Dan O'Connell Sells Girlfriends Films to Moose

VALENCIA, Calif. – Girlfriends Films founder Dan O’Connell said Wednesday he has sold his company to Moose, his vice president and right-hand man who took ownership of the most prolific lesbian studio in adult entertainment effective today.

Moose will now be president of Girlfriends Films, while O’Connell will remain on board as a producer/director.

“I am retaining ownership of Groundwork Visions, the company which actually produces all the movies I’ve been doing for Girlfriends Films,” O’Connell said. “I have an exclusive arrangement to continue to shoot movies for Girlfriends Films and only Girlfriends Films.”

O’Connell said that their contract director B. Skow, who ushered the company into the boy/girl hardcore era with his brand of movies starting in 2012, will also continue to shoot exclusively for Girlfriends Films.

“As such, nothing has really changed on the production side, except that I hope to up my movie-making game now that I won’t be spending most of my time on management matters,” O’Connell continued.

Girlfriends Films’ movie release schedule will remain largely the same as it’s been for the past few years, he noted.

“We will put out the same number of movies, made by the same directors, under the same series, and so on,” said O’Connell, who received the 2012 XBIZ Man of the Year Award.

“With the shows and everything else going on, I’ll be working full-time for Girlfriends Films in January. Past that, I’m sure I’ll be helping Moose in the areas of post-production, our growing distribution of other brands, and keeping our cable channel fed with quality content.

“Running Girlfriends Films is a very complex operation that includes movie production and post-production, sales and marketing, internet sites, our new GFF cable channel, and everything else that happens in our 37,000 square foot building here in Valencia. I’m very fortunate to have someone of Moose’s caliber to take over the operation.

"For the past several years Moose has been doing most everything except for making the movies. He’s kept me informed of what he’s doing but he’s been the person running Girlfriends Films. Moose and I have a very close relationship and I’m sure that will continue.”

Moose, who received the XBIZ Executive Leadership Award in February 2011, is a former firefighter and EMT who originally joined the company as director of domestic sales in 2007. By 2010, Moose had quietly transitioned into the role of vice president of the company and now has been running the day-to-day operations for more than three years.

Girlfriends Films enters 2014 with the deepest library of lesbian-themed product in the industry. The company recently released the 100th volume of its signature series “Women Seeking Women,” which is also the most awarded lesbian series in porn history. The company received 48 nominations for the 2014 XBIZ Awards on Jan. 24 in Century City, Calif.

In a Fall 2010 interview, the Southern California native Moose said, “I love my job and what I get to do every day. I care about this company as if it were my own.”  

Moose got his nickname from his volleyball playing days because of his ability to jump above the net and block shots. “A great friend of mine nicknamed me Moose because he said that’s what I looked like jumping up at the net with my hands up to block,” he said. “Then the Fire Department continued to use it and when I started with Girlfriends Films it worked for marketing because no one forgets the Moose.”

Before entering the adult business, Moose also worked for five years on the reality show “Monster Garage” while also running his own EMT company that provided medical support at different events. In addition, he helped a friend start his hot rod shop, BS Industries, which has been featured on three TV shows and won 2009 SEMA Best of Show.