Adult film isn’t typically thought of as a playground for high art, but tucked away from all the wall-to-wall gonzo and parody titles is a certain market for challenging, outré and sometimes downright bizarre features. If the sex is the sizzle that sells the finished product, auteur-minded filmmakers can sometimes be otherwise left to experiment wildly within the narrative parameters.

Case in point: writer-director Gary Orona’s Sanatorium, a twisted, labyrinthine and very stylized story about an iconic porn star (Tabitha Stevens) who discovers a secret, dark world of politicians, lawyers, priests and other do-gooders whose public images stand in stark contrast to their private lives. While awaiting a sexual liaison in his hotel suite, a U.S. Senator who enjoys kinkiness other than what his anti-porn crusading platform might suggest listens to a porn star’s story of her descent into insanity, all while waiting for his opportunity to seduce her. This twisted subplot then spins back in time, detailing her sex life and intense personal journey, and underscoring the politician’s hypocrisy.

Shot in four states over a five-year period, on both 35mm and digital high definition, the film stars Stevens, Kagney Linn Karter, Sara Sloane, Raylene, James Deen, Nick Manning, Ron Jeremy (in a non-sex role, the film’s press release somewhat amusingly stresses) and others. Accompanying the thriller is an original soundtrack composed by Guns ‘n Roses Teddy “Zig Zag” Andreadis, Billy Idol’s guitar player Steve Stevens and Static X’s Tony Campos and Koichi Fukuda. An interview with Orona, Stevens and Karter follows below:

Brent Simon: For everyone, what’s it like taking what for most people is a passionate, fun, almost extracurricular activity, let’s say, and making it fit within the confines and schedule of a regular job?

Gary Orona: There isn’t really a lot of glamour in it, because it’s very intense and there’s no such thing as a 9-to-5 day in film production, adult [or otherwise]. I come from the mainstream first, and I’ve done a lot of adult work as well, and it doesn’t change — you have 18 and 20-hour days. The interesting thing I’ve noticed is that when you go to shoot a sex scene… well, I have no idea of what the public’s perception of what that process is like, but I’ll tell you that as a filmmaker after the first 5 or 10 minutes it’s incredibly tedious. Sanatorium is an extremely unique and rare exception to that, but typically it could take you an hour or two to get all the coverage and positions you need. It’s very tedious. It takes a lot of work and time to get it done.

Tabitha Stevens: I would have to agree. Especially since I’m a producer of this film, I’m a star of the film and I have a lot of sex in the film. That makes for very long days. In my case, we shot in desert locations, and for me to stay fit into character and do sex on top of it, when I’m starving myself because I go on a vision quest in the film, so I’m not really eating and I’m going down to 89 pounds — it was intense. We had over a 100-page script for the film, so I had to learn lines and know them. And being in these crazy locations, and then doing scenes that take a long time, you do get tired. It wears on you, but as long as you know what the end product is going to be, you get excited so you give it your all. I don’t think anybody in this film lacked in any respect at all — whether it be a sexual performance or the dialogue. Everyone did a wonderful job, and seeing that unfold along the way pumped you up a little bit.

Kagney Linn Karter: I would have to say, coming from my generation, obviously this type of (adult) production is an extreme production. Where I come from, you don’t know whether you’re going to be on set four hours, two hours or 16 hours, so you have to be able to really stay professional and say, “Today could be a long day or today could be a short day.” A lot of times you might know [in what order] a studio will shoot, but sometimes you don’t so you just have to take the good and the bad, and stay on your toes.

BS: I understand this film came about through some fairly unique circumstances — that it was initially conceived of as a regular, non-adult feature film. And it was shot on both 35mm and digital. So Gary, what was it like, this five-year journey of taking an idea with the same narrative kernel, and then re-contextualizing it?

GO: We didn’t steer too far from its origins. We started five years ago, and the story was about a legendary porn superstar who’s dealing with a deep depression rooted in the stigma naturally applied to porn stars, and this journey that she goes through to find her true self. So it’s really interesting in that aspect, because you don’t typically see a porn film with that sort of storyline. It was originally designed to be R-rated, or maybe a NC-17 film. We shot it on 35mm with very high production standards, just as if I was shooting one of my HBO shows. I brought that to the table, a mainstream sensibility, if you will. Then what happened is that when we finished, we realized it was a little incomplete and we got busy with other projects. It took us about a year to get to that point. We put it on the shelf for a few years, and then a little while back we started seeing a lot of these politicians popping up in the media, leading these very twisted double lives, a very hypocritical thing. We had touched on this in the film, the fact that we’re stigmatized by people who behind closed doors are as twisted if not more so than anybody in porn ever was. Once that started happening, we realized we had a pearl incubating in a shell, and realized it was ready. We decided about five months ago to add hardcore sex scenes, which it really should have had originally because it would have told the original story better, and we added another subplot about a particular senator who’s leading a double life. And that really brought the whole thing together. That gestation period was what the film needed to become something truly original. And it’s very authentic. I think that the performances, locations, production value, what the message is — I don’t know of any other porn I’ve ever seen like this.

BS: There’s the old saying about making a film three times — in casting, shooting and post-production, but was this the most radical recombination of elements you’ve ever had professionally?

GO: Oh, absolutely. And I could have approached this in a very direct, typical, banal, Hollywood fashion, and said it’s this battle of mainstream versus pornography and the stigma, make it a very A-B-C three-act play, but I didn’t want to do it that way. I wanted it to be unique and interesting, and so being a fan of David Lynch I decided let’s go non-linear with this and bury the story with tons of symbols and metaphors and iconic images that you have to figure out. So viewers will hopefully watch a few times for the sex, and then hopefully want to watch it a whole bunch of times to figure out what the messages are. And it’s all twisted backwards and inside-out and every which way. To get to that point required what Tabitha said — the cast is phenomenal, that’s one point. It’s stellar, everyone fits perfectly. There’s hundreds of hours of editorial work that went into this to make it what it is. And typically a porn feature will be shot in maybe three days and edited a week later and then out the door, but this is completely different beast altogether. The elements that went into the production design were (very thought out). I’ll throw out one example: Kagney plays Web Girl, and the image we created at the beginning of her scene, she’s in front of this little tiny flip-camera on this big set of sticks on a big soundstage. There’s just a couple lights around her, and she’s on a little mattress. And I’m sure when people first see her they might say, “What?,” but what’s going on is that she personifies what the business is now — it’s about hard, intense aggressive performances where we don’t really care so much about the production value. As long as we get something decent that we can throw up on the Internet, that’s all that matters. Really, though, it’s all about the sexual performance.

BS: Tabitha, it sounds like you go to pretty outrageous places in the movie — you talked about starving yourself, and shooting in desert. Did Sanatorium speak to your experience in the adult industry?

TS: This is me, this is the truth, this is what I’ve gone through personally, and so that’s why it touches me more so than anything I’ve ever done. We created this story, [Gary and I]. I talked with Gary one time, and he said, “Maybe we should do something about that, maybe we should get into a story,” so pretty much what you see on film is what I’ve gone through, even with the stunt work. When you see me hanging from a tree I’m actually hanging from a tree, that’s me hanging from shark hooks by my flesh. These are other things, of course, that I wanted to do. I wanted to go through a vision quest, and feel what it was like. And I had to almost beg Gary to let me do half of the things that I do in the film, but it’s because Tabitha Stevens, the character in the film, is really the Tabitha Stevens that you’re here talking to today.

BS: Jenna Jameson once said that younger adult film starlets today are interested in sexual performance in a way that she didn’t comprehend when she entered the business.

KLK: Absolutely. For me, performance is everything. The point of being a sex symbol is to perform to your fullest, and give those who are the viewers what they want. That’s why you get into a business like this, to give to others in a way. And enhancing your performance, obviously with limits, is a way to do that — taking yourself to a place that could be a bit of a push is taking somebody else to a place where maybe they appreciate that, because it’s someplace they want to go in their fantasy. And that’s the job. That’s why it’s a job for us, and fantasy for them.

TS: And I think what Jenna was talking about was probably because Jenna was mostly shooting features — I think she only shot a couple shows that weren’t features. And being that I’ve been in the business for a very long time, since1995, I’ve shot my share of features as well as what we now call gonzo, and when you’re in a feature I think you’re more directed as to how you should have sex. I think that’s what Jenna was actually going through. It wasn’t more about, “OK, be free to be yourself, and take control.” That’s what you can mostly do in gonzo, and I believe that’s what I’ve always done. I notice that. A lot of times, in feature films you’re constantly told now do this position and this position; it’s very structured. When Gary shoots, when you watch these scenes [in Sanatorium], they’re not structured scenes. I did discuss with the talent what positions would feel comfortable, because you always want to feel comfortable, but we just went ahead and did what we felt was going to be great, and what we liked to do. I think that with most features you can’t really get to be your free self, let’s say.

BS: Visually the film seems pretty striking. But adult films and even mainstream films in general are typically less interested in trying to [explore a sort of] dream consciousness that might attract and bind us together as human beings. How did you work to achieve a sense of overarching visual style, and still fit that together with certain sex scenes?

GO: I think the film is better because it has sex in it. When we finished the film originally it [became clear it] needed it, because the film is about a porn star dealing with stigma. I think the reason you’re seeing these vivid visual elements is important because this film is extremely psychological and appealing to every single one of us. It’s part of a code. So if you watch it with the director’s commentary it’s all there, or if you want to watch it 10 times to figure it out, all the symbols are there, there are Jungian archetypes sprinkled all over, it’s a classical hero’s journey. What I did was twist the journey around a bit to make it harder to figure out. I think that makes it more fun. The sex is critical, and I think that the hardest part of producing and directing sex in a film like this is to do it in such a way that it’s not gratuitous, because by its very nature pornography is voyeuristic and gratuitous — it is what it is, and that’s its intention, and the experience. And so to try to produce a film that’s real, and doesn’t have any awkwardness when all of a sudden we’re thrown into a sex scene is difficult. In this one it works perfectly, because it’s integrated into the story, and when we shot those scenes — for instance, the one with Kagney I noticed an intense, absolute chemistry happening between herself and James Deen, and I knew well enough, through years and years of shooting linear narrative and what not, to step back and not become that over-imposing director now because the lighting is not quite right or because my camera angle is not right. I said what I’m going to do is let this thing run and I’m going to move this camera around and find my spots as quickly as I can while they go. They had something going on that rarely happens in porn, and that’s the eye contact — it was completely dialed in, as if we weren’t there. And so I let that go, I let it ride.

With Tabitha in all her scenes it was exactly the same thing. The only specific instructions I gave to her before her first interracial, which is in this movie, was do things very slowly and deliberately, and it’s almost like a worship before you start doing your thing. And: eye contact, keep those eyes connected. You don’t see those kinds of things happening in porn. What you typically see is a choice of three or four or five positions, and, “We need 10 or 15 minutes of it, flip over, blah blah blah.” It’s this very sterile, clinical process that has virtually no emotion in it. What I wanted to do was let these things go, even if the shot wasn’t perfect, because I think the realness of it completely trumps any artificial set-up. I can’t think of one instance in this movie where I think, “Wow, that kind of feels out of place.” Every sex scene is vital, furthering the story, explaining how her character is fighting her demon.

BS: Is “mainstream” part of the goal for adult film stars today, or is that just maybe an adjunct, because there are a lot of people who watch adult films but maybe don’t talk about it, so you become accidental superstars in a more digital, plugged-in world?

TS: I think it depends on the person. I got into the business I was in a marriage that didn’t have a lot of sex in it. I was 25 years old, married wealthy and was a bored housewife. It was something different. I had been doing national television commercials, I had been modeling, and I’d been going to acting classes in college. So I wanted to be more of an actress, and then I thought, “Sex would be kind of fun to do on film, why don’t we try that?” And I did, and did pretty well at it. And I’ve always liked acting, and being in front of the camera. For me, I like doing the crossover mainstream projects, I have a great time with them. I feel like I can pull off a performance, so I find it to be very sad that a lot of times in the mainstream when a porn star is cast into a role, you’re cast as either a porn star, a stripper or a hooker. That’s very sad to me. When I was given the opportunity to do the reality show Dr. 90210, we talked about plastic surgery and I went in to be truthful, and say I’m Tabitha Stevens, but I’m also a human being, and I went in to show people how I bettered myself through plastic surgery — though sometimes it can get twisted. My goal was to do things in the porn industry, but dabble in the mainstream as well. I don’t see why we can’t do both. I feel like I’m a good enough actress, and I see some actresses on television and think, “Wow, really? I think I could have done a better job myself.” (laughs) But I love what I do. I love performing for the camera and I love sex, so I think that if I can do both that would make me happy.

KLK: For me, from day one, I’ve always had high hopes and goals of creating a lot of buzz for myself. I don’t want to be a mainstream actress. I did, but when I found out you could act and have sex as well, it seemed like, “Hey!” (tilts head in mock realization) I think it’s great when people like Gary and Tabitha do movies like these because it shows that they can go together, and it can be amazing and work. Because there’s never been a film like this before, it makes me happy — because this is what mixing mainstream and porn is. So that’s definitely always a goal of mine — I want to dabble in both, and maybe bring mainstream attention to my career just because I have conviction in what I do. I think it’s wonderful, and I think everyone else should think that way too.

BS: Even mainstream studios are struggling with new ways to provide content to viewers. What about new business models for the adult industry. Has it been hit hard by the recession, or more the cratering of the DVD market as relative to what it was maybe 10 years ago?

GO: I don’t think the recession has a lot to do with it. I think it’s headed down basically the same path as the music industry, where piracy is increasing and become a huge problem. We released a film last year, and the same day as its street date it was already available on a whole bunch of bitTorrent sites, pirated all around the Internet. I know that mainstream film studios have the same problem. I don’t think the porn industry has any of the answers yet, nor the mainstream. They’ve been fighting piracy battles since even before the Internet came around, and it will continue until the encryption is better, or there’s some macrovision-esque coding that actually works, that some hacker the next day isn’t going to break. I think it’s tricky, and a bit of a slippery slope that we’re on right now, any industries that are relative to intellectual property online — we’re all sort of in that same boat, whether we want to be or not. But the DVD business is dying, and will probably be done here pretty quick. Most of it’s going online and VOD, and there will still be some broadcast outlets, but it’s a brave new world, which will create some interesting scenarios and possibilities.

BS: Tabitha and Kagney, a credit that perhaps isn’t fully bestowed upon adult performers is an entrepreneurial instinct that has to go hand-in-hand with a performer that is going to achieve success and longevity. It isn’t just about making movies. So how comfortable do each of you feel in exercising your own creative ideas as it pertains to growing your careers?

TS: That’s important. We all should have our own web sites. I think in the future the girls, or the talent, will be the ones taking over. I believe that we have the ability to create our own companies — to where I could be hiring people for my site, or we could do trading content, which is popular — where you don’t necessarily have to work for a company to be successful. And I think having a book written, that’s another step. I look at Jenna Jameson and what she’s done — telling your own personal story is very important.

KLK: Well, I have my own company, so I’m always thinking of new ways to create new jobs for myself. I have five different jobs now, all tied up in porn. I do have my own web site, but taking it a step further, like Tabitha said, [helps showcase] a more creative side in what I do, like taking more time to really produce good content for my site. Also, the book thing; and I want to do a line of DVDs: I’m really good at pole-dancing so I’d like to do volumes one through four, from beginner to excellent [or advanced] dancer, all with choreography. (laughs) It’s [all about] setting goals and accomplishing them, being the best performer that you possibly can.

For more information on Sanatorium, or to purchase the movie, click here.