When Giarrusso sold his interest in Red Light to company cofounder and brother David Joseph in 2003, part of the terms of the agreement was a non compete clause for the following two years.
Not one to waste any time, Giarrusso is launching Combat Zone almost exactly two years to the day since he left Red Light.
“One thing about me is I’m good at what I know and I understand gonzo,” Giarrusso told XBiz. “I’ve been doing it since 1997.”
Giarrusso admitted the gonzo market has become saturated, which is why he’s looking to spend his time carving out a new niche. Specifically, Giarrusso hopes to focus on new talent within his upcoming gonzo productions, vowing never to use the same girl twice.
“I’m in a financial position where I don’t have to put out a ton of product,” Giarrusso said. “Instead, I will put my movies out when they are ready. If I can’t find new girls and fresh faces, then I’m not going to put the movies out. If it takes me three months to put out one movie, so be it.”
Giarrusso said he’d already inked deals with a printer and was heavily involved in the new package design for his upcoming line, something he feels is exceedingly important in today’s market.
But this is not the same Giarrusso from Red Light days past. Instead, Giarrusso said he has returned both humbled and more educated, with solid plans to offer the highest-quality gonzo content on the market and a business model that ensures his vision isn’t compromised.
“My plans in the past were to change the industry by letting directors own their own product,” Giarrusso said. “But helping these people bit me in the ass. It made all of them rich and I ended up with nothing. So I’m going to do it differently. I’m going to own the product and nobody is going to tell me how to do things.”
Giarrusso said he hopes to finish his first film under the Combat Zone brand in the next couple of months. He’s inviting interested parties to drop by the Red Light booth at the Adult Entertainment Expo this week, where he’ll be on hand with his brother, to discuss the new company.
