Mason

XBIZ's revealing 2016 new profile of Mason described the popular director as "enigmatic" in its headline, and the description fits. She's the talent behind the trendsetting HardX brand, not to mention some of Elegant Angel's most famous movies, but she remains an elusive person. By her own admission, she keeps a low profile, seldom gives interviews, and is rarely photographed (no pic accompanied XBIZ's 2016 profile). Nevertheless, her body of work speaks for itself, as do the impressive sales figures of the movies that make it up.

"[Porn] has helped me work through all of that sexual baggage chicks seem to have such a difficult time with," Mason noted to XBIZ, "and it constantly reinforces the fact that I made the right choice to be true to myself. You have these giving women, who share their authentic sex with us every day, and that is above and beyond what I ever expected I would gain from porn. It's been a beautiful journey and I am forever grateful."

Though Mason is known for movies with a hard edge in terms of content - her signature line is called HardX, after all - she does not go to pure hardcore by default. "I don't necessarily feel a need to capture explicit pornography," Mason said. "I just enjoy watching people surrender to their desires/pleasures. I enjoy watching people let go. That's a bit difficult to do in a softcore format."

Her movies are also famous for their elegant and refined look, dating back to her days at Elegant Angel, where efforts like Asa Akira Is Insatiable became award favorites. Indeed, Mason tellingly said in a 2002 Adult DVD Talk interview that the beautifully photographed 1999 hit American Beauty was one of her favorite movies (the other was Boogie Nights). Nevertheless, her focus and drive is capturing intense, intimate sexual connections on camera, something that led to her move away from the romance-focused EroticaX brand. "When female sex gets boxed into having to be 'classy' or 'ladylike' that's where I check out," she said. "Reinforcing such antiquated notions is not what I signed up for. I understand sexuality is personal, and some women enjoy this type of sex, but, when it's mandated it is nauseating. I was showing up for a paycheck and I hate that feeling, especially in this business. The luxury I have is being able to turn projects down, and Erotica X was one I was able to hand off to James Avalon." (Interestingly, Mason envisioned the glamorous direction porn was headed as far back as 2002, when she noted, "A lot of productions seem to be more focused on how pretty the girls are, how nice the locations are, while neglecting the intensity of the sex. Sex should always be paramount in any porn production.") Her final effort for EroticaX was Erotic Encounters in fall of 2015.