Chatting with Sweetheart Video Director Nica Noelle

Nica Knows Great Girl/Girl

Director Nica Noelle is back directing lesbian porn for Mile High Media's Sweetheart Video imprint after a four-year break. Her first release back on the horse, titled "A Mother's Secret," is available now on DVD and VOD.

So how is being back at Sweetheart directing lesbian scenes again?

"I think the German word for it is 'funkshunlust'—the joy of doing what you do well. It’s funny because when I left girl/girl, I was kind of burned out and I really wanted to explore other genres. I also had a giant chip on my shoulder from my success in boy/girl porn and I wanted prove that my approach to sex could work in all genres, including trans and gay. But now, having met that goal, I’ll admit that shooting storyline-driven gay porn is very tough. There are lots of challenges and it’s not always possible to make the movie I set out to make. Lesbian porn spoiled me a bit because with Sweetheart, I was always able to realize my vision."

Do you feel like the creative landscape of g/g has changed since you left to explore other genres? 

"Taking a cursory glance at what’s out there, I don’t see anything that resembles what I was doing at Sweetheart back in the day. Everything looks very slick and glossy and stylish from what I can tell. Very 'mainstream porn.'"

Is there anything you could like to do in your lesbian titles this time that you didn't do previously?

"Oh, yes. First of all, I shoot in another part of the country now. The seasons of the northeast, the landscape, has opened up a whole new world of possibilities. In Los Angeles I had no choice but to shoot at the same houses all the time—the scenery was always the same, the weather was always the same. But in New England each season helps to create distinct emotional undertones. Fall is poignant and melancholy, spring is all youth and beginnings, summer is wild and reckless, and winter evokes a certain loneliness and isolation. A backdrop of snow or rain or falling leaves adds so much texture to the story.

Also, I grew up on the East Coast, and I’m reminded of my own experiences with girlfriends—both romantic and not—in these settings. I use moments from my life and past relationships to inspire new narratives. I think the best kind of storytelling is when the heart of the story is true and the emotions are true, even if the events are made up."

Do you have a wish list of any women you want to cast in your upcoming Sweetheart movies?

"I’d love to work with Mercedes Carrera. She’s so unbelievably gorgeous and she has this sex robot quality yet she’s an incredibly profound thinker. I don’t think we’ve seen what she’s capable of yet, and I’d like to write a role she can really sink her teeth into. I’d also love to do more projects with Ingrid Mouth and Kasey Warner, and of course Elexis Monroe. There are so many girls I miss working with that if I start listing them I’ll never stop. Some of them have retired—like Samantha Ryan. I’m really going to miss that girl. But there are so many new performers I haven’t met or even heard of yet. I have a lot of catching up to do."

Who is your female performer to work with and why?

"In some ways being a filmmaker is like being a hopeless romantic with a roving eye. I’ve got my old standbys, the performers I go back to again and again, but I’m always waiting to be captivated by that new, intriguing face. The mysterious beauty who comes out of nowhere to capture my imagination and inspires me to write a whole movie around her. Ingrid Mouth is one of my current favorites because not only does she exude sex but she’s a real artist. She’s very sensitive, to the point that you have to be careful what kind of direction you give her because she will hit that mark. Elexis Monroe, obviously, because her scenes are always completely organic and real. I’m not sure if people realize how rare it is to find a performer who can do that every time, in every scene, after more than a decade in the industry. She blows my mind each and every time I shoot her."

You respond to your fans a lot on Twitter. What do you like most about talking to your fans on social media?

"I don’t always like it. Twitter is a mixed bag, especially for someone like me who can’t keep my mouth shut or ignore things. I’ve deleted my account many times and started over because I either needed a break or I wanted to get away from the toxicity of social media. But plenty of other directors use Twitter effectively and don’t have issues—they promote their work and leave it at that. Meanwhile, I’m more of a button pusher. But the upside is that I have a lot of longtime friends and fans on Twitter and I like being able to talk to them every day, and social media makes that possible. If I left social media, they would disappear from my life."

What do you like most about working for Mile High Media?

"They’re very good people, and they create a feeling of loyalty and camaraderie that’s unusual in this business, especially in a company so big and successful. Also there is no greater person in the industry than Jon Blitt. He’s given me a lot of opportunities and creative freedom and we’ve built some amazing brands together in the last decade."

What do you most want to achieve as a director?

"I don’t know if I’ll ever achieve it. My goal has always been to make the sex scene an integral part of the story, in the sense that it adds new information to our understanding of the characters and their relationship. I don’t know if porn is the right medium to reach that goal. We have to get titles out quickly and the performers’ approach to their work is not always as artistic, either. However, that wont stop me from trying."

What do you think that a lot of directors get wrong about directing a sex scene?

"When they put convenience before artistry and place more value on how to make things easy to shoot than on how to capture beauty and truthfulness. When they give directions like 'angle your bodies toward the camera and do this position for this many minutes' because it’s easier to light, or get hardcore angles, and so forth. The resulting scene is just a study in what was easiest and quickest to shoot. To me, that mentality is a synecdoche of everything that’s wrong with adult films—at least from an artistic perspective."

What are the best things about being a porn director? How has it made your life more fulfilling?

"It’s nice to be able to create something that affects people, and stays with them a little. It surprised me to learn how thoughtful fans can be when a movie has engaged their emotions along with their bodies. People write to me from all over the world to ask for additional insight about a scene, or to offer me their own analysis. A lot of fans seem to want to have some kind of intellectual connection with me—they want to discuss art and sex and their own psychology. To me, it confirms that adult film can be a valid artistic medium, despite all the evidence to the contrary."

What do you think are “must-have” DVDs for your fans?

"If we’re talking about girl/girl I’d say “Lesbian Deception,” because it’s such a strange movie and the first sex scene between Rayveness and Samantha Ryan is incredible. 'My Sister Celine,' which is very emotionally complex and has very passionate scenes. 'Sapphic Lolita' which stars me and Trinity Post and is my lesbian homage to Nabokov, and has four very intense scenes—they’re all showstoppers. 'Julia Ann Loves Girls,' which was one of my early showcases and was very popular with fans. And of course 'A Mother’s Secret,' which gives a little hint to where I am now and what direction I’m hoping to go in.

What do you like to do for fun?

"I like water parks, especially the very extreme slides where you think you might actually drown. I’m also a huge Patriots fan so I like to travel to attend their away games, though nothing beats watching them play at Gillette [Stadium]. I also read everything I can about the great composers because I’m obsessed with classical music. I’m currently working on an article about Chevalier de St. George who was known as The Black Mozart. Not too many people have heard of him or his music, which is a tragedy because his compositions are sublime."

What do you think that people assume about porn stars that simply is not true?

"Well, there are many well-known clichés about porn stars, like that we’re messed up, we’re on drugs, we’re dumb, and we don’t have any talent. And there are people in porn that fit that description; I’m not going to lie. But there are a lot of other types of people here, too. There are artists doing thoughtful work, a handful of intellectuals, and a lot of 'everyday' folks you might not recognize if you saw them walking down the street. I mean, think about it: Magdalene St. Michaels has next door neighbors and they probably just think of her as a nice older woman who feeds the neighborhood cats. She lives a pretty conventional home life with her husband, yet she has this radical day job where she gets down with some of the biggest porn stars in the world."

What is the best mainstream movie you have seen recently?

"I hardly ever go to movies and I can’t even remember the last one I saw. But my favorite movie of all time is Rushmore."

How about the best porno movie? Is there someone whose movies you like to watch who is working now?

"I haven’t watched porn in a really long time because I have to watch so much of it in person, and then watch it again when I’m editing. But I’ll tell you who I think the two best directors are based on the work I’ve seen: Shine Louise Houston and Dana Vespoli. Shine for the sex scenes—she shoots sex better than anyone—and Dana for her storylines. When I watch Dana’s movies I forward through the sex scenes to get back to the story because I love the way her mind works. She’s pretty twisted, but in a good way and an incredibly smart way."

Are you into toys to get yourself off alone or are you a low-tech woman?

"I’ve never used toys in my life, except for many years ago when I was seeing a guy who liked anal sex, so I started practicing with a butt plug to get myself ready. But if you notice I don’t use toys in my lesbian movies except for the occasional strap on."

If you could cast any celebrities in a porn scene, who would you choose? What would the scene be?

"I like the English ladies: Kristen Scott Thomas, Tilda Swinton, Kate Winslet. As for the guys I’d have to say Jeremy Irons at any age. Leon Bridges, the young soul singer. People who exude depth, and where their soul oozes out in their performance—that’s what I wish we had more of in porn. We have too many people who give cartoonish performances. That’s why porn parodies are so easy to shoot, because acting silly is the norm here. It’s hard to find performers who can portray something nuanced and real."

What single piece of advice would you give a brand new porn director?

"Be original. Don’t just jump on trends. Also, don’t come here because you failed at mainstream or you’re looking for a way into mainstream. This is an art form and if you don’t have something to contribute, why are you here? We don’t need to further saturate the market with uninspired content. I think my pet peeve is directors who wish they could do mainstream film but they can’t, so they’re here waiting for a better opportunity to come along. Their sex scenes are invariably lacking because they don’t want to be filming sex. It’s like shooting a comedy when you don’t like jokes. So if you’re a new director, don’t get sucked in to that. Maintain your artistic vision."

Is there anything you want to say to your fans here at Fleshbot?

"I’d like to thank anyone who was interested in enough in my work to read this. And a bigger thank you if you happen to watch A Mother’s Secret and can give me your feedback. I know it’s just as easy for fans to steal porn these days as it is to buy it, so I want to say thank you for supporting me and allowing me to stay in business. I’m very grateful to be here."

All of the images here appear courtesy of Sweetheart Video. Do what the nice lady says and go watch "A Mother's Secret" by paying to see it. You can click right here to do that. Here is a clip of the Monroe/Mouth scene. 

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