What up fellow XXXTREMER'S! We wanted to change it up a bit in our interview section and dig a bit deeper into the adult industry. Deeper than a pornstar you ask? Hell yes. We get to hang out with bio entertainment publicist for many female and male performers and owner of "The Star Factory" (http://thestarfactoryent.com/). Some of you may know him as Monstar, Mr. Alexander Raymond!
GT: Alexander Raymond, The Infamous Monstar of Hollywood, how the hell are you? So please tell us, how did you become a publicist for the adult community?
M: I started in adult entertainment as a blogger. I launched ContactPornstars.com as a site that could help fans find out where their favorite pornstars were appearing. As the site grew, I would receive press releases and interview offers from studios, which was all great but I found that girls who were not contract stars pretty much were left out on their own. At the time I had met Mike Moz who was working for Stormy Daniels and we saw a need and launched The Star Factory. Since then we have had a very good amount of success.
GT: That's awesome! Wait, I'm a blogger...hmmmm...haha, no worries Alex.
GT: How long did it take you to accomplish the awesome cliental that you have right now?
M: Fairly quickly. I had met a lot of people in the industry and when word got around about what Star Factory was doing and the initial success we had, the clients started lining up. And it’s continued to be that way to this day. We have people interested in working with us because they have seen our results.
GT: That's pretty good. A great reputation with success is major in this business.
GT: For my readers who are not too sure what a publicist does, give us a little heads up regarding what you do for your clients?
M: That is a great point. Some people may not have a clue as to what the Star Factory does and it’s without that knowledge it’s easy to question the need for us. We do the basic things that a publicist would do which include writing and making sure press releases are seen, arranging interviews with various media outlets those are the basic functions. What we also do is consult our clients on the best way to direct their careers. Offer options, we initially ask what are their goals inside the industry and work toward them. Try to involve them in adult entertainment events. Like arranging for our clients to act as presenters at the different awards shows. I have arranged for girls to actually conduct interviews on red carpets. To aggressively attain exposure for them, sometimes by unconventional means. We just had Claudia Valentine as the Ring Girl for Jason Ellis’ EllisMania 3 which brought her a lot of exposure. We are always thinking outside the usual means. Especially in this day where new social mediums are being developed; The Star Factory tries to always be forward thinking. And there is so much more. On any given day I could be pulling pictures for a magazine article or arranging to have them walk the red carpet at a mainstream event. It’s a lot of hustle but the client knows we are in their corner and have their careers in mind.
GT: See, just when you thought the star did everything. That's a shit ton of work, especially if you work with many clients.
GT: Can you give us a few names that you have under your belt.
M: I would rather direct people to our Star Factory blog. That way they can flip through the archives and see the press releases and work we have done over the last few years. One of our strengths, I believe, is that we don’t have to sell ourselves; we let the work speak for itself. So check out the www.TheStarFactoryEnt.com.
GT: You got that folks! Check out the man's site. I do every single day. You should too.
GT: Now do the clients have to sign contracts with you? If so, what are the normal terms?
M: Never. Our way of doing things is that you are with us as long as you are happy. We always ask for a certain commitment because things don’t happen overnight, and it takes time for results to become apparent. But as long as someone is with The Star Factory we want it to be a positive experience. We ask that they commit to themselves and our work as we commit to them.
GT: That's very noble of you. More like a pinky swear or honest "WORD" contract. You don't see that these days!
GT: Have you ever had a problem with any clients? Any horror stories?
M: We have been lucky. I think that has a lot to do with the fact that we sit and talk to our potential clients before they sign up to see where they are at, and if we can help them. The Star Factory is not out to just take money, we want to do a good job and do right for our clients. So we do have a screening process that is beneficial on both ends.
But of course there have been a couple of clients who have been less than ideal, but that was very rare. I had an instance with one set of girls who were lying to me and my partner, trying to pit us against each other for reasons that still don’t make sense. Funny thing is we kinda saw it coming and were able to compare notes before any real damage was done.
GT: Way to be ahead of the game!
GT: Speaking of horror stories, I know you're a HUGE fan of the horror genre. If you had to choose one horror flick to watch right now, which would it be and why?
M: Only one? Wow, that’s tough. I would probably go with Halloween. Mainly because aside from it being a classic, I have John Carpenter’s biography here and I would read anecdotes alongside the movie.
I’m a really big Hammer Horror fan, Universal Monsters, the slashers. Specifically Bride of Frankenstein , Captain Kronos, Taste The Blood of Dracula, Vampire Lover, Maniac, Friday the 13th series, Nightmare on Elm St. series, Mad Monster Party and so much more.
GT: Nice! Good choices there as well coming from a classic horror fan!
GT: Any big events coming up for you and your crew?
M: Oh yes. And this goes back to about people just not knowing what we do and dismissing our work. We are currently working on promotion for Adam & Eve’s epic adult film The 8th Day, which we just had a very successful party at Hollywood hot spot Les Duex on September 7th. We are also working for EXXXOTICA promoting its upcoming NY show; we work the Miami show as well. We are back at Nightmoves in Tampa again, so we have a lot of irons in the fire. And that is just the events; we also have to push our clients for award nominations. All in addition to the day to day work of arranging interviews, press releases and the like.
GT: Man, you get around. Sounds like a lot of traveling but hey, if this is what you have to do to the get the job done, then you do what cha gotta do.
GT: So, if I or anyone wanted to become a publicist, what would be the best way to jump into this career?
M: Be dedicated. Pure and simple.
GT: Got it!
Thanks so much Alex for hanging out with the GT Crew and answering a few questions regarding what you do. Hey if it wasn't for guys like you, we wouldn't know anything about our favorite chicks in this adult world that we all love!
~ Great Interview ~
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work my friend.
I would recommend anyone who is looking for PR...