Webdreams

In Episode 1 of this ten-part dramatic documentary soap opera, you are shuttled into the excitement via five storylines: you meet the webcam girls at 2Much.net, ambitious porn star Katrina, gay icon Dave Angelo, impresario Dugmor, and his protégé, the stunning Malezia. The action begins at Montreal’s 2Much.net, the brainchild of computer programmer Mark Prince. Prince is now a rich man, thanks to software he invented that allows for live streaming action on the net, the perfect vehicle for his “webcam girls,” who perform live erotic shows on-line, like hi-tech peep shows. At the 2Much.net HQ, office manager Cheli is interviewing a prospective webcam girl, Laurelle. Laurelle has a fresh-faced look that on-line customers might like. But being new to the city and having no experience in porn, she must be put to the test to see if she has what it takes to ignite the on-line fantasies of the 2Much.net customers. Across town, Katrina — a Russian beauty, who at 21, is already a pro in the local porn scene — joins the set of Porn Star Academie. It’s an online reality program in which inexperienced wannabes take a shot at the big time. Katrina has signed on as the show’s mistress of ceremonies, and she tests out competitors intimately. PSA is about to go global, and with her boyfriend Dimitri by her side, Katrina wants to use the show as a launch pad into international stardom. Global recognition is something Dave Angelo already has. He is an exclusive actor and model with Colt, one of the world’s leading gay porn studios. Colt has sent Dave to New York to promote their latest collaboration, but Dave has his own promotional intentions for the trip. With his wife, Manon (Dave can play gay, but at home he is straight), he’s set up a website, daveangeloconnection.com, and wants to get the word out. With their finances and relationship on the line, they begin their quest to make daveangeloconnection.com a success. Dugmor has been there and done that. One of the most notorious players in the global web porn community, this former electrician got into the web porn game early. He has created dozens of thriving sites, catering to every sexual taste. Dugmor has a knack for spotting new talent, and high hopes for his latest discovery. Malezia first approached Dugmor when she was underage. Now, the suburban would-be starlet is finally of legal age, and Dugmor is launching her career with a website. They begin creating the scenes for malezia.com —but they are running out of time. Malezia.com needs to be finished for the Cybernet Expo. Burning the midnight oil to get there, Dugmor knows Malezia might be porn’s next big thing.

We catch up with gay icon Dave Angelo and his wife, Manon, fresh from a heated fight about the content of Dave’s website. The couple have kissed and made up, and now they search for the best location to film the site’s first hard-core scenes. They know of a truck stop restroom off the highway where “gay action” is supposed to go down, but when they check out the location they find it’s not as sexy as they had hoped. Our intrepid web amateurs decide to head to nature instead, shooting steamy scenes in the mosquito-ridden woods off the highway. Back at home, they view their footage and find that shooting web content is not as easy as it seems. Back in the city, new girl Laurelle has landed a job as a webcam hostess at 2Much.net. We meet two new Webdreams characters at 2Much — Deja and Leila, the company’s most in-demand hostesses. They agree to show Laurelle the ropes. Leila tells Laurelle about her own habit of “becoming friends” with on-line clients, something that’s become a problem since 2Much owner Mark Prince met with the morality police squad -- hostesses meeting clients in person could qualify as prostitution. For Leila, it’s a matter of self-respect, though. She says she feels “like a hooker” if she ends her relationships with her clients “the second they stop paying.” Everything comes to a head when Leila agrees to meet with a client who has flown in especially to see her. For Leila and her employers, it’s an explosive case of differing attitudes, and it may mean the end of Leila’s work at 2Much.net. Meanwhile, the Cybernet Expo has begun, and Dugmor is missing his latest find. It’s supposed to be her debut — the launch of malezia.com — but she is AWOL. Dugmor has wrangled some prime appearances for Malezia, and her lateness is costing him. When she finally shows up, Dugmor shuttles her straight into the action. The viewer is taken along for the ride into glamorous Cybernet parties, including the bash for malezia.com, an event crawling with talent scouts from Hollywood. Is there any way these agents can ignore this natural starlet? Katrina feels she is more than ready. We meet her again as she continues her exhaustive search to find likely candidates for the reality show she is hosting, Porn Star Academie. The private auditions last week were a bust, so this week she takes her search public — to annual Salon Erotica sex expo. Katrina’s sex-drenched auditions happen in front of an audience of hundreds. It is an odd time for Katrina’s long-time boyfriend, Dimitri, to invite Katrina’s mother to see her daughter “at work.” Katrina’s mom still thinks Katrina is a fashion model. She is shocked to watch her daughter onstage, engaging in sex acts. When the show is over, Dimitri and Katrina go back to Katrina’s family home to hash it out with her parents. They have a lot to talk about.

In the third installment of Webdreams, chat hostess Leila returns to work at 2Much.net, but not before dropping a bomb on studio manager Cheli. Not only has Leila been dating chatters, causing real problems at 2Much.net, but now she’s calling one of her customers her “boyfriend.” Cheli decides to let it slide, but when Leila returns to the chat room, other issues arise. In love with Stephan, her new American boyfriend, she finds performing sexually for other on-line customers nearly impossible. She says she feels unfaithful doing it and walks off camera twice. Soon, Leila has to choose between Stephan and her career as a webcam girl. Her decision seems made when she climbs aboard a bus to Philadelphia to move in with the man she loves, the former customer she met over a blinking screen of streaming images. Meanwhile, Malezia and Dugmor have landed in L.A. They are there for Malezia’s first professional porn film shoot with industry behemoth Vivid. After a routine trip to the AIDS testing clinic, they head to the exclusive film set, a luxurious California mansion with a vibe Dugmor dubs “lifestyles of the porn and famous.” Malezia gets right down to business, but starring in a high-end porn movie for the first time, she struggles with her lines and finds things are not as easy as she had hoped. The next day, she returns to the set determined to prove she has what it takes to be a Vivid girl. At the end of the shoot, the director tells her she’s a natural; in fact, she might be “too good.” For Malezia, the big time has arrived. Back in Montreal, Dave Angelo and his wife, Manon, have taken to the streets to promote the imminent launch of Dave’s first live webcam show on daveangeloconnection.com. First they make a splash at Montreal’s Gay Pride parade, and then they have the idea of doing a slightly unconventional live sex show at the Black & Blue, a massive gay rave. They are going to indulge in a “bisexual threesome” in a tub of molten chocolate. But will this kind of sticky business really create hype for the site’s webcam premiere? When Dave logs on for the first time, he finds the site devoid of any customers. Sitting in front of the camera in his underwear, he wonders where his promo campaign went wrong.

The episode opens with Dugmor and Malezia continuing their exciting odyssey in Los Angeles, but Malezia is having trouble keeping up with the tight schedule set by her new employers, the porn production house Vivid, and her chronic lateness is posing a problem. We follow her as she rushes to an important L.A. trade show, where she is shown off as the hottest new porn star in America, and then to a visit with Doc Johnson, the famed creator of sex toys. At Doc Johnson’s, Malezia gets her private parts cast in latex, a process that will lead to the creation of a vinyl sex toy made in her likeness. It’s a bittersweet time for Malezia and Dugmor. The dynamic duo has come a long way together, but they must now part ways. Malezia needs to return to Montreal, and Dugmor, a nomad at heart, will be hitting the road in his van, searching for more starlets whose careers he can lucratively launch — his continuing quest for “the next Malezia.” Far from the bright lights of L.A., Dave Angelo and Manon are at it again, undeterred by their recent failure to attract customers to daveangeloconnection.com. They feel what the site needs now is more original content, and Dave has the idea of enlisting some of his friends from the porn and strip club circuit to engage in a bit of play fighting — an erotic, ultimate wrestling “fight club” that Manon will film for the website. It’s all sexy fun and games until somebody gets hurt. The fight club is only part of Dave and Manon’s master plan, though. They have also purchased a Montreal triplex, which they plan to combine into their home, the shoot site for daveangeloconnection.com, and a kind of erotic hotel, with fantasy playrooms for rent. But with their website bringing in no income and the renovation bills racking up, the couple fears they may be facing financial disaster. Dave tells Manon not to worry; as a gay porn star, he knows some sure ways to make fast cash. On the other side of the city, we are reintroduced to webcam girl Laurelle, who is new to Montreal, having relocated with her boyfriend, Dallas, from Western Canada only two months prior. Laurelle is a porn neophyte, and the pressures of her job as a webcam hostess at 2Much.net are taking a toll on the young couple’s relationship. Laurelle is moving out of their shared apartment, and when, in a bid for reconciliation, Dallas tries to visit Laurelle at work, 2Much.net owner Mark Prince tells him he is not welcome at the company offices anymore. An explosive altercation ensues, and Laurelle, already fragile from her failing relationship, is on the verge of breakdown. Meanwhile, things are looking up for Russian beauty Katrina. First, she catches the eye of porn legend Ron Jeremy, who is in Montreal on a promotional tour. Katrina and Jeremy talk business, and things heat up when business turns to pleasure as Jeremy “samples” the young porn actress’s “talents.” At home, more news awaits Katrina. As a sort of hobby, she had been writing a novel, a tale of a Russian porn star in Paris, and it has found its way to an editor in France. After a promising call from a literary agent in Paris, she is packing her bags for a new chapter in her career.

After an incredible run with Malezia in Los Angeles, Dugmor has to turn his focus to other business. He heads off to Miami to attend Internext, one of the most important adult web conferences in the world. He hooks up with fellow webmasters Uncle D and Jay Scott. Dugmor and the boys busy themselves clicking pictures and networking. There’s the bikini contest and a convention centre full of nubile women, all more than happy to be photographed. Dugmor has hired a local Miami girl to help him pass out flyers and work the trade show floor. When he meets Karen for the first time, he instantly falls for her. Although she’s very conservative and has never been exposed to porn, the two hit it off. There’s a hint that the wild Dugmor might be ready to commit. With the home renovations and website costs running wild, Dave is in desperate need of $30,000 to keep things moving forward. He says goodbye to his wife and heads to New York City, where he knows he can make some fast cash. His first stop is the famed Gaiety Theatre, a strip club in downtown Manhattan. Dancing never pays well, but it’s a great place for Dave to meet up with a long-time friend and client, John. Back at the hotel, we witness how Dave really makes his money. With the stunning call from her contact in France, Katrina jumps at the chance to have her novel published and flies to Paris. Jean-Luc has set up many meetings for her there, including a high-end photo shoot with Christophe Morte, one of France’s best. He’s also set her up with Parisian porn mogul Fred Copula, who’s keen to hire her for a porn flick he’s shooting that week, but Katrina hasn’t brought her most recent HIV test results and sees a golden opportunity slip away.

The next stop on Dugmor’s “porn tour” is Lake Havesu, Arizona. Together with Jay Scott and Uncle D, they pack Dugmor’s van and hit the road. Dugmor still has Karen on his mind and is finding it impossible to get in touch with her. On the lake, the boys rent a boat and jump into action. There are hundreds of people there, all ready for decadent play. It’s sensory overkill for the boys, and particularly disturbing to Uncle D. While Dugmor questions whether or not Karen is intentionally ignoring his telephone messages, Uncle D has had enough of the debauchery and sneaks away in the middle of the night. Malezia returns from Los Angeles to the suburbs of Montreal, and her first stop is her Mom’s place. She pulls up to their farm in a stretch limo, still glowing from her experience with Vivid. With Dugmor on the road, Malezia is going to have to work with his associate, MGH. At the best of times she has a testy relationship with MGH, but it all comes to a head when she misses a scheduled promotional appearance at a rock concert he’s arranged. With Dugmor on the road, Malezia is on her own. Laurelle is settling into her job as a webcam girl at 2Much; she appears very comfortable in front of the camera. Her relationship with Dallas is slightly more complicated: although they’ve moved into separate apartments, they still occasionally see each other. Dallas, once very much supportive of her decision to work as a webcam girl, is now not so crazy about it. He feels the job is taking over her life, and he criticizes her for taking work home and spending all her free time emailing her clients. When Laurelle invites Dallas to a 2Much.net costume party and catches him in a bathroom stall with another girl, it’s more than she can take. She may love him, but now she knows she can never be with him.

With Dugmor still on the road and MGH refusing to work with her, Malezia is in Montreal with nothing to do. There are only so many trips to the gym one can make while waiting for Vivid in L.A. to call her back for a shoot. The 20-year-old porn starlet begins to realize that she is going to have to take control of her life. Malezia has been invited to host an adult awards event in Quebec City, and she’s decided to go for it. For the first time in her life, Malezia is taking care of her career, printing posters and arranging interviews, ready to use this opportunity to promote herself as an elite Vivid porn star. Uncle D has bailed out, and Dugmor continues his epic road trip with buddy Jay Scott. With Mexico as their ultimate destination and many miles of highway ahead, they look for a hotel room in San Diego, but Dugmor urgently needs a high-speed Internet connection to work. Back in Montreal, MGH and his team are in the middle of filming scenes for a hard-core website featuring pregnant women. Dugmor needs to see that MGH has progressed without him. Dave is still in New York, having spent the past few weeks trying to hustle up enough money to keep his home renovations and website venture moving forward. Today, he alerts his wife he’ll be coming home. Manon, eager to have her man back in Montreal, gets all dolled up and heads off to the airport, but when Dave arrives exhausted and Manon begins to list all of the new expenses they’ve racked up, he snaps at her. It’s not what he wants to hear after a gruelling few weeks selling his body for money. More composed later that day, Dave makes amends by taking his wife shopping for ... what else? Sex toys! Today is not just another day at the 2Much webcam studios. Studio manager Cheli arrives to a shattered door and discovers that the offices were burglarized overnight. Everyone is shaken, but for Cheli it brings out a deeply felt anxiety. As the one who hires the girls, Cheli feels personally responsible for their security. Unlike the chat girls who use the studios as a temporary job, for Cheli, 2Much is home, and she can’t imagine herself working anywhere else. Better security will have to be a priority from now on.

Dugmor makes a surprise return to Montreal. It’s a time to check up on his staff, as well as to party. It’s also a rare opportunity to reunite with his most famous discovery, Malezia. His first stop, as always, is his favourite strip club, where the boys and Malezia go for a debauched night on the town. With business booming and Malezia’s career on track, Dugmor reveals his latest plan: he’s opening a new office and studio, this time in Asia. The short reunion is over, and Dugmor and Malezia know this is perhaps the last time they will see each other for a long time. 2Much owner Mark Prince has announced that he will be bringing two chat girls with him to the annual Internext convention in Las Vegas. He sets the rules: the two girls who can best master the art of sales for his company software will be selected. Laurelle sees the Vegas trip as hers, payback for her dedication to the job. At home reviewing the sales manual, Laurelle receives a call from the office: her shift is cancelled. 2Much is having major technical problems, and the site keeps crashing. She later learns that the site has been hacked, possibly by a former employee. Laurelle and all the other girls are on indefinite leave. Not only is the Vegas trip in question, but now Laurelle is not sure how she will make her next rent cheque. Back from her trip to Paris, where she was wined and dined by Jean-Luc, Katrina is eager to get her mother’s reaction to the photo shoot she did with famed photographer Christophe Morte. After the glamour of Paris, her gig at Porn Star Academie is not looking so good. Katrina had hoped her involvement with PSA would also focus the spotlight on her, but more and more she is feeling left behind. PSA has been using another porn star, Tangerine Dream, as its lead spokesperson lately. When PSA hosts a party, Katrina is overshadowed by Tangerine Dream and abruptly leaves her boyfriend there to go home, ultimately breaking down in the car.

It’s before dawn, and Dave, never a morning man, has to catch a flight to Palm Springs, California. He’s set to star in the fifth and final film of his contract for Colt Studios. Dave has been a gay film actor and stripper for a long time, and on this trip, he is keen to pitch Colt head honcho John Rutherford a new idea. He wants to shift his career in a new direction, away from being performer and taking a more prominent role behind the scenes, writing, directing, and producing. After the day’s filming is done, Dave finally gets his moment alone with Rutherford. Vivid needs Malezia in Los Angeles to film her next flick, but Malezia has recently fallen in love with local porn star Judy Star, and leaving her behind in Montreal is going to be tough. It’s the first time Malezia is going to have to balance her emotions with her career. Arriving in L.A., her spirits are immediately lifted when her taxi passes by a huge Vivid billboard with her face on it. On set, Malezia is working with famed porn director Chichi Larue. This flamboyant drag queen is pressing Malezia to do her first “anal” scene. The whole experience is tough on Malezia. She misses her girlfriend and decides to make a bold statement about her feelings, heading off to the local tattoo parlour. A disgruntled former employee is wreaking havoc at 2Much.net, and owner Mark Prince and his IT staff cannot get it up and running. They are in full damage-control mode now. With her shifts cut off and no money coming in, Laurelle has run out of options. She makes the decision to leave Montreal. Laurelle faces ex-boyfriend Dallas one last time, and while he insists her job was directly responsible for their broken- down relationship, she counters that her paycheques were the only thing keeping the two of them alive. On her last day in town, Laurelle passes by the studios hoping to say goodbye to Cheli and her many chatter friends. Though the system is still down, she does manage to get on-line for a few minutes before leaving Montreal for good. Meanwhile, Mark Prince and his lawyers are hotly pursuing a remedy. Bringing in the police, a solution is found, and just when things look hopeless, the hacker succumbs to the pressure and the site goes on-line. 2Much is back.

Having set up an office in Asia, Dugmor jets off to Las Vegas for the annual AVN adult awards show and convention. This is where he will promote his business, including malezia.com, to the elite power brokers in the adult industry. Dugmor is joined by his two buddies, Uncle D and Jay Scott, but the real reunion is with Malezia, who’s flown in from Los Angeles to attend the festivities. After an especially long autograph session, Malezia and Dugmor relax and reflect in their hotel room. Malezia is very emotional, recognizing the influence Dugmor has had on her career and the efforts he has made; she vows to never leave him. Finally, it is time for her to attend the black-tie VIP awards ceremony. As she heads onto the red carpet, into a sea of porn’s elite moguls and starlets, Dugmor packs up and heads off in search of the next “Malezia.” Back in Montreal, Dave is reunited with his wife, Manon. His exclusive contract with Colt is over, and Dave is still hoping to convince Colt president John Rutherford that he should take a new position in the company and begin writing, directing, and producing for them. Everyone is in Las Vegas, and Dave figures if he can convince John to send him there, they can work out the details. Besides, Colt is launching the Dave Angelo Dildo toy at the convention. Dave, however, is not invited to join Colt there. Dave makes a dramatic decision: he’s abandoning his website and giving up movies and dancing. It’s been a tough year, but he’s survived. Now he has new priorities. The new home renovations are nearly complete, and there are rooms for let. Dave and Manon are thinking about having a child, and, as always, he’s got a new idea: an agency representing budding models. Katrina is back in Paris for the launch of her novel, Pornartgraphie. Her friend and colleague Jean-Luc has really come through and made Katrina’s dream a reality. They hold the party at the famous Erotic Museum in Paris, and Katrina is more than happy to sign autographs and discuss her erotic novel. This is a big step in her ultimate goal of becoming a multifaceted entrepreneur. Katrina then returns to Montreal to be reunited with her boyfriend, Dimitri, and her parents. Though her mother has never been able to fully accept her daughter’s career choice, Katrina’s book is well received. She may not be sending a copy to Katrina’s grandmother, but somewhere deep inside there is a glimmer of pride.