LOS ANGELES — Today, multi XBIZ Award-winning adult film director Axel Braun took to crowdfunding site Indiegogo.com to finance his newest and most ambitious venture yet — "The Empire Strikes Back XXX: An Axel Braun Parody" — the sequel to the highest-selling adult movie of all time, "Star Wars XXX."
“I’m trying to do something that has never been done,” Braun said. “I want to make the most amazing porn parody ever, completely funded by fans and sponsors, and then I’m going to give it away for free. There will be no DVDs; it will only be available online, and it will be free for everyone. Forever. No hidden gimmicks; no need to give out your email address; no membership; absolutely nothing but click and watch. Full HD, and fully legal. It’s my way to fight Internet piracy while giving back to the fans, and it’s a bit of a social experiment.”
Braun specifically set the campaign as Fixed Funding, which means Indiegogo will hold all funds raised, and if the goal is not met by the campaign deadline, all contributions will be automatically refunded. “It’s all or nothing,” Braun explained. “We either reach our goal or I will never shoot the movie. I want to see if there are enough fans around the world who want this movie to happen as much as I do, and I just don’t want to see pirates profit from it.”
To watch the Indiegogo campaign video, donate or learn more about the crowdfunding campaign, click here. To share the campaign video from YouTube, click here.
The crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo intends to raise $500,000 by April 22. The funding goal is equal to the budget of the movie’s predecessor, the multi XBIZ Award-winning "Star Wars XXX." The amount raised for the new movie would cover the cost of production, marketing, Indiegogo fees and crowdfunding perks, which include premiere party tickets, signed scripts, costumes and props from the movie, visits to the set and much more.
"The Empire Strikes Back XXX: An Axel Braun Parody" will feature returning cast members Allie Haze (Princess Leia), Lexington Steele (Darth Vader), Seth Gamble (Luke Skywalker) and new additions to the cast including Riley Steele, Carter Cruise, Aiden Ashley, Casey Calvert and Asa Akira, on special loan from Wicked Pictures. Other cast members will be added as the fundraising campaign progresses.
Along with most of the crew from "Star Wars XXX," Braun’s longtime collaborator, XBIZ Award-winning director Eli Cross, will be returning as a producer and director of photography. Pre-production and set construction for the movie is set to begin on April 26. Filming will start on June 1 and continue for 28 days in California, Nevada and Alaska. "The Empire Strikes Back XXX: An Axel Braun Parody" will then release worldwide for free on September 30, 2016.
“There was simply no way to do justice to the movie without real snow, and Alaska offers the perfect landscape for bringing Hoth to life — so we’ll pack up and go freeze our butts over there for a week in the middle of June,” Braun stated. “The good news is that a visit to our Alaska set is one of the many perks that we’re offering in the campaign, which means two lucky fans may get to share that awesomely hypothermic experience with us!”
XBIZ spoke with Braun about his visionary goals for the upcoming sequel.
XBIZ: Your original "Star Wars XXX” parody set the bar very high, winning 6 XBIZ Awards in 2013. Tell us how you plan on surpassing it in terms of storytelling, special effects and sex scenes.
AXEL BRAUN: If we succeed in crowdfunding the project, it will mean that there are enough fans who want to see this movie made, and it will be our mission to exceed their expectations. We have a phenomenal script, a killer cast and a huge group of very talented people, and we all have one goal in mind: to make this the most awesome porn parody ever. It’s gonna be bigger, bolder and better than the first, not only because it’s based on the best movie of the Star Wars saga, but also because we have been working on the script and the details for almost two years, while "Star Wars XXX" was put together in less than two months. We are excited, we are committed and we are ready.
XBIZ: “The Empire Strikes Back” is considered by many to be the best Star Wars film of all time, with iconic locales ranging from Hoth to Cloud City, and of course the infamous “I am your father” plot twist. Are there any particular scenes you are most excited about subverting with your signature XXX parody flair?
BRAUN: There are so many hysterical moments that I wouldn’t even know where to start, and I also wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise, but I can tell you that shooting the battle of Hoth in Alaska is something I am very much looking forward to, despite the sub-zero temperature.
XBIZ: Given the hilarious “interracial” Chewbacca sex scene in "Star Wars XXX," can we expect to see cross-species older/younger action with Yoda? Perhaps some good old-fashioned human-on-human interracial sex with Lando Calrissian?
BRAUN: Chewy will definitely get lucky again! And Lando will play a... very interesting role. I think fans are definitely gonna enjoy my version of Cloud City.
XBIZ: You’ve set an ambitious fundraising goal for your Star Wars XXX sequel. Will you be using that money for extra CGI or will you take more of a J.J. Abrams "Episode VIII" approach by focusing on realistic sets and props?
BRAUN: The crowdfunding campaign is definitely ambitious for an adult movie, but let’s keep in mind that the budget is the same as the one we had for "Star Wars XXX." Plenty of CGI, but also a lot of practical sets. And costumes, tons of costumes… it’s gonna be epic!
