Don Juan DeMarko -

FULL VIDEO INTERVIEW ⬇️

Tell us a bit about yourself?

Don Juan DeMarko: I got my start about 15 years ago very blessed to have been on big directors set. And being on a big directors set I got to meet a lot of people in the industry who eventually became directors producers, magazine editors, the whole 9 yards. Getting to be on that set being a P.A I loved what I saw.

It lead me to reach out to work with performers who were there, those performers I’m very very blessed to still have them in my life, my porn family. They told me that my writing was good enough in their eyes being able to work for companies like Playboy North America, back in the day, submitting my work to places like Hustler.

It eventually lead me to working for other companies in the business. I’ve written for XBiz for AVN, I’ve been the editor for XCritic.

In 15 years can you tell us how the industry has changed?

Don Juan DeMarko: It’s become a lot more separate I remember when I first got into the industry and we talked about that first shoot which had legendary performers and legendary directors we all went out to dinner together. I was staying at one of the camera men’s house, as was another performer.

The next day there was another shoot in Beverly Hills, we all drove there together, even though only 2 people were going to work for everybody to get off and we picked them up. You might as well have called it an episode of Beverly Hills 90210, because we did the same shit.

Now a days you don’t have that same togetherness in my opinion that family atmosphere. When I was on set for the first time years ago the male talent, the female talent they were like let’s sit down and talk, lets find out what’s going on.

Do you think that's a coincidence of dirctors loosing their influence?

Don Juan DeMarko: I do think that, it’s something that stretches across to mainstream Hollywood, When me and my business partner Gavin Glass, trained designers he’s a much more educated designer than I am. He knows how to do animation, video editing 20 years ago when I was taught how to do it, it was some basics of Photoshop and standardised in design or things that you would work with Safari, and Apple software.

Nowadays you can log into your damn iPhone, these girls can make everything from polished pictures to video edits that do angles and tell them where they want to piece the next piece of footage together. It’s allowed them they get to be mini Steven Spielberg’s because the software tells them how to do it.

Can you tell us about being an editor for XCritic?

Don Juan DeMarko: When I was an editor for XCritic I enjoyed getting to do that job, that was the first time that I was given a company to help run with a wonderful guy called Cyber Five, Jim Thorne, the publisher, he gave us headway to do what we needed to do. I was very proud of Cyber, for building that company into something that we were known for the best porn star reviews, we were known for profiling the best performers in the industry and that gave us access to get to know the big companies.

Can you tell us about being a comitte member for the XRCO Awards

Don Juan DeMarko: Something I’m very proud to be part of the X Rated Critics Organisation is a group of us writers and critics, many of us who are right now in Los Angeles at the AVN House Party, where they’re getting to meet a lot of the new starlets and the big names of the big movies who are going to be coming to hangout for award season.

What XRCO does being a committee member with them we get to look at all of the films that are out there on the market, we get them submitted by publication people, production companies, marketing people, critics, the whole 9 yards and us committee members we sit down for about a month and a half time period. We look at all the people that we first of all want to nominate, that we feel are worthy to win the best actor, female performer of the year, and best new starlet. best new male performer. It is an awards organization that has been going for many years.

Can you tell us about being an AVN Awards voter?

Don Juan DeMarko: The same thing as XRCO, with AVN I have for a long time period been a part of their committee as well. Where just like XRCO, it’s the same thing except this is the real, real big one, not saying that XRCO, is something paled in comparison. But when the expo happens every year in January, from about September through to December there’s a large time period where we get to see who’s films are out there, what performer same thing with multiple categories. It’s just a lot more extensive.

So, the AVN Awards is moving back to the Virgin Hotel.

Don Juan DeMarko: This year (2024) when the had it out in the events building tent, it was cool to actually have everybody in the same vicinity. Now that they’re going to be in the Virgin (formerly Hard Rock Resort) I think it’s going to be the same thing again. You’re going to have more fans able to be in a more centralized location.

And I like those locations like Virgin because I thought Resorts World, was a little bit too family friendly, we’re an adult industry we need it to be adults. I think more adult fans are going come out in abundance at the Virgin and say I’m gonna dress like a submissive with my ass hanging out in leather pants, when you see more of that you see a more sucesful convention, and you see people having a lot more fun!

Can you tell us about DJD Media?

Don Juan DeMarko: What I am turning this into going into the future if you were to go to donjuandemarko.com right now a website that speaks about the things that I offer, my PR, and being a publicist those types of referrals, systems, analytics, strategies and with my portfolio of what I do and who I represent. But what DJD Media, is going to be eventually is we’re beginning the stages where it will be a production company.

I’ve been lucky to shoot a few of them with some great people in the industry now that this portion of my business is starting to become successful. Soon you are going to get to see feature films from DJD Media, you’re going to get to see me with my directing partner Gain Glass, we call ourselves the Tubbie Brothers. The reason we call ourselves the Tubbie Brothers, we are looking to become a Coen Brothers, version of film directors, within the industry.

What would you change about the adult industry?

Don Juan DeMarko: That’s a very good question, one thing I would change about it more so than anything is there should be more people willing to help one another. The thing that kills this industry so much is that whether it’s a performer, whether it’s a publicist, whether it’s a producer, whether it’s a director, the way the old style used to be good like I talked about the camaraderie.

Now we have a person who walks on set the minute they see another person they are threatened, let’s stab them in the back more so than that, they don’t teach anybody anything. Self-regulation has always been critical for this industry and what we never seem to do in today’s industry is teach a performer how to cross the landscape. We don’t teach a director how to deal with different types of personalities.