All language subtitles for S01E06 - Something Wicked

-In the mid-'90s, it was more

than just body parts
getting pumped up.

Porn producer Wicked Pictures

began spending big
on budget-busting movies.

-Nobody was spending more than
$12,000 to $15,000 on a movie,

and here we were,
spending six figures.

-Insane.

I can't even imagine
having that type of budget.

It's very hard to even get
a wardrobe provided for you

on a porn set now.
-Action.

-What made Wicked Pictures
the most successful studio

in the porn universe?

-The Jenna phenomenon.

[ Camera shutter clicking ]

-That's right --
their star, Jenna Jameson.

-She was the first porn star
whose name everyone knew.

-Watch for that one.
-Everyone knows Jenna is Jenna.

-You didn't even have to say
her full name --

just like Madonna or Prince.

-As Jenna prospered,
so did Wicked.

-Jenna became one of the biggest
porn stars of all time.

-Then it was just Jenna.

-When I say biggest, I don't
mean just in our industry.

-I saw an opening to become a
superstar through this vehicle,

and I did it.

-Did Wicked make Jenna,
or did Jenna make Wicked?

That's a tough one.

-It's kind of like the chicken
and the egg.

-Without Wicked,
Jenna would have been

just another porn star.

[ Indistinct shouting ]

-But when the star begins
to burn too bright...

-There was maybe more
drinking and drugs.

-If you hit it that big
that quick at that age,

it's going to be hard to handle.

-Jenna and Wicked
would both pay a price.

-I will never, ever, ever spread
my legs again in this industry,

ever.

♪♪

♪♪

-As the '80s were coming
to an end,

the adult film industry was
struggling to find its identity.

Gone were the heydays
of early VHS,

where porn movies
focused on production

and plot,
like in "Kinky Business."

-Do you really want to spend
some time with me?

-Yeah, all I got
is 50 bucks, though.

-Well, maybe we could
work out an arrangement

till your folks get back.

-It had now turned
into an X-rated factory,

churning out tape after tape.

-The early '90s was kind of

just how cheap
you could make it for.

It was not too far after
the transition from film to VHS,

so a lot of them
were one-day wonders,

where you're shooting
a multitude of sex scenes,

usually four or five in one day.

-At that time, really,
the industry was focused

on just putting out sex scenes,
and if you like,

you know, Asian women,
there's your Asian themed movie.

You know, they weren't movies.
They were scenes.

-There comes a period
of a glut of these tapes.

There's too many.
The prices start dropping.

They start making them too fast.

And the home-video rental stores
aren't even sure what to get.

-The industry was also still
reeling from the fallout

of the Traci Lords
underage scandal.

-A young woman widely publicized
under the name of Traci Lords

may legally be just a child.

-And people were still
going to jail over it,

including the owner
of X-citement Video,

who continued to sell
Traci's underage tapes

even after her true age
was revealed.

He was charged with three counts

of trafficking
child pornography

and sentenced
to one year in prison.

That was good news
for Steve Orenstein,

who had worked
at X-citement Video,

but saw a chance
to start his own company.

He called it Wicked Pictures.

-Steve Orenstein founded
Wicked Pictures in 1993,

and he really emphasized
marketing and promotion

and trying to target
not just men,

but men and women together.

This was maybe a little bit
more of a return

to that 1970's style
of making a feature film

that had sex in it

instead of sex scenes
that were feature length.

-To make his Wicked dreams
a reality,

Steve put together a team.

He recruited Brad Armstrong

to direct this new style
of porn movie.

Brad shared Steve's vision

for improving
the quality of adult films.

-Adult video could be bigger
and better,

and with a better look,

you would attract
a different audience.

-Movies made by Wicked added
back foreplay to the sex scenes,

something lost in the "Wham,
bam, thank you, ma'am," tapes

flooding the market.

They also had plot
and character development

and looked
and felt more like real movies.

-I was really excited about
making that available for women

and not just having it be
women subjectified, right?

Like, why do you need
to subjectify women?

Women enjoy sex, for heaven's
sakes. Everyone does it.

-One of their first movies
was "Deep Cover,"

a spy thriller
about an ex-CIA agent

trying to uncover
a Russian double agent.

-...I can tell you is that
there's a mole in the CIA.

-There's a mole?

-Yes, there's a mole in the CIA.

-They also made "The Governess,"

a thriller centered
on an evil nanny --

a popular theme
in '90s mainstream movies.

-What about you, Carl?

Are you ever afraid
of being caught?

-To help position themselves
in the market,

Steve approached his friend
Joy King

to join him at Wicked Pictures.

Joy was up for the challenge.

She was working as a publicist
for a VHS distribution company

that had an eclectic library.

-I was working for a company

that happened to make
adult film, but they also made

Strawberry Shortcake movies
and Gumby.

-♪ If you've got a heart,
then Gumby's a part of you ♪

-No company would think
to do that today,

but it was quite common
in the '80s.

-I suppose You want me to untie
you from this.

-Beautiful.
-Steve and Joy embarked

on a strategy
to market Wicked movies

as having something no other
porn producer could offer,

beginning with actress
Chasey Lain.

-Chasey Lain was the first
contract girl

at Wicked Pictures, and she is
just stunningly beautiful.

When Steve wanted to sign her,
it was sort of to make sure

that, like, you're the only one
that can see her movies

is if you go buy a Wicked movie.

Contract girls
in the adult-film industry

were a lot like Hollywood
back in the olden days,

where they would hire
specific talent

that they knew had a draw
at the box office,

and the only way to see it was
to see that company's movies.

-They would make "stars"
like back in the studio system

in real Hollywood in the '50s,
when they had Greta Garbo

and Marilyn Monroe
and James Dean, right?

-Wicked would sign performers
like Stephanie Swift

and Sydnee Steele
as contract girls

soon after Chasey Lain.

Steve Orenstein explained
his thinking at the time to Joy.

-"If I harness all these, like,
amazing, beautiful women

who are talented in one house,
and I put my brand behind that,

and these girls can only
be seen in my movies,

well, then I build my business

because I'm promoting
those girls."

-But Wicked wasn't
the only game in town.

-It became Vivid Girls
and Wicked Girls.

-Vivid, run by Steve Hirsch, was
Wicked Pictures' biggest rival.

They were also trying to build
out their stable of talent.

Vivid was putting out movies
like "Bonnie and Clyde 2,"

a decidedly
less violent followup

to the Hollywood classic.
-Steve always wanted

to emulate Steven Hirsch
at Vivid.

He wanted to create a company

that did quality films,
and he did.

-But Steve Orenstein was still
missing an ingredient

if Wicked was going to be Vivid.

He needed a star.

He would be as surprised
as everyone

when a short, blond stripper
named Jenna Jameson

not only became
Wicked's marquee actress,

but one of the biggest names
in porn history.

[ Camera focuses,
shutter clicks ]

At 17, Jenna Jameson got her
start in the adult industry

by dancing
in a Las Vegas strip club.

She was born to it.
Her mother was a Vegas showgirl.

Jenna's mother died from cancer
when Jenna was 4 years old,

leaving Jenna and her brother
to be raised by her father.

Jenna explained in interviews
that she was open with her dad

about her new high-school job.
-And he was like,

"Well, you know,
this isn't what I want for you.

You're such a talented dancer.

You're such
an intelligent woman.

You don't need to do this."

Well, I was 17, I was set
on what I was gonna do,

and he wasn't gonna
tell me anything.

[ Camera shutter clicking ]

-Jenna took
the last name Jameson

after the brand of whiskey
she liked to drink.

She quickly caught the attention
of industry photographers.

But from there,
her career developed slowly.

-I met Jenna Jameson
at a convention.

She was just a model in line --
nothing special at that point.

I got my little 8x10
and got her autograph,

and so what?
She was girl number 400.

♪♪

-Jenna, at just 20 years old,

decides to move to L.A.
to further her modeling career.

She moves in
with Brittany Andrews

and Nikki Tyler, who was
a contract girl for Vivid.

Jenna saw how Nikki leveraged
her work in porn movies

to earn more for modeling...
-That's it. Beautiful.

-...and bring in huge sums
adult movie stars could earn

by appearing in strip clubs.

-At the time, Jenna was doing
a lot of magazine shoots,

she was stripping,

and I do think
Jenna had a lot of vision

in, "Hey, if I have movies
to promote me,

I'm gonna make more
when I go stripping.

You know, if I'm gonna go
to a strip club,

instead of paying me
$250 for a show,

they're gonna have to pay me
$750 for a show

and then $1,250 for a show,

until all of a sudden
it's 3 grand for a show."

-When I say, "Jenna Jameson,
Blonde Ambition,"

I mean, she really kind of had
that same Madonna vibe back then

of like,
"I am going to rule the world."

-And one of the first movies
Jenna shoots

is called "Up and Cummers"
with Randy West.

Typical of porn at the time,
the only setup

is just an interview
with a new, hopeful starlet.

-So my friend Randy West
shot Jenna Jameson

right after she left
her dancing career in Vegas.

It was hot -- super, super hot.
-Oh, God!

-So, Jenna Jameson -- I might
have been one of three guys

that actually did
her very first scenes.

My name is Mark Davis.
I've been in over 4,000 scenes.

She was just innocent.

She was just happy-go-lucky
and innocent.

She had no idea what was coming.

I mean, I don't think
any of us did, you know?

-Jenna shot her first few movies
with Vivid -- good reviews,

and great sales start
to generate buzz

around the new starlet,

sparking competition between
Vivid and Wicked Pictures

over who could sign
Jenna Jameson first.

-Steve Hirsch,
the owner of Vivid Video --

Jenna was always the cherry
on top of the pie,

and he always pursued her.

-But in the end, Wicked won out,
paying Jenna $6,000 a month

to appear in 8 to 10 movies
per year

and perform in 3 to 4 scenes
in each movie.

-After Wicked had signed Jenna,
I was brought in

to be her publicist.

And I walk in the room,
and I'm thinking,

"She's just this mousy, little
thing. I mean, she's so tiny.

This is who you want
to make a star?"

And it was just -- I couldn't
imagine it until she stood up

and opened her mouth,
and I was like, "I get it."

-Do you know what I'm saying?
I might as well...

I'm not scheduled
to...Alex Sanders,

but why not do it, right?

[ Camera shutter clicks ]

♪♪

-There were many girls that were
more beautiful than Jenna.

But Jenna had it.

She had the spark
She had the it factor.

She walked into a room,
and she owned that room,

and she knew
she owned that room.

I was gonna make
Jenna Jameson the largest,

most famous adult film star
that has ever lived.

-Fame --
that would make big money

for Wicked Pictures
and its founder.

But as Jenna began to transcend
the porn world,

she would become a star too big
for her creators to control.

-All of a sudden,
they're doing "Howard Stern"

and being called a superstar
and winning all the awards.

The ego can get to you,

and you can start believing
your own press.

-If you hit that big that quick
at that age,

it's going to be hard to handle.

-There became a time
when she got so big...

that she just didn't feel like
she needed anybody anymore.

-1995 -- Johnny Depp,
Sharon Stone, and Nicole Kidman

hit the red carpet
at the Cannes Film Festival

to promote their new movies.

It's an annual event
where the Hollywood elite go

to see and be seen.

Years earlier, the porn industry
decided to crash the party

by creating the Hot d'Or Awards
to happen at the same time

as the famous film festival.

Steve Orenstein and Joy King
decided

the glitz and glamour
of southern France

would be the perfect setting
to debut their new starlet.

-So in 1995,
in the Cannes Film Festival

was really Jenna's
first coming out party.

-This was in Cannes,
this was a giveaway magazine

at the film festival, and
I took out advertising in it,

and I advertised this.

Everyone came up and said,
"Where's Jenna?

We want to meet Jenna."

And E! Channel came up,

said they want to meet
the adult film star.

-And do you feel that that
started the Jenna mania,

basically, at that point?
-I think so, yeah.

-She was a fresh face, and
the turnover in the industry,

it's like if you are
a fresh face,

then they're gonna shoot
the hell out of you

and then spit you out
because everyone wants

that new, fresh face.

-But Joy King had a plan.

By the time they returned
to Cannes the following year,

Jenna would go from fresh face

to the most recognizable
porn star in the world.

-The idea of trying
to make Jenna Jameson

the most famous adult film star
in history was rather daunting.

Literally, she would come
into my office every single day,

and we would talk about ways to
try and get people interested.

What could we do different?

What could we do with her
to make her stand out

against a crowd of blonde,
big-titted porn stars?

And one of the ways we did
that was to find humor

and use humor
to put it out there.

So Howard Stern
was a huge goal for us.

-Howard Stern
frequently featured

adult entertainers on his show.

Joy believed, if she could get
Jenna on the air with Howard,

that would help her
become a household name.

-This would change
everything for us.

And so we would make
these press kits,

and it would have a movie or two
and some signed autographs.

-But everyone was sending
that kind of material.

And after a year and a half
of trying to get her booked,

Joy knew she had
to do something different

to make Jenna stand out.

What ended up working
was one playfully sexy picture.

-Whoo!
-We did a photoshoot with Jenna,

and she's holding a dildo
between her boobs.

She's sticking her tongue out,
crossing her eyes

and making a funny face.

And it was like, "That's it."

She sent that without the swag

and got an immediate call
to book her.

-On her first appearance,

Howard revealed
what caught his attention.

-You know, I get a lot
of requests

for porno girls
to come down here.

Despite what anyone might
tell you, I do turn some down.

But Gary shows me
this layout yesterday.

I mean, she doesn't
have to be in porno.

-Joy's strategy involved
getting Janet to talk up Wicked,

and in doing so,
Janet compared them to Vivid,

their competition.

-I can get you a modeling job.
Screw this porno stuff.

Look at you.
-I'm taken care of.

-You -- Oh, you mean
you're making a lot of money?

-Well, I'm under contract
with Wicked Pictures.

I got approached by Vivid,
and -- and I met with Wicked,

and I liked Wicked
so much better, and so --

-See, you didn't know
there was a --

-There's a whole
world out there, Howard.
-Who even knew there was

a difference
between Vivid and Wicked?

-Yeah, who even knew
they existed?

-Oh, there's a big difference,
big difference.

[ Camera shutter clicking ]

-We were getting big press
for Jenna and Wicked

because you could only see
her movies through Wicked.

After we did the interview,
they were having a party

at a strip club,
and they invited us to go along.

Now, what is it,
9:00 in the morning?

And they're like, "Come on,
we're going to the strip club.

You guys are invited."

So we went, drank so much
champagne, it was ridiculous.

They gave us tokens. We got
free lap dances for hours.

-Jenna was on "The Stern Show,"
in part to promote her role

in Wicked Pictures'
"Blue Movie,"

where she plays a reporter

looking into a cross-dressing
adult film director

who is exploring
his female side,

and he will only give her
an interview

if she agrees
to film a scene for him.

-Trouble? I love it.
It's a news girls' life.

That's what I live for.

-The Stern appearance
helped Wicked

sell thousands of copies
of the movie.

-Jenna, at that point, was just
really starting to become Jenna.

Jenna had it.
We don't know what it is.

It's the undefinable.

-Why don't you come up here
and say hello?

-The movie won best film
at the 1996 AVN Awards.

-And the winner is -- oh --

"Blue Movie,"
Wicked Pictures.

-Jenna also took home the prize
for Best New Starlet.

She singled out Joy
in her acceptance speech.

-I'd like to thank Joy Denton
for being the most incredible

and beautiful publicist ever.

-I do credit
"The Howard Stern Show"

with really catapulting
her career,

because after that we were
on the E! Channel,

doing all kinds of stuff
with the E! Channel,

and -- and the press
just went nuts.

-Howard was such a fan, he even
invited her to be in his film

"Private Parts,"
playing a version of herself,

a porn star named Mandy.

Their scene would mirror
some of their playful,

flirtatious interactions
on his radio show.

-I am an ugly man.
I know this.

You couldn't be physically
attracted to me, could you?

-Physically, I am.

I mean, you're smart,
you're sexy.

-And that sent her into
a whole nother stratosphere.

-Please welcome Jenna Jameson.

-Years later, Jenna Jameson
told the hosts of "The View"

that, when she was labeled
a "porn star,"

the word "star"
was all that mattered.

-For me, being a porn star
was no big deal.

I saw an opening
to become a superstar

through this vehicle,
and I did it.

[ Camera shutter clicking ]

-True to Joy's word, when her
and Jenna go back to Cannes,

Jenna is now one of the biggest
porn stars in the world.

-They brought all
the American porn performers

in one of the open-top busses,
and we all started getting off.

And there was
this crowd of people.

-It was terrifyingly busy
and insane,

and the amount of interest
was overwhelming.

-Both of us were like,
"Oh my God."

And then suddenly these big,
burly guys all came,

like four or five of them,
and they linked arms

in a big circle
around Jenna and I,

and they shuffled us in, and
I have goose bumps right now.

And that is one of the times
when you stop and you go,

"Wow, how --
how did this happen?"

-She even wins
Hot d'Or's Best New Starlet.

-[ Shouting indistinctly ]

-Jenna was the one that sort of
put all of us on the map.

-With Jenna's celebrity
on the rise,

Wicked decides to roll the dice
on a swashbuckling new film.

-As Wicked grew and started
really focusing

on the -- the big movies,

we definitely thought,
pardon the pun,

that "Conquest" was gonna blow
everybody out of the water.

-But it was
a huge financial gamble

with no guarantee
it would pay off.

-Nobody was spending more than
$12,000 to $15,000 on a movie,

and here we were,
spending six figures.

-I was trying to do stuff
that had never really been done

in an adult movie before --

20, 30-person fight scenes.

So, yeah, I was --
I was shitting my pants.

-But that level of fame
would start to take a toll.

-Where she'd been super
hyper-focused

on -- on her career,
now it became,

"Yeah, I'm just not gonna
show up for that,"

even though it's a big thing.

There was maybe more drinking
and -- and drugs.

-She was a little
full of herself.

I'd run into her
at the AVN Porn Awards.

She was talking to some friends,
and she looked over at me

and just kind of snubbed
her nose at me,

and I was just kind of shocked,
and I'm like, "Really?

I was the best man
at your wedding."

-And soon, her marriage
to Wicked would be on the rocks.

-Can we clear the set, please?

-After working for a year under
contract for Wicked Pictures,

starring in over a dozen movies

and appearing regularly
on "The Howard Stern Show,"

Jenna Jameson is about to star

in Wicked's ambitious
and most expensive movie ever.

-This is the biggest film
that Wicked Pictures

is doing this year,
and I'm playing Rachel,

who's the star of the movie.

Go figure.

-"Conquest" would cost
over $100,000 to produce,

making it one
of the most expensive

adult films of all time.

-Nobody was spending more than
$12,000 to $15,000 on a movie,

and here we were,
spending six figures.

-With only a month
of pre-production

and four days to shoot,

Wicked Pictures would be tested
with "Conquest."

Their star, Jenna Jameson,

had already been accepted
into mainstream culture.

Now Wicked needed "Conquest"
to also cross over

and be seen by more than just
fans of adult entertainment.

-We had started thinking about
elevating the game

as far as movies go --

make them like a B-movie
that went forward

from the kiss and sex occurred.

-Jenna and Brad Armstrong, after
costarring together in movies,

were now a couple.

For "Conquest,"

Brad moved behind the camera
to direct Jenna.

-"Conquest" was
my real jumping off point

as -- as a big film director.

-Talent, man.
...Talent.

-He was like,
"Let's do a pirate movie,

and everyone likes
a pirate movie."

And Jenna was so excited.

-A pirate!

-So the concept was
Jenna would be pretending

to be a boy on this ship
so that she can stow away.

-Hey, how you doing?

-You're a boy?
-Yeah, I'm a boy.

-And then, of course,
she gets caught and found out

and, "Oh, no," and there's
sword fights and cannons,

and it was --
It was such a big production.

♪♪

-Come on!
-I was trying to do stuff

that had never really been done
in an adult movie before --

you know,
20, 30-person fight scenes.

So, yeah, I was --
I was shitting my pants.

-Today, with free porn
on the web, it might sound crazy

to spend that much money
on one porn video,

but back then,
it made sense for Wicked

because there was another way
to make money.

They'd shoot two versions
of the film --

one hardcore and one
that is less explicit

to be sold to the expanding
world of pay-per-view.

-Whenever you release a movie,

you also get another line
of revenue,

which is the softcore market.

And all of that softcore
was then sold to the hotels,

and there was channels
like Spice and Playboy TV

that really was the backbone

of a lot of these higher-end
production films at that time.

-And "Conquest" was as high end
as porn got.

-The whole production
was similar

to, like,
a mainstream production.

And so pre-production was key
to make sure

that you had
all the wardrobe and costumes,

especially a movie like that
that's a period piece, right?

-Okay, now we're wearing
the pants that I bought.

-These were store-bought.

That's the one good thing

about having your lead
as your girlfriend.

You go shopping with them,
and you start getting

all the stuff way ahead of time.

-In typical adult productions,

the filmmaker would rent
a mansion

and use it for every location
in the movie,

like in "Wicked One,"
where the house also doubles

as a radio station.

But Brad and Joy
wanted "Conquest"

to feel as real as possible.

So if you're going to make
a pirate movie,

you're going to need
a pirate ship.

-When making an adult movie,
you have to find

either locations,
or in this case, a pirate ship

that they're cool with
being involved in adult movie.

We've got to kind of walk
that fine line

of being a pornographer

and showing yourself
as a professional

and that this isn't
just gonna be

a bunch of yahoos
banging on your stuff.

You're -- You're saying,
"We're -- We're trying

to make a mainstream movie,"
you'll get people being,

"Hey, cool.
Like, I like watching this shit.

I just can't be associated
with it, but good luck to you."

And then you've got
the other guys just like,

"Yeah, bring as many girls
as you can and...on my boat."

-Brad eventually found
a ship owner

who was willing to rent to him.

The movie hits all the typical
pirate fare --

encounters with native tribes,
plenty of swashbuckling,

and, of course,
lots and lots of sex.

He had his star,

but now he needed to find
the rest of the cast,

which, in Porn Valley
could be a challenge

to find performers
who could act.

-You know, you have a small pool
of performers,

so you really had to make sure
that these two people

want to work together,
that they can both say lines

without sounding like an idiot
or a deer in the headlights.

-If it's me you want...

-It's me.

-They wanted the acting to be
believable

and not default to broad,
cheesy comedy

as seen in "Haunted Nights,"

another period piece
about two private eyes

trying to find
a missing heiress.

-I suspect foul play.

-No!
-No!

The next thing you know,
you're gonna be telling us

you suspect murder.
-A lot of people

who are in adult
came to California

to be in mainstream movies.

It didn't work out,
and they fell into porn.

So they were finally getting
the -- the excitement of doing

these kind of things you -- you
would do in a mainstream movie.

And so then it was
trying to find

a bunch of extras
that could fence,

because, again, can't shoot
a pirate movie without

a bunch of swashbuckling,
sword-wielding dudes.

As luck would have it, a friend
of a friend was a big swordsman

and taught classes,

and he had all of his students,
and they were all a cavalcade

of ruffians
that looked the part.

-Jenna trained
especially hard.

Her solo fight scene
as one of the pivotal moments

in the movie.
-A bleedin' wench.

-A pirate!

[ Both grunting ]

-There wasn't any time
when you just thought, like,

"Oh, this is so lame.
What a stupid porn set."

I was on stupid porn sets
in the early '80s,

and I know what a stupid
porn set looks like.

And it felt big.
It felt grand.

It was impressive.
It was very impressive.

♪♪

-Tell me that's not
a fine-looking pirate ship.

-I didn't realize
they took it to this level.

♪♪

-If most people saw this,
they would never believe

this was
in an adult film or a porn.

-This is a film.

This is an epic adult film.

-You have porn stars
jumping on horses.

You have porn stars
being pirates.

I don't think you get
a hard penis

till, like, minute,
like, eight, maybe?

Maybe 10 minutes in,
and that's a long time

to keep people
from masturbating.

-Everything was so much slower
back then.

Pirates made love.

-Love me.

-The box cover image of Jenna
and Vince Vouyer

looked just like the cover
of a tawdry romance novel,

which helped "Conquest"
become a huge hit,

both in the softcore
and hardcore market.

-There was a big party for it.

There were posters.
There was everything.

You've never seen that before
with adult movies.

-"Conquest" would be nominated
in all of the major categories

at the next year's AVNs,
but the only category it won

would be the one
that mattered most.

Jenna Jameson would win
for Best Couples Sex Scene

with her costar,
Pirate Captain Vince Vouyer.

Following up
the success of that,

Wicked immediately greenlit
Brad's new firefighter movie

"Flashpoint"...

starring Jenna Jameson,
of course.

And this one would cost
even more,

with an estimated budget
of over $200,000.

-I can't say that
every firehouse back then

had a copy of "Flashpoint,"

but I definitely heard
from a number of firemen

that -- that I signed
their VHS or their DVD,

that it was going back
to the barracks.

-After dating and performing
together for over a year,

sometimes as costars,

but most of the time
as director and starlet,

Brad and Jenna
decided to get married.

-That's what we do for love,
right?

-As the husband
of what was considered

a superstar in the business,
it was no big deal

because of the difference
of Jenna with makeup

in front of the camera
and without

and the lack of Internet.

She didn't get recognized
as much

when we were just
doing day-to-day shit.

Like, when we were
at the grocery store,

it wasn't like everybody
was flocking around --

"Oh, Jenna, Jenna, Jenna."

-Jenna would later give
a Fox News interview

that would give the public
a glimpse

of her more vulnerable side.

-I've never really had
that family life,

where, like, I felt secure.

I always had to kind of
make up for myself.

And that's something that
has definitely affected me.

-But the Jenna that everyone
thought they knew was changing.

-As her popularity grew,
I kind of started to learn like,

"Oh, she's not my friend."

-Jayna -- Je-- I can't
even say the name, bro.

Jenna Jameson --
we did a few movies,

got married, and...

I can't say that
all those things were wonderful.

[ Laughs ]

-1997 --
following her starring roles

in Wicked's big-budget
adult movies,

Jenna was featured on an episode
of "The Jerry Springer Show."

She gave his audience
a titillating,

behind-the-scenes
look at her new movie.

Then Jenna revealed
what she was enjoying most

about her new stardom.

-The money's incredible.

I have, like, a family,
and I'm making a lot of money.

I think that that keeps
coming back into my mind.

I'm making a lot of money.

-But porn wasn't enough
for Jenna.

There was even more money
to be made on the road

as a feature dancer
in strip clubs.

♪♪

-♪ Work! ♪
-Back then, owners were paying

big money for porn stars
they could promote.

-When Jenna first went
on the road.

Nobody knew whether she would
take off or that she'd equal

the success from the movies,
and she just exploded.

I was on the road
with Jenna Jameson
for a year and a half.

-Hi, welcome to Jenna Jameson's
psycho road trip.

-Adult photographer
Dominic Accera

worked as Jenna's assistant
as she toured the country.

-Second show leaving.

Here we go. Ah!
-Jenna Jameson!

♪♪

-♪ Work! ♪

-If we went anywhere on the road
or anything, she got mobbed.

The people waited
in the lobby for her.

When we checked into a hotel,

we would check in,
her and I would switch keys,

she'd go in my room,
and I'd go in hers.

Within 10 minutes, there were
people calling my room,

which they thought was hers.

It was just nonstop --
no different

than seeing a famous rock star.

It just never ended.

-[ Sighs ]
The Jenna phenomenon.

As Jenna got bigger and bigger,

she became a brand,

and it was worldwide.

-Hi, this is Jenna Jameson
reporting from the road.

-Jenna discovered she could make
more money in less time

by dancing than being
on the set of a porn movie.

-Feeling good, making money.
Bam!

-When you're in
Fort Lauderdale, Florida,

you're making $50,000 a week,

and then your company calls you
at home and says,

"Well, we need you
to shoot a movie for 4 grand.

It's kind of like, "No."

-♪ Nah, nah, nah,
nah, nah, nah... ♪

-Jenna Jameson knew her value
in the adult industry.

She knew what her name
meant to put it on a box,

she knew what her name meant to
put it on a marquee in a club,

and she wasn't gonna
settle for anything less.

-She became smarter, more savvy,
things of that nature --

may be more cutthroat

and more protective,
defensive in that way,

but that's just being
in a business

that can eat you alive
if you don't learn

how to have a thick skin
and protect yourself over time.

-It soon appeared
that Jenna felt like

she no longer needed
Wicked Pictures

to be successful.

-Wicked didn't really have
anything to back that up.

Jenna was so high above them,
it was stupid.

-After working together
for nearly three years,

Joy starts to see a totally
different side to Jenna.

-We would go do "The Howard
Stern Show" with Jenna,

and she wouldn't promote
any of the things

that I had on her pitch list.

Started kind of seeing the shift
from like,

"Wicked, Wicked, Wicked,"
to, "Jenna, Jenna, Jenna."

-Tensions began to build over
who was making a name for him.

-Hmm.

Did Wicked make Jenna,
or did Jenna make Wicked?

That's a tough one.
-It's kind of like

the chicken and the egg.

I don't know if Wicked would
have been as big without Jenna.

-Without Wicked,

Jenna would have been
just another porn star.

-The fame seemed to eventually
overtake the thing

that Jenna said was
most important to her -- family.

[ Video rewinds ]

-I have, like, a family.

[ Static ]

-And after being married
for four years,

Brad and Jenna would divorce.

-I think being called
a superstar

and winning all the awards,

you can start believing
your own press.

That was probably
the harder thing to deal with

in a relationship,
'cause it's just like,

somebody got
to clean the dog shit up.

[ Chuckles ]

It's either me or you.

I know you're a superstar,
but it's your dog.

-And that's not the only one
of Jenna's relationships

that would break up.

In 2003,
she leaves Wicked Pictures

and signs with its biggest
rival, Vivid.

Jenna's new deal required her
to make 15 films

over the next seven years.

Jenna said in a statement
to the press...

Steve Hirsch finally got

what he had been going after
for several years,

releasing a statement
that said in part...

Those left at Wicked felt
it was a stunning betrayal.

-And so that was frustrating
for the company

and for all of us who had spent
so much time and energy

helping really build her career.

There's a team of people,

and you kind of form
this family.

We built this together,
and now you're leaving

'cause someone offered you
a couple more bucks.

-Jenna's move to Vivid made
the Wicked team rethink

investing so much
in one performer.

-Why am I spending all this
money paying these girls

who are supposed
to help build the company

while we build their brand
as a -- as a performer?

-For Jenna, her brand
was more valuable

than just having sex on screen.

She released a book,

"How to Make Love
Like a Porn Star,"

and appeared in the Josh Brolin
starring NBC drama

"Mister Sterling" as herself.

-Jenna, keep your head down.

-Keep my head down?

-She also makes a cameo
in Eminem's hit music video

for "Without Me."

-♪ Shady's back ♪

-By 2005, Forbes estimated
the Jenna Jameson brand

was worth
a whopping $30 million.

Ironically, the woman
who built that brand in porn

was rarely appearing
in adult films,

leading some in the industry
to question

what her true motivations were.

And when Jenna took to the stage
at the 2008 AVNs to respond,

her unusual state
only raised more questions.

-Everybody's speculating about,
"What's going on with Jenna?"

-I really want to be honest
for a second.

-Jenna had always used
the AVN stage

to promote
and advance her career.

But in 2008,
she instead used the stage

to end it in a shocking way.

-I will never, ever, ever spread
my legs again in this industry,

ever.

[ Audience booing ]

-Jenna's retirement was a bit of
a surprise to a lot of people.

I don't think people
expected it.

Her career was going
really well,

and she kind of seemed,
like, on top of the world.

-You could only go so high
and do the same thing

over and over and over
as a person,

and eventually
you get tired of it,

and you want
to do something else.

-At that point, you know,
she was ready

to get married and have kids.

She had finally found
somebody that, you know,

wanted to have a different life.

[ Camera shutter clicks ]

-It's one thing for anybody
who wants to be a celebrity

and climb the mountain
and get to the top.

It's another thing
to stay there.

-While some inside the porn
industry were surprised

about Jenna Jameson's
sudden retirement announcement,

she had hinted about
her longevity in the business

from the beginning.

In a greenroom
for "The Howard Stern Show"

more than a decade earlier,
Jenna candidly suggested

that her porn career
had an expiration date.

-I'm having sex for a living,
so I really can't be

doing that for very much longer.

I mean, you know,
you can't really do it

for, like, 10, 20 years.

-I was kind of
actually surprised

she lasted
as long as she did.

It's -- It's not an easy job.
This is not an easy job.

-What Jenna didn't know
at the time

was that her switch
from Wicked to Vivid

and her sudden retirement

would start a domino effect
that would eventually lead

to the end
of contract girls altogether

and give rise to separate
porn talent agencies instead.

And there were
other issues looming.

The advent of file sharing
and tube sites

would wreak economic havoc
on the porn industry.

-I mean, you really thought
that you were in a business

of, like, sex always sells.

Like, you've got security
and stability

for the rest of your life.

But at that point, it was like,
"Oh, my God,

this is all gonna fall
to the ground.

-The big-budget softcore market

would also feel
these ripple effects.

-These cable companies,
the hotels,

they just started pushing back
and saying, you know,

"We can't afford to take
everybody's big movie

for, you know, a $10,000
or $20,000 license fee."

So you really started getting,
"Yeah, we're not gonna

take that one, and we're not
gonna take that one."

-And as the porn business
reassesses

their place in the world,

Jenna begins doing the same
with her own career.

-I'm sure that, in some cases,

adult business has not been good
for a person.

But, you know,
when you've seen somebody

stay in the business
for two decades,

and then all of a sudden,
they're talking shit

about the business, it's --
it's kind of disingenuous.

-I think she kind of fell into
a dark place after pornography,

and I hate to see anybody get
into a mental bad place

with porn 'cause it is
such an easy place to go,

especially working
in this industry

because of the commentary you
will get from outside sources.

-Jenna, this way!

-When you get older,
your perspectives

on sex and stuff change, too,
but you can't tell people

who watched you be naked
for the last 10 years that,

I'm sorry, but my perspectives
have changed."

They don't want to hear that.

They just want you
to keep being the dirty, nasty,

naughty girl
that they're in love with.

And that's never
gonna change.

[ Indistinct shouting ]

-After leaving
the adult industry,

Jenna dated UFC fighter
Tito Ortiz

and had children with him.

But the pair split up
after trading allegations

of domestic violence
and drug abuse.

Ortiz denied the domestic
violence claims,

was never charged,
and was eventually granted

full custody of their twins.

In an interview
with "US Weekly,"

Jameson was emotional as
she denied the drug allegations

and tearfully explained
how their breakup impacted her.

-[Sobbing]
It's really...

it's just hard to trust...

anybody in my life.

-Following her split from Ortiz,

Jenna moved from L.A.
to Hawaii.

In 2022, Jenna announced
that she believed

she was suffering
from Guillain-Barré syndrome,

a debilitating
autoimmune disease.

However, she later said
doctors instead believe

she is suffering
from major nerve damage.

Jenna often used
her Instagram page

to keep her followers up to date

by posting
about her health issues.

-So that's why I am using
a wheelchair right now.

♪♪

-Wicked Pictures, once thought
of as a tight-knit family,

eventually broke up.

Steve Orenstein sold the company

to adult film Internet
conglomerate Gamma Entertainment

and created a sex toy
and sexual wellness brand

under the Wicked banner.

Joy left to start
a marketing agency for cannabis.

Brad Armstrong retired.

But the influence Wicked created

with their softer, big-budget
adult movies

can still be felt today,

like in this Sweet Sinner scene
with Silvia Saige.

-It's okay.

-[ Chuckles nervously ]

-Yeah, they definitely
inspired people.

One of my favorite companies to
work for is Sweet Sinner films,

because they do more acting,
and it is more female based

and it's specifically geared
towards the female audience.

There's a storyline in it,
and it's sex being built up

and then eventually getting
to that, like, moment of sex

and that moment of release.

That's what women
are really looking for,

and that's what those movies do.

-And there's one brand that is
missing in today's Internet age.

-We don't have Jenna Jamesons
running around anymore,

you know?

-Today we have TikTok stars.

We're not gonna be having
any porn stars

that are going to be
a household name.

-I think now, with the Internet,

there's people who are
more recognizable

because they're just having
so many views.

Like, no movie that Jenna
ever had on the shelves

got a million views in a day.

Now everybody thinks
they're a superstar,

and everybody's getting
a million clicks.

And it's just one
of those things

where the --
the name recognition

just will never be the same
as -- as Jenna Jameson was.

-The stars aligned for Jenna.
Everything just clicked.

It hasn't happened since,

and I don't think
it'll happen again.

♪♪

♪♪