Adult star spent £3.3m placing X-actors out to sea for ‘the world’s sexiest fishing present’
An adult star says repeated rejections from mainstream casting bosses pushed her to spend over $4.5m (£3.3m) making her own reality fishing series, Reel Rivals, which launches on UK Amazon Prime soon
Reel Rivals, which launches on UK Amazon Prime soon(Image: PR Supplied)
Adult star Isla Moon has revealed how being repeatedly rejected by mainstream casting producers led her to spend more than US$4.5 million (£3.3 million) creating her own reality TV show.
The 25-year-old Canadian creator, filmmaker and producer is the mastermind behind Reel Rivals, a reality fishing competition featuring some of the world’s biggest adult entertainers, who compete for the largest and most unique deep-sea catches including sharks, sailfish and barracuda.
The series, which premieres on UK Amazon Prime on September 3, marks Isla’s television production debut after she decided to stop waiting for mainstream entertainment to give her a chance. “I always loved filmmaking, ever since I was in high school it’s something I knew I wanted to eventually dive into,” Isla said.
Isla Moon(Image: PR Supplied)
“At the time when I came up with the idea of Reel Rivals, I was wanting to expand my brand and try to get into more mainstream media and entertainment and I kept getting no as an answer when people and casting producers found out what I do for work.” I got so tired of being told no that I decided to make my own seat at the table.”
As a lifelong fishing fan, Isla (@the.isla.moon) says the sport was the natural foundation for the series, which she designed specifically to create new opportunities for adult entertainers in mainstream media. “I also always loved fishing, it’s been a big part of my life and my content so I knew I wanted it to be about fishing but with the mission to create opportunities for adult entertainers in mainstream media,” she explained.
Despite being repeatedly told no by producers in Cannes and even hearing doubts from someone working on the show, Isla pushed ahead, determined to prove the concept could work. “One of my producers, who I don’t work with anymore, told me, ‘Good luck, that’s pretty much impossible’ – and now Reel Rivals, my first ever production, with a cast of [adult stars], is launching on Amazon Primeeeeee ahhhh!”
She revealed she was being repeatedly rejected by mainstream casting producers(Image: PR Supplied)
When asked what Reel Rivals is about, Isla has a simple answer: “‘[Adult stars] fishing’, lol. That’s how I usually explain it to them because it gets people to ask questions and makes them a bit shocked when they hear that.”
The series follows adult entertainers sport fishing off the coast of Miami, USA, combining high-end fishing footage with confessionals, mini games, and conversations that show audiences the personalities behind the creators’ online personas. “It’s a reality show featuring some of the world’s top [adult stars], sport fishing for massive catches like sharks, sailfish, barracudas… in Miami.”
Isla says the unusual combination is exactly what makes the series stand out. “I mean… [adult stars] competing in a fishing competition – have you ever heard of that before?
‘The world’s sexiest fishing show’(Image: PR Supplied)
“Also, a lot of the fishing content out there is created by boys, but what about glam? What about the fashion!?”
Isla admits that getting a cast of adult entertainers onto mainstream television came with its own unique challenges – particularly when it came to keeping the show sexy without crossing the line for mainstream streaming standards. During one swimsuit-changing scene featuring Cherie Deville (@cheriedevillexo ), Isla says the crew had to quickly reign things in.
“The producer was saying, ‘Can you pull your swimsuit down and bring it back up but a bit more this time,’ and Cherie goes, ‘Do you want me to get naked?’ Everyone in the room blushed and collectively said ‘noooo’ hahaha,” Isla said.
The 25-year-old Canadian creator, filmmaker and producer is the mastermind behind Reel Rivals(Image: PR Supplied)
The month-long shoot also provided plenty of chaos, with neighbours repeatedly calling the police despite the production having permits to film. “The neighbours kept calling the police on us even though we had permits to film so we hired our own police man to be on set and keep the neighbours away”, Isla said.
“He ended up being the nicest police man ever but I think he wasn’t ready for the cast members we had on set.” Isla explained that the biggest scare of the filming process came on the very first fishing day, when hours passed without a single catch.
“If I go out on the ocean and I don’t catch any fish… we don’t have an episode and will need to change the entire schedule because it’s tournament style,” Isla explained. “1pm, 2pm, 3pm… not a single fish.
It’s a reality fishing competition featuring some of the world’s biggest adult entertainers(Image: PR Supplied)
“I was seeing my entire production flash before my eyes. It was so stressful and I was losing hope.”
Isla remembers her relief at the end of that first day, recalling how as the sun began to set, the fish suddenly started biting. “At the end of the day, we caught the first ever sailfish of the season and of all of Reel Rivals .
“It was magical.” After a month of filming – often spending up to 12 hours a day on the ocean – Isla says the final day was when the scale of what she had created finally hit her.
They compete for the largest and most unique deep-sea catches including sharks, sailfish and barracuda(Image: PR Supplied)
“It was the last film day after a whole month of filming with the same crew of 40-50 people on set. We wrapped the season and then we all took a group photo and it was at that point where I realized how much I’ve accomplished,” Isla said.
“I cannot believe I brought so many talented people together to bring this show to life.” But beneath the unique premise and chaos of filming, Isla says the ultimate goal of Reel Rivals is to show audiences the people behind the adult content.
“I want people to understand that we’re actual humans first of all. People forget we’re humans behind a screen,” she said.
The series premieres on UK Amazon Prime on September 3(Image: PR Supplied)
“And not only that, these creators and [adult content] creators in general are some of the smartest and funniest people I’ve ever met.” Isla hopes the series will challenge the assumptions audiences may have about adult creators, allowing them to see the individuals behind the screen rather than reducing them to their profession.
“I hope the viewers are able to see how multifaceted the cast members are. Just because we make adult content, doesn’t mean we are not able to run a literal business empire, be funny, be sporty and strong, and be relatable.”
For Isla, Reel Rivals was never about proving that adult entertainers deserve to be taken seriously – but about giving them the opportunity to show audiences who they really are. “Reel Rivals was never about proving that sex workers can be smart.
“They already are. It was about giving them an opportunity to be seen outside of the very narrow box society tends to put them in.”
Reel Rivals premieres on UK Amazon Prime on September 3.
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