Auditions 1

Girlfriends Films/Skow Digital

Genre: Vignettes, Dramatized Interviews

Director: B. Skow

Cast: Carter Cruise, Michael Vegas, Vyxen Steel, Ramon Nomar, Ariana Grand, Karlo Karrera, Lola Foxx, Toni Ribas

Length: 173:54 minutes

Date of Production: 12/19/2014

Extras: The best extra according to feedback would be the bonus scene from Beautiful New Faces 2 lasting 51:24 minutes and starring Daisy Haze with Michael Vegas. Watching it again reminded me that when Skow first started the new series, branching it off from his work at Vivid, the only major change was how aggressive he was in the opening interviews, verbally pushing the ladies around to test their resolve. As that is the basis for this new production of dramatized interviews, it seemed worthy of mentioning (especially because I think it is an interesting premise, not because I think directors should bully cast members). There were also trailers and a 35:04 minute long Behind the Scenes interview with the cast, opening up with Michael Vegas interestingly enough and continuing through with the rest of the men. While I prefer seeing such footage used on the ladies, mixing it up like this is not a bad idea if done in moderation (and each of the men had something to say).

Condoms: None

Audio/Video Quality: Auditions 1 was presented in anamorphic widescreen as directed by B. Skow for Girlfriends Films. Skow operated the primary camera with Mike Towers handling the second, Hashiell Dammett again the editor on the production that would routinely post large messages across the screen that showed how major cuts in the action chopped footage for lengthy periods of time rather than edit them without saying anything to make them look jumpy or choppy (as I have described before in Skow’s flicks). The lack of pretense that the scenes were captured in a long, nearly continuous single take with minor edits for faulty camera work or on set mishaps was refreshing, some camera movement still observed but the framing well done. Rather than go with great lighting or a crystal clear picture for a gonzo shoot, there was a huge effort to make sure there were a lot of shadows bouncing about and a lower resolution look indicative of what a real audition might be like too, playing into the stated premise on a technical level rather than just via the acting by the performers and the director via a voice over too. And while there were some observed instances of compression artifacts on my big screen television, there was no continuous company watermark on the screen for those who care. Aurally speaking, there was some minor clips of music during the credits but otherwise, the 2.0 Dolby Digital English presentation typically allowing the director behind the camera to be clearly heard while the cast was not as fortunate, their vocals mixed at too low a level except when the ladies were screaming during sex.

Body of Review: B. Skow is one of my favorite directors these days, his "wildly unpredictable" movies at Girlfriends Films having garnered him extensive press. His latest winner is called Auditions 1 , a movie that expands on the method Skow uses in his Beautiful New Faces series to get something more out of his female performers, adding a layer of edge in the scripted interviews that allow them to improvise like no place else. With a cast starring ladies such as Best New Starlet/Best Actress Carter Cruise, smoking hot Lola Foxx, inked princess Vyxen Steel or newcomer cutie Ariana Grand, there was a lot of potential going into this one. The back cover and press release described the movie like this: “A girl enters a house and she is led to a waiting room. Her instructions for the shoot are posted on a wall. She is then led to the audition room and agrees to do anything that is asked of her. Not one to rest on previous successes – including his biggest year to date in 2014 – director B. Skow is jumping out of the gate with what is sure to be the first smash of 2015 with Auditions. With a Jan. 2 release date, the movie starring Lola Foxx, Vyxen Steel, Ariana Grand and Carter Cruise in convincing casting couch scenarios will certainly create a storm. Toying with themes such as power and vulnerability and one of the movie industry’s most famous dynamics, Skow taps into various emotions while also offering some intense and straightforward hardcore scenes. “I really liked the idea of exploring the dynamic of a girl going out for a role and being asked to do something more,” Skow said. “How will she react? She could tell the director to fuck off or she could be ready and willing to do anything to get the part. There are a lot of possibilities and I had a cast that really allowed me to take a look at some different situations and also get some amazing scenes.”” Here’s a brief look at the scenes by cast and action, noting that no condoms were used for those still interested:

Scene One: Carter Cruise, the latest Best Actress & Best New Starlet in the industry, was up first and wisely adorning the front cover. The camera zoomed in to catch a good look at her beautiful eyes before she was physically showcased in the barren room, her delicious ass, hairy pussy, and all natural tits on display as she followed the orders provided her to get the role, her vocals on the low side and Skow being deliberately a slightly exaggerated version of himself (nothing as outrageous as what former director Khan Tusion would do), before she was slobbing the knob of flaccid Michael Vegas. Her eye contact and oral efforts reaped some reward in how quickly he became turgid, the gal ordered to toss his salad which she did very enthusiastically. Michael pawed her as she continued to obey Skow’s explicit orders, the two ending up on a generic bed where Michael fingered her and gobbled her gash in the better lighting. His full service oral on her led to some varied active vaginal riding positions, more oral by both of them given as she nuzzled his nuts and applied some hand to gland friction, Carter sitting on his face to get some love while she gave it too. The couple got increasingly covered in a sheen of sweat as they fucked, her pussy draining his dragon of semen which led to the ending facial plastered on her face.

Scene Two: Vyxen Steel, a heavily tattooed blond with a curvy body, was up next as she was interviewed and directed by Skow to “make up with him” in her sweetest French, her vocals (like the others in the show) low enough to remind me to buy Skow a boom mike for his birthday this year. She did a fine job complying with his demands for her to stream dirty talk too as she showed off her assets, her juicy ass admittedly fetching but she also gave a solid performance as she followed his lead in what I believe was an improvised verbal banter with Skow, her solo efforts followed by Ramon Nomar munching her bald beaver, the director interrupting them to test her “squirting” abilities. This led to a titty fuck and nut nuzzling session as Skow squawked from behind the camera in hilarious fashion, the couple then ending up on the generic bedroom set with upgraded lighting and bland accessories. He slapped her rump as she bounced vaginally on his cock, straddling his face for a 69 before more devoted oral including some taint tickling of the guy. They continued with Ramon doing the bulk of the work, sporting a lot of sweat as a result, before his balls were milked dry of sperm all over her face and chest during her ending blowjob.

Scene Three: Ariana Grand, a cute 19 year old from Minnesota with the shapely ass and pretty eyes, was up next being directed against some wood paneled walls reminiscent of my mother’s decorating style in the 1960’s. He tested her resolve for the imaginary role as he did the others, having her bounce around the room topless and masturbate; her improv skills worth looking into for those directing features. I was most at home when she was bent over to show off her yummy heart shaped ass, the director having her grab it and mark it up before muscular Karlo Karrera walked in with an erection in her face. She gave him a passionate hummer under the guise of being hypnotized, the dynamic continued as they took the show to a generic living room set to fuck vaginally on a black leather couch. He roughed her up as was called for and she was excessively loud (again, as demanded by the director) but it was a fun tryst all the same, the whispers between them not always clear enough to make out (she was so loud and he whispered so softly) but the couple both enjoying the action with more oral between the penetrative positions, She was not as active as I prefer but worked nicely within the drawn parameters of the show’s premise. The ending nut of manly fluids graced her hand and face as she vigorously beat his meat hard, licking him clean as he reclined on the couch all tapped out.

Scene Four: Lola Foxx, a sexy little newcomer with a pretty face and perky hard body, was up last in a boring room of a house as she was instructed to do a variety of things by the director while she was clad only in her pink panties. Her nipples became erect as she played with them and she gave up the dirty talk, some solo work provided before Toni Ribas joined her. I know that some refer to Toni as “Manuel-lite” or other terms that are sort of flattering but fall short of hard core praise but he is a marked upgrade from many the director has employed as meat puppets no matter who you talk to (other than said meat puppets of course). Lola was ordered to suck his toes and she did so without hesitation, the toe to pussy play perhaps best suited for a micro-niche genre specialty flick but not handled poorly given Lola’s acting abilities. Toni really admitted her ass and the couple kissed like a couple of teenagers in lust, retiring to the bed where she impaled herself on his cock after some face sitting to allow him to ready her for the act. They vaginally fucked well and she was vocal about her appreciation, Toni slapping and teasing her ass as she yelled out excitedly, the man getting her off as he towered over her dripping sweat, her ending hummer and handjob eliciting his seed as she smiled at her accomplishment.

Bonus Scene: Beautiful New Faces 2: Daisy Haze, a lean brunette girl next door type with large areolas, was up next in a tight red dress as well as a trashy white tank top and striped shorts, her alias in the industry known as “Daisy Summers”. While most of her 19 scenes (released as of this writing) have been for second to fourth tier companies, she has always seemed to have a great deal of potential, the interview and tease session leading to her working with Michael Vegas. She had a bald beaver and Star Wars fans will recognize her from the rebel symbol tattoo she has on her abdomen, her ass juicy enough to devour though on the small side. The sex began after she showered, Michael pressuring her in the bathroom a bit before some kissing and caressing led them to the bed where a large wand vibrator came in handy. The vibrator excited her and she blew him more after he went down on her and started fucking her shaven cookie. She kept solid eye contact and rode him actively once she was on top, a brief 69 and more plowing leading to him jerking off all over her tits and face.

The manner in which large gaps of footage were explained throughout

Summary: Auditions 1 by director B. Skow for Girlfriends Films was a production that took his snarky, accusatory interviews of ladies from his Beautiful New Faces series and took them to the next level, the ladies showing a great deal of acting ability in the four scenes (as though they were emotionally attached to what was asked of them). The fictionalized reenactments added a distinctive flavor of power and control which could easily have fallen flat had the resulting gonzo scenes not worked as well as they had, the sometimes over the top manner in which the ladies were interrogated was subtle enough yet invasive enough to sell the show really well. Given the strength of the portrayals and the sex by ladies like this year’s Best New Starlet and Best Actress Carter Cruise, smoking hot Lola Foxx, alt-cutie Vyxen Steel, and perky newcomer Ariana Grand, Skow has hit a home run to earn a rating of Highly Recommended by finally playing to his strengths rather than catering to his past resentments, the male cast assisting in making the trysts top notch too. In short, Auditions 1 might not be as easy to categorize when award nomination time comes out next fall but I am sure that this opening salvo will be remembered less for random attempts at generating controversy than for the genuine heat of the scenes and the entertainment value of the “auditions” beforehand, the extras worth mentioning too with a full length bonus scene and lengthy interviews with the men leading the list so give this one a prolonged look to see just why it was a winner with lots of replay value and strokability.