Mason, also known as Sam No, is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

pornographic film Pornographic films (pornos), erotic films, adult films, blue films, sexually explicit films, or 18+ films, are films that represent Human sexual activity, sexually WIKT:explicit, explicit subject matter in order to sexual arousal, arouse, fasci ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Early life

Mason was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and spent some time in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

during her youth. She earned a degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

prior to working in the adult film industry.

Career

Mason met Rodney Moore at a convention and began working for him as a

camera operator A camera operator, or depending on the context cameraman or camerawoman, is a professional operator of a film camera or video camera as part of a film crew. The term "cameraman" does not necessarily imply that a male is performing the task. ...

and

film editor Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film stock, film which increasingly involves the use Digital cinema, of digital ...

. She later worked for Andre Madness, who put her in touch with

Elegant Angel Elegant Angel Productions is an independent pornographic film studio located in Canoga Park, California and owned by Patrick Collins. The company is considered one of the early pioneers of gonzo pornography, and its films have won numerous award ...

. She worked as a director for Elegant Angel until February 2003 when she left the company due to changes in management. In April of that year, she signed an exclusive directing contract with the studio Platinum X. Her first film for Platinum X, ''Mason’s Sexual Disorder'', was released on October 14, 2003. In February 2005, she was released from her contract with Platinum X for not filming enough movies. The following month, she signed a one-year exclusive 12-picture directing deal with

Hustler Video Hustler Booth at the Sands_Expo.html" ;"title="AVN Adult Entertainment Expo at the Sands Expo">Sands Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada on January 7, 2010. Hustler Video is an American independent pornographic film studio. It is owned by Larry ...

. She only directed one film for Hustler before leaving in June 2005 because the company's creative vision was heading in a different direction than previously planned. In September 2007, she began directing for

again. In July 2013, she became an exclusive director for OpenLife Entertainment. The following month, OpenLife Entertainment launched two studios, EroticaX and HardX, both helmed by Mason. In November 2015, O.L. Entertainment launched Dark X, an

interracial pornography Ethnic pornography is a genre of pornography featuring performers of specific ethnic groups, or depictions of interracial sexual activity. Productions can feature any type of ethnic group; however, the most commonly marketed ethnic genres inv ...

studio which is also helmed by Mason. In 2015, Mason became the first female to win the

AVN Award The AVN Awards are List of movie awards, film awards sponsored and presented by the American trade magazine ''AVN (magazine), AVN'' (''Adult Video News'') annually to honor achievements in the global Sex industry, adult entertainment industry. ...

for Director of the Year.

Awards and nominations

References

Mason's directing credits
at the

AFDB The African Development Bank Group (AfDB, also known as BAD in French) is a multilateral development finance institution, headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast since September 2014. The AfDB is a financial provider to African governments and ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason American women cinematographers American film editors American pornographic film directors Film directors from Washington (state) Living people Filmmakers from Seattle Women pornographic film directors American cinematographers Film directors from Los Angeles American women film editors Year of birth missing (living people)