When Steve Orenstein set out to create an adult film company in the early ‘90s, he wanted to do something a little different: produce movies that were intended for couples and female viewers, movies with storylines that people could enjoy with or without the pornographic content. With the help of his family, friends, and some very talented creative designers, Orenstein was able to take his young film studio, Wicked Pictures, and turn it into one of the most successful, well-regarded adult production companies in the world.
One of Orenstein’s keydecisions was the creation and branding of the “Wicked Girl.” Following in the footsteps of Vivid Entertainment, Orenstein began planning to hire exclusive contract girls, working with Chasey Lain extensively before selecting Jenna Jameson as the first Wicked Girl, a deal that secured both Wicked Pictures’ and Jameson’s futures in the adult industry. For her work with Wicked in 1995, Jameson received AVN’s Best New Starlet, AVN’s Best Actress (Video), AVN’s Best Couples Sex Scene (Film), and XRCO’s Starlet of the Year awards, an unprecedented and never duplicated achievement.
With Jameson’s success, Wicked Pictures continued to expand, adding stars like jessica drake, Stormy Daniels, and Julia Ann to the Wicked Girls line-up and bringing “porn king” Brad Armstrong on board as a producer. This stellar team has seen Wicked Pictures’ fortunes soar ever higher, their movies garnering more attention—and awards. In 2012, Wicked received a total of 101 AVN Awards nominations and continues, almost 20 years after its founding, to produce high-quality, award-winning movies.
You can read more about Steve Orenstein, Wicked Pictures, and jessica drake in the book The Unsexpected Story.
