Shauna: Every Man’s Fantasy (1985): Behind The Scenes with Roberta Findlay

Shauna: Every Man’s Fantasy (1985) ranks as one of the most grotesquely exploitative movies from the golden age of adult films.

Directed by Roberta Findlay, it is purportedly a documentary that interviews some of the XXX business’ biggest stars – Paul Thomas, Rachel Ashley, Amber Lynn, Karen Summers, Henri Pachard, Sharon Kane, and others – about the then-recent death of starlet, Shauna Grant.

In reality, it is a naked and cynical cash-in on the tragedy, replete with scenes of hard-core sex paired with musings about the shortcomings of the sex film industry,

The Rialto Report recently uncovered previously unpublished stills from the set of the film, and today we present a selection of them (note – none of the pictures are of Shauna Grant as the footage for this film was all shot after her passing).

In addition, I recently had dinner with Roberta, and raised the subject in what proved to be a brief and provocative conversation about this notorious film.

In short, what was she thinking of?

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Tell me about the film ‘Shauna: Every Man’s Fantasy’.

Walter (Sear – Roberta’s production partner) and I had already made a couple of movies with Shauna Grant. She was a California actress who had then shot herself. Supposedly. No one was sure how she’d really died. But she was dead, that was certain.

Her death had been in the news a lot so I decided to make a film about her. I thought she was a good subject.

By which you mean it would be an easy sell?

Yes, she was the biggest star at the time.

Shauna Grant

And it was successful?

It was the easiest money I ever made. We’d re-used footage from films like New York City Woman (1977) – which was largely just outtakes with John Holmes – and Beach House (1980).

We just used scenes that we had left over from other films, and I edited it together with a voiceover.

That’s not strictly true though. Yes, the film consists of a few previously-shot scenes with Shauna Grant, but mostly it is new sex scenes and staged interviews with actors who are supposedly reminiscing about Shauna.

Well, that is true. I wasn’t interested in making it into a coherent story, so at first I told everyone I was making a serious documentary. And yes, we shot interview scenes asking people about their memories of Shauna.

The interviewer was Joyce James, who was the editor of the magazine Cinema Blue at the time?

Yes. Her real name was Cynthia, and she was married to guy named John Fasano who was the Assistant Director for us on Blood Sisters (1987). In fact, we used their little boy in the opening scene of ‘Blood Sisters.’

I didn’t need an AD for that film, and I certainly didn’t need someone like John who was ineffectual and had no relevant experience, but Walter said we needed their kid to appear in our film so I had to put up with John. I should have done it all myself.

How did Joyce James’ role as the interviewer come about?

It was complete dishonesty. I hoodwinked her into taking part in ‘Shauna’, pretending she was taking part in a real, serious documentary. I really committed to my story, and so she believed this preposterous notion – which was dumb because all we were trying to do was make a cheap cash-in film out of negative outtakes which we would string together!

I needed a narrative that would connect these unrelated scenes – and that device was Cynthia talking. I figured she was just a female working in the adult industry who could offer an opinion.

What was your experience like working with her?

She was terrible! She couldn’t act, and she could barely read the script off cue cards that I wrote out for her.

Joyce James, in the set of ‘Shauna’

What happened when she found out the truth about the nature of the film?

I think she was unhappy (laughs). We didn’t care. It was all cheap footage, all we had to do was set up the scenes with Cynthia and the other actors.

In fact, we used the same equipment that we’d stolen years before from Dave Darby, with whom we’d made some films, so the whole thing cost us almost nothing.

You mentioned that people couldn’t agree about how Shauna Grant died?

Walter always disbelieved the suicide story: he said, “No pretty girl is going to shoot herself in the head with a shotgun.” He thought that story was made up, and that she was killed by a drug dealer.

Did he have any evidence for that theory?

Well, she was a big drug user. We had first-hand experience of that.

How so?

We’d been in California a year or so before, and needed to shoot publicity stills with Shauna for two of our films that she was in. We hired a still photographer and a location – and then waited eight hours for her to turn up. She was somewhere in a drug haze. We waited and waited. The house was hot, and we were withering in the heat. Walter got so thirsty that he asked a couple of assistants, “Do you have a Coke?” Next thing you know, everyone was opening little vials of white powder.

That was L.A. back then. Cocaine everywhere. We were so naïve.

The script is credited to John Fasano.

John didn’t write the film! He had nothing to do with it. Any writing that was done was done by myself. John was always trying to claim credit for scripts.

After ‘Shauna’, John went on to make films like Zombie Nightmare (1987) with Jack Bravman. Then he tried to be a screenwriter in Hollywood and claimed to have been involved with some big movies. Who knows? He died years ago.

Do you remember any of the actors who featured in the scenes you shot for the film?

No, I really don’t. I just shot the scenes and left with the footage. I didn’t make small talk. I had no interest in them.

Ron Sullivan/Henri Pachard shows up in the film playing himself at one point.

Ron was never far away from any of our film projects. You couldn’t get rid of him. That was probably the same time that I was schtupping him.

I thought you were with Walter?!

Oh yes, him too.

Henri Pachard on the set of ‘Shauna’, with Paul Thomas and Sharon Kane

‘Shauna’ is very cynical, more exploitative than most other adult films I can think of.

How can you say that?!

You’re kidding me, right? The film switches from remembering Shauna… to being titillating with breakneck speed… For example, some of the interviews that memorialize Shauna take place with performers… while they’re actually having sex!

No, we wouldn’t have done that (laughs).

And other interviews start off asking about Shauna, and then swiftly switch to questions like, “So what’s your favorite sex position?”

It’s not that bad (laughs)!

It is! Karen Summers answers questions about Shauna, and how Shauna may have been abused by the business… while she’s giving a blow job! My favorite moment is when PT makes an impassioned speech about the treatment of performers, commenting, “This is something we need to look at” and then there is an instant cut to an explicit penetration shot! The editing of the sexual activity is designed to undermine the supposedly heartfelt words! Who did the editing?

That would have been me (laughs)!

How do you plead?

Guilty, I guess (laughs).

The closing scene with George Payne as a mentally damaged patient where Rachel Ashley is a therapist who pretends to be his mother to fix his issues is another highlight!

Well, George Payne was a freak!

George Payne and Rachel Ashley

Perhaps the most egregious scene is when Rachel Ashley’s therapy character diagnoses Shauna’s problem as having been ‘repressed’ – meaning “she never took an entire penis, just the tip, and never let herself go fully.” Who wrote this?!

That was definitely me (laughs). What can I say, it was easy and it made money (laughs).

Then PT earnestly says, “She was a normal girl, but the problem is… the camera magnifies everything…” Unbelievable.

Great writing (laughs).

No regrets, then?

Why would I? Shauna was already dead, and it was a good idea.

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Behind The Scenes of ‘Shauna: Every Man’s Fantasy (1985):

Scene 1: Joyce James with Karen Summer, Michelle Maren, Francois

Michelle Maren with John Fasano

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Scene 2: Sharon Kane, Paul Thomas with Henri Pachard and Michelle Maren

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Scene 3: Amber Lynn, Chelsea Blake

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Scene 4: Gina Carrera, Michael Knight

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Scene 5: Amber Lynn, Karen Summer, Jay Serling with Joyce James and Michelle Maren

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Scene 6: Gina Carrera, Michael Knight, Paul Thomas

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Scene 9: Rachel Ashley, George Payne

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Roberta Findlay in post-production:

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