Back in the Habit: On Set With Ricky Greenwood's 'Sinful Nuns'

Above, Nina Hartley and Magdalene St. Michaels on the set of Confessions of a Sinful Nun 2: The Rise of Sister Mona (Sweetheart Video). When I arrive on the set of Ricky Greenwood's Confessions of a Sinful Nun 2: The Rise of Sister Mona, Magdalene St. Michaels and Nina Hartley have just finished their sex scene. As the techs start to strike the equipment, St. Michaels gives Hartley a hug, then emerges from the bed, striking a triumphant pose: "You've never seen me naked before, have you Tod?" "Not in person," I admit. "I've been in the business for 12 years in March," St. Michaels tells me. "I'm known for girl/girl and fans of both Nina and myself have been asking for us to do a scene together. We connected so amazingly well. Being older usually means I'm the Domme in a girl/girl scene. Nina led the way on this one. I'm playing a nun who has never had sex before, and I had to play it being my first time. This was my first scene today, I've got a lot of dialogue later. But first I've got to get dressed." Magdalene St. Michaels (above) plays a new character in Ricky Greenwood's drama. Greenwood has re-assembled the same cast from last year's Confessions of a Sinful Nun, which racked up seven AVN Awards nominations including Best Drama. The Rise of Sister Mona is the second part of a trilogy that he planted the seeds for in the first production. "When we did the first movie, it was a crazy idea I pitched and they weren't sure —  'It's got religion, maybe people will get offended, difficult to sell, maybe people won’t want to see nuns having sex...' — but they finally said 'You know what, if you want to do it, do it. We'll see how it goes.' We did it. People loved it, people bought it. When I made it, I had in mind a trilogy. It wasn't that obvious, but in this one there's a definite to-be-continued. I call this one my Empire Strikes Back, because everything goes wrong for the main character [played by Charlotte Stokely]. Charlotte Stokely returns as Sister Charlotte. "I think people will like it. I try my best to pair the performers together like Nina and Magdalene. I like the idea of having different bodies, different ages. It would be easy to go older-nun-younger-nun, but we ask then to trust us and go on that journey. If you liked the first one, you'll like this one. The worst part is when you don't know if the girl can act or not and you send her a 50-page script," Greenwood says. "Some people don’t like to act, they just want to have a sex scene. and that's okay. But some like the moment." From left, Charlotte Stokely and Kenna James "The whole point of this is cosplay," Stokely, reprising her role as sinful nun Sister Charlotte, says. "My habit is tied, it's taped, it’s safety-pinned and it has buttons. I like to add an extra safety pin so it stays on super-tight because if my hair pokes out from underneath, that's not very proper as a nun. The safety pin also keeps it on during the sex scenes, because if your habit comes off during a sex scene you're not really a nun any more. The whole point of this porn is the cosplay. They want to see nuns doing bad things. "I love playing this role again, because I've watched her evolve as a person and a Catholic woman. When she first came here, she was content and happy, dedicating her life to God. She wasn't as open with her sexuality, but she was okay with sexuality happening. She knew other girls were doing it." Kenna James is a new addition to the ensemble: "I play a new sister in this convent who is very naïve and very sweet, and feels what she thinks is love for Charlotte — but it's just desire. It's a little overwhelming to join as a new person, It makes you a little nervous. I hope I can live up to the high expectations that prior movie has set. I'm happy to have been offered a role in this movie. When I was reading the script, I never saw the ending coming." Above, Mona Wales as Sister Mona Mona Wales returns as Sister Mona. "It's The Rise of Sister Mona, so I'm the titular role," she grins, putting a twist on the first syllable of "titular." "In the first Confessions, I was an evil cunt, terrorizing everyone. Nina and I had a breaking up so I went all dark on the inside. I got sent away to abbess jail and got tortured. It's good to play the character again. Sister Mona was really great. She was a big cunt in the last one, and then she gets her comeuppance. I think it will be interesting to see where she goes. It's fun to come back to the same character, and it's really fun to come back to the same crew. With so many of the same cast, I've gotten really close to Charlotte. You usually don’t get a chance to see people over again." Above, Nina Hartley and Mona Wales "It was lovely to get asked back to play Mother Superior," Hartley says. "I didn't know there was going to be a trilogy. I like doing features, I don't do them very often any more. My mother was a Buddhist nun and abbess, so I'm just channeling my mother. I wasn’t raised particularly religiously, not in the Catholic tradition, but I've been around religious tradition, and convent and monastery living, so I have a lot to draw on personally. "The best part about coming back to play Mother Superior is that I finally get to work with Magdalene St. Michaels. She's been in the business 12 years and we're just now—just now—getting to be with each other. It was a lovely scene, very emotional, very heartfelt, intimate. Not your typical porno scene. She's a wonderful performer and a real human being. We had a great time. "And she has a really beautiful puss. Just delicious. Just putting it out there." To see a trailer for Sweetheart Video's Confessions of a Sinful Nun 2: The Rise of Sister Mona, click here. The first scene debuts April 27 on SweetheartVideo.com, followed by the DVD release a week later. For a review of the first part in the trilogy, click here. Cassidy Banks and Lena Paul get out of their habits in the movie's first scene. Magdalene St. Michaels (above) plays the strict Mother Joan. Mother Joan (Magdalene St. Michaels) is a strict disciplinarian who runs the convent where Sister Mona (Mona Wales) is transferred. Below, cast portraits from Confessions of a Sinful Nun 2.