Interview date: 02/03/2009
Run date: 02/09/2009
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If you saw “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” this past summer, then you almost certainly remember the performance by a cute-as-a-button actress named Katie Morgan. If you thought, “Gee, she sure wasn’t afraid to drop trou and get nekkid on camera at the drop of a hat,” well, that’s because this wasn’t exactly her first time in this position…and, boy, is that pun intended. Prior to working with Kevin Smith, Ms. Morgan’s cinematic experience was limited to, shall we say, more adult features. She has also, however, carved out a nice gig with HBO as a regular correspondent, though her work for the network involves precious little in the way of wardrobe. Bullz-Eye had a chance to speak with Katie Morgan on the occasion of “Zack and Miri” making it to DVD, and although she described the experience as “quick and easy,” we’re pretty sure she meant it as a compliment.
Katie Morgan: (Cheerily) Hel-lo!
Bullz-Eye: Hey, Katie, it’s Will Harris with Bullz-Eye.
KM: Hi, there!
BE: I’m impressed that you answered the phone on the first ring. You must actually be running on schedule with your interviews!
KM: I am…as are you!
BE: Well, I’ll do my best to keep you on that schedule.
KM: Aw, thanks! Well, actually, I believe you’re my last one for today, so no worries. It’s been a day already!
BE: I’m glad to help wrap it up for you. Well, I just finished watching some of the special feature on the “Zack and Miri” DVD…
KM: Yay!
BE: …and I’ve gotta tell you, you’re just too darned cute in that movie.
KM: Oh, thank you! (Giggles)
BE: I have to wonder, though, if it’s harder to film a real porn scene or a fake porn scene in a real Hollywood movie.
KM: Honestly, I would have to say that it’s harder to shoot the fake scene, because it’s more exhausting, and there’s not nearly so much payoff. (Laughs)
BE: So how did your role in “Zack and Miri” come about? I know they detail it a bit in the documentary that’s on the DVD, but not everyone has seen that.
KM: Well, they were doing auditions, and they had decided that they wanted an, uh, adult industry person… (Laughs) …so they E-mailed my website and said, “Hey, we’re doing auditions, do you want to come on down?” So I said, “Hell, yeah!” And I did, and here I am!
BE: Do you know if anyone else from the, uh, adult industry was in the running?
KM: You know, I know that they said that they auditioned a number of people, but I don’t know who. Nobody specified names to me, and none of my friends have ever disclosed if they ever auditioned.
BE: So when they approached you about it, were you surprised? Had you ever been approached for any other Hollywood movies in the past?
KM: I had not been, and I was shocked and blown away on account of the fact that I was already quite a Kevin Smith fan. I mean, “Dogma,” “Clerks,” and all that, they’re some of my favorite movies.
BE: When you did the initial audition for the film, was it intimidating, since you’d never done a Hollywood film before?
KM: I wasn’t intimidated for that reason. But I was definitely a bit starstruck when I walked into a room with both Kevin and Seth Rogen sitting there. It was a little weird. But after, like, five minutes, I was okay.
BE: Did they establish that they were fans of your work?
KM: No, they did make it clear that they knew who I was, but nobody declared whether they liked it or not. (Laughs)
BE: Did anyone during the course of the film say, “I’ve seen your films”?
KM: Oh, yes. Well, not so much the films as my work on the HBO stuff. The ladies like it. Who knew?
BE: Well, porn is very educational.
KM: (Laughs) It is! And it’s something where you need somebody who knows it to tell you about it!
BE: What was the transition like into mainstream moviemaking, as it were?
KM: I guess it was just bigger and better, which has always kind of been kind of my motto, anyway, so…
BE: There’s a joke there, I realize.
KM: (Giggles) Yeah.
BE: So if you were familiar with Kevin’s movies, then I guess it goes without saying that you were already familiar with Jason Mewes.
KM: Oh, of course…though not nearly so familiar as I got. (Laughs)
BE: Indeed. How was it working with him, though? I’ve always gotten the impression that he was kind of a no-holds-barred kind of guy, anyway, as far as his sense of humor goes.
KM: Oh, he is. And he’s hysterical in person. He’s just like you think he is.
BE: And how was he to work with as an actor?
KM: He was fantastic. If anything, he was a little bit nervous, but…I fixed it. (Laughs)
BE: I’d have to guess that having the coffee beans poured over you would’ve been a little uncomfortable.
KM: The beans hurt. They kept breaking underneath me, and did you know that, when a coffee bean breaks, it gets sharp?
BE: I hadn’t really thought about it.
KM: Well, it does. And I learned that the very, very hard way. Not that hard. Everything healed by the next day or two. But I had some coffee bean welts, ‘cause they kinda crack open like little grenades and explode into your back.
BE: So how much improvising were you allowed to bring to the film? Certainly, Seth Rogen has some history with it, but did Kevin give you a chance to speak freely?
KM: Oh, sure, yeah. Here and there, we would all just start talking and throw things in, so that was kind of awesome. I don’t know if I played as well as the big boys, but I’m working on it!
BE: Where do you see yourself going from this point? Do you anticipate trying to do other Hollywood films? Are you actively pursuing them?
KM: I do! That’s the plan. We actually just wrapped on “Shoot the Hero,” which was shot out in Palm Springs, and that was a fun one. We’re all still out here, though, basking in the knowledge of being done. But I don’t have anything else I can speak of that’s actually on my plate. There are things that are being discussed, but nothing that I’ve signed onto. And, of course, there’ll be more HBO. Always look for more HBO!
BE: I was actually going to say that, when I updated my Facebook status earlier today to indicate that I was going to be talking to you, the first response was not, “Oh, from ‘Zack and Miri,’” but, “Oh, from HBO!’”
KM: Of course, of course. Well, I’ve been doing that quite a bit longer, and I have a pretty good following on there…and a faithful one!
BE: How did you find your way onto the network? Was it just a case where you’d been working in the industry and they approached you as a result of that?
KM: No, what happened was that they were shooting “Pornucopia” back in…I think they were shooting it in ’02, and they were doing interviews at my agent’s office. Not even interviews. They were following a movie that was being shot and the auditions for it, and that’s how I met them. I auditioned for “Space Nuts,” I met everyone over at HBO, and then I guess they liked me and wanted more, ‘cause they kept coming back. So now I do half-hour specials and documentaries for them…but completely naked.
BE: Of course.
KM: Of course.
BE: That’s funny that you bring up “Space Nuts,” because I was going to mention that it’s one of the highest ranked of your films on IMDb’s Movie Meter.
KM: Yes, I would expect that. It was quite a hit, and it’s quite a classic.
BE: One that comes close to its ranking, however, is “Sex Trek: Where No Man Has Cum B4.”
KM: Yes, another classic. Any good old-fashioned spoof is a good one.
BE: I was going to ask, actually, if porn producers just sit around giggling as they come up with the parody titles.
KM: Oh, yes. And patting themselves on the back about how awesome they are. (Laughs)
BE: Do you have any particular favorites from the spoof genre?
KM: Oh, sure. “Get Luckier” was a great one. That was, of course, “Get Smart,” but with sex. And…what else? “Dude, Where’s My Dildo” was a classic.
BE: I was absolutely going to call that one out as being my personal favorite title.
KM: Yep! And I’m sure there are more. Oh, “Whore of the Rings,” that was fabulous. (Laughs) Can’t forget that!
BE: So what were the production values like on that one? Because, you know, you’ve got to live up to the work of Peter Jackson.
KM: Uh, yeah, no, I’m afraid not. (Laughs) I ran back and forth across that one stretch of forest that we made in the warehouse a lot of times.
BE: I guess I should’ve asked this before we got onto this subject, but how did you get into the porn industry in the first place?
KM: Well, I was watching a porn, because I was, uh, out on bail and not working and, basically, watching a lot of porn. And it just occurred to me, “Why don’t I do that? They’re getting paid, and that looks like fun.” So I did!
BE: Easy enough.
KM: Yep! I called up an agent, and I got right in!
BE: Were you ever self-conscious about it, or did you literally just dive headlong into it?
KM: Oh, yes, head first. And I never looked back!
BE: And how old were you when you first started?
KM: 21 years old. Well, technically, I was 20, but only by, like, 30 days. (Laughs)
BE: Is it true that you chose your last name because of Captain Morgan’s Rum?
KM: Yep. And my first name because it’s Scarlett O’Hara’s first name in “Gone with the Wind.”
BE: I noticed a second ago that you said you were “out on bail” when you got the idea to get into the industry. There’s a reference to that story in your Wikipedia entry, but…
KM: Yeah, actually, they got that one right. (Laughs) I did get busted with about 100 pounds of weed while trying to cross the border from Mexico back into the U.S. Oops.
BE: D’oh.
KM: Yeah, they didn’t like that. (Laughs) They were kind of mad.
BE: Do you have a favorite amongst the multi-chaptered sagas you’ve done?
KM: Ha, ha. (Laughs) Um, of the porn, definitely my favorite is “God’s Will,” because I got to play God, and that was kind of awesome. And I also got to play the Devil, which was even dirtier. (Laughs)
BE: So are you someone who doesn’t often say, “No, sorry, I won’t do that”? Or are there some things you just won’t do?
KM: Oh, lord, there’s lots of things I never did. Like, I never did do the butt. And I had rules of no more than two at a time, on account of things that I do and don’t do. (Laughs) Ya can’t leave people standing around bored! So, yeah, all sorts of stuff. I was actually quite picky!
BE: Wikipedia has you at 229 adult films at present. Do you know if that’s accurate?
KM: Probably not. It’s probably a lot closer to 300. Somewhere like that. It’s hard to keep track. And it’s hard to tell, too, because a lot of times they’ll comp stuff out. But, also, IMDb is never completely correct with a lot of the little stuff, because it just falls by the wayside.
BE: I can imagine. So do you find it weird that porn has become semi-mainstream? I mean, obviously, it’s not mainstream mainstream, but it’s a topic of conversation more often than it used to be, and you’ve got folks like Ron Jeremy or Jenna Jameson becoming cult figures.
KM: Well, I think it’s the natural progression of things, really, as Hollywood gets more hardcore and porn is able to get more softcore, with all of the feature stuff they’re doing and the hybriding they’re doing on cable. It was really only a matter of time.
BE: I understand that you won the 2005 X-Rated Critics Organization Award for Unsung Siren Award.
KM: Mm-hmm. It’s one of my favorite awards, because it says, “We really like you, but we like other people a lot, too. Sorry.” (Giggles)
BE: So I know you’ve got a website. Is it financially lucrative for you?
KM: Oh, lord, no. Not at all. I never went that route.
BE: Oh, really?
KM: No, my site’s just a fan site, with a little bio and an E-mail where they can reach me, and a mailing address that, uh, doesn’t really work. (Laughs) It’s supposed to, but…we’re working on it.
BE: Was the more interactive kind of website not an avenue that you ever really considered? Because I’ve always gotten the impression that there is money to be made there.
KM: Not really. I’ve always sort of had this thing about not doing what everybody else does. So that just felt, like, everybody’s always going, “Let’s shoot content, let’s shoot content,” and I just don’t really want the hassle. I already have a job, you know? I figured that enough people were already selling my ass, so I didn’t need to join in the group. (Laughs)
BE: You’ve done a bit of radio work, correct?
KM: Well, not too much. I hosted on KSEX and had my own…well, not my own, but I co-hosted “The Wanker Show” with Wankus for about four years.
BE: Did you enjoy it?
KM: Oh, yes. Radio’s awesome. I’d absolutely love to do radio again at some point.
BE: And I read that you went on Howard Stern’s show and did really well in a general-knowledge trivia quiz.
KM: That’s actually a bit of an urban legend…so there you go with Wikipedia being wrong! (Laughs) I have never been on Howard Stern. They may have covered something from the HBO show, though. I did something on KSEX Radio that ended up on the HBO documentary, “Pornucopia,” so I don’t know if Howard ever featured it, but I have never spoken to that man in real life.
BE: (Laughs) But would you do his show, if he asked?
KM: Um…maybe? I’ve said “no” more than a few times, so I’ve not done it yet, and I don’t want to say, “No, not ever,” but so far, I’ve not heard an offer I’ve liked. There was something about going on a date with a midget one time, but I was, like, “Um, no, you guys have fun with that.”
BE: Nice try.
KM: Yeah. Exactly.
BE: You were, however, on “Entourage.”
KM: I was. And that was awesome.
BE: I have yet to talk to anyone who guested on the show that didn’t have a blast.
KM: It was so much fun! And everybody was so nice. We had a blast!
BE: Were you a fan of the show prior to appearing on it?
KM: Oh, sure! Who’s not? Besides, it’s HBO. Gotta keep it in the family! (Laughs)
BE: So you’re part of the Kevin Smith…well, not the Askew-niverse, per se, but…
KM: (In the adamant tone of someone who knows their Smith-ology) No, “Zack and Miri” does not occur within the Askew-niverse.
BE: No, but you’re still now within the world of Kevin Smith. So are you ready to attend a Vulgarthon?
KM: Oh, lord, yes. And anything they’ll have me for. I’d do anything that man asked me to. (Laughs)
BE: And last question: what’s your favorite amongst the deleted scenes in which you were featured that didn’t make it into the cut?
KM: The one where we talk about pocket dogs. Although I do like the one with Seth in the back room, with the changing. (Laughs) ‘Cause I didn’t have my outfit on yet!
BE: Well, I think that’s it. It’s been a pleasure talking to you.
KM: Oh, fantastic! Well, that was quick and easy! Have a great day!
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