What was the most memorable job you ever worked to get that ever-important career experience?
After taking on a production assistant job with Porno Dan's Immoral Productions, Brandon McIntosh of Ayr, Ont. has an easy answer to that question.
Responding to an ad on Craigslist, the film school graduate quickly found himself the subject of The Right Hand, a comedy/reality show airing latenight on TMN/Movie Central that follows his eye-opening experience as a porno production assistant.
I spoke with Brandon last week to find out how he got the gig, what transferable skills he gained, and what he told his Grandma about this new career development.
How did you get involved with The Right Hand?
Well, Porno Dan was looking for a new assistant. I was scouring the Craigslist looking for anything that looked like P.A. jobs, and I just came across that [posting], and thought why not, let’s give it a try. Eventually they actually accepted me, and I guess something about me they liked. They brought me in for a second interview, and told me I had the job.
So graduating film school, did you have certain projects in mind you thought you’d want to get into?
I knew I definitely needed a source of money when I left college, but I had been working with the same group of friends for a while, doing comedy. So basically that was our plan – to go with a comedy career, whether it’s pitching our own shows or writing sketches. So basically I was just doing P.A. gigs to pay the bills.
Did you have any specific expectations going into this experience with Porno Dan?
I had never really been involved in that world at all. Of course I love porn, everybody loves porn. But I didn’t have much information about it, so going in pretty fresh was quite the experience. It’s just a world I never thought I’d get experience in, and I thought why not, this is the only chance I’m ever going to get. I really had no clue, I didn’t know how crazy Porno Dan was going to be, I didn’t know anything about his girls, I didn’t know about his studio or how he works, it was all very new to me when I showed up.
What can you tell me about Porno Dan, and your reaction to working with him?
It’s hard to describe him. You either love Dan or you hate Dan, and it took a while for me, but I’m in the ‘love Dan’ category. You can’t hate him. He’s definitely an asshole, he can be in your face, he’s very intense, very energetic, he can be soft-hearted, he can be caring when he needs to be. But when I first met him he was all over the place, and I was a bit nervous, I really wasn’t sure what he was going to make me do.
What did you do as a P.A.? In what ways did it draw on your film background, and in what ways did it not?
It was definitely different from a P.A. position on a commercial or music video. What I learned from film school was essentially camera work, which eventually they threw me on once they trusted me with the camera. I had no problem with that. But other than that, I had to pick up girls, I had to basically work the chat rooms, which is quite entertaining. Dan basically shoots two hours of live footage and two hours that he would cut up into a DVD, and it was two hours of whatever happens happens. And he would sit me down and make me talk to the people watching [online], which I had such a hard time not to crack jokes. I definitely had to clean up after all of this, which was one of the worst parts. But it wasn’t that bad, I had rubber gloves.
No matter what job or what situation I’m in, I always keep going. There were definitely moments where I had really had enough, because Dan could really ride me. So even on a day when I think I’m doing everything fine, he’d just grind me hard and I’d just keep my mouth shut, and most of the time I wouldn’t say anything back to him.
How did your friends and family respond to your new gig?
They were shocked but they weren’t surprised. They knew I’m kind of adventures and you never really know what I’ll do next. Taking this job was definitely a shocker, but my friends were really jealous of it. And my parents, it took a while to explain to them what it really was. I had to explain the comedy aspect and what I’m doing, that I’m not going to be on camera with these girls, which I definitely had to explain to a few aunts and uncles and even my grandmother. But they’re pretty understanding now.
Did you pick up any new skills you’ll take with you on your next job?
It’s definitely two different worlds, I don’t really know what I can take from shooting the porn world and take it over to the independent film world. Maybe if I’m looking for an extremely attractive woman I can just grab a porn star from that industry, but that’s all I can really think of. It’s very different worlds.
Can you tell me a little bit about the process of shooting this whole process for the reality show?
I wasn’t sure what to expect, because I don’t really watch reality shows. This one, they had plans for us during the day, scenarios and places we had to go, but they just let us go be ourselves and it turned out really funny. Like they wouldn’t give us lines, they’d just basically follow Dan around with everything he had to do.
What can viewers expect from the show?
There’s a lot of shows out there about porn, but this one is going to be one of the more truthful ones, and definitely a lot funnier than any of the ones out there. We don’t hide anything. Most of the girls we talk to and the guys we talk to are definitely complete characters. Comingling and shooting them in their natural environment, they may not think it’s funny but going back and watching it unfold on camera is absolutely hilarious. It’s a trainwreck in the middle of a circus.
Are you still working with Dan?
I think you have to watch the show to figure that one out. It definitely lets you know if I’m staying around or not. I’m in Toronto, I’m still doing production assistant jobs and commercials and stuff, still writing comedy with my friends.
Basically I saw the show as a foot in the door, I want to do comedy in my life and this reality show is definitely a really funny show. And if that gets going, it could start a career for anything I want to do comedy wise.