by Rich Moreland, November 2018
New girls come and go in porn at what seems at times dizzying speed. A shoot or two and a lot of girls go home never to return to the industry.
Vanna Bardot, on the other hand, is more than the blink of the eye. She’s smart and friendly with a fan base that, I suspect, grows daily.
Interviewing her was more than a pleasure, it was downright fun!
All photos are credited to Kevin Sayers.
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On a recent visit to a Girlfriends Films set, I sat down with newcomer Vanna Bardot. Though a mere nineteen, she is wise beyond her years with a killer attitude that spells porn fame.
A camera presence is natural for this slim and spicy girl since artistry is in her DNA. Vanna attended a performing arts high school and was steeped in the rigors of ballet for much of her young life. With adoring audiences always close by, Vanna expanded her on-stage resume. At eighteen she was dancing in Miami clubs and exploring the delights of camming.
By the way, that’s all good with her family. Vanna grew up in a liberal household where self-expression was never stifled.
All of these adventures were a warm-up for the real deal: shooting porn. And boy, is she ready. With a smile, this petite sweetheart proclaims, “I’ve done a lot of living so far.”
A Broader Market
Rather than delve into the formulaic interview questions every porn girl gets, we talk about Vanna’s career interests. Is filmmaking from the other side of the camera in her future?
“Transitioning from an actress to a director is sparking my imagination now, especially after becoming more familiar with different sets and meeting different directors,” she says.
As Vanna navigates through the industry, her education is expanding.
“I’m taking more time to really watch other people’s work whether it’s on sets or online.”
It’s inspiring she says. “I see things that I really like that fall into my style.”
Vanna does have her opinions on what she sees in the industry, however.
“I would never tell a director how to do their job, of course. But it may happen I see things that could be altered in a way that could be more efficient or more esthetically pleasing.”
That brings me to ask, “What drives porn, director choices or market demand?”
“I think market demand ultimately decides what’s happening,” Vanna replies.
“People want to make money and they want to cater to what people are asking for. But I think we’re coming into a time where a lot of people are starting to shoot the kind of content they want even if people tell them this isn’t going to sell. And those things do end up selling.”
She mentions Spain’s Erika Lust.
“She shoots a lot of porn that caters to LGBT people.”
Vanna believes Lust’s work is “a truer presentation” of porn’s demand because the stereotype that “only old dudes buy porn” is a misconception.
“There’s a much broader market for porn now, especially for younger people, people of different sexualities, gender identities, and race.”
The Bondage Scene
Porn is becoming more diverse and that is particularly true in the fetish arena.
For example, BDSM is popular today. How does Vanna regard the bondage product and does she want to try it?
With eyes brightening, she exclaims, “I want to. That’s what I’m most looking forward to. I really want to shoot for Kink soon. I’ve been kind of waiting to do everything super slowly. But yeah, that’s something I have a really big interest in.”
“What fascinates you about that?” I ask.
Pausing for a moment, the olive-skinned teen says, “I started watching porn when I was younger. Once I started having my own sexual experiences, it’s something I started to dabble with. The power exchange is great, but I feel in BDSM porn I see real reactions.”
Too often BDSM scenes rely on “frivolous acting” and that hides the reality of authentic bondage pleasures, Vanna asserts.
So, if you’re listening Kink pick up the phone!
The Real Thing
For Vanna’s porn fun, it’s about authenticity, an advantage she believes the amateur porn product has over scripted studio shoots.
Speaking of real porn reactions, I mention that a woman’s sexual desire peaks in her thirties and beyond.
“That actually makes a lot of sense,” Vanna comments.
Perhaps in the future being thirty or forty will be an industry norm. Vanna is on board with that.
“I do think so. In porn, girls fall into only two categories. There is rarely a middle. You’re either a teen or you’re a MILF. Girls as young as twenty-one, if they have big tits, can be cast as MILFs which is crazy.”
She mentions director Greg Lansky, three-time winner of AVN’s Director of the Year.
“What I’ve noticed with Greg Lansky’s work is it’s a lot less teen and MILF. A lot of the women he casts are girls who are women, not necessarily ‘little girl’ and not necessarily ‘I’m your friend’s mom.’”
Vanna believes that there are “girls in their twenties and forties and no girls in their thirties,” or at least it seems that way. For whatever reason, today’s content dictates that “those are usually the characters girls have to play.”
She’s hopeful that “more women in their thirties” will come into porn.
Her remarks lead me to delve into the final questions I have. The first has to do with camming and how that ratchets up the amateur porn universe in the mind of the online customer.
Reagan Foxx and Vanna along with Elsa Jean and Sarah Vandella.
The New Porn Girl
Is the cam girl the new porn girl?
“It’s interesting,” Vanna muses. “I think camming is really taking over the porn world, at least what I hear from a lot of men. They don’t watch [traditional] porn anymore. They like to go on camming websites because they see this girl next door who is camming in her room. Then they can interact with her.
“This is a really big market now and it’s easy for any regular girl to do it. You don’t have to go through this whole process of getting into porn which is very daunting for a lot of young girls.
“So, this idea that you sign up on a website and work from the comfort of your own home appeals to a lot of people.”
However, this self-proclaimed homebody believes that camming presents a major change, like it or not, for girls accustomed to shooting scenes.
“For porn stars, it’s not usually enough to just do porn. A lot of girls do weekly or monthly cam shows because people want to be able to interact with their favorite girls and see them in real-time and not always acting in a role.”
This brings us back to the young girl in porn. Regardless of camming or playing the ‘little girl,’ as Vanna puts it, an amateur product that markets a naïve girl sells well.
I’m interested to know if the young girl image represents a power exchange concept for the viewer, especially if he is an older man. Does it fit a formula that is easily repeated in amateur shoots?
Vanna is doubtful about that.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily a formula that is going to work because I don’t think everyone enjoys seeing that,” she says.
“It definitely works for a lot of men because they like this idea of preying on a young innocent girl but I think for a lot of other people they’d rather see a more empowered role not necessarily of a girl who doesn’t know what she is doing but a girl who is more eager. She going to find this sexual encounter, or this sexual experience.”
Braces
We should mention that for the present, Vanna’s appeal lies somewhat in her braces. That certainly helps to sell her teen image.
“I still have my braces [which is] something I’ve been able to build my fan base on. It is pretty unique thing that not a lot of people have. I got them really late when I was seventeen, so I still have them.”
For now, they’re very marketable.
“But it’s not something I plan on keeping forever. I don’t want to be twenty-one with braces as much as I’m sure my fans would like it. I’m looking forward to taking them off. But I think it’s a good thing because my fans are kind of growing up with me and can see me turn into a young woman.
And, the future?
“I don’t know how long I’ll be in porn, or if I’ll reach MILF years. But I think it’s going to be good. I think people are going to enjoy seeing me grow up.”
Then this very intelligent sweetheart gives us the feel-good news.
“I’m here because I like sex, I like these sexual experiences, I like to see myself out there.”
Braces and all!
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Dan O’Connell’s sets are always idyllic, a refreshing touch to the day’s work for any performer.
