Tricks and Five Treats with Joanna Angel

It’s Halloween time in Pornland, and anyone who’s been in our industry for a minute knows that Burning Angel maven and master Joanna Angel loves this holiday.

We recently had the opportunity to ask Angel five questions. We touched on her work overall, as well as five variably quirky, campy and downright intense films she has directed over the past year: Insomniac, Sex Cult, 3 Cheers for Satan, A Very Adult Wednesday Addams 3 and Babysitter Auditions 2.

YNOT: What is your current artist’s statement? What sorts of narratives, themes and ideas drive you as a filmmaker?

Joanna Angel: I have a pretty big range as a filmmaker, I think. It’s hard to exactly pinpoint what inspires me, but I like passionate and intense sex. I like comedic plot lines where people are laughing with you and not at you, and I like dark- and twisted-themed porn where the anger and rage inspires some hot hate fucking.

Your work and your brand have always been hilarious and quirky. After this many years, how do you continue to create content that’s consistently enthused, though sometimes dark or intense?

This is how I express myself. It’s like I am talking to people through these movies. I just kind of get inspired and follow what my brain tells me to do. I don’t really have a real process that makes much sense.

I know you love Halloween. Why?

Every day is Halloween to me! It’s the only time of year where the clothing I wear every day makes sense to everyone else.

Regarding Insomniac, Sex Cult and 3 Cheers for Satan, how do these titles tie in with the Burning Angel brand overall?

They are similar but different. They have a similar lighting scheme and camera work and, well, they have some similar casting — both me and Small Hands are in all of them! All the movies have been really well received by the Burning Angel fans and members, so I’m gonna just say all these movies make sense within the brand because… they just do.

Regarding A Very Adult Wednesday Addams 3 and Babysitter Auditions 2, what made you want to do serial installments of these specific titles?

It’s funny because the humor in these movies is so similar — it’s like, they kind of go hand in hand. They are both very special series where each individual scene stands out on its own. Both of the series really bring out my humor and they go over really well with the fans and the models also love doing them, so it’s a win for everyone.

Sometimes I feel like everyone is trying to out-do each other in porn these days with high production value concepts. I feel like both of these series embrace and pay homage to some very basic old school porn concepts that made this industry what it is, with me putting my own twist on it. It’s like the pizza guy… but it’s Wednesday Addams.