On the Set Report: Strangers of the Night

STORY AND PHOTOS BY VINCENT LAMBERT


Porn entrepreneur Michael Lucas is known for shooting in New York City, and his 22nd film, Strangers of the Night, is no exception. Last fall, Lucas brought his porn sensibilities to a landmark hotel in Chelsea to shoot some of this dark and twisted tale of nocturnal New Yorkers. In a large suite on the sixth floor, Lucas and his crew set up their equipment to film, among other things, a threeway starring newcomers Nicholas Bardem and Adrian Pena, and Lucas himself.

As the late October day begins, videographer Andre Adair is standing on a chair with his camera. A couple of lights with umbrellas are surrounding one of the two beds. Sitting at a table nearby, an on-set photographer, a makeup man and a production assistant peruse a stack of porn magazines as the models begin the oral portion of the scene. First, the two newbies suck off Lucas, who takes part in the scene but also occasionally calls out directions to the crew and whispers instructions to the cast.

After a busy morning of oral sex, Lucas asks for a break. Speaking in his trademark Russian accent, the director immediately shifts gears and starts discussing the relaunch of his Web site and the distribution of his films, all the while naked and hard. Talk about concentration!

Within minutes, Lucas resumes shooting, this time the penetration. First, Pena fucks Bardem. This goes on for about 10 minutes before Lucas says, “Okay, we got it!” Then he is back in the scene, demonstrating the position he is going to be in, while the videographer adjusts himself accordingly. Then Lucas asks for condoms and lube, calls for action and begins topping Pena while Pena sucks Bardem. As the bed begins rocking, Lucas mops his brow and reaches down and does the same for Pena. After a while, he looks at the model and says, “Okay, now you are gonna cum.” Within moments, Pena complies with a nice pop shot.

But the scene isn’t over yet, as Lucas turns his attention to Bardem’s butt. He starts pumping him, then pulls Bardem’s foot, which is already in the air, up to his mouth and begins sucking his toes. When he is done, Lucas takes Bardem’s wet toe and aims it toward Pena’s butt. This scene will be popular with foot fans for sure! After Bardem shoots, Lucas lies on the bed between the models and jacks to climax.

“Very good, guys,” he says when the scene is over. After toweling off, Lucas begins planning the next scene, which will feature Carlos Morales, Andy Hunter and Mario Ortiz, who have already arrived and are filling out their paperwork. The models and crew relax and eat pasta, salad and bread. After lunch, they head up to the roof to shoot the opening-credit sequence. With a beautiful setting sun behind them, the models pose. Off in a corner, Bardem and Pena, fresh from their scene, do an interview that will be used as an extra for the DVD release of Strangers.

The second day of the five-day shoot features a scene with Lucas exclusive Marco Rochelle and newcomer Danny Hunter. This time, the crew has gathered at a duplex apartment in Chelsea and set up in a small bedroom, which is tastefully appointed with books. A fish tank gurgles in the background. As the cast prepares, Lucas absentmindedly taps the glass. “Okay, guys,” he says, “let’s get going.” Rochelle and Hunter start to make out. They are both wearing jeans without underwear, per Lucas’s wishes. As they kiss, he watches the monitor and directs them. Their clothes slowly come off, and Lucas steps in to reposition them, telling Hunter, “so that we can see how big your dick is.”

The models move on to oral and 69. “Okay, lots of foreskin play now,” Lucas commands. During the ass-eating sequence, Lucas tells Adair to get closer, “but don’t lose the focus.” Hunter has a trick up his sleeve. Moving into self-sucking mode, he and Rochelle share his oversize cock. “Yes, that looks beautiful,” Lucas encourages. Realizing that this is a rare opportunity, he asks for plenty of coverage.

Following this, the guys take a break. Hunter sips some water and stretches. “People don’t realize it takes hours to do a scene,” he says. “Before I was in the industry, I thought two guys just had sex and they filmed it!” Now he knows better, and it’s back to work. Hunter fucks Rochelle in two positions before the cum shots fly and the scene is done. It is almost six hours later.

With the day’s filming complete, Lucas takes a moment to explain the origins of Strangers. “My screenwriter, Alex Poole, had an idea for a movie that would be kind of like Alfred Hitchcock meets David Lynch,” he says. “Alex was definitely influenced by films like Vertigo and Mulholland Drive. I liked that idea. Aren’t we all just strangers of the night?”

Reprinted from Adult Video News magazine (2003)