Finding success in porn

Theresa “Darklady” Reed is a Portland State graduate who takes pride in her work. She lives off of Hawthorne Boulevard, likes to wear black coats, drives an old Ford sedan and has a pet cat. She is very much a typical Portlander who isn’t distinguishable against most residents of the 503.

Unless you count the fact that she watches porn for a living.

Darklady has built a career out of reviewing adult films, writing for many years in the skin business. A product of a conservative household, Darklady said she was curious about sexuality from a young age, though unable to explore her interests until she left home.

Her first job in the sex industry was as a proofreader for the now-defunct TNA Times (you guess what that stands for), followed later by an editorship at Exotic Magazine between 1994 and 1996. She now contributes regularly to Adult Video News and has worked as an assistant editor for AVN Online, in addition to serving as an editor for www.YNOT.com, a Web site that provides daily news about goings-on in the porn biz.

The Vanguard recently got a chance to sit down with the prominent porn-princess of Portland and determine what got her interested in the biz, what the work is like and what she’s up to now.

What got you interested in adult film in the first place?I hadn’t seen any kind of porn or ever been to a strip club until well after high school. I wanted to educate myself and know what is real and false about making sex movies or pictorials, what it is really like to be a part of this world everyone treats like a hotbed of sin, to foray into the taboo.

Is there a correlation between Portland State and porn? I didn’t go to PSU with an interest in making my education about porn, because that wasn’t an option when I attended. Now you’ve got lots of women’s studies, sexualities and other courses dedicated to my sort of work, but when I went, I learned the core necessities about writing and communication. It’s not all about acting in the porn world, and knowing the fundamentals benefits me.

What’s your workload like? In more blunt terms, how much porn do you watch? [laughs] Well, it changes depending on what time of the year it is. My regular workload demands I watch about 20 adult films each month, though I used to watch upwards of 60 films per month. As a longtime judge for the AVN Awards, I’m watching closer to 50 films a week for a few weeks at the start of the year. It’s a staggering amount of sex to watch in those weeks, something like 50 films in a week for almost a month. And I’m not watching for personal pleasure–I’m reviewing for content, production value and overall appeal. It’s tiring, yet titillating all at once.

So you’re pretty known and involved in the business? Yes, people know who I am and say my reviews can–and do–contribute to how well a film does. It’s also great to meet the people you see in porn, because their real-world selves are often far more mild-mannered and, I’ll say it, even though I think the word is abused, just normal people.

You make them sound more diverse than just sex actors. Oh yeah, the girls aren’t all hard-bodied models who actually scream, “Oh yes, fuck my ass” when they have sex in their private lives, and most of the guys that are depicted as bigger dicks than what they earn their livelihood with are actually very sweet, very personable.

Examples? Otto Bauer, director and producer of some of the most outlandish anal pornography on the market. His franchise, Otto and Audrey Destroy the World, make he and reigning anal goddess Audrey Hollander [Note: Bauer’s wife and frequent lead actress] look like sex-crazed maniacs as they ravish rectum with much gumption. But Otto is actually a very sweet guy, and who he is during production and filming isn’t his regular self. He and Audrey are great examples of why they’re called actors–it’s acting, and they have much more to their personality than just their jobs.

What can we expect of Darklady in the future? I was recently contacted by Paul Thomas, a legendary name in the business. He said he’s read my reviews for a while and has seen me involved with the AVN Awards, and we’ve had some talks about me getting involved with production and direction. With any luck, you may soon be able to watch some Darklady porn, and I hope I’m able to make it as well as I write about it.