movie around Bianca Trump, a popular porn star in the 1990s who got caught up in a home invasion, drugs and white supremacy. However, it didn’t pan out. Trump, who initially agreed to being included in the project while in jail declined when she was released. She was instrumental in the conception of the film however and “she’s one of the people we thank in the end credits,” notes Wagoner.
Christopher Mallick, one of the producers of the film, had some knowledge of the industry being a former owner of a successful online third party billing company. He notes, “I thought it would be [an] interesting documentary to make… I have a general fascination with true stories and in this case what happens when [porn stars] are finished.” He then continues it was “a little bit of personal curiosity.”
For Wagoner however, it was an eye-opening experience. “I didn’t know a lot about the industry before doing the documentary. It was a time of discovery. Call me a babe in the woods…” he says. “I thought they were all stars and made a lot of money and that’s why they retired so young.”
Wagoner quickly learned that porn is not all about glamour and fortune. “I learned that if you’re going to choose porn there’s no safety net… Bill Marigold, Asia Carrera, Nina Hartley and John Leslie [all echoed this fact throughout the film.]… Once your diving in, its hard to get out.”
In the film, we find out that several former porn stars have found it difficult adjusting to life after porn. It isn’t necessarily their fault, and has more to do with the stigma that is attached to a career in the industry. Mallick, who has produced such Hollywood features such as Middle Men, notes: “Reputation sticks with you especially if you were in the industry. There is a stigma…” He then adds, “There’s more to a person than what they did for short period of their lives.”
The stigma attached to a career in porn can make it hard to get out. Stars like Raylene (see our interview with her here), Mary Cary and Houston all returned to the industry after shooting After Porn Ends. Wagoner says of Raylene: “[she] sent me an email apologizing because of going back… she was facing financial ruin like many Americans around that time. She’s a wonderful person and a good mother and she needed to do what was best for her and family in that situation.”
After Porn Ends is an intriguing look into the lives of several porn stars after their careers in porn have ended. It’s balanced too, and as Mallick says he wanted the film to refrain from giving an “opinion” and states “we didn’t want to demonize or glorify the industry… we let the story tell itself.” This documentary is a film that needs to be watched by those who are curious and interested in a different angle to a multiple billion-dollar industry that shows no signs of ever disappearing.
But don’t expect a definitive answer. What happens when the cameras stop rolling and porn stars try to pursue a different path in their lives can take interesting twists as After Porn Ends demonstrates.
For more information visit www.afterpornends.com
Tags: Porn Stars, porn stars retired