Mark Wood Interview 2004
– Mark’s Bio & Movies
INTERVIEW: MARK WOOD
As we sit here in the booth at Erotica LA with Mark Wood I am still a little out of breath from talking with Francesca.
Are you going to be OK?
I think so.
Good.
Let’s pick up where we left off with Francesca. You were nominated for an award by XRCO as the “Unsung Swordsman.”
Again. This is three years in a row. I don’t know if that is a good or a bad thing.
You haven’t won yet though right?
Not yet.
If you win then you really can’t be nominated again because then you are sung swordsman.
It’s just nice to be nominated. I was nominated for Performer of the year at AVN and that was quite an honor.
It’s tough to win that one.
Yeah some guys just stay unsung for their whole careers.
How long have you been in the business?
Seven years.
How many movies do you think?
At least six hundred movies. I know I’ve done over fourteen hundred scenes and stopped counting.
That is a lot of different women.
I paid my dues and didn’t come in on the fast track.
How did you get into the biz?
I was coming to LA for graduate school. I was here to get my MBA. I was always a fan. The first year I had a job and the second I had no income. I saw some add for internet modeling. I did that and found smaller companies, got the work and discovered that this is what I liked doing. I really got my start with Mike Hott Video.
A few guys started there.
Yeah, Stefano started there, Brian Surewood, myself.
It is like the minor leagues for porn.
It really was. Nothing against them. They are still in business, but it was like Bull Durham, we came up through the ranks. It was really good for us because this was before the modern medical advances. You had to really prove yourself and not always with girls you would pictured in your mind as porn girls.
Other than your lovely wife Francesca, who have been your favorite women to work with?
That is so tough. There have been a lot. It’s sad, I can never come up with an answer to this question.
All right let me make it easier. If you were going to shoot a scene tomorrow, a five girl one guy gang bang, and you had to use women you have already worked with, who would you call?
Ryan Conner. I’m a big butt fan so I would have to call her.
Is there anyone who you haven’t worked with but would want to?
That is another good one. I’ve never worked with Jenna. I didn’t do the feature route. I never worked for Wicked or VCA. I didn’t even try for that. I am not an actor so I became a gonzo guy. I just rush through the lines to get to the sex. You know I never worked with Belladonna, so I would have to say she would be the one who got away. We were in a lot of movies together, but never in the same scene.
You started directing movies for Legend right?
Yes. I started directing with Brandon Iron. We started the Teen Tryouts at Devils Films. They decided to take that line over so we did Try A Teen for Legend. We were there together for one and a half years before Brandon left. I was there for three years.
What happened?
We had worked so much together and everyone grouped us together. We had two deals, one at Legend and one at West Coast. He went with West Coast and did Rampage while I stayed at Legend and did six lines for them. I did Try A Teen which became Teens Goin’ Wild, I did All About Ass
, Bangin’ In the Hood, Foot Traffic, Interracial Nation and Rapid Fire.
That is a lot of work.
It was very low key. Legend doesn’t get a lot of publicity, but it was simple gonzo stuff.
If someone hasn’t seen your work what would you tell them to check out first?
I would say that the All About Ass stuff was good. There is one with Francesca, Hannah Harper and Jessica Darlin in the same movie. I think that I just shot the movie that I’ve always wanted to shoot. It’s called 1 Whore + 1 More. I wanted to do something that I want to do. Not too many people are shooting the multiple girl thing. Everyone is shooting multiple guys with one girl. I think that this is the best movie I have done. I really want to keep going with this line.
Who is in that one?
Gia Paloma and Francesca are in a scene together. Nikki Hunter, Tyla Wynn, Olivia Saint and Trinity James.
Who is a better director, Francesca or you?
That is a hard question.
She answered right away.
She probably said that she is better. I could do the PC thing and say that she is, but I have to go with me. I am.
Francesca: I said that you were a better director and I am a better producer.
That is actually the perfect answer. She is good at dealing with the talent. I like to show up and either fuck or shoot camera. I’m not good at organization. Francesca is a great producer.
How did you guys meet?
I was working at Extreme back in the glory days when Brandon was there and Luciano and those guy. I was working at talent all the time and they hired her to do sales. We became friends around the office. We started dating, but it was kind of a secret.
Francesca: I was the only girl in the office and I didn’t want everyone to think I was easy.
No one knew we were together and I was playing in a band. We had a gig at the Whiskey in LA. She came out to the show and was standing at the bar with Luciano and the guys. I just walked up and kissed her. They didn’t know we were dating and were shocked.
Do you still keep in close contact with those guys?
Not really no. I have worked with Stefano when he was freelancing. I haven’t talked to Brandon in a long time. Everyone sort of went their separate ways.
When did you guys get married?
We had actually only been dating three months and she dragged me to Vegas. We were married by a priest with a pager.
No way.
It was going off while we were getting married. We did the Vegas wedding thing.
You said you play in a band?
Not any more. I still do music for all of our movies, but my full effort has to be on our company.
If you could choose one, a career in music or a career in porn which would it be?
That is really hard. Originally I would say music, but the only thing that I really never got to do was tour. I never got to go on a nation-wide tour. I just want to live that lifestyle. At first it was about the money and the girls, but it is much fun to play in front of a crowd, it is such a unique high.
How do you feel about all these rap stars crossing over and doing porn flicks?
I don’t know. I’m not big on it. No PC here, I’m not into it. They are just jumping on the bandwagon. If they were performing it would be different. If I were stepping into their world and being some behind the scenes guy it wouldn’t be cool. If they were shooting it with their own camera or doing scenes, fine.
Francesca: It’s bad enough with people already in the business who sit behind a desk and put their name on product.
That is my big beef. If you are actively involved, you don’t have to hold a camera, but you at least have to be in the trenches.
Francesca Le: The female directors who aren’t even on their sets. They just put their names on the boxes.
She is feisty huh?
If I ask her to name names, do you think she will?
She might.
Francesca: No. I don’t need that.
Getting back to your original question, I think that porn has gotten too mainstream. I think that is hurting the business. You see it on Stern every night. I like it when it’s underground and a bit more seedy. When you had to come to an event like this to see the girls. They are on album covers and TV every night. I like it hard core.
Anything else you want to add?
Yeah, I heard what you were saying about the gang bang at that ADT party. The next time something like that happens you have to call us and get us back there Rog.
Sorry about that. I was too tired.
OK this year don’t forget us though.
Fair enough. Thanks a lot Mark.
Thank you Rog.
