Chicago – This week, Elegant Angel proudly presents Cherry On Top, a new semi-biographical showcase and feature film starring Cherry Kiss. Directed by Claudia Ross with a screenplay by Axel Braun, Cherry On Top tells the story of how Cherry made her way into the adult industry, finding her identity and voice on her journey to international success.
“This project is extremely personal and very special to me, and I cannot wait for you guys to see what we created,” wrote Cherry Kiss. “For my fan base, this will be a true reveal of my life story. In this showcase, we go through absolutely everything — from the very beginning of my journey in the industry all the way to the moment I started directing. I wouldn’t say directing is the end of my story, though. It is actually the beginning of a completely new chapter in my career and in this industry.”
The film opens with Cherry working on a porn set as a makeup artist, where she forms a connection with working stiff Charles (Seth Gamble). Later that night, she masturbates to the day’s footage. Soon, she returns to the set, not as a makeup artist, but as Charles’s co-star. She brings along her best friend Anya (Octavia Red) to jump into the world of porn together, performing their first scene together with Charles.
“One of the most challenging parts for me was actually playing myself. Recreating moments from my younger years while portraying myself as I am today was not easy, but somehow we made it work perfectly,” continued Cherry. “We also have incredible performers such as Octavia Red, who plays my best friend in the story — the same friend who I brought into the industry. We also have Ella Reese, Seth Gamble, Lexington Steele, Milan, and many other amazing performers who put their time, energy, and talent into making this project happen.”
As Cherry’s popularity grows, she navigates agents, directors, and co-stars, and performs her first DP with Lexington Steele and Chocolate God. Along the way, she meets and falls in love with Vince (Vince Karter), learning that her career and fame might come with a price.
“Vince has been a very important part of my life,” said Cherry. “He is my ex-boyfriend, he is also in the industry, and most importantly, he is still one of my best friends. Going back through our past and recreating some of those moments was definitely funny, emotional, and sometimes tricky. But I can honestly say we created the best scene I have ever done with Vince, and I’m very proud of it.”
In the finale, out this Thursday, Cherry indulges in a 6-man airtight gangbang. Cherry On Top will drop on VOD platforms the same day, with a DVD to follow.
“Cherry On Top is an incredibly personal project, and I’m so grateful to Cherry Kiss for trusting me to help tell her story,” wrote director Claudia Ross. “That kind of trust means everything to me, especially when you’re telling a story that is so intimate, honest, and deeply connected to someone’s life. Having Axel Braun write the script made the project even more special to me. Axel and I have worked together for nearly 20 years, so there’s a personal history and creative connection there that added another layer of meaning to the experience. To have someone who has been such an important part of my professional journey help shape Cherry’s story, and then to be trusted with bringing his words and her life to the screen, felt very full-circle. I’m also incredibly thankful to Elegant Angel and Chura for believing in this project and giving us the support and creative freedom to tell Cherry’s story the way we envisioned it. Between Cherry’s trust, my history with Axel, and the support from Chura and Elegant Angel, this became much more than just another film for me. It’s a project that feels deeply personal, and one I’m incredibly proud of.”
Axel Braun both penned the screenplay and performed a non-sex role as himself, the legendary adult director who Cherry refers to as her “guardian angel.”
“For 25 years, Claudia Ross was my editor, my assistant, my graphic designer, and ultimately my most trusted creative collaborator. She was in the trenches with me for an enormous part of my career, and when I retired from adult filmmaking, one of the things that mattered to me was helping her make the transition into directing,” writes Braun.
“When Claudia told me that Cherry Kiss wanted to pitch Elegant Angel a showcase film about her life, I immediately told her she should call it Cherry on Top and have the cover be Cherry in a giant cocktail glass, like a vintage pin-up. She loved the idea, and I told her I would be happy to write her a treatment for free. But it was such a compelling story that I simply got carried away and ended up writing the whole script. It happens.
“What interested me about it, besides the fact that I love Cherry, was that this could be much more than a traditional showcase. At its core, Cherry on Top is a true story about triumph in the face of adversity. It’s about identity, resilience, ambition, and ultimately finding the courage to discover and embrace your own voice.
“Cherry has lived a remarkable journey, and I wanted the screenplay to treat that journey with honesty and humanity rather than simply use her life as a framework for a series of sex scenes. The sexuality is obviously part of her story and part of the world she inhabits, but it isn’t what defines her. The person underneath it is what makes the story compelling.
“Then Claudia asked me who could play me in the movie. I thought Seth Gamble would have been fantastic, but this was a non-sex role, and it didn’t make much sense to cast the best performer in the industry and not put him in a sex scene. That’s when she asked if I would be willing to play myself—which I strongly suspect is because I was free of charge. Now, that’s not something I had planned on doing in retirement, but I couldn’t exactly say no after 25 years of her putting up with me. So I agreed, and it was an amazing experience.
“There’s also something wonderfully full-circle about this movie being made for Elegant Angel. I have a very deep emotional connection to the company because its founder, Patrick Collins, was a dear friend, a mentor, and someone for whom I had enormous affection and respect. I spent three years there as a contract director in the early 2000’s and another year and a half as General Manager, which is when I first hired Claudia as the company’s graphic designer.
“One of the strange things about working with someone for so long is that you get to recognize their talent before they necessarily recognize it themselves. I always knew Claudia had a director’s instincts. Now she’s finding her own voice, just as Cherry does in the story. There’s a beautiful symmetry to that.
“I think people expecting Cherry on Top to simply be a Cherry Kiss showcase are going to be surprised by how much movie is actually there. It has sexuality, of course, but it also has humor, emotion, pain, and heart. Cherry was willing to expose much more than her body—she allowed us to tell a very personal story, and Claudia approached that responsibility with tremendous care, crafting something truly ambitious, personal, and lasting. And those are the kinds of movies I’ve always believed this industry should celebrate.
“After having spent so many years with Claudia beside me while I pursued my career, there is something incredibly satisfying in getting the chance to stand beside her while she pursues hers. Twenty-five years later, I suppose she finally gets to tell her boss where to stand and what to do. And I couldn’t be happier about it,” concluded Braun.
“Cherry Kiss is an icon, and her story is one for the ages,” added Chura, Elegant Angel’s VP of Production. “Elegant Angel is incredibly grateful to the entire cast and crew of Cherry on Top. Special thanks to Cherry Kiss for trusting us with her story, Axel Braun for being part of the project, and Claudia Ross for bringing it all together with her vision and tenacity. Personally, watching Axel, Claudia, Cherry, and Seth Gamble collaborate on set was a highlight of the year for me. It felt like watching the past, present, and future of the adult industry come together in one room.”
“This is more than just a showcase for me. It is my story, my past, my journey, and the beginning of my next chapter,” continued Cherry. “Thank you to everyone who believed in this project, worked on it, and helped make it happen. A huge thank you to Elegant Angel, Chura, and Claudia, and a very special thank you to Axel Braun for being part of it. I’m incredibly grateful to have had so many amazing and important people involved in bringing this story to life.
“Cherry on Top — my biggest story, my biggest project, and one of the most important things I have ever created in my career. I cannot wait for you to see it,” Cherry concluded.
Cherry On Topis available on ElegantAngel.com.
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