Whether you're watching her on-screen or hanging out with her in person, Jesse Jane is a force of nature. Her energy and optimism are as infectious as they are lovable. She's one of those women who lives with admirable fearlessness, not giving a damn what people think -- with the result that people think, and dream, about her a lot.
Jane set out to be a sex symbol, and there's no denying that this Texas-born ex-cheerleader has achieved that. She's the flagship contract girl for Digital Playground, hosting DP's online talk show as well as hosting Playboy TV's Night Calls and Naughty Amateur Home Videos. She's even saddled up for a guest spot on HBO's Entourage and on 2003's Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding. Her offscreen romantic life, too, has been the subject of some public interest, with Jane having been reportedly linked to Kid Rock, Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee and -- in the wildest of speculations, and totally unconfirmed -- the likes of Michelle Rodriguez; in 2005, she married porn actor Rick Roberts.
As she put it: "I'm not afraid to show my personality. I'm not afraid. I love talking, and I'm not afraid to act retarded -- I'm a dork; I don't care! But I have fun with what I do, and I'm happy with it. I don't hide anything about my sexuality -- and a lot of people do."
Having last covered her in 2005, Eros Zine took a seat on the Digital Playground couch at the Adult Entertainment Expo this year to shoot the shit with the archetypal sex-kitten rocker chick. She proved to be as charming as she is gutsy -- how can you not love this girl?
Eros Zine: You got a lot of attention for your role as a pirate hunter in Pirates two years ago. Digital Playground has just announced Pirates 2, in which, it's pretty obvious, your character will return. Do you have any idea what the details of the project will be, yet? Will Carmen Luvana be in it, for one thing, and what will the plot be?
Jesse Jane: Pirates 2 is a really well-kept secret so far. They started working on the special effects, and the CGI stuff, which is part of what got the mainstream attention. But they're all keeping us in the dark -- we don't know what characters are coming back, what the storyline will be. All we know is that with the teaser that they've shown here at AVN, it's going to be times 10 -- the effects, everything. With Pirates, we had a level of expectation that we wanted, but we didn't know how well it was going to succeed. It was overwhelming compared to what we'd thought it would be. So now, sincere there was a Pirates, everybody has bigger expectations -- so we have to top that!
We don't know who's going to be in it, what's going to go on -- all we know is that it's going to be a harder, longer shoot, and it's going to be fun.
Eros Zine: Huh huh. Harder.... longer. Anyway, I understand that Pirates was the best-selling adult DVD of all time.
Jesse Jane: [claps her hands] Yes! Pirates is the best
selling DVD of all time. broke all records -- even beat Deep
Throat! Think about how long that's been out, and nobody's been
able to beat that! For Pirates to be out for a little over
a year and a half, and to beat that... I mean, that's insane.
Eros Zine: What do you chalk that up to?
Jesse Jane: I just think the level of technology, special effects, now, means that we could make it more of a Hollywood movie and a porn movie. We were the first company that could actually cut the sex and make it a Rated-R film, and put it in Blockbuster and stuff. We had great looking people, we had people who actually could act. We actually had the Bounty -- the boat. The wardrobe, the sets, the special effects... everything as a package contributed to how big it was. It's more like features were in the '70s.
Eros Zine: Let's say a little about that. In a sense, Pirates was a throwback to what porn was starting to do in the '70s. Back then, there were a lot of people in porn who wanted to be filmmakers, but were doing porn because that's what was available for them. Nowadays, more people are setting out to be porn stars.
Jesse Jane: I think what's really cool about that is.... well, in Europe everyone's very open to sex. It's in their mainstream stuff -- it's normal. America's still kind of shy. They don't know if it's right, they think it's wrong, kind of the Bible Belt influence. But everybody wants sex. Even the people who act like they're against it want it -- sex is human nature. Everybody has it, everybody loves it. I don't care who you are, how religious you are!
And what's cool is that mainstream's always been afraid to tap that, because of all the Bible Belt people saying it's wrong. but porn has always been there. The porn directors have so many other talents that they'd like to bring in and be more aggressive about -- and have more fans watch it. Instead of just guys, bring in girls as viewers and fans, and couples. I know why women are disgusted with a lot of porn -- a lot of it is crap. I see it and -- I would never want to do that, and I think it's nasty!
So I think the level of what we're doing, what Joone's done, can bring more people into watching porn. Women are more comfortable with watching it with their boyfriends if there's a story to the movie. They get eased into it; they don't feel as uncomfortable.
So that's what we're tapping into -- we want this to be a movie, so we can broaden our fan base. So that more couples, more women -- and men -- watch porn, because there's something to watch.
And mainstream's starting to realize that porn is so popular -- that any time the economy goes down, porn never does. Do I think anything will ever physically cross over and be half-and-half, mainstream and porn? No, never. But the fact that all these doors are open and you see more sexuality in mainstream films -- I think that's cool enough, and that's something that we've been waiting for.
Eros Zine: Well, for a mainstream actress or model to show her cooch -- on camera or even by accident -- that's still very forbidden, and the ones who do it are the exception, in a big way, and often fans just flip their lids when it happens. Mainstream actresses are supposed to be sexy, desirable, sexual -- but only to a point; that's their currency, in a sense. To be a sex symbol but not too much of one. The very existence of the female porn star can be threatening to that fact. But mainstream wants that ability to bring people in. How do you see the appeal of the mainstream actress versus the porn star, and your appeal in specific?
Jesse Jane: [laughs] A lot of people say I don't look like a porn star, I just look like some normal all-American girl, whatever. Which is kind of my appeal, I guess. A lot of girls are afraid to show their personality, and I'm not. I'm not afraid. I love talking, and I'm not afraid to act retarded -- I'm a dork, I don't care. But I have fun with what I do, and I'm happy with it. I don't hide anything about my sexuality, or what I do -- and a lot of people do.
A lot of girls step into porn thinking "Hey, this is my step to mainstream" -- and then they get ashamed of it. I want to be an ultimate sex symbol. I'm not afraid of what I do. I'm confident. I'm proud. And I think that helps me.
Any time we get new girls, I try to let them know: Don't be afraid, be proud of what you do, show your personality, and have fun with it, because that's what's going to make you stand out more. You want to be recognized, not just by porn people, but everywhere. You want to do what you've got to do.
Eros Zine: Music is getting more and more important in porn; Vivid Alt has even started releasing their features as three-disk sets with soundtracks. Now, you're known as a bit of a rocker chick...
Jesse Jane: [whoops, throws hands up in the air] Hell yeah!!
I am a rocker, I love it! I love '80s rock, I am never going to stop.
I'm a hair band fanatic. Guns 'n' Roses! Poison! Lynard Skynard!
[whoops again]. Hell, yeah!
Eros Zine: [laughs] Is that part of showing your personality?
Jesse Jane: [laughs] I just love rock 'n' roll, and I don't care! I wish I lived in the '80s because I would have rocked that decade.
You know what I like about rock? It's the attitude that "I don't care what you think about me, I'm living the way you wish you were. You might be pointing fingers at me, but you wish you were doing what I'm doing." I think I would have been happy in the '80s.
Eros Zine: [laughs] Digital Playground just hired a couple of new contract girls. Have you worked with them yet?
Jesse Jane: I just got to work with Lacie.
She's been on my Playboy show, Night
Calls, so I knew her, but I'd never worked worked with
her. Right before we signed her, she and I shot a scene together for
Digital Playground. I love Lacie -- she's my girl, she's like my sister.
When she got out of her contract with Vivid, I said, "Wait a second,
you better sign her, you better get her now!" That's my Lacie! [laughs]
I always call her "My Lacie." I was so happy when they announced it.
She's a sweetheart, she's awesome, I love her.
I love Shay, and I love Katsumi -- I think she's a great addition, I just think all of our contract girls are stunning. What company has an all-star quality like that, where every single one of their contract girls -- you're like, whoa!
Eros Zine: Thanks, Jesse! Readers can see much more about Jesse Jane at her official website, at DigitalPlayground.com, at Night Calls, and in her many, many DVDs.
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• EROTICA / ZINE
