Joone | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1969 (age 54–55)[1] |
| Alma mater | University of California Los Angeles |
| Occupation(s) | Photographer, director & producer |
| Years active | 1998–2008 (porn director)[2] |
| Organization(s) | Digital Playground Diosa Spirits |
| Spouse | Samantha Lewis (divorced)[1] |
Joone is an American entrepreneur,[3] photographer,[4] director and producer. For directing pornographic films, he won AVN Award twice. In 1993, Joone founded American pornographic movie studio Digital Playground[5] and was a co-owner of the company until it was acquired by Manwin in 2012.
He founded the Digital Playground company[5] in 1993 when he was 25 and still a student,[1] initially making adult CD-ROM computer games.[6]
Commenting on the transition of the pornography industry from the underground economy to mainstream corporate acceptance, the company's founder said: "I look at the porn business where Vegas and gambling was in the 70's… Vegas was still mob-owned and they were making the transition between these small groups of people to being corporate owned… I feel the same exact thing is going to happen with adult".[7]
Joone has directed the pornographic films Pirates and Pirates II: Stagnetti's Revenge.
In January 2012, alongside his ex-wife Samantha Lewis—who was co-owner, CEO and President of Digital Playground—he reached an agreement with Fabian Thylmann to sell the company to Manwin. On the acquisition, Joone commented: "To me this deal is no different than the acquisition of Pixar by Disney, The consumer is going to see more blockbusters, big-budget productions, and it's our goal to create the next genre of adult entertainment. This acquisition is a marriage between two industry leaders. Adult entertainment is changing and Manwin has a lead on technology." The price or terms of the deal was not disclosed, but it was announced that Lewis and Joone will "continue to oversee the studio";[8] however, it was reported in March that Manwin had released Lewis and some other employees.[9]
Joone is co-owner of "Diosa Spirits" tequila, Jesse Jane and her husband Rich.[10][11]