Interviewer: Timothy Snarr
Datum des Interviews: 11/21/2007
When the rumors began, I thought nothing of them. They were just rumors after all. Nevertheless, that particular afternoon, there began a rumbling of sorts around the office. Something big was happening. Shortly thereafter, a routine check of my inbox revealed a very conspicuous e-mail staring me in the face. It read:
Please do not flush paper towels down the toilet. In case some of you have forgotten, toilet paper goes in the toilet and paper towels are put in the trashcan. Thanks and enjoy your day.
False alarm - it was only a company memo. Some people apparently just don’t get it. Right below that, however, was another very conspicuous e-mail. This time, it was from a co-worker asking if I would be available to do an interview…with Tera Patrick! Now, I’m no expert on obvious things, but as rhetorical questions go, I would have to think that only “Can Burt Reynolds’ face be stretched any further?” and “How bad is the new Poco record?” rank higher. Needless to say, I agreed to do the interview.
For those that don’t know, Tera just happens to be the biggest megastar in the adult industry today. She has her own company, she’s a performer, she’s a DJ, she has appeared in big Hollywood films, and she has her own clothing line among other things. Now that’s big. You might even say it’s mega-big.
The catch, if you dare call it one, was that Tera only had free time the following day and would have to do the interview then, causing a little bit of consternation. The short turnaround would give me little time to read up on all her latest news and to formulate some interesting questions. I wondered if perhaps I was in over my head. After all, the last thing I wanted to do was to go into a major interview unprepared. Leading off with, “Hi, Terry. So, you’re a porn star, right? How do you feel about ‘mega’ as a prefix?” would certainly not gain any favor with someone like Tera.
All I could hope for was a little more time. I mean, nothing had been finalized officially and, in my experience, pinning down megastars, especially those as big as Tera Patrick, for specific interview times was about as simple as grabbing a sketch pad and trying to draw infinity. It’s damn near impossible. True to form, I heard nothing more about it by day’s end.
The next morning, I had anticipated some kind of indication, but still I had heard nothing. At that point, I pretty much resigned myself to working on other things. After lunch, however, it all changed on a dime. Without a moment’s notice, opportunity suddenly barged in to my office.
OPPORTUNITY: Hey, boss!
ME: Don’t you ever knock?
OPPORTUNITY: Um…I’m not sure how to respond to that.
ME: What’s up?
OPPORTUNITY: I have something urgent to tell you. Tera has agreed to do the interview at 4:30 this afternoon.
ME: But, it’s already 2:30! That doesn’t give me much time.
OPPORTUNITY: But, it’s Tera Patrick. She’s a superstar.
ME: Well, actually she’s more of a megastar…but either way I’m not prepared. I’ll look like an idiot!
OPPORTUNITY: No offense, boss, but you’ll look like more of an idiot if you let this chance slip away.
ME: Yeah, but…I don’t know. What am I going to ask her on such short notice?
OPPORTUNITY: She’s only the biggest star in the industry. You said so yourself. You’ll think of something.
ME: But what if I don’t?
OPPORTUNITY: Just do it! Look, if it weren’t so important, would I even be talking to you right now?
ME: Probably not.
OPPORTUNITY: Of course not! You can do what you like, but my advice is don’t pass up this chance. You may not get another one.
ME: I suppose you’re right.
OPPORTUNITY: Of course I’m right! I’ve got to go now…I’m needed at the American Idol auditions.
Opportunity was right; I may not get another chance. As 4:30 rolled around, I was fully armed and ready and I dialed the phone. “Hi. This is Tera,” said the voice at the other end of the line. I was off and running.
Tera was both warm and self-assured and she spoke to me as if we had been lifelong friends. As eloquent as she is beautiful, Tera rarely tripped on her words and every syllable she spoke came individually wrapped in self-confidence. From her new deal with AEBN, to her feelings about hosting the upcoming AVN Awards, to her numerous side projects, Tera politely engaged my every query. Despite her very busy schedule, not one time did she ever seem as if she was in a hurry to get to more pressing items on her agenda. Very quickly I understood why she had become such a sensation.
Some forty-five minutes later, we concluded the interview. I thought to myself how glad I was that I hadn’t let the opportunity slip by. Almost immediately, the next round of office rumors began to circulate. As I checked my inbox, a conspicuous e-mail revealed the following:
This is a reminder that there is no smoking in the building. When you are on a smoke break your entire body should be outside of the building. Do not stand inside the building and blow your smoke outside. Thank you.
False alarm – it was only another company memo. I guess some people apparently just don’t get it.
TS: Well, you and your company Teravision just signed a VOD deal with us here at AEBN recently and we are all very excited about it. Tell me about the inspiration behind Teravision and how that all came together.
TP: We had been looking for the proper VOD platform for a while and I think that, for me, one of my biggest goals, of course, as with any other company goal is to put my movies in as many households and in as many hands as possible. So, we felt that AEBN was one of the best choices and I think that, for me, I’m really proud of my work and really proud of my company and I think that ever since I started my own company back in 2003 I’ve been making the best product possible and I look the best and I’m doing the best productions possible, so I just want to put them out there.
TS: I remember reading a press release from back in April and you had just signed a VOD contract with one of our competitors, who shall remain nameless [laughs], and your husband Evan [Seinfeld] mentioned at the time that you didn’t want to sacrifice the integrity of your DVD movies for pay-per-minute type VODs. So, why the change of heart with respect to that?
TP: [laughs] Well, I think it’s just like I said. It’s putting more product out there, you know. It’s putting it out there and making me a household name and branding our brand and making people…of course, a lot of people already know who I am, but there was already content of me out there that wasn’t the best. I felt it was old content that I had shot in 1999 and 2000 and it just wasn’t content that I wanted out there to be number one. I wanted Teravision product to be number one.
TS: Now, from what I’ve read, you use the word ‘stylish’ when it comes to your movies. Style has obviously been a big part of your career from your modeling days on up. So, I wanted to ask you what that style is or how would you describe that stylistic aspect to your movies?
TP: I think that, you know, my movies per se are…I like to call it “sexy hardcore.” I believe that in this industry a lot of people…when I do mainstream interviews or when I just do interviews in general, a lot of people say, ‘Oh, it’s nice to see that your movies are so glamorous and that women aren’t being degraded.’ I think the stylized part comes in where I have a big part [in deciding] what the girls wear, how the make-up is done, how the sets are done, and all that type of stuff. What is important to me is that the girls aren’t degraded and that the girls not only look glamorous, but that the girls look glamorous while they’re being fucked really hard. I think that, you know, there are people out there who truly believe that porn is degrading and there are people out there who truly believe that girls are getting the short end of the stick and I don’t believe that. I think that, as a female company owner, I believe that I’m doing the best thing that I can possibly be doing. I’m in a career that I absolutely love. I feel empowered and I think that what I do is a beautiful thing. I think that I help a lot of people. I think that a lot of people benefit from my movies and I think a lot of people benefit from my company, not just from the movies, but from everything I do from the clothing line, to the website, to my personal appearances, to everything that I do. So, when I say ‘stylized’ I just basically mean that, all in all, Teravision is glamorous, sexy, and hardcore.
TS: I don’t really want to touch on the ‘whether or not porn is bad’ thing, because I know you can go on for hours about that.
TP: [laughs] If you think I can go on for hours, you should talk to Evan.
TS: [laughs] The reason I did want to ask, though, is because recently I have talked with [other stars from other studios], and they have done a lot of that hardcore sort of…I don’t know…people on the outside might call it very degrading stuff. But, when you talk to people like that, they will insist it’s not degrading.
TP: I worked with [some of those people] when they were nice [laughs]. I’m just kidding!
TS: [laughs] Well, they were quite nice when I spoke with them, actually.
TP: I’m just kidding. I meant, before they worked with [their respective studios].
TS: Their point of view is that no matter how rough it looks to an outsider, the girl is still ultimately in control. She can still call the shots. Listening to what you say and reading some of the things you’ve talked about in that regard, you tend to disagree?
TP: Well, it’s not that I disagree. I just feel that the porn industry is very huge. Porn includes everything from Playboy, and Penthouse, to…what’s that really hardcore company? JM [Productions]?
TS: Yes.
TP: So, porn includes that too. I think that ultimately a lot of women are in control, but I also think that women are forced to do things that they don’t necessarily want to do and I think that they do it for the money. I think that there are people out there that degrade the women and I think that they have a personal issue or a personal vendetta against women. Those are the people that I think shoot what I like to call “super hardcore porn.” If they want to believe that the girls are in control, well maybe the girls are in control because she’s taking the paycheck. But, I don’t think it’s something she necessarily wants to do. I think that there are girls in the industry that got into the industry maybe because they’re displaced or they just needed the money. I think the girls that are in control are the girls like me, and Sasha Grey, and Jenna Jameson, and Jill Kelly, who used to own her own production company. There are a lot of girls that may be consenting to what they’re doing, but I don’t think they are always in control. Like I said, there are many parts of the industry that I don’t agree with. I don’t like looking at that kind of porn and I don’t think it’s necessarily…how should I say…I don’t think it paints the industry in a good light. Those are the people that a lot of [other] people look at and say, ‘Oh, porn is bad’ because they only see that part of the industry. They don’t see what I’m trying to do. They don’t see what, you know, Vivid [Video] is trying to do, which is to glamorize the girls.
TS: Well, let me ask you this: you and [some other stars] like Sasha Grey have obviously been blessed with really, really good looks. A lot of people tend to think of porn as a throw away industry as far as women go and their level of self-respect. So, how have you been able to avoid some of those pitfalls that some of the other girls have found themselves in? Do you think there is a direct correlation between looks and the ability to avoid some of the trappings that other girls fall into?
TP: I don’t think so, because I look back on some of the things that I did before I became Teravision. I mean, I started in the industry in 1999 and I worked for some companies that, given the chance, if I could do it over again, I wouldn’t have worked for those companies. I say that not because they treated me bad, but I say that because they really violated my image. I didn’t realize that when I signed the model release they were allowed to put me on a box cover called Filthy Whore Tera Patrick. That’s not how I want to be portrayed and that’s not how I want to be known in the industry. You can Google my name and you can find some things I’ve been in and it’s not what I want people to see. I want people to see Teravision stuff, because my Teravision stuff paints me in a much better light. So, I think that I’ve been put in some of the pitfalls of the industry as well and I think that it can happen to any girl. I think that if I could do my career over again…I’m not saying I regret anything, but if I could do my career over again I would have avoided working for some companies, because I didn’t realize back then that I couldn’t control my image better.
TS: What if you hadn’t been offered some of the better roles and better opportunities that you were eventually given? Say your opportunities dried up completely. Do you think that’s why a lot of people would choose to pursue a path they ordinarily wouldn’t?
TP: Oh, absolutely. The thing about the industry is that you’re only hot for how long you’re hot for. I don’t think that’s just the porn industry, I think that’s any industry. There are a lot of mainstream movie stars [who] do a great movie and then the next movie they do is crap. It pulls in nothing at the box office and then no one calls them for a while. Well, I think that’s the same with the porn industry, except it’s different. Most girls come in and shoot 300 movies because the money is so great and then after that, directors are saying they don’t want to shoot you anymore. With me, I paced myself. I only did…I don’t recall how many movies I did before I signed with Digital Playground, but I only did about four or five movies when I was with Digital Playground and then I did…I think probably sixty or seventy movies, which isn’t a lot at all when I first started. But, I was also a commodity. I was a tall, exotic, half-Asian girl when all the Asian girls had left the industry. Asia Carrera, Kobe Tai…those girls had left the industry when I came in. Also, I was up against a bunch of blonde-haired, silicone, blue-eyed blondes. So, I looked different and I think the reason why people were shooting me and I think the reason I had some longevity was because of that.
TS: So, timing is everything and Andy Warhol was correct. I guess that’s what we can take from that answer.
TP: [laughs]
TS: Let me get back to the AEBN deal just a little bit. I know it was in the works for about a year to put it all together. How did that all come together? Who approached whom first?
TP: I think it was actually Evan. That’s more of a question for my husband. He put the deal together. He had been looking for a proper platform. I will say that I think that it was a mutual approaching between the two companies.
TS: Gotcha. Well, let me ask you about some of the products you offer through Teravision. One of the movies that intrigues me specifically, because I used to be in the music industry, is the film Broken, which Dave Navarro produced. Was the connection with Dave through you or through your husband first, and how did that come together for Dave to direct that movie?
TP: [as if biting into something scrumptious] Oh, yeah! Dave and Evan have been in the music industry combined for at least thirty years. Evan has been in the music industry a long time and so has Dave, so they have known each other in circles for a long, long time. We met Dave at Erotica L.A. and Dave expressed interest through us that he was interested in directing a movie and that he wanted to make it an artistic movie and add some music to it. I think that everybody looks at porn a little bit differently. Some people are foot fetish people. I particularly like big boobs. So, my dream…I’ve never directed a movie, but if I were to direct a movie, it would be kind of like a Russ Meyer-type themed movie, because he was obsessed with big boobs as well. I would kind of do like a Faster, Pussycat! Kill Kill! with hot porn chicks and big boobs. Everybody has an idea of how they want their movie to be. When Dave approached us, he had an idea of how he wanted his movie to be and we decided to let him run with it. We’ve always been open to having celebrity directors. In fact, we have another musician, who…I don’t know if I can give up his name yet…I’ll ask Evan. He’s going to do another movie with us next month.
TS: In a previous interview, you tossed out the clue ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ which narrows it down to about four people in my book [laughs].
TP: [laughs] Yeah! I think you already know. But, it’s exciting. It’s exciting to have celebrity directors on board. I’m really, really proud of the movie and I love Sasha [Grey]. I think she’s beautiful and I think that she’s definitely one of the biggest stars in adult today and she’s a great performer. The feeling was mutual. It also helps to be a fan of porn and Dave is a big fan of porn. Anything we can do to help mainstream porn…you know, like having somebody like Dave direct a movie for us and bring attention to porn…it’s great.
TS: I remember reading an article about him in…I think it was Rolling Stone years ago about some of the wild parties he throws, so I can only imagine he probably has a bit of background in that realm.
TP: [laughs] Yeah.
TS: One of the features in Broken was an option to watch the whole thing or to pick out sex-only scenes. You also did something interesting with your In-TERA-ctive movie by making it a kind of choose-your-own-adventure film. It’s something that a lot of people haven’t added to their DVDs. Basically, you’ve been very pro-active in adding interesting features for viewers. What was the inspiration behind doing all of that?
TP: I think it’s just giving them something different. I do a lot of appearances [and] I’m out there in the trenches. I DJ at parties and clubs, I do store signings, I do fashion shows at clubs, and I do trade shows all around the world. I’m out there and I talk to the fans a lot and I get a lot of feedback from the fans. So, it came from just the fans asking…just saying, ‘Oh, I don’t want to watch any of the dialogue. I just want to watch the sex’ or ‘Will you do another InTERActive movie, but make it a story?’ You know, it just comes from so many people asking me and I feel like that’s how I’m going to sell the most DVDs. To me, it doesn’t always matter about winning an award, it matters what the fans want, because that’s what is going to sell movies. I’d rather sell the most movies, than necessarily win all the awards.
TS: Well, let me ask you this: I just recently interviewed [another director at another company], who is kind of known for doing a lot of spoofs on old horror flicks. That’s his background. I asked him the question about why on earth would you spend the time…like with Dave’s movie he is doing the art house style of movie and…
TP: It’s so different for them.
TS: I guess my question is: why would somebody really…no offense…but, why with the pay-per-view thing at this point would somebody want to watch an entire feature as opposed to skipping right to the good stuff if you will?
TP: I think people…it’s kind of nostalgic. I think people want to take a DVD home and bring it to their wife. I think people want to share it. This is going to sound crazy, but I’ve met guys…I’ve met groups of guys who have come into a video store and bought one DVD. I’m like, ‘What are you buying one DVD for?’ They’re like, ‘We’re all going to share it.’ I’m like, ‘In a group?’ They’re like, ‘Well, we watch it and then we all pass it along to each other.’ I’m like, ‘Uh…okay.’ And Evan will joke on them. Evan will go, ‘That’s so gay.’ And they’ll all kind of laugh nervously. They’re like, ‘Huh huh huh.’ You know, there’s something to be said about getting an autographed DVD from your favorite porn star. There’s something to be said about going into an adult store and meeting your favorite porn star, getting the DVD signed, and then loaning it to your friend. I mean, I know you and I wouldn’t do that, but there are a lot of people out there that would do that just like there’s a lot of people who would want to do that in the privacy of their own home. One in three of my fans is female. There are a lot of women out there that want to buy a DVD and look at the beautiful artwork, look at the cover, get it signed, or take it home to their man. There are a lot of women who don’t like watching porn on their computer or, you know, in demand.
TS: I would agree completely. Having been on the music side of things, I like the artwork, I like the liner notes…I like all of that stuff.
TP: I like playing CDs. I know that sounds weird. I hardly ever use my iPod. I buy CDs and still play them on my CD player.
TS: [laughs] I do too. I have to have the liner notes, the information on the producers, the lyrics, and all that.
TP: Mmm-hmm. Me too.
TS: Well, let me ask you about that quickly. Touching on the subject of music and talking about Dave Navarro’s movie, I’m sure you know Radiohead just put out an album where they allowed fans to pay whatever they thought the album was worth. Do you see that creeping into your industry and your company down the road and how do you think something like that is going to change how people want to purchase Teravision stuff?
TP: I think that…do you mean, like, the different price points for DVDs?
TS: Exactly. I know one of the concerns Evan had about the VOD was destroying the price point of the DVDs.
TP: Right. It’s lowering it.
TS: So, now that the digital age has come about and it’s kind of an experimental thing, I was wondering if you had concerns that it was just going to shatter the entire industry like Radiohead’s album is poised to do?
TP: It’s going to happen. It’s going to happen in a few years. It may happen sooner, but I think that there are still consumers that want to pay a premium price for premium product, because they feel like they are getting something better. I think that it kind of has killed the music industry a little bit…well, maybe a lot. But, as long as companies are putting out comps that are cheaper and cheaper…you know, it hasn’t affected me, per se, because, like I said, we put out premium product. I think that as long as the industry stays “star driven”, which you know it does with a few people, like me and Jenna and I’m not sure who else…I think Vivid as well, people will still pay the premium price.
TS: Let me ask you about the quality thing. You’ve mentioned that a couple of times. I agree that what you’re trying to put together is of the utmost quality and I know you’ve been able to attract some big time directors, because of that: Axel Braun, did the China Blue movie, Ethan Kane, who actually worked under Michael Ninn…
TP: Yep…with Maya Hills in Decadence.
TS: Right…also James DiGiorgio who did some directing for The Sopranos. So, I wanted to know what was it exactly that piqued these guys’ interest to make them want to jump on board considering your company is…I mean, it’s still sort of a fledgling company. I wouldn’t say it’s fully established, so what was the attraction for those guys do you think?
TP: I think that we gave them so much creative control and we let them do what they want to do. We gave them everything that they needed to do it with. We gave them the best talent, we gave them the best location, we gave them the best equipment, we gave them the best of everything, and I think that they like me. They like what I’m about, and they like what our company is about, and they like what our mission is about.
TS: One last thing about Teravision specifically. I know you have the website Teravision.com which has four different…
TP: Trailers.
TS: Yeah. Four different parts to it. I wanted to know if you’d explain to everybody who hasn’t seen it yet what they can expect to find when they go there?
TP: Definitely the trailers. We were the first company that did a free trailer site, because it was important for us...the fans…trailers…that’s the best way for the fans to see what the movies are about and to see the broad range of different movies that we do. We have, like, you know, Axel is really into the squirting. Ethan does the real glamorous, pretty…what I call “vanilla pretty” type stuff. Jimmy D. just did American MILF, which was our comedy spoof and [there is also] a bio about our company.
TS: Now, as far as your awards, you’ve won so many that I’m not even going to try to list them here, but one of the things that struck me is that this year you won the 2007 E-line Award for Best Performer/Businesswoman of the Year. So, I wanted to ask you, considering all you’ve done on the performance side, was the businesswoman aspect to the award more rewarding at this point in your career?
TP: It definitely was. That was the one award that…I didn’t even know I was actually nominated for that one. We won that at the Venus Berlin in Germany. I didn’t even know I was up for that award. I thought it was just for American Starlet and the InTERActive, which was great because we worked so hard on the InTERActive. So, that was really rewarding. But, the businesswoman [award] definitely was, because a few years ago, when I started Teravision, a lot of people told me I wouldn’t make it. A lot of people told me that…some people told me, ‘Oh, you’ll never work in this town again’ and some people said, ‘You’re going to run a company? Yeah, right.’ So, with the help of my husband, who is here day-to-day and does a lot of the day-to-day operations…I mean, I do some of them too, but he’s here every day from morning to night making sure that Teravision’s wheels keep turning. I couldn’t have done it without Evan or Spyder. I think that even my whole crew: Max, Jen, Candice…everybody makes this company run and I’ve got so much support. It was really rewarding, because it just proves not only to myself, but to everybody else that you can be talented and you can be a woman and you can run a successful company.
TS: I guess anybody who said you were going to fail didn’t understand that you have a Microbiology background and…
TP: It’s actually Biology.
TS: Is it Biology? Oh, okay.
TP: [laughs] That’s one of the rumors on the internet.
TS: Gotcha.
TP: Along with the fact that I speak fluent Hungarian, which I don’t [laughs].
TS: [laughs] Yeah. I read that one too. I’m glad I didn’t ask about that.
TP: [laughs].
TS: Considering you’ve won all those awards - all of the important ones anyway - how difficult is it to stay motivated to keep on top? Is it harder when you’re on top than when you’re working your way to the top, or is it just something you take in stride?
TP: I think it’s easier to stay on top once you are on top, because a lot of people support you and you get ensnared in this net of support. You know, people come to you and people call me every day with great ideas and I can call anybody from Larry Flynt to Steve Hirsch. Everybody supports me and I get the most wonderful advice. I’ve been mentored by some really cool people in the industry, and I’ve been screwed over by some people in the industry. So, I’ve been able to keep my eyes open and, like I said, I have a great support team, and it’s easy to stay on top because they’ll look out for me and it’s just easier to run a company that way.
TS: I know you’re going to be hosting the 2008 AVN Awards on January 12.
TP: Yay!
TS: You have a little bit of a hosting background having done the Spike TV Guy’s Choice Awards. How different is it hosting an awards show like this that is specific to your industry versus something like a Spike TV awards show? What’s the big difference there?
TP: Well, I think that for AVN there’s going to be a lot of pressure, because it’s an honor to do it within the industry. Every girl, I think, wants to host the AVN show, just because it’s our biggest show and it’s the one day a year that we’re all validated for all the hard work that we put in and all the hard work that we do. A lot of people have said to me, ‘Oh, finally you’re hosting the show’ because I’ve been in the industry seven or eight years and I’ve never done it. I think a lot of people are just going to say, ‘Oh, what’s she going to do?’ and, you know, ‘How is she going to do it?’ and I think there’s going to be some pressure there. With Spike [TV] there was hardly any pressure, because I was one of only eight girls they chose to do the hosting. It wasn’t…in the mainstream industry, there are…I mean I’m known, but I think there was more pressure on some of the other girls than me.
TS: How do you prepare then for something like the AVN Awards? Do you have to sift through a bunch of joke books to find the perfect joke to tell and all that?
TP: [laughs] I think that they’re going to have a really good writer and I don’t know who my co-host is yet, but I’m looking forward to finding out. I don’t party at all during AVN. I go to bed early and I don’t really go to many of the parties. I only do my one party, Viva Las Vegas, which is on Thursday. On Saturday, I will only be signing half the day, because the other half of the day I will be getting ready for the show. So, it’s going to be a pretty easy show for me this year, although when my friends come to AVN they always say, ‘Wow! You’re like the Michael Jordan of porn.’ It’s kind of funny. They’re like, ‘Look how everybody bugs you.’ I’m like, ‘I know.’ But, that’s part of who it is and that’s part of who I am and what the show is all about. I never say no to an autograph or a picture.
TS: That’s probably part of why you have so many fans, I’m sure. Let me just ask you a couple things about some of the outside projects you’re doing and then I can let you go. You have tons and tons of things going on outside the adult world. I wanted to start by asking you about your appearance on the Rock Star Wives show that was on E! not too long ago. What was it like working with Dee Snider’s wife, and Slash’s wife, and Vince Neil’s wife and the others?
TP: Actually, Vince and Lia have the same anniversary as Evan and I. We found that out at the Vince Neil Poker Tournament the other night. We were like, ‘Wow! That’s so cool.’
TS: So, who was the coolest of the bunch on that show?
TP: You know, I…everybody. It’s hard to just pick one because everybody had something different to say. I mean I love Josh from Buckcherry. He’s so cool. Buckcherry. They’re like the coolest band ever. I love them. Evan played his first gig with The Spyderz with Buckcherry in Long Island at the Crazy Donkey. They were just the coolest. His wife is so beautiful. I had never met her, but she was so beautiful and she just blew me away with how beautiful and intelligent she was. Slash’s wife…she just made me laugh. She’s just so…she’s like, ‘Oh, this is my big ring…’ and this is this and this is that, you know. She’s like so in love with just being a rock star wife. Lia, I know that I have a lot in common with Lia, Vince Neil’s wife, because she and I approach our husbands in the same way. We went after our husbands, but we weren’t the typical…how should I say…we weren’t the typical…we let our husbands shine. You know, we’re not the typical nagging wife. We let our husbands shine. Girls will come up to the table and whip their boobs out and go, ‘Oh, sign my boob!’ and we’re just like, ‘Um…we’re having dinner.’ We handle things very similarly in a certain way. When Evan did [the show] Supergroup with Sebastian [Bach], Ted [Nugent], Scott [Ian], and Jason [Bonham], I found that all the wives and I bonded extremely well. Maria and I were kind of partying together and Pearl, who is Scott’s wife, and I were having breakfast everyday and Ted’s wife and I were talking philosophically everyday. So, it’s like being a rock star wife, you’re in this exclusive club.
TS: You’ve also done some DJ-ing at various clubs. I know you did a little gig at the TAOlloween party in Las Vegas and you also did a gig in Chicago at the Sound Bar on September 29. What is your style? What kind of music are you really into as far as what you play?
TP: You know I play a combination of…I start off with rock. I do a lot of Linkin Park, Ozzy [Osbourne], and Kid Rock. Then, I go into Rihanna, Jay-Z, I love Biggie Smalls, I’d say a lot of old school Hip-Hop. At the end, I do some Down South. It’s fun to DJ, because I love music. I’ve always loved music. This is a way for me to creatively express myself and party. When I say I don’t party, I don’t stay out too late and go crazy, but I love to just be in a club and play music with my friends. I’m doing a gig in Victorville at the end of the week. Victorville…I actually lived there for a while, so I’m going to see a lot of my friends and it’s just really cool. It’s just like the coolest gig ever and to get paid for it…it’s like the best thing ever.
TS: Yeah. I used to DJ at a retro club here in Charlotte. It was all old post-punk, punk, new wave, and that kind of thing.
TP: I do play some ‘80s too.
TS: Awesome.
TP: And ‘70s. I’ve been known to throw Steve Miller in there.
TS: [laughs] Always good. As far as expressing your style, you also have a clothing line: the Mistress Couture line, which is supposed to debut sometime over the holidays. So, I wanted to ask you about your vision for that and how much of your inspiration came from your days as a model at the Ford Modeling Agency?
TP: Well, my inspiration for the clothing line basically came from the fact that I love pin-ups. I love pin-up girls. I love all types of models. I’m inspired by everybody from Linda Evangelista and Cindy Crawford to Jane Russell, Marilyn Monroe and Betty Page. I look at fashion magazines all the time and I’m inspired by colors. I’m inspired by everything from going to the beach and looking at natural colors to ripping out pages of fashion magazines. My girlfriends and I were getting frustrated, because we would go to stores like La Perla and [other] lingerie stores and the lingerie wouldn’t fit our bodies. So, my girlfriends said, ‘You have to create a lingerie line that fits our bodies.’ So, I made lingerie that specifically fits girls with big boobs, small waists, and small hips. I have…my sizes are extra small to 3x. It covers all sizes of women. The company that I’m working with, which is a great company, is called Lucky 13. It’s a wonderful clothing company that does rock-a-billy, vintage, pin-up style type clothing. That’s kind of the style of my clothing that I’m leaning towards this season. It’s got a vintage-type feel to it. I have stockings and garters with everything and really cute bras and boy shorts with ruffles on them and skirts with ruffles. [There are] a lot of pink and black bows. Lime-green, white, black…It’s fun to be a designer and it’s fun to see it come to life. It’s even more fun to see girls, who are my fans, come up to me and say, ‘You inspire me’ and ‘I love your lingerie.’ It’s going to be available actually at Christmas time at most of the adult shops near you. It will be at the Hustle Hollywood, Penthouse Boutique, Adam & Eve Online, and, of course, my website.
TS: Mistresscouture.com, I believe, right?
TP: Yep.
TS: One last question. I wanted to ask you about the Will Ferrell flick Blades of Glory, in which you had a small part.
TP: Yay!
TS: Did you get to spend much time with Will when you were off set?
TP: What’s funny is Stormy [Daniels] and I did that together. When we got the phone call…we got this phone call and the guy was like, ‘Hey, we’re doing this movie Blades of Glory. We want you and Stormy to do a little cameo. You’re going to wear fur bikinis and take a picture with Will and it’s just going to be a small little clip in the movie.’ We were like, ‘Yeah. Oh, my God! We would love to do it.’ So, we were dressed in our fur bikinis and I’m holding on to Will’s leg and Stormy is on the other side holding on to Will’s arm and we’re just laughing, because…we don’t say anything; it’s completely quiet and he’s just making all these faces. There must have been like 300 people on the set. I haven’t done a lot of big Hollywood movies, but if you’ve ever been on a Hollywood set, there’s like a million people there. Everybody was just cracking up, because he was making all these faces and then they were like, ‘Will, grab Tera’s hair.’ So, he leans down and he’s like, ‘How hard do you want me to grab your hair?’ And I’m like, ‘Grab as hard as you want, baby!’ He was so professional and so funny and, you know, I’d have to say it was a great, great working experience. Even though I don’t want to be…my dream is not to be a big Hollywood actress, but I would love to do another movie just because it was so fun and everyone treated us so good.
TS: Well, let me ask you about the movie thing as far as promoting adult stuff in the mainstream. I know Stormy was also in The 40-Year-Old-Virgin, and Ron Jeremy has made several cameos in movies. How has that influenced the mainstream into becoming more accepting of the adult industry?
TP: Well, I think that the mainstream has always been fascinated by porn. It’s funny to me that, when I go out in public, I’ll be at a party…an A-list party or a red carpet event and there’s Todd Garner, who directed Pearl Harbor. He runs up to me and he’s like, ‘Can I have a picture with you?’ Or, I’ll be at a fashion show with Missy Elliott and Kanye West and Kanye West sends his photographer over and he’s like, ‘Can I have a picture with Tera?’ It’s funny. Everybody is a fan of porn. Porn…it crosses all boundaries. Everybody loves porn and I think that the more people…and by people I mean directors and producers that take chances on putting adult people in films, it only mainstreams the industry more.
TS: One last question and then I’ll let you go. I wanted to ask you what we can expect to see coming from Teravision in the near future?
TP: Well, we have a lot more movies coming out. We’re working, of course, with the directors that I mentioned earlier and we’re shooting two to three movies a month for Teravision. I’ve got the clothing line and I’m just busy doing a lot of appearances. We’ve opened up Teravision Europe, which is our distribution in Europe so we’re putting out two to three movies a month in Europe, including one Tera Patrick movie quarterly. We’re just excited. We’re shooting a lot, and there’s just so much Tera Patrick to see out there in the future. So, of course my website, terapatrick.com that’s launching in two weeks…we’re excited about that. Yay! And Mistress Couture.
TS: That’s great. I hope you have all the success that you deserve. I know you’ve worked hard for it. So, is it Tommy Lee or Vince Neil…off the record, of course [laughs]?
TP: [laughs] You’ll have to wait and see.
TS: I thought I would try and get you at a weak moment, but I guess it didn’t work.
TP: [laughs].
TS: Listen, Tera. I really appreciate your taking time to do this. I know it was kind of short notice and I look forward to seeing a lot of the new stuff coming out in the near future.
TP: Yay! Thank you.
TS: Best of luck with everything.
TP: Cool.
TS: Thanks so much.
TP: You’re welcome. I’ll talk to you soon.
TS: Okay. Bye-bye.
TP: Bye-bye.