Adult star Briana Banks has left Vivid Entertainment to start her own production company, Briana Banks Entertainment. The new label will launch in January at the 2009 AVN Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas.

“I felt it was time to open a new chapter in my life, and to make a product based on my own vision and what my fans what to see,” Banks told AVN. “There are no burned bridges or hard feelings with Vivid; they respected the fact that I wanted to move on to new ventures.”

Banks is looking to sign a select number of exclusive contract girls. She emphasized the importance of finding the right performers, and treating them well.

“My main goal is to focus on the talent, and to recognize that without them we don’t have a finished product,” she said. “I want to create a better support system and a better work environment for contract girls. We’re being very picky; we don’t want to have 12 girls. We want to take two or three girls and build them into stars.”

Banks confirmed that she will star in her company’s first production, which is scheduled to roll in late November for release in 2009.

“I’ve put together a great team to back me, and we’ve been working really hard for about a month and a half getting ready to shoot,” Banks said. “I don’t want to give away too much, but I can say that my fans will not be let down. It will be a little more hardcore, but still pretty. The first movie is more of a high-class gonzo - it’s not going to be a cheap $10,000 production. We hope to do some high-budget features; we will mix it up to give all the fans what they want.”

Banks told AVN she in negotiations to reclaim the website BrianaBanks.com, which is currently owned by Playboy as part of the Club Jenna acquisition. She also plans to use her own domain BrianaBanksReloaded.com as a platform for her company.

“We will be doing DVD and Blu-ray, but we’ll also be doing streaming scenes for the Internet and developing ideas for mobile,” she said. “We have all kinds of ideas and concepts; I never got the opportunity to learn how to direct, but now as the president of the company I will get the hands-on experience with all aspects of how a movie is made and distributed.”

Born in Munich, Banks grew up in Simi Valley, Calif., and got into the adult business in 1999 after answering an ad for nude models. The gorgeous, 5′9″ blonde quickly became one of the industry’s most in-demand performers, moving from down-and-dirty gonzo flicks into glossy contract-girl features including the Club Jenna bestseller Briana Loves Jenna.

But even as her career took off, Banks suffered from problems with substance abuse; she took a two-year hiatus from the business before returning at the AVN expo last January.

“I’ve been clean off drugs for few years now,” she said. “And that’s part of what led up to this; you clear your head, and good things start to happen.”

When Banks announced her new company to fans on her My Space blog last weekend, Vivid was not yet aware of her plans.

“We heard rumors about Briana starting her own company but she hasn’t called us herself yet,” Vivid co-chairman Steven Hirsch told AVN on Wednesday. “We would be happy to help her in any way we can. We are sure she will be successful and we wish her the very best.”

Banks is working out a DVD distribution deal for her company, but said it’s “too early to announce the details.” For now, she’s excited about declaring her independence.

“I want to thank all of my fans for the support; I’m excited to give them something new that’s coming straight from my heart,” she said. “I’ve worked my butt off in this industry, and it’s time for me to make my mark.”

For more information and updates, visit myspace.com/brianabanksreloaded.

Ashlynn Brooke and award winning male performer Tommy Gunn make an appearance in rock band Buckcherry’s latest video, “Too Drunk…”

Ashlynn and Gunn are prominently cast as a couple in the video. In most of their X-rated performances the pair are used to being naked and being the center of attention, but for the shoot they were called on to be more modest than usual.

“We’re friends with the band and we were more than happy to come out and support them,” Gunn said. “They like that we’re in the porn business and even though we couldn’t do anything explicit, we could still give a wink and a nudge to our fans and theirs by having sex in the bathroom — or at least, as close to sex as we could get in a video like this.”

The real-life couple added they had a great time during the shoot.

“When the fans see us in mainstream projects like this, they tell me it’s like they’re in a secret club and knowing who we are is the handshake,” Ashlynn, who will appear in New Sensations’ big budget all-sex title “Addicted 4,” added. “We had a fun time and I hope the guys and girls at home enjoy it and keep on looking for us, no matter where we pop up.”

News wires buzzed this week with speculation about the potential casting of actress Scarlett Johansson in a Hollywood movie adaptation of Jenna Jameson’s autobiography, How to Make Love Like A Porn Star.

“It looks like we’re going to be selling [the book] to a big movie company and [going] into production next year,” Jameson told FHM magazine. “We’re looking, hopefully, at Scarlett Johansson. She’s my choice. I think she’s beautiful.”

Jameson’s publicist Scott Hoover confirmed that the adult starlet is in unofficial talks with more than one Hollywood studio about the proposed bio-pic. While Johansson has stated that she would consider doing nudity for the right role, the mainstream actress has made no comment on the Jenna movie rumors.

Adult starlet and ex-California gubernatorial candidate Mary Carey has signed a six-picture deal with K-Beech Video, Inc. The titles will be directed by Cash Markman and released through the company’s BACKEND Productions label.

As part of the newly-inked non-exclusive agreement, Carey will be signing for K-Beech during the Adult Entertainment Expo. Carey will appear at the K-Beech booth (#5013) on Friday afternoon from 12-4 and on Saturday from 1-5 pm.

“Things happened very quickly,” K-Beech CEO Kevin Beechum said of the deal. “Mary’s very popular across the board, the fans love her, she’s one of the biggest acts on the feature dance circuit and she’s crossed over into mainstream like no one before her.”

“I’m going to be starting my own company, Mary Carey Productions,” the 26-year-old starlet told. “While this deal is going on, I’ll be shooting only for K-Beech and my own company. This is going to be the year of Mary Carey the businesswoman, not Mary Carey the party girl.”

Carey, who parted ways with Legend Video in December, has been making news headlines of late due to a trademark dispute with pop diva Mariah Carey. “It’s time for me to capitalize on the Mary Carey name,” she said. “I’ve been getting a lot of mainstream coverage lately; I’m going to be on Howard Stern on January 31. The first K-Beech title is shooting really soon – this will be the first movie I’ve done with four boy-girl scenes.”

Carey also revealed that she is planning a hip-hop album for 2007. “I can’t name any names, but I’ve got some very influential people in the hip-hop world helping me out,” she said. “I’m hoping to start recording in about a month.”

In the meantime, Carey is preparing for AEE with a “detox diet” of water and cayenne pepper. “I’ve got an investor who’s hired a security guard for me in Vegas,” she added. “I’m going to be on time for everything, not drinking as much. I’m meeting with a lot of different distributors to see who gives me the best deal for Mary Carey Productions.”

Director Pierre Woodman has signed 20-year-old Czech performer Divinity Love as an exclusive contract girl for his company Woodman Entertainment.

Love previously worked for Woodman in Private Video’s best-selling Sex City. Her signing follows the announcement of Playboy Playmate Caylian Curtis as the first Woodman starlet; both performers are featured in the company’s forthcoming epic XCalibur.

“After signing Caylian as our first Woodman Girl, I knew she would be a very hard act to follow,” Woodman said. “But after seeing how Divinity moves in front of the camera, I knew that she had what it takes to be a star and decided to offer her an exclusive contract. It is a great pleasure for me to welcome her to Woodman Entertainment.”

Sex-Z Pictures has announced a search for a starlet to sign an exclusive contract with the company worth a million dollars.

“We are serious about signing the next great superstar to a Sex-Z Pictures’ exclusive contract,” said Sex Z Pictures owner, Bo Kenney, “and are offering a million dollar deal to the woman we feel is the most beautiful, nasty and hyper-sexed star on the planet.

“This girl can be an existing star or a totally hot newcomer that nobody has ever heard of,” continued Kenney, “as we are looking to have the most dynamic and sensuous woman making movies for Sex-Z Pictures.

“We’re not looking for a woman to stand in the corner and rub herself or only have sex with her husband. We want a woman that knows her own sexuality and will bare it to the world. This search is open to every gorgeous woman 18 and above that wants to make a million dollars,” said Kenney.

Kenney went on to explain that the search begins immediately and all starlets or aspiring starlets are encouraged to send their photos, video tape or DVD along with a short statement as to why she feels she should get the contract.

The company has set up a page for the search on its website at www.sexzpictures.com.

All photos and letters should be sent directly to Sex-Z Pictures East Coast offices, attention to:

Bo Kenney
7008 Wellington Road
Manassas, VA 20109

“We are very serious about our million-dollar offer. This is no joke,” Kenney pledged. “The winner will be presented with a contract at a special unveiling party in Los Angeles next fall.”

Kenney said the winning starlet will be the face of Sex-Z Pictures for the next 5 years, star in Sex-Z Pictures features and gonzo releases, direct titles, do personal appearances and media relations for the company.

Go to www.sexzvod.com for more information.

Hillary Scott will reprise her role as Britney in the fourth installment of X-Play’s Britney Rears series. “I believe the theme is ‘Britney Goes Gonzo’,” said Scott, who recently played Marcia Brady in X-Play’s spoof of The Brady Bunch. “It’s a lot more hardcore sex and less of a story compared to the last one. For this series, I prefer that kind of format.”

Slated to shoot next week with series director Will Rider at the helm, Britney Rears 4 moves away from the direct parody of pop singer Britney Spears seen in previous entries. Scott first took on the Britney role in the series’ third volume, a comedy which sent the character time-traveling back to the 1970s.

The new vid has Britney discovering “the secret magic of her famous lollipop” in what writer/producer Jeff Mullen described as “one gigantic Britney fuck-fest”. The supporting cast tentatively includes Jasmine Byrne, Mia Rose, Veronique Vega, Paulina James, Eva Angelina and Alicia Tyler.

“Any time I get a chance to work with Hillary Scott I know it’s going to be a great day,” Rider said. “She’s incredibly popular with fans of gonzo and now with fans of feature type performances because she has bridged a very difficult gap that separates great sex performers from becoming really big time stars. Hillary is the total package.”

Nautica Thorn and her new production company, Nautica Thorn Productions, are on the eve of their debut release. The starlet told that she’s very excited about the company’s first title, Nautica Thorn’s All Access, which will be unveiled in early 2007. The title’s cast includes Katja Kassin, Charlie Laine, Celeste Star, Alexa Lynn, Kate Frost, Tommy Gunn, Scott Nails and Anthony Hardwood.

In a time that many see as a “slowing-down period” for the adult industry, the Asian starlet said she has a packed schedule. “I was booked all this week, and I’m booked next week and it’s come to a point where I need to tell them not to book me for a bit,” Thorn said. “I just moved into new house and I need to concentrate on that for a little while.

“I also have eight dogs,” she giggled, “so they take up a lot of my time.”

Thorn was one of four adult performers chosen for the Fox Reality original four-part series, “My Bare Lady,” for which she traveled to London to see if she could cut it as a stage actress. Thorn, along with Kirsten Price, Chanel St. James and Sasha Knox, spent two weeks participating in extensive acting, voice and dance training at one of London’s prestigious acting schools, Italia Conti Academy for Theatre Arts, culminating in a live performance at London’s world famous Garrick Theatre on Sept. 16. The first episode aired on Thursday.

Thorn is ramping up her feature dancing schedule as well, with appearances on Friday and Saturday at The Spearmint Rhino in downtown Los Angeles (2020 E. Olympic Blvd.). “I just joined Lee Network, so I’ll be on the road probably twice a month, next year,” said the Asian beauty.

Along with a new website, www.enternautica.com, the starlet will also be the host for Playboy Radio’s “Private Calls” every Thursday night. Thorn previously hosted Playboy TV’s “Night Calls,” and said the switch from a television show with a live audience to a radio broadcast was tricky. “Radio is tough, because you’re basically talking to yourself for a few hours,” she said.

From almost 100 Victoria’s Secret employees, five women were chosen to represent the lingerie giant in Playboy.com’s first “The Real Girls of Victoria’s Secret” feature, which began Dec. 4.

The mega-chain’s sexiest employees—Kimberlee Ann, Joey Mansfield, Debbie Lou, Angela Rose, and Adrienne Dara—appear not only in nude pictorials, but also engage in runway-fashion-show videos for the site.

“Victoria’s Secret catalogs are iconic, and the models in them are some of the most gorgeous women in the world,” Said, Playboy.com Editor John Thomas. “But because we’ve noticed so many beautiful women working in Victoria’s Secret stores, we wanted to turn the tables and give them a chance to pose, as well.”

The Victoria’s Secret employees were chosen from four retail store locations: Pittsburgh, Pa.; Orange County, Calif.; Buffalo, NY, and Jefferson City, Mo.

Hustler Video has renewed its exclusive contract with Memphis Monroe for another year.

The company said today that the buxom blonde, who makes her home in Kentucky, will remain on contract after her successful first year with the company where she starred in a number of films for Hustler, including the best-selling Backwoods of Memphis and the lavish sex-adventure, Aphrodisiac.

Monroe was unavailable for comment.

The 21-year-old blonde first came to the attention of Hustler owner and founder Larry Flynt when she posed for the December 2005 cover of Hustler magazine.

“Memphis starts her second year with Hustler as one of our most successful contract stars,” Flynt said.

“We are looking forward to a bright future with her.”

Jerome Tanner, who directed Monroe in Aphrodisiac, said the young starlet has proven herself a star in the industry.

“She’s so good and she has that presence about her that few girls have and she’s a great performer,” Tanner said in October.

Monroe’s next title is Monday’s release, Christmas in Memphis. She is also scheduled to be signing with fellow Hustler/VCA contract stars Mya Luanna and Joanna Angel at AVN’s Adult Entertainment Expo in January.