Coverage
Press Releases
Awards
Interview, Richard Wagner, CEO of Daddy Oohhh!
AGuySite.com
February 1, 2003
first off, all i ask for first is a quick bio. your name, age, where you and your buisness reside. any favorite anything?
Richard Wagner - 53 - Seattle, WA i love the beautiful pacific northwest.
1. Daddy Oohhh Productions. It's a great name. I'm curious what the meaning is behind the name.
it is kinda fun, isn't it? it doesn't have a whole lot of meaning, just a fun, playful '50s sorta thing.
2. Tell me in your own words how your business started off in its first few months. Was it difficult getting the company off the ground?
it sure was difficult getting it off the ground. hell, it still is a huge challenge.
this industry has a very unsavory reputation for the most part. and it's a reputation that is richly deserved, in my estimation, lots of bottom feeders.
I'm often frustrated in my search for quality, like-minded collaborators. so many folks are in this for a fast buck. there is a lot of exploitation, not to mention the body stereotyping and humorless, deadpan sex in the cookie cutter, assembly line productions that currently rule the marketplace.
the projects we do celebrate sexuality, not denigrate it. our movies are more romantic alluring and seductive than most. We attempt to feature the whole person, not just bumping parts. however, these values are not necessarily embraced by the industry as a whole. thus, marketing our products can be formidable.
and, of course, cash flow is always a pressing issue for a small boutique production house like ours.
3. What advice would you give to a newbie out there looking to start their own adult company?
enter a convent instead!
just kidding. I'd suggest the budding pornographer find something that will make his/her product distinctive, something that will give him/her joy. I'd also suggest that he/she do quality work, that he/she treat people well, have sufficient financial backing. finally, try not to take it all too seriously, it's just sex, after all.
4. Your first film was 'BodyRocks'. Tell me how that whole process went? The casting? The good moments? The worst moments?
i didn't have a clue about anything that first time around. i learn best by just going out and doing something. so, the whole adventure was pretty much a trial by fire.
i placed a casting call ad in one of the local alternative newspapers. did a slew of auditions. (like my daddy always said, "you have to walk through a lot of manure before you find the pony.") wrote a "script". (and i use that word very loosely.) chose a cast of nine. (a very ambitious number.) got a couple of people to help me operate cameras and adjust lights. (which we did poorly). and we did it all in one day. (sheesh!)
I don't recommend this as a template for success, although BodyRocks is still our best selling title.
the worst thing...the production values weren't particularly high.
the best thing...i discovered Nick Stone (the BodyRocks cover model). he's the quintessential daddy oohhh star. he embodies everything i'm trying to do. He's been part of every production but one and he's a sweetheart dollbaby on top of that.
5. Your company appears to have first started off as a gay adult entertainment company, but you are about to open the doors to another side of Daddy Oohhh! Productions. What can we expect from you within in the year?
a complete mental breakdown! no, just kidding.
besides the entertainment portion of our mission we will also be doing sex education. we are preparing projects that will help people face and explore their sexuality after a life-threatening or disfiguring illnesses such as ovarian cancer, breast cancer and prostate cancer.
the enrichment portion of our mission is to create helpful as well as witty and humorous "how to videos" for those who want to expand their sexual repertoire (anal sex, oral sex, SM, BD, etc).
6. Are you currently in a relationship? or does one have time for a relationship or dating with a business like yours?
no, I'm not currently in a relationship. unless you count my housemate, ginger, a 3 year old german shorthair pointer. she's completely kooky nutty, just ask anyone who has met her.
ya know how some guys are looking for a sugar daddy? i'm looking for a sugar SON. someone who will work really, really hard to keep me in the style of life that i wish to become accustomed. someone who will indulge me as I go about this quixotic adventure.
Do you know anyone who fits the bill, nate?
7. What exactly are you looking for when it comes to casting for a future feature of a Daddy Oohhh! film?
i look for normal looking people; in shape, charismatic and photogenic, to be sure, but normal. The kind of men you'd be likely to meet at a local coffee shop. gay and bi men of color and diverse cultural backgrounds are of particular interest to us.
i believe in integrating our films with a range of age groups, body types and ethnic origins while staying true to our overriding concern - finding performers who are sex positive and enjoy themselves in front of a camera.
8. Now as you know my favorite film so far is 'CountryTime, Country Fine. My question is, what was the inspiration behind this film? Any behind the scenes moments that you remember most?
boy, i could tell you stories that would make your hair stand on end, don't 'cha know.
it all started with the house we filmed in, a charming 19-teen's country cottage in the burbs. then someone had the Seattle Monopoly board game, then we had the cast (and a delicious cast it was, too). Then I threw them all together and let the actors do what comes naturally. It was amazing, there was so much passion on the set that day and it really shows, don't you think? i always include a bunch of behind the scenes shots on each DVD we release. i get to choose them myself, so if you want to know the intimate details of the CountryTime shoot, that's the place to look.
9. Do you plan on taking the brand name Daddy Oohhh! to new ventures beyond adult films? Maybe a gay bar/club? Traveling 'how to' gay seminars? I don't know...maybe an adult acting school?
i've been working in the sex field for over 20 years, predominately as a therapist. I've been involved in all sorts of sex education and sexual enrichment projects, so I suppose there will be lots of new ventures in the future.
funny you should mention the adult acting school thing. i've been asked by a local organization to put together a class titled, Being In Porn - 101. I liked the idea, so I'm putting some energy behind it. i'd like it to be a class not just for actors, but for those who aspire to crew a porn shoot.
and then there's also my on-line sex advice column, Ask Dr. Dick.
10. Is your family and friends affected by this choice of career? Does your family even know?
i'm pretty rebellious and unorthodox by nature. for example, i was a catholic priest for 20 years. really! Scary, huh?
I published my doctoral thesis, a study of the sexual attitudes and behaviors of gay catholic priest in the active ministry back in 1981. This was long before the church could acknowledge that there was even such a thing as a gay priest.
this ground-breaking research caused a international furor. It probably didn't help matters any when i publicly "came out" as a gay priest myself at the same time. the shit really hit the fan. i was punished severely, silenced, deprived of all financial support and ostracized by the church. they finally "removed me from active ministry" (though they did not defrocked me) in 1995. Yes, I still have my frock, and it's quite a lovely frock, too. Would you like to see it? ; - )
as you can imagine family and friends have had to adjust to my uniqueness along time ago. they've come to expect the extraordinary from me and I rarely disappoint them. they are either cool with my unconventional life path or they take their leave of me.
11. A curious question. I've read about 'gay for pay' adult actors who star in gay porn, yet they go home to their girlfriends or wives? Would you ever cast a person who considers themselves 'gay for pay' and what are your thoughts on that aspect of the gay adult industry?
this kind of person wouldn't do well in one of our productions. ya can't fake chemistry. and no amount of pay is gonna get an ostensibly straight man to love another man like a gay man does.
Gets me back to the primary purpose of our productions, the romance, allure and seduction, not just bumping parts.
12. Do you ever see yourself walking away from Daddy Oohhh! productions?
oh sure, i picture myself walking away from it all two or three times every day.
13. With as many gay films that are out on the market, does it become difficult coming up with something totally fresh and new that stands out among the pack?
i think the notion of fresh and new resides in the presentation, not the story itself. sexual scenarios, by their very nature are trite. I mean, simply stated, there are a limited amount of things one can do with a finite number of appendages and orifices, right?
what makes a sexual event brilliant, on camera or off, is the passion between the participants. i think it would be possible to present the same story over and over, but with different players and from different perspectives and have the story fresh, new and exciting each and every time.
14. Now comes a funny question. How many erections can one director get from filming an entire adult feature?
that is a funny question. sometimes i'm lucky to get just one from each performer. Erections are sometimes hard to come by, even for the industry veteran. There's a whole lot of stress present when there are cameras and crew just standing around waiting for the action to begin.
This is really hard work (no pun intended). I so admire the men I've worked with. They've been real troopers.
15. You have also created jizz4u.com. What was the motivation in creating another site apart from Daddy Oohhh! Productions? What is this site going to offer us no other site has?
http://www.daddyoohhh.com/ is our professional site. You'll not find any overt depictions of sex there.
http://www.jizz4u.com, on the other hand, is a membership, on line magazine sorta deal with special features and columns and, of course, lots of really swell original content. we like to think of it as Smut For the Thinking Man.
there's an online community developing. One can create a profile, upload photos (Hey, just show us your dick!) you got spooge pics? we're especially gonna want to see those.
members receive a $5.00 discount on all the DVDs in our online store. There are monthly give aways, tee shirts and DVDs, that sort of thing.
And that's just the beginning. JIZZ4U.COM will update its content monthly. And we have lots more surprises in store in months to come.
We'll be adding new galleries featuring upcoming video stars. next month we'll be featuring a new Spanish language column.
how's that for shameless self-promotion?
16. A childhood question. When you were a young boy, was porn director ever in the mix of 'what i want to be when i grow up'?
not even close. i wanted to be a priest. Had someone asked me three years ago if i could imagine myself a porn producer, I would have said, absolutely not.
Well, so much for that.
17. When shooting for your next feature begins, what preparation do you take days before the camera even starts to roll?
we shoot again in mid-march. we have an amazing cast of 9 coming in from all over the us and canada.
producing a marathon weekend shoot like the one we're planning is an enormous undertaking. i start getting things organized two months before the actual shoot date. every little detail needs attention - transportation, food, lodging, cast, crew and location, these are some of the immediate concerns that consume me.
just three more questions. almost done.
18. On your website, you tell us to expect 'helpful, witty and humorous "how to videos" for those wanting to expand their sexual repertoire (anal sex, oral sex, SM, BD, etc)'. When are we going to see this video on the market? And can you give us one tidbit on what the first how to video will 'explain' to us gay folks?
we're planning on filming my sex advice columns. i hope that comes to pass real soon. but, of course, money is always a huge issue. i just know they're gonna be a hoot, though. i mean, just consider some of the titles.
So Ya Wanna Be A World-Class Cocksucker
Liberating The B.O.B. (big old bottom) Within
Guess What, Honey? I'm A Kinky Old Sod!
19. Your company is given the title 'independent' in articles. Is your company still considered a newbie on the block or is it making noticable waves among the other adult companies and their stars?
Thanks to interviews like this we are beginning to find our proper place in the industry. There's no denying that we're doing things quite differently from the rest of the stuff in the marketplace.
Will we continue to grow and perhaps even prosper? Ahhh, the jury is still out on that. However, I am very confident we will succeed
20. What's the most positive feedback you've gotten from one of your customers? What's the most negative?
Positive feedback: I'd like to compliment you on your great work. There is a certain feel I get from the videos (can't explain it) that I don't experience from others. The actors really seem to be genuinely into each other and enjoy what they are doing. I was always a Brett Collins fan, but to see him with Jeff Baron--WOW! Keep up the great work!
negative feedback: Sensual, but senseless. Visual mood-music. The photography is gorgeous, the editing mesmerizing, the original music ravishing, the guys hot, but the whole is loony.
21. One last fun question. I must know. What would your porn star name be if you was to become an adult star?
Willie Choake
Thanks nate, you're a hell of a guy!