Francois Clousot Interview By Devan of Sin City Films An enigmatic character in the adult scene by any standards, director Francois Clousot has made a name for himself as something of a visionary in his field with large, big budget adult features that are mostly dialogue heavy and laden with character development. With over a decade in adult as a director and cameraman, and an impressive list of credits to his name, including Sin City titles Ablaze, Payback, and Dawn, he is starting to make quite a name for himself. Francois's career, his total body of work, is taking on the impressive and alluring theme of bringing that mainstream quality to adult product that other directors often long for but are remiss to claim in their own work. With a style and look all his own, Francois Clousot is becoming hard to miss, and rapidly becoming one of the biggest name director's working in the adult entertainment market today. Is it any great surprise that a French man may be revolutionizing feature themed couple's pornography as we know it? In a recent, candid interview Francois explains his humble roots, hailing from the South of France, dodging Muslim Rebels and Police while shooting in foreign countries, love making the world go around, and learning to let it all go. Oh, and he explains why all French citizens love Jerry Lewis. Q: How old are you? FC: 36 Q: Where were you born? FC: Versailles, France, but I grew up in the south of France Q: When did you first come to America? FC: New Year's Eve, 1991 Q: Where did you stay? FC: In New York Q: What brought you to America? FC: Movie Making Q: Are you a citizen now? FC: A Resident Q: Have you been to film school? FC: Yes, In Paris. Q: What was your first film like? FC: Just a short which won a bunch of Awards in Europe, Called "HALL" Q: When did you first think about getting into adult productions? FC: You don't think about that... It just happens... Whoever "thinks" about it should see a shrink ASAP. Q: How did you start in adult? How did you get in? Did a friend help you or did you just cold call and knock on doors until you got in? FC: I met Jace Rocker and Brit Morgan, I needed a job, they hired me as a PA on a Jim Enright Movie. Q: Where did you learn to shoot camera? FC: I've been shooting camera since I was 9 years old... I guess i just learned throughout the years Q: What was the first film you ever directed called? Who was in it? Who was it for? How did you feel directing it? Who shot camera? What funny or unexpected things happened on set then? FC: My first film in adult was for PRIVATE and was called "Arrowhead". We shot it in the Philippines. I was shooting camera. Directing felt normal to me... No stage fright or anything. I was just doing a job to the best of my abilities. We had to dodge the feds there and Muslim rebels... It was an extremely dangerous place to shoot... But we were young and were not aware of the danger... Q: Who have you shot for since? FC: Everybody, including VCA and Sin City. I like shooting for Sin City and the control I have to make good movies. That is important. Q: How many adult movies have you shot? FC: I have no clue... Thousands?... Q: What is your favorite movie you have shot to date and why? Who is in it? Who were your crew guys? FC: Summer Wind for PRIVATE. 20 days shoot in my home town in the south of France. Jonathan Morgan was my lead actor, Michael J Cox was there too... As far as the girls... It was Private you know, they shot once and disappeared... In the crew I had Jace Rocker, James Nono and a lots of French crew guys... Q: Where do you see yourself headed in adult? What does the future hold for you? FC: I hope I'll stay a bit longer, but I've started to work more and more in mainstream... So I don't know... Q: What is the biggest project you have ever shot? Who was it for? Who was in it? How did it go? FC: Once again, I would have to say Summer Wind. I had close to a half million dollars to do it... To this day it is still one of Private biggest seller ever...which makes me feel pretty good about it, especially when you consider that it is the first one I shot with softcore. There was also a PG13 version of it that was never released, which is too bad... Q: Who do you feel influenced your style of shooting? What other directors in adult do you look up to or admire? FC: In mainstream I would say Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, Claude Lelouch, Philippe Rousselot. In Porn lets say Michael Raven, Nic Cramer... Q: Name your top five favorite movies of all time? FC: The first Star Wars trilogy, Casablanca, A river runs through it, Highlander, Citizen Kane Q: Name your favorite movies in adult? FC: I don't watch adult movies... I have to shoot them, why would I watch them after that? Q: Who do you like shooting, which girls, and why? FC: Hannah Harper. She is always on time, knows her lines, her wardrobe and is never a primadonna. She understands there is more to her job than showing up and getting on her back. Q: Some people think that adult features with plots and dialog are boring and flimsy. How do you respond to this? What makes your work compelling and interesting and entertaining? FC: If you don't like dialog, then watch Gonzo and give us all a break. In my shows I'm trying to give sex a reason to be there... I think that the lead up to sex and the situations are as exiting as the act itself. Q: Is there a particular philosophy to your work, to your style of directing, or does it all depend on the project? What in your opinion makes a movie good? FC: If I accept a job, I'll do it the best I can. I have a very good work ethic. I'll never say yes and complain afterward. A good movie is a lot of work from everybody involved... And a little bit of magic. You can't always have the magic and without it, everything falls flat. Q: If you could remake any one of the movies you have shot in your career with an unlimited budget and put all the time and attention into it in every stage of production, which movie would it be and why? FC: Summer Wind again. I just love that movie and I think I long to go back to such a great project. Q: Who do you admire and respect most in the world and why? FC: Jerry Lewis, hands down, because he is a Genius.or at least that what I was told in my country. Q: Is there anything that you regret not doing in your career or regret doing? FC: I see a lot of people who made it bigger than me and were horrible human beings, but I'm glad I stayed who I was and never lost track of what I was about. I'll always look at myself in the mirror and like who I see... that's the real success I think Q: What single quality more than all others makes a great director? FC: Lack of Ego, the ability to compromise Q: What brings you joy and fulfillment in life? FC: My Wife. Just my wife. Q: How do you prepare mentally for the act of creating an adult film? FC: I forget my Ego, put my nicest smile on, and tell lots of jokes... Q: How did you become involved with Sin City? FC: They called me, Scott Justice did, after seeing some of my work I had done in the past for the company and liking it. From there it just grew. Q: What was the first title you directed for Sin City and who was in it? FC: Hell House was the name of it. We shot that back in 1999. It was horror porn, which is a fascinating genre. I had a lot of fun shooting it. It starred Shay Sweet, and Jassie, and Layla Jade. Q: What have you done since? FC: A lot of work with Sin City as of recently, to tell you the truth. I just shot a movie with Shay Sweet called Dawn, which went amazingly well, and I am getting ready to shoot a large feature movie at the end of the month called Undertow. Q: What is Undertow about? FC: It's a surf movie, about a guy who has to infiltrate a gang of terrorists to stop them from detonating a bomb and killing thousands of people. It's full of action and explosions and car chases and motorcycle and hot sex with beautiful women. It is meant to be the sequel to the last big surf movie they shot, called Riptide. I am planning the shots now and am really excited about it. I don't want to give too much away, but I am putting a great deal of myself into this movie. It is going to be amazing, so keep an eye out for it. Return to the writeup and photos from Sin City's Dawn Return to the News Page Return to Worth-a-Million Productions' MAIN MENU