Francesca Le and Mark Wood are two industry veterans who have been performing and directing in the porn business for more than 20 years. Their consistency, professionalism, and plain love for what they do has contributed to their longevity in an industry that sees a lot of performers, directors, and companies come and go in less than five years. Le and Wood have each been in the industry individually since the 90s. Francesca Le started in 1992 and Mark Wood began his career in 1998. They met in 2001 and married soon after. In 2002, they started the studio LeWood, and together they’ve built it into one of the most popular labels online. They rebranded as Le Wood BMC in 2012 when they signed a distribution deal with Evil Angel. Le Wood BMC has remained among one of the top producing studios among Evil Angel directors.
HM: You guys got married after just three months? Was there just an instant spark?
LE: Wow, you did your research! Ha! It was lust and a lot of booze – just kidding!
WOOD: We just had a good physical chemistry there. It was probably a rash decision, but…
LE: 17 years later, it has worked out. It’s funny. One time I was shooting AJ Applegate by myself without Mark, he was working on something else, and AJ said, “You know, I like it when you and Mark are working together and bickering, it’s so much more fun when I can listen to you arguing then when you’re here by yourself.”
WOOD: I wouldn’t recommend doing what we do to anybody.
LE: Yeah, working with your spouse all day, every day.
HM: Some people can do it, and other happily married couples would be divorced after a week, right?
WOOD: Yeah, there are other couples who are successful at it, Maestro Claudio is married, and Brad Armstrong and Jessica Drake. Sometimes I think it can work because the two of you are all-in, all the time, but I guess it could work the other way as well.
HM: Mark, one of the things that has kept you guys together all these years though is Francesca’s cooking, right?
WOOD: For sure, as they say, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. She is a great cook.
HM: What is the one dish she will make for you if she wants to do something special for you?
LE: I think he likes my enchiladas, but they are a pain in the ass to make. Or you like my chicken parm too_
WOOD: Yeah, I married a Latina so I eat a lot of Mexican food, but she is really a good cook. I can barely make a poptart, but I really do like good food.
LE: Maybe my next career, food and dogs. That’s our life outside of porn… and Mark’s basketball.
HM: That was my next question for you, are you rooting for GSW?
WOOD: I have to say I am a die-hard Clippers fan. I have been a Clippers fan since they werre in San Diego. I am kind of rooting for the Cavs, which I wouldn’t normally do, but I see them as the underdog. I watched that first game, it was rough. A couple of mental mistakes and a bad call and they were screwed. But hopefully it will be a good series.
HM: Francesca, can you tell us one major change you have seen in the industry since you first started?
LE: Oh wow! Everything. Everything has changed. I think it is a good time to be in the industry as a performer because you have so many avenues now to generate income. You don’t just have to rely on scenes anymore. On the producer side, it is a bad time because of the tube sites and all of the free porn out there.
HM: It is a bit of a double-edged sword, isn’t it? On the one hand, performers have much more control than ever before over their content. On the other hand, it is all on you, right? How well you do depends on how much you hustle. Is that one major difference you see, that you can no longer rely on being a contract star with a studio like in the 90s?
LE: Yeah. Back in the 90s you had your top seven studios only. We didn’t work as much, as it was pre-gonzo back when I started in the early 90s and the community was much smaller, and I feel performers were closer than they are now. There is just so many performers all over the world now.
HM: Mark, how about you? What do you think has been a major change? I know you have tweeted about HGH and other enhancers. Is that one of the big changes you have seen?
WOOD: To echo Francesca, I agree with everything she said as far as the good and bad. Times change, you know. I started in 1998. I just celebrated my 20-year anniversary in April in the business. You know there wasn’t Viagra or anything back then. You had your good days and you had your bad days and you were on your own. You kind of had a routine and hope it worked. Now, I don’t think performers have to pay dues like we did, which is fine. They can’t change when they were born or when they came into the industry. But it was a lot harder back then. There was only one agent for the industry – World Modeling – and he didn’t really find you work, you had to knock on doors and do smaller scenes that led to bigger scenes. Now guys can come in, sign up with an agent, and start working with top models right out of the box. I guess I am a bit old school. I like paying dues.
HM: You started LeWood back in 2002. Why do you think you have been so successful when others have not?
LE: Well, for one thing, we do everything. We are a two-person team. I perform occasionally, but Mark performs in most of our products. I am behind the camera and Mark or I will both shoot stills. We keep it lean and mean. We haven’t ever missed a deadline.
WOOD: We keep it simple. It is just the two of us and a PA and the talent. We keep it fun and don’t take ourselves too serious. We want to have fun on set and not feel like they are part of a factory.
LE: LeWood fans enjoy seeing everyone having fun on set, you know, and in the scenes.
HM: I did read that you enjoy getting feedback from your fans. What was the best input you ever got from fans?
WOOD: They are great at giving us talent suggestions. Sometimes I miss a girl and a fan will recommend a girl to me or let me know that she just did her first anal, and since we primarily do anal, they will give me a heads-up.
LE: Mark is really good about being on the forefront of finding the new “anal girl” who is up-and-coming. That’s his job, the casting side of the business.
HM: Is there something specific you look for when looking for someone who can do anal?
WOOD: Anyone can shoot the top girl and get a good scene out of them, but I like to find the diamond in the rough. It doesn’t always get the recognition or the awards, but I think it is a great moment when you can get a good scene out of a girl who is finding herself sexually. She doesn’t really know what she likes yet. If you can pull a good scene out of her, it is much more rewarding.
HM: So, the reason for this interview is to talk about our exclusive release of Anal Brats 5. What should we know about the movie? What should we highlight about it?
LE: All the girls are amazing in the movie, but it was the first time we shot Ariana Marie, and she’s as good as everyone thinks she is. Her scenes just went live on the site today. She did a really good job.
HM: Do you think there is an advantage to being a performer and director?
LE: I always think it’s better for talent to be on set with a performer/director because we know how it is. Some of the things or scenarios a director will ask for can be just ridiculous and not attainable. I feel if it is a director who hasn’t been a performer, they may put the performer in a situation they cant handle or shouldn’t be in.
WOOD: I agree. Even for directors who have been around 15-20 years, they still dont understand what it’s like to be in your shoes. To get some of the angles they want you’d need to remove a body part!
HM: Do the various Evil Angel directors all know each and talk to each other, or are you all just your own entities?
LE: Everyone is pretty much independant. You have some friendships that you may have had before coming to Evil Angel, but everyone shoots their own type of thing.
WOOD: The only one I really talk to is Maestro Claudio. He shot some early LeWood stuff before Francesca took over the camera work, but he goes back even to Legend Video stuff we did together. He taught us how to shoot camera. He and Aiden Riley, Belladonna’s ex-husband, I talk to occasionally.
HM: You two are big advocates for adopting shelter dogs. I was going to ask if you two are pet parents yourselves, but with the dog barking in the background, I will assume you are?
LE: Yes, it’s hard not to take them all home
WOOD: We have a ten year-old pitbull that we adopted from a shelter.
LE: She was a senior, we adopted her when she was eight years old.
WOOD: We have been volunteering at a shelter for the past three and a half years. It is rewarding and sad all at once.
LE: Please spay and neuter your animals.
HM: Is there a charity that you favor for this type of thing?
LE: If you want to be helpful, I would say volunteer or foster an animal.
HM: The reason I ask is that we have an ongoing program called “12 Months of Giving” where we select a different charity each month to bring awareness to and give a portion of our monthly sales as a donation.
LE: In that case, I would say St. Jude.
HM: Do you think there have been advances in the acceptance of the adult industry. Do you feel it is much more acceptable now?
WOOD: I do, but I also think the pendulum is about to swing back the other way. It’s still hard to tell people what you do. People are very judgmental and it can get in the way of your everyday life.
HM: Well that is all the questions I have for you. Francesca and Mark, I want to thank you for your time. I really appreciate it.
Check out LeWood’s latest DVD release Anal Brats 5 which is currently available exclusively on HotMovies!
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