February 29, 2008

Press: Michael Lucas GAYVN Cover Story


In case anyone hasn’t read enough about recent GAYVN award winner Michael Lucas, the cover story of this month’s GAYVN magazine features the handsome Russian director—and it just happens to be written by Vincent Lambert. In it, Lucas talks about his long and varied career in the porn industry and the 10th anniversary of his New York–based company. He also comments on the controversy that follows him wherever he goes—for better or worse. Yup, for the 35-year-old president and CEO of Lucas Entertainment, it’s always another day, another drama. To read all about it, click here.

News: Torino Film Fest to Honor Parker Williams


The Torino International GLBT Film Festival celebrates its 23rd year by honoring porn star Parker Williams. The star of films such as Woodsmen, Aftershock, The Hunted and Unspoken will present his directorial debut film Lube Job and show off his acting skills in the theatrical comedy Cell Block Q. After eight years in the industry, Williams, who has studied filmmaking, recently joined forces with fellow porn star Matthew Rush to form a new film production company named Savage that will specialize in gay entertainment.

In an exclusive interview with VincentLambert.com, Williams told us, “The whole thing is very exciting, and it leaves me taken back and speechless. I’m astounded that they decided to focus on me at the festival this year. It’s a pat on the back that I could have never really seen in my future.” He also says that when he first heard about the honor, he thought it was a hoax. “I have to admit that I thought the invite was a scam and that they were very possibly trying to play me for their own enjoyment, but I soon found out that it’s real and it leaves me very honored.”

Williams goes on to say that he doesn’t think the recognition is entirely without merit. “I have to proudly admit that I think I deserve this because I’ve worked very hard at doing my best. I fought not to be mechanical or look overly choreographed while taking every opportunity to teach myself the production side of the business. I studied and asked questions about things like lighting, white levels and production values. So in April, I will be in Italy having the time of my life.”

The Torino Film Festival, which is jointly organized in collaboration with the National Museum of Cinema, runs from April 17–25. For more information, visit www.tglff.com.

February 28, 2008

Movie Review: Playback


BY VINCENT LAMBERT

Director: Ben Leon.
Cast: Roman Ragazzi, Remy Delaine, Jake Deckard, Dirk Jager, Justin Christopher, Marcos David, Max Blue, Trey Casteel, Barrett Long, Martin Mazza, J. St. Miguel.

In Raging Stallion’s latest two-disc set, Playback, Barrett Long is working the nightshift at a funky warehouse where dudes get it on in front of numerous cameras. Long, looking very grown-up, watches the action and even unleashes his monster cock for a solo jack. But first, Raging Stallion exclusive (and recent GAYVN Performer of the Year) Jake Deckard hooks up with Remy Delaine for an intense scene. These are both men’s men and their play showcases that fact beautifully. They share great deep-throat action, with Deckard making serious love to Delaine’s generous foreskin. The great picture quality captures every detail of this entrancing sequence. But nothing quite matches the look of wide-eyed wonder on Deckard’s face as he is topped by Delaine (after ramming Delaine first). These guys pound each other to a pulp (Deckard even wears knee pads!) and pop major cream. This scene lasts more than 45 minutes, yet the intensity rarely flags as Deckard and Delaine truly connect.

Exclusive Dirk Jager also has a good bond with partner Martin Mazza, as Yager smacks Mazza’s butt and tops it as well. It’s about this time that Long pulls out his Hustler magazine and goes to work on his oversize cock. A stunning cum shot follows. Next, Delaine and Mazza share a threeway with J. St. Miguel. Disc 2 begins with RSS Man of the Year Roman Ragazzi starting his shift at the fuck house. He witnesses the mismatched pairing of young Max Blue with daddy Trey Casteel. Then Marcos David puts the moves on Justin Christopher, and Delaine and Yager return for more fun. The last scene finds watchmen Long and Ragazzi collaborating for one amazing fuck. The wonderfully furry Ragazzi sucks all of Long (an impressive feat) and offers his fine ass. Long pounds away and delivers another gravity-defying money shot.

Director Ben Leon spices up the already hot men and sex with cool editing effects. And while Playback weighs in at a long four hours (plus a Jake Deckard solo scene as a DVD extra), viewers will feel like time has flown. (Raging Stallion Studios)

Reprinted from GAYVN magazine (2007)

February 27, 2008

News: Aaron James MTV Special to Air Tonight


Jet Set Men has announced that its exclusive star Aaron James will be profiled tonight on a new episode of the MTV reality series True Life. The segment, titled “I Work in the Sex Industry,” focuses on James and two other young people who work in the porn industry. An MTV crew has been following the 23-year-old star for months as he traveled the country in his new career, and the episode is expected to explore James’s entry into the adult industry and his frank discussions with surprised family members about his decision to become a porn star. Also likely to be included is footage of James’s appearance in Jet Set’s latest hit On Fire!, as well as a look behind the scenes of his starring role in Jet Set’s upcoming release, Hollywood Sex Club. (James is currently at work on director Chris Steele’s latest film, Ass Cruisin’, in which he hits the streets of Los Angeles in search of the hottest asses in town.) The True Life episode begins airing tonight at 11 pm ET on MTV with multiple repeat airings throughout the month.

February 26, 2008

New Release: Beyond Malibu


Following the success of its award-nominated debut A Rising Star, Ridgeline Films is prepping for the release of its second title, Beyond Malibu. Directed by Dylan Ryan, the film stars Ridgeline founder Jason Ridge and hunky Blu Kennedy as two surfers determined to outdo each other in the sex department during one hot summer at a beach house. The studly Ridge is featured in three of the movie’s five sex scenes, topping both Danny Vox (back and hairier than ever) and Maliek Taylor and flip-flopping with Kennedy. Ridgeline Films exclusive and cover model Damian Rios plays with Braxton Bond in his scene, and the film also includes a hot flip-flop fuck between Antonio Milan and Kennedy. Beyond Malibu hits the beach on March 1 and is currently available for preorder at www.RidgelineFilms.com.

February 25, 2008

News: Jesse Santana NOT a Hooker


We get lots of press releases at VincentLambert.com announcing all kinds of stuff. Some interesting, some mundane, some gross (anal bleaching, anyone?). But this week we got one from Jet Set exclusive (and new GAYVN Award winner) Jesse Santana. It came through his management company, Fabscout, and basically proclaimed that he and his sweet butt are not for sale. Now that’s a switch! The release read, in part: “Most porn stars have to struggle under the consistent assumption that all porn models are prostitutes as well. Why should one title create another? It’s honestly a shame that a porn model can’t be proud of his or her job, without it also being assumed that sex and/or services are up for sale. It’s the sad truth, but it’s wrong. Porn stars should be liked for their performances on-screen, not off-screen.”

Santana, the star of films such as On Fire!, Just Add Water and Jet Set Fraternity Gangbang 2, goes on to say that he is not opposed to escorting or escorts but just against the “misled presumption that simply being a porn star in today’s society automatically links you to being an escort as well. Whereas most of us porn stars would rather be associated with what we truly do as a profession. In saying that, I only mean to offend the certain individuals who think that a room full of porn stars is the equivalent of a buffet with a complete carry-out/to-go menu.”

Sounds like newcomer Jesse had a tough time at the GAYVNs!

In closing, Santana says he shares a “strong relationship” with boyfriend and fellow porn star Guy Parker and that they’re just “regular guys who enjoy our careers as gay adult entertainers, but that is where the line stops. It’s depressing, infuriating, heartbreaking, nauseating and, most of all, sadly discouraging that the general public and the porn industry itself can’t realize that not all of us sell ourselves in such a way. This specific, misconstrued perception of porn models is an extremely unsettling and disrespecting misconception that needs to be put to light and set straight for the sake of every self-respecting porn star’s morals and integrity.”

So next time you run into Jesse, don’t ask for a price check!

February 22, 2008

Seen: Dean Phoenix on the Castro in SF


PHOTO BY VINCENT LAMBERT

Well, not the real live Dean Phoenix, but we did spot this larger-than-life version last week in San Francisco. And since the On Fire! star and Best Actor nominee failed to show up for the GAYVN Awards (Heartbreaker!), we just had to make due with a big poster. Although our guy Dean lost to Jake Deckard in Grunts, his new movie is still setting box-office records. On Fire! is selling better than any title from Jet Set and its distributor Marina Pacific in the past year. Now, the studio is marking the success of the firehouse epic directed by Chris Steele and Chad Donovan with an official movie Web site. At www.OnFireTheMovie.com, you’ll find the story behind the making of the film, plus lots of free content, including a hard-core trailer, photo galleries, a look at the sexy cast and special offers available only at the site. So check it out, and you’ll be seeing handsome Dean too.

February 19, 2008

Event: More GAYVN Awards Coverage






STORY AND PHOTOS BY VINCENT LAMBERT

We continue our coverage of the 10th-Annual GAYVN Awards with more exclusive pictures and dish from the show, which was held last Saturday at the Giftcenter in San Francisco. Sirius Radio personalities Derek and Romaine hosted, filling the big shoes of last year’s host Kathy Griffin (who interestingly booked the Castro Theatre, where the awards took place in 2007, on the same night to perform her comedy act. Our spies tell us that Griffin had faux protesters outside the theater carrying signs that read, “You want an awards show? Suck this!”). The duo decided to answer their very vocal critics (especially the guys at Naked Sword who compared them to potted houseplants) by bringing two actual plants on-stage to start the show. It took the audience a while, but eventually they caught on.

Before that, Lady Bunny performed one of her hysterical song parodies geared especially to the crowd (“All That Jazz” became “All That Jizz”). Later, the NYC drag queen and DJ returned with a string of one-liners that skewered her XXX-rated audience (Sample joke: “I told Michael Lucas to act his age, so he died!”). Chi Chi LaRue, a former host of the show, also took the stage to hype the crowd for the beleaguered new hosts and to ask that the industry come together, even if just for that one night. Overall, Derek and Romaine acquitted themselves nicely, offering up some bitchy barbs and (in the case of Romaine) an intentional nip slip. But when all was said and done, their participation was kept to a minimum and, thanks to some of our fellow judges who rarely stopped yapping throughout the show, we could barely hear the leafy duo!

Some of our favorite moments: the entrance of porn It Couple of the Moment Jesse Santana and Guy Parker, both tan beyond their years and chomping gum in unison; the introduction of Hall of Fame presenter Gino Colbert with his name spelled out on the ass cheeks of Falcon’s exclusive power pair Aden and Jordan Jaric; the well-deserved induction of longtime porn superstar Rod Barry into the GAYVN Hall of Fame; Amazonia: Capture and Release director Dennis Bell mentioning its late star Danny Roddick when he accepted the award for Best Ethnic-Themed Video (Latin); and Grunts’ Chris Ward thanking “all the skinny people who make these movies possible” when he won Best Director with Ben Leon.

However, not everyone was completely satisfied with the results. The morning after the awards, Lucas Entertainment president and CEO Michael Lucas sent out a mass e-mail to GAYVN judges and media wondering why his hit sex comedy The Intern (which was named Best Renting Title of 2007) won four awards but his glossy Gigolo, a more serious bid for award approval, received none. “So what went wrong with Gigolo that it got nothing?” Lucas wrote. “If you praised Gigolo as a groundbreaking film, then acknowledge it. Gigolo is a serious feature that was raved about. The Intern is a cute comedy. What went wrong? Where is the common sense? I want the answers.”

Do you hear that, people? Lucas wants answers! What can we say? There’s nothing like a sore winner.

Seen (from top): Brent Corrigan and Chad Hunt; Titan Media exclusive Dean Flynn; Francesco D’Macho and Matthew Rush; Ridgeline Films founder Jason Ridge; COLT men Ricky Parks and Mitch Branson; The Intern team Tony Dimarco and Michael Lucas; Hall of Famer Lucas Kazan with presenter Gino Colbert; Barrett Long; Dominik Rider; and Lady Bunny down for the count.





February 18, 2008

Event: 10th-Annual GAYVN Awards 2008





STORY AND PHOTOS BY VINCENT LAMBERT

The 10th-Annual GAYVN Awards took place last Saturday at the Giftcenter in San Francisco, and although much controversy surrounded the choice of hosts (no Kathy Griffin), the nomination process (no judges allowed) and the color scheme of the set (kidding), the show was pretty much business as usual. There were technical difficulties, poor sound and a surprising lack of skin, although by the second half, the trophy boys had stripped to their undies. The night’s big winner was Raging Stallion’s Grunts (as we predicted it would be months ago) with nine awards. The military epic won Best Picture, Best Director and Best Editing (Chris Ward and Ben Leon) and Best DVD Extras. Leading stud Jake Deckard took home Best Actor for the film, in addition to Performer of the Year. Co-star Ricky Sinz walked away with three awards for Best Supporting Actor, Best Solo Performance and Best Sex Scene (with Roman Ragazzi, who was sorely missed from the event. Well, at least by us!). All World’s Link: The Evolution followed with six awards (including Best All-Sex Video, Best Group Scene and Best Music, which went to director Chi Chi LaRue’s young nephew Red Shag, a composer and DJ from Minnesota. Hmmm, wonder whether the kid was even allowed to watch the movie!). Lucas Entertainment got four awards for The Intern, including Best Sex Comedy and Best Supporting Actor for Christian Cruz (a tie with Sinz). Titan Media received three awards for Best Leather Video (Folsom Leather), Best Extreme Specialty Release (Fear) and Best Videography for H2O (Brian Mills and Paul Wilde).

Other highlights: Blake Riley for Best Newcomer; Jerry Douglas got Best Screenplay for Brotherhood; Jesse Santana, Nickolay Petrov and Jason White took Best Threesome for Jet Set’s Just Add Water (although we doubt Petrov will be picking up his trophy anytime soon); and Collin O’Neal’s World of Men release Edinburgh for Best Pro/Am. Director Gino Colbert inducted this year’s Hall of Fame honorees: veteran porn stars Rod Barry and Tiger Tyson; directors Paul Barresi, Terry LeGrand, Lucas Kazan and David McCabe; and photographer Greg Lenzman (aka Mocha).

Seen (from top): Double winner Jake Deckard; Lucas Entertainment president and CEO Michael Lucas (center) with exclusive Jonathan Vargas and Intern winner Christian Cruz; Best Newcomer Blake Riley; Hall-of-Famer-in-black-leather Rod Barry; Threesome winner Jesse Santana with friend Jen (his date Guy Parker had already left the building); Collin O’Neal with boyfriend; Titan Media hunk Alex Baresi; Jet Set head Chris Steele with two Threesome awards; the trophy guys take it off.

For a complete list of winners, visit www.gayvn.com.





Event: Falcon Studios’ GAYVN Pre-Party in SF





STORY AND PHOTOS BY VINCENT LAMBERT

Falcon Studios started off the GAYVN Awards weekend with style on Friday with a swanky pre-party at the W Hotel in San Francisco. Among those seen (from top) were: multinominated directors Michael Lucas and Chi Chi LaRue getting very lovey-dovey; Best Newcomer nominee and Channel 1 Releasing exclusive Blake Riley and Falcon exclusive Diesel Washington; Raging Stallion’s Antonio Biaggi and Steve Cruz; Hall of Fame recipient Rod Barry and director Gino Colbert; Falcon lifetime exclusive (and now director) Matthew Rush with LaRue; Falcon exclusive and blogger Erik Rhodes; and supercutie Damon Phoenix, who told us that this deal had fallen through. Hang in there, kid!



February 14, 2008

New Release: The F Word



Director Andrew Rosen and Jet Set Men return with the story of a homophobic TV star (Andrew Justice) who angrily calls his co-star (Braxton Bond) a faggot in the makeup room and watches as all hell breaks loose! Jet Set exclusive Jesse Santana plays an aggressive young gossip columnist who is desperately in need of some juicy dirt from his on-set spy (real-life boyfriend Guy Parker). That’s the starting point for this backstage story of love and lust set within the TV industry.

Rosen, who has helmed recent Jet Set hits such as Workload, Code Violators and Jet Set Fraternity Gang Bang 2, says that the Tyler Saint-Matt Majors-Christian Owen threeway is a highlight. “The scene with Tyler, Matt and Christian is explosive and really anchors not only the story of the movie, but all the actions scenes, too.”

Adds Jet Set head of production Chris Steele, “The F Word adds yet another winner to the Jet Set Men line. It’s fun. It’s topical. And it’s hot!”

Starring Andrew Justice, Braxton Bond, Christian Owen, Cole Ryan, Guy Parker, Jason White, Jesse Santana, Matt Majors and Tyler Saint. For more information, visit www.JetSetMen.com.


February 13, 2008

News: Michael Lucas to Speak at Stanford

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Seen: Fratmen at Their Beachy New Home

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February 12, 2008

Movie Review: Uprising


BY VINCENT LAMBERT

Director: Attila Kiss.
Cast: Johan Reves, Maruis Reves, Mario McGabe, Denis Reed, Gabriel Thorsten, Mark Zebro, Adam Russo, Evan Rochelle, Milan Breze, Johny Linus, Richard Jordan.

The foreign cast of Uprising is in some sort of battle. This period drama features elaborate soldier costumes and horse-and-buggies, but despite the subtitles, the plot remains muddled. Two soldiers start the action by stripping out of their uniforms to suck and fuck in a field. A gang of what look like Amish farmers steal some horses, which makes the soldiers mad. But not mad enough to stop one officer from ordering two smooth cuties to undress and blow each other. A threeway ensues, which gives their foes time to plan a holdup. The farmers kidnap some of the fighters for ransom and throw them in a stall with the horses. And because the guys aren’t exactly bad-looking, why not have sex with them? (Another threeway!) Following a celebration dance by the fire, one captor hooks up with his prisoner in a barn, but the soldier takes advantage of the situation (following some average oral and anal) and escapes—which is how Uprising ends. Oh well, at least the attractive cast keeps things interesting when the story line fails to satisfy. However, because most of the action takes place outdoors, washed-out and faded colors are evident in some scenes while hot spots show up in sunny ones. Fans of foreign fare and Falcon quality won’t care either way. (Falcon International)

Reprinted from GAYVN magazine (2007)

Sneak Peek: Brent Corrigan’s Summit

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