Hello! How are you doing?
Hi everyone, I’m very good under the circumstances in the world right now.
Are you excited by the release of your new series Sweet Sweet Sally Mae?
I’m very excited about that release, we shot the movie in February a few weeks before the world shutdown. I approved the first cut of it around the end of March and after that the movie was in limbo for a few months. I was scared that the movie would never be released, but finally Adult Time is releasing it. I am so happy that everyone can see that fun and amazing movie we made.
Where did you get the idea for that project?
Like many of you already know, I’m a huge fan of exploitation film from the 70s. I made two movies from my favorite genre, Nunsploitation, a woman in prison film and 2 reform school girl movies, but I never touched my second favorite genre, Blaxploitation. Because of the success of the previous series, when I approach the studio about it they love the idea right away and we jump in preproduction of the project. Originally the movie was called Sally Mae, but I changed it to Sweet Sweet Sally Mae in homage to one of my favorite movies of the era, Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song. For this project you can find a lot of influence from a lot of movies from that period.
Sally Mae (Ana Fox) is based on the queen Pam Grier (Coffy & Foxy Brown). Two of my biggest influence characters are Dyanna Thorne and Pam Grier. Two women that I paid homage to this year.
Miss Jane (Valentina Nappi) is inspired by Mommy (Shelley Winters) in the amazing movie from 1973 Cleopatra Jones.
Trevor (Isiah Maxwell) is my homage to the great Jim Kelly (Black Belt Jones).
The last lines of the trailer are a pure homage to Gordon Parks classic from 1971, Shaft.
And the tagline on the poster is a reinterpretation of the one they used for the masterpiece Black Shampoo (1976).
If you are a fan of the genre, you will find a lot of Easter eggs in the movie.
If you are new to this genre, this is the list of films that I love:
- Boss (1974)
- Black Mama White Mama (1973)
- Cleopatra Jones (1973)
- Dolemite (1975)
- Black Shampoo (1976)
Can you tell us a bit more about the soundtracks and movies that influenced Sweet Sweet Sally Mae?
Every time I write a movie, I create a soundtrack and I play it in a loop in my headphones. For this particular movie, it was a lot of funk music. A lot of Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, Issac Hayes and James Brown. The soundtracks that influence me the most for this movie are
- Black Emanuelle
- Black Ceasar
- Cleopatra Jones
- Slaughter’s Big Rip-Off
- Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song
Adult Time members might not know this, but you are a big fan of action cinema. Can we expect some kick-ass mayhem in the series?
Trevor (Isiah Maxwell) is an homage to the great Jim Kelly (Black Belt Jones), but he’s also my homage to the old Kung fu movies I love to watch. Sally Mae will learn how to defend herself and Trevor will teach her the art of karate.
For that section I watch a lot of Shaw Brothers movies, Return to the 36th Chamber, The Five Venoms and Clan of the White Lotus. The snap zoom, the overacting expression on the face. If you look at Isiah acting, you will find the perfect mix between Jim Kelly and Lieh Lo. Those scenes were so much fun to shoot and put together.
Another tribute to my love for action cinema is the character of Anita (Kira Noir). The device she used on Sally Mae in the room is the same type of device the great Al Leong use on Mel Gibson in my favorite Christmas movie Lethal Weapon (1987).
Do you have an anecdote you would like to share with us?
That movie was a blast from the start everyone was laughing at the movie and the acting of each other. That movie was made with love for an era that many of us miss.
Shaft or Sweet Sweetback?
It’s a hard one. Shaft did a lot for the genre and it’s a fun movie to watch. Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song is less easy to watch but it’s also an important movie to see once in your life. Because I love the soundtrack and how much Melvin Van Peebles put all his heart into the project, which was not supported by any major studio, I have to pick Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song.
What are you looking forward to in 2021? Any upcoming projects you would like to discuss?
I have a few amazing projects coming for 2021, and I work for another of my favorite genres that I can’t really talk about for the moment, but for sure this time we are going to explore some territory that not a lot of studios dare to go. Hopefully, Adult Time and the fan will love Sweet Sweet Sally Mae so we can shoot a funkier and crazier sequel for 2021. I would love to continue the story of Sally Mae. We are not done with her and what I have in mind for her is off the chart. Please let them know you want more and let’s make Sally Mae the most badass woman in the porn universe.
Thank you for this amazing interview and we look forward to watch Sweet Sweet Sally Mae on Adult Time!
