Chris Steele leaves the country!

I guess his work at Jet Set Men isn’t quite enough to keep him amused, as the head of the popular Marina Pacific studio will be headed to Singapore this weekend for the opening of…a tanning salon. Of course.  Chris will have the distinction of being, according to the item on GAYVN.com, “the first gay adult video star to appear on the island.”  Huh?  Anyway, the opening of the Gorgeous Solarium (they don’t mince words in Singapore, I guess) will be from 9-10PM Saturday night, for those reading this in Singapore or environs, and the admission is free but you must contact someone named Jason Lee for an invitation.  Isn’t he the guy from “My Name Is Earl?”  And why is this item more amusing than I originally thought? Now, the following day, again, according to the GAYVN story, Steele will be “serving customers” at Solarium from 11- Noon, but it neglects to say just what he will be “serving;” then, from 3-4, Steele will answer questions about “what it’s like to be a star,” and will pose for pics with his fans, and there’ll be a drawing to win a date with Chris at a local restaurant and a tanning package. “When they first contacted me I told them I no longer do live appearances but I could help get them any porn star they wanted. But as it turns out they only wanted me,” said Chris “I’m very honored to be making this appearance.”  To say nothing of the free tanning.

The inmates are taking over the asylum!

If you’re reading this in a timely manner, this Sunday is the Folsom Street Fair, that fun SF event, and already, the loonies are out. I’m not referring to the ones who attend, but the fun folk at the Concerned Women for America. Yes, in an item which appeared on the Christian Newswire, because I do read this all the time, Matt Barber, the Policy Director of said CWA, said that the organizers of the Fair have portrayed Christ and His disciples as half-naked homosexual sadomasochists in the event’s promotional ads. Barber said, among other things, that “…open ridicule of Christianity is unfortunately very common within much of the homosexual community,” and said, “We’re calling on California’s elected officials – Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Governor Schwarzenegger and Senators Feinstein and Boxer – to publicly condemn this unprovoked attack against Christ and His followers.” He also found it offensive that California taxpayers are forced to help foot the bill for the Fair. “The Folsom Street Fair is reminiscent of Biblical Sodom and Gomorrah, he said, “and the media should document exactly what the city of San Francisco is allowing to occur – in public – in the name of ‘tolerance.’”  Keep this all in mind while you’re meeting and greeting the lovelies there on Sunday.

Jerry Douglas speaks out.

Ed Woody has put up and exclusive and extensive interview with the legendary Jerry Douglas.  The conversation was conducted shortly after the death of Danny Roddick, who starred in Jerry’s new COLT movie “Brotherhood.”  In addition to talking about the movie itself, Jerry spent some time weighing in with his perspective on the sad events and the comments surrounding them. Among his many insights, Douglas said, and I quote from the interview, “t’s sad that the furore over Danny’s death threatens to overshadow his accomplishments (and Jerry’s) in Brotherhood, which pushed Danny’s talents to their greatest heights yet. But any attention brought to the movie will remind us of Danny and raise the movie’s profile, which can only benefit COLT Studio’s chosen charity, New Leaf Services. it’s not as if Danny were a child, he was 31 years old. For me, this industry is both a business and an art, and I expect to work with people who are artistically responsible and business-wise feasible. That’s what growing up is all about. This is my problem with this whole damn controversy, which I think is being fueled for all the wrong reasons by all the wrong people.” I think we can all identify with the “wrong people” part. The interview can read in its entirety at the Woody Reviews web site, and will appear in NY’s HX Magazine, which is the parent company of New England’s IN NEWSWEEKLY, and you are, of course, welcome to comment here as well.

What’s this? No gay-for-pay?

Performer/film company owner Jason Ridge has begun production on the second feature for his Ridgeline Films. “Beyond Malibu” will feature the popular porn performer, and will be directed Dylan Ryan, who was also in charge of their debut title “A Rising Star,” yet to be released. Also appearing with Jason will be Mason Wyler, Damian Rios, Trent Peters, Antonio Milan, Blu Kennedy, Danny Vox (yum!), and new discovery Maliek Taylor. Ridge’s company, I am told, is unique in many ways, as it is providing health care for their full-time employees and keeping the staff and stars “all in the family,” which means, it says here, owned and operated by and starring gay men, and, get this, refusing to hire “gay for pay” models and performers. I don’t know about you, but I find that interesting. Imagine if Blue Blake were to do that.  His films would be about five minutes in length!  An interesting concept, all gay performers in gay movies. Who knew.  Discuss.

Did I say I don’t make this up…?

First there was Michael Lucas’ “La Dolce Vita,” his interpretation of the Fellini classic, and the estate of the late director decided it was a no-no, and instituted a lawsuit to prevent the movie from being released.  All well and good, but now, from the Land of the Absurd, comes this, from Peter Z. of PZP Productions, which made such fun sex films as “The DaVinci Load” and “BeTwinked.” As Peter points out, when those films were released, “no angry producer tried to sue me.”  But now, as the release date of his new “Oliver Twink” movie approaches, Peter has received what can only be called a “cease-and-desist” from the great, great grandson of Charles Dickens. A hoax? Peter’s attorney thinks not. Peter says, ” To tell you the truth, I’m a little creeped out by the whole thing because the guy sounds like a nut.”  Ya think?  In his email to Peter, Dickens’ descendant said, “How dare you smear the Dickens name by associating it with queer smut?!  This sir is unconscionable!” Well, I never!! While Dickens’ works are in the public domain, this doesn’t seem to phase the London resident, who says he’s sure he can find an attorney to take the case. Perhaps Peter could send him the info on Dane Schulman.  The 77 year-old Dickens said, “What perverted people you must be to turn a beloved family classic into cheap, pornographic rubbish!  You should be ashamed of yourself…I shall do whatever it takes, to the day I die, to stop you from committing this blasphemy!” Peter told me, ” Thank God he’s in his seventies and across the Atlantic!”  “Shaving Ryan’s Privates,” anyone?

Addendum to Danny Roddick item below…

Yeah, I’m aware of some controversy regarding studios’ responsibility to performers, but, having seen “Amazonia,” I have to say, hey, it’s called “acting,” and Danny Roddick does a superb job of that. And as far as Danny being unhappy in any way with the shoot, check out the commentary by Dennis Bell, Chris Trout and Danny himself. Aside from a fascinating dialogue on how the movie was made, Danny sounds upbeat and quite pleased with his performance, and the movie itself is outstanding for the beauty of the location and the beauty of the performers, to say nothing of the sex. Without getting into the politics of some of the negative comments and emails on various blogs, I will suggest your checking out Mark Kleim’s “Lavender Lounge,” who manages to put things in their proper perspective, and director Kevin Clark gives his thoughts to a letter sent by former performer Tony Bishop here. And may I add that the dicks on these Brazilian boys are scary!

AMG donates in Roddick’s memory

  AMG Brasil’s Dennis Bell announced that he will donate a portion of all sales from his “Amazonia” two-parter to the WWF (Wold Wildlife Fund), and will make those contributions in memory of Buckshot Man Danny Roddick. Roddick spent two weeks in and around Rio de Janeiro working on the film. A dollar from each DVD purchased through their webstore will help support the efforts to protect the Amazon rain forest and its inhabitants. AMG has used the Brazilian rain forest as the backdrop for several of its productions over the past couple of years. Bell said of Danny, “He found beauty in everything there…his love of nature was obvious.” Danny Roddick recorded a track of comments for the DVD extras. Dennis added, ““My heart belongs to Brazil,” Bell said. “I love absolutely everything about the country and I want to see its beauty preserved. It’s my duty as a filmmaker who shoots solely in Brazil, to do my part to protect its most precious asset.”

Brad Star in the slammer…briefly.

 

Not that it appears in any of their contracts, but some porn performers just have all the bad luck. This time, it’s Brad Star. The popular Florida resident spent several hours at the courtesy of the Broward County jail. No, not for anything similar to the…er, problems he had at the beginning of the year. According to the two young men, seems Brad and his now-boyfriend Angel (hey, you can be “straight” and have a boyfriend, can’t you) were “just chatting” behind a local CVS when they were approached by the local constabulary, who asked for their IDs. After running a check, Lilli Law discovered that Mr. Star had an outstanding warrant for driving with a suspended license, so they threw the guy into the slammer. 750 bucks and a few hours later, Brad was again a free man. Aah, young love. Angel told me, “Brad Star and myself would like to state that we are thankful to Mark for keeping our information confidential until the time was right to inform everyone of this. Mark was the first person to know and told no one as we had requested. To all the fans after this small incident Brad Star and Angel are back on track and preparing for this week’s launch of Angelsslutgarden.com.”

Buckshot’s Danny Roddick dies.

In a shocking and sad announcement, COLT Studio Group confirmed the death of Buckshot Man Danny Roddick on September 15th. Danny’s most recent appearance was in Jerry Douglas’ “Brotherhood,” just being released. Douglas said, “The loss of anyone so young and talented and especially a sweet and fragile individual is heartbreaking, but for someone who was rapidly approaching the peak of his career it is doubly painful.” COLT President John Rutherford told me, “We know nothing except that he has passed away at only 31 years of age. It’s so sad. and everyone here at COLT Studio Group extends our most heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and loved ones. He will be missed.” Danny also worked recently for Dennis Bell’s AMG Brasil studio, in their two-part “Amazonia: Capture & Release.” Bell said, “I had the pleasure of working with Danny recently and will miss him greatly.” As of this moment, in spite of innuendos and rumors elsewhere, no further details of his passing have been made public. He was a sweet man. Danny’s fans can click here for a gallery of his COLT pics.

Factory Video to do “voluntary barebacking.”

And in an item that goes with the one two down from here, how timely that Factory Video has just released its first bareback film. “Raw Rookies”  features Will Montgomery, Alexandre Carino, Casey Wood, Erin, Mark Galfione, Enrique Gurrero, Adrian, Justin Side, and two Crosses, director Luke and his real-life partner, videographer Orion. All of the models are newcomers to video or barebacking. The studio has made the move to let the models themselves choose whether to use condoms.  If all models concur, they will not have to use condoms in their scenes. Factory owner Scott Morris says he wants the models “…to be able to express themselves in a way that reflects the sex that they really enjoy.”  Morris adds that the models have been becoming more insistent on making their own choice, and said, “We have had to insist on the use of condoms on our videos to honor a vocal minority that insists that gay porn is condoms only. (Something that the straight side of the business has never done.)”  “Raw Rookies” contains, it says here,  three-ways, outdoor sex, huge cocks, nasty rimjobs (I’m not sure  I want to know what that means), and piggy guys.  Factory promises the hot movies you’ve come to “…expect and love, just no fucking condoms.” It’s available on the Factory website now. So…?