Violet Blue on SF Gate writes: When I first discovered the gorgeous, glorious curves of Fatty Delicious (April Flores, fattyd.com, link NSFW) she was performing in a short porn scene with one of my favorite porn stars Belladonna, and I was quick to get a post about the supersized sexbomb onto Fleshbot.

Years later, with her lover and life partner filmmaker and fine artist Carlos Batts, Flores is starring in films that are more than literal tributes to cult, sexploitation filmmaking legend Russ Meyer. In fact, their newest film “Voluptuous Biker Babes” is not just a neo-modern revisioning of “Faster Pussycat, Kill! Kill!” but was also shot on the original location.

Flores and Batts were just in town at Good Vibes (goodvibes.com) promoting their new film, the fleshy, explicit, man-eating “Voluptuous Biker Babes.” I got a minute to ask them several questions about not just the film, but what the success of films like theirs mean to mainstream porn (it’s an Adam & Eve production), and what April thinks of all that fat vs. sexy stereotyping women face in our day-to-day lives.

Violet Blue: Carlos, you bring your fine art background to porn. You’ve been working with mainstream companies but making porn that’s way different than anything else out there — to much acclaim. What are you doing with porn that no one else is?

Carlos Batts: As a filmmaker I received my first review in Film Threat Video Guide in the “Banned Issue” when I was 19. My goal has always been to create feature-length films. I feel closer to that having directed and produced 5 movies in one year (“Voluptuous Life,” “Young Hollywood,” “Kiss Attack,” “Voluptuous Biker Babes,” and “Glamazons.”) Just having the experience of completing those projects in that amount of time made my filmmaking ability stronger. I wanted to experiment with making my films look like feature-length music videos with good sex. I never really approached it as porn. Jeff Koons, Andy Warhol, and Terry Richardson all had a sexual period in their work. Porn is an industry and a genre like horror, drama and comedy. I am motivated to make a film that is interesting and that excites people.

Prior to shooting my first roll of film for magazines like Taboo and Leg World, I photographed hardcore punk metal bands on the east coast and handmade photo collages for book covers and pop magazines like VIBE, COMPLEX, and WARP. I mainly considered my work erotic, sexy or authentic. My photographic and multimedia work is so far outside of porn that I have the freedom to do things other people would not consider. I think through time people have accepted many complex ideas about sex and art. I enjoy a mix of different cultures, body types, and music so it’s natural for me to cast voluptuous women, performance artists, and commercial actors. I have relationships with music labels Reptilian Records and Rotten Records which are the homes to a plethora of intense heavy music as well as beat makers across the country from Baltimore to New York and LA. I try to approach all my assignments with fresh ideas to see what can make it interesting.

VB: Carlos, where did Voluptuous Biker Babes come from?

CB: VBB was my 4th film in a row for Adam & Eve Pictures and my Executive Producer Peter Reynolds was amazing because he gave me creative freedom. For about three years people were telling me repeatedly about Russ Meyer. I knew of his work and respected him but he was not really an early influence; I was inspired more by John Waters and David Lynch. I knew I could not remake “Faster Pussycat, Kill! Kill!” — I did not want to make a parody or poor interpretation. April is as dynamic as the character Varla from “Faster Pussycat” so I just decided to re-envision the entire cast with updated characters. I was able to secure the actual location as the original film, and it was fun to use the Mojave Desert as a location. And the music is really a layer to each scene; all the bands including Dactyl, Polkadot Cadaver, Fishnet Stalkers, and Horse the Band gave me amazing tracks, and the in-house beat makers DHUNDEE, hustlePUNCH, BHAV and Hellbore 70 keep the sound design fresh. My editor Octavio (winkytiki.com, link NSFW) bought my vision to life and was an excellent collaborator at getting the story.

VB: April and Carlos, what was the most fun (or funny) moment while making that film?

April Flores: The entire shoot was very special. I could definitely feel that something great was being made because everyone involved gave 1000 percent of their talent and dedication. The funniest moment for me was when I had to wrestle Pa’Fuschia Flores. They had come up with the idea of us wrestling earlier that day, and I hadn’t really thought much of it beyond us pretending to wrestle. It was the last scene of the day, we were in a sand pit, and I was in 7-inch platform stiletto boots. Once it was time for us to begin our “fight” scene, I went up to Pa’Fuschia and pushed her. When she pushed back I realized that she was not pretend fighting, but was pushing back for real! So now on top of having to keep my balance in heels in the sand, I also had to wrestle a 6-foot tall drag queen! I was a little overwhelmed, but because she remained so dedicated to her character, I decided to apply an equal amount of dedication. Obviously, she wasn’t extremely rough, but she taught me to give my all for each and every performance.

VB: April, you’re marketed as “plus sized” and “fat”. Do these labels mean anything to you? Should they?

Flores: I understand the need for labels especially when it comes to marketing. To me, when these words are used for marketing purposes they are the same as “new and improved.” They are just words used for description. However, if a word goes beyond description and becomes derogatory that’s another story. I like the words “voluptuous,” “curvy” and even “meaty” to describe myself. I stopped letting the word fat negatively affect me a long time ago. I know what my size means to me, and a word, person or comment will not change that.

VB: April, what do you say to people who say that fat and sexy don’t go together?

Flores: I say that’s fine for their opinion and preference. But, I know many people that think fat and sexy do go together. Beyond being skinny or fat, I think sexiness comes from within. Sexiness comes from confidence and is much deeper and elusive than being based on body size alone.

VB: April, what inspired you to “get into” making porn, and how is sex for work different than sex for love (for you)?

Flores: I always want to evolve as a person, and making porn has allowed me to grow as an artist. I know that may be hard for some people to understand, but I see it as performance art. I started off by posing for photos clothed, then I did nudes, then I performed for Carlos’ video camera and now I have sex in front of a camera. I have grown with each project I’ve participated in, and it has all been a very natural progression for me. I hope to continue my growth as an artist and will soon develop my acting roles. I am also inspired to show people that bigger women can express themselves sexually and be confident and sexy regardless of their weight.

For me, sex for the camera is different because my focus is on trying to give a sexy, fun performance and not on my pleasure alone. I do try and have orgasms when I do a scene, but my main goal is to give a great performance.

VB: What do you both wish to see more of in porn?

Batts: I don’t have a wish for porn. I think people work very hard at what they do and should be able to make a living at it. Diversity and evolution is the longevity of any industry.

Flores: I would wish to see a union created for performers. The union could provide health insurance and help with certain challenges that performers have to deal with on set or elsewhere.

VB: April what do you think people (outside of porn) understand the least about porn, and porn performers?

Flores: A lot more preparation goes into making a porn film than most people think. Also, the intellect of female performers is widely misperceived: the majority of female porn performers I’ve met are not stupid. These are all smart, business-minded women who work very hard. They are very interesting individuals, and in my experience they have been some of the sweetest, most genuine women I’ve ever met.

VB: Carlos, what’s next?

Batts: I am currently prepping my original horror feature that has a great deal of talented people involved. It is a non-sex screenplay — not a parody or spoof. I am also getting ready to release “Glamazons” on VOD and DVD very soon, the beginning of next month. I am also prepping to create “Danger Pants,” my next erotic cult adult feature.

[If you’re in Los Angeles this Friday March 6, for a mere $7 you can catch a special midnight screening of “Voluptuous Biker Babes” at The Beverly Cinema (7165 West Beverly Blvd.) — including an evening with the cast, free goodie gift bags and more.]