by Rich Moreland, January 2015
Topless bowling and a scantily clad hula hoop contest welcome invited guests into a large suite on the Hard Rock Hotel’s upper floor. The occasion is Girlfriends Films’ (GFFs) after-the-show party on the Adult Entertainment Expo’s second night. Hanging out with yours truly is my photographer Bill and Morgan, our “lovely young assistant” as they say in show biz.
This is Vegas, of course, and the forty or so guests mingle around the lounge, bar, hot tub, and pool table that complement the bowling ally. Top agent Mark Spiegler brought some of his starlets—Reily Reid, Lily LaBeau, and Penny Pax among them—while porn heartthrob James Deen circulates among revelers with his sweetie, Stoya. Jessie Andrews, the star of B Skow’s hit, The Gardener, arrives with the dewy nymph-like elegance that is her trademark while GFFs’ hottie Prinzzess shoots a little pool topless, her trademark tresses accentuating her Hollywood glamour.
The affair is an appreciation for the studio’s 2014 successes. It’s no secret that company President Moose and founder Dan O’Connell have built a highly respected and dynamic organization in a time of recession and content piracy. Results are impressive. Their efforts are moving the GFFs brand to the forefront of adult entertainment. Tonight Moose and Dan extend their gratitude to industry supporters while giving the lovely ladies who are the company’s image some downtime after the crush of media demands and signing for fans.
In a brief address to party goers, Dan praises those girls who make a successful go of it in adult film. They are “strong, resourceful, brave and smart,” he says, emphasizing that recognition and achievement blossoms from hard work and responsibility, characteristics GFFs fosters.
For my little team of media hounds, the gathering has another focus. We chat with Moose to get his reflection on the year. Distribution deals have blossomed that include ArchAngel Productions, James Deen Productions, Skow for Girlfriends Films, Tasha Reign’s Reign Productions, and Bonnie Rotten’s Mental Beauty, he tells us before corralling Deen for a quick introduction. And, GFFs continues to donate to charitable organizations its performers list among their favorites. Incidentally, no one has ever retired or resigned from Girlfriends, a rare claim for any company in any industry.
Dan, the talent, and Moose on the Red Carpet.
Photo courtesy of 3hattergrindhouse.com
Be it understood that GFFs is one of adult entertainment’s good guys and its charity work is important. But now another community project has raised the company’s passion: child pornography and sex trafficking in the Long Beach/LA area. “Trafficking hurts people,” Moose says, and combating this evil is a commitment GFFs takes seriously.
“Girls are being pimped out starting at age nine,” he explains. Fortunately there are people willing to push back against the perpetrators and the pimps. Rock Against Trafficking is a worldwide organization that, associated with local groups and the music and entertainment industries, has taken the lead in this endeavor with the goal of outreach and rehabilitation. Girlfriends is proud to contribute to this mission.
Stopping trafficking, rooting out its villains, and getting underage victims through the court system is daunting. Moose insists that supporting local services is perhaps the highest priority and he backs up his voice with visits to facilities on the battle lines against a heart-breaking human tragedy.
Sure, a party sponsored by an adult film company has its “entertainment” and munchies with appropriate libations that settle well in the stomach. Eyes feast on barely dressed professional models sparking up conversation around the room. But there is more to Girlfriends Films, it’s a different breed of porn animal. No doubt the company is an industry leader in making money the right way, but it also cares about its employees, its performers, and now, its commitment to helping others.
For Moose, Dan, and the gang, every newly purchased Girlfriends’ DVD and VOD streaming carries a warning shot across the bough of the trafficker who deals in human flesh. Adult film has a dog in this fight and that’s good news for the powerless whose childhoods are endangered by prostitution, abuse, and lost futures.
Best of all, you help every time you pay for your porn . . .
3hattergrindhouse 