Jul

2

New Release Desk: “Tight Latin Manholes”

July 2, 2008 | 4 Comments

Press Release Roundup: I’ve been talking lately about the bum’s rush to film in South America lately; everyone and their abuelita are picking up a camera and packing off to Argentina and Brazil and every city in between. Here’s another example: TIGHT LATIN MANHOLES, a new Brazilian series from Third World Media. The director is Ed Hunter, who has helmed a transsexual series for Third World. TIGHT LATIN MANHOLES is about “male masseuses and their clientele who are always guaranteed to be oiled up, rubbed down and given a happy ending,” Mr. Hunter says in the press release. “We have every kind of guy—from twinks to daddies—and they all look amazing. These guys can wear Speedos and not be ashamed!” Another sign of the times: as you cans see from the DVD insert, the series is bareback. I have to ask: Was making this new series condomless really necessary? Third World Media is primarily a hetero and transsexual company, and I’m curious as to whether their customers are demanding condoms-free sex, or whether they simply followed a template from their straight productions. I wonder whether a niche (bareback) has been inflated beyond its narrow market interest simply because consumers are hungry for new faces and better sex. Cover model Erick is certainly gorgeous; if he is merely adequate as an erotic performer the movie will sell, so why go condomless? I ask not to condemn, but to suss out whether bareback’s popularity isn’t a giant boondoggle.

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Jun

25

Crime Blotter: Sebastian Young Wanted by Florida Police

June 25, 2008 | 15 Comments

Crime Blotter: Gay Porn Times has confirmed that a warrant for the arrest of performer Sebastian Young was issued in March, and that he is currently listed by the Florida Department of Corrections as an “Absconder/Fugitive.” Mr. Young, 25, and whose birth name is Joshua Christopher Noles, had until recently worked as a Jet Set exclusive. In November 2007, he was sentenced to what Florida terms “Community Supervision” for a December 2006 incident listed as “Battery Upon a Person 65/Older.” His history with the Florida Dept. of Corrections includes arrests in 2000 and 2001 for robbery and trafficking in stolen property, for which he served two stints behind bars; the first between October 2001 and May 2003, and again between March and November 2005. I called around this week and his current whereabouts are unknown. I did learn about some alleged trouble he got into in Hollywood recently, but have not been able to verify the story’s accuracy. Jet Set’s Head of Production, Chris Steele, told me Mr. Young has “fulfilled his contract with us, completed his scenes, and did not work for anyone else until after the date his contract expired. His last scene was the one where he bottomed for Trevor Knight in BIG DICK SOCIETY.” Mr. Steele tells me they have had no recent contact with him. Another former Jet Set exclusive, Nickolay Petrov, is also in trouble with the law (click here). [Pictured: Joshua C. Noles mugshot.]

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Jun

24

Friends, Fans Raise Money to Honor Memory of Kent North

June 24, 2008 | 3 Comments

It’s been nearly one year since the shocking, sudden death at age 35 of Kent North. The Grabby Awards posthumously inducted him into their Hall of Fame last month. Now comes word of a fundraising campaign designed to honor his memory. Mr. North’s real name was Benjamin Peter Lewis Grey and the campaign has been driven by his partner, Lloyd North. Four B&W photographs shot by Mr. Grey are available for purchase for a limited time, and all monies raised will benefit the St. Stephen’s AIDS Trust (click here) in the U.K., with the funds earmaked specifically for inpatient and outpatient services. Hot House Video has donated their services to fans who may want to buy a print of “The Mechanics Monument” (pictured), which is available framed for $395. Email the studio’s Publicity Coordinator David McCambridge at DavidMc@hothouse.com for details. “We will process the payment through the Hot House credit card system and then send a check to SSAT in London,” he tells me. Fans interested in the other three prints ($185 unframed/$395 framed, plus P&H) will need to email Lloyd North via the KentNorth.com memorial website. Click here for more details…

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Jun

19

Crime Blotter: New Twist in Nickolay Petrov Arrest

June 19, 2008 | 4 Comments

[Edits 10:12am.] Crime Blotter: We have an update in the case of Edmon Vardanyan, a/k/a/ Nickolay Petrov, who was arrested earlier this year and faces a variety of charges including “traveling in interstate commerce to kill, injure or harass another person.” Mr. Vardanyan told detectives he had accepted money to threaten, attack and eventually kill Grigori and Galina Komissarchuk—aged 70 and 65—for failure to repay a debt. According to a newspaper account, the couple’s son-in-law, Alex Shevgert, has been arrested and charged with “aiding and abetting another to travel across state lines with intent to kill, injure or harass another person.” He is being held without bail; two additional men, Larik Cholak and Sergey Zub, have also been charged in the case. Mr. Shevgert is alleged to have told Mr. Cholak that his in-laws “owed him money from a business they had together and he wanted to send them a message that they needed to pay.” Mr. Cholak allegedly agreed to find someone to send that message. However, the Komissarchuks have never been in business with their son-in-law and, in fact, had provided financial support that included $100,000 as a down payment for a house to spur Mr. Shevgert and his wife to move out of their own home. Mr. Shevgert apparently nursed a grudge “and so he hired people to attack” his wife’s parents. However, newspaper accounts do not specify that Mr. Vardanyan is among those hired. Click here and here for background. Incidentally, several weeks after his arrest, Nickolay Petrov won a GAYVN Award for Best Threesome—shared with Jesse Santana and Jason White—for Jet Set’s JUST ADD WATER. [Source: Tampa Bay Online, 06/17/08; image © Jet Set Productions.]

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Jun

17

Crime Blotter: Charges Dropped Against Cody Castagna

June 17, 2008 | 5 Comments

Charges including conspiracy, extortion and theft have been dropped against Cody Castagna, the sometime porn model and escort whose assignation with Republican (and married) Washington State Rep. Richard Curtis resulted in lurid newspaper accounts and Mr. Curtis’ abrupt resignation last October. A month ago, we wrote that the case against Mr. Castagna was on shaky ground as Mr. Curtis, who was reputed to be living out of state, could not be located. Well, they found him. He has indicated to prosecutors that he does not want the case to proceed. In a one-page written letter dated June 16 and sent to the Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office, Mr. Curtis states, in part, “My wife, daughters, and son-in-law have paid a high price for my actions and also the actions of the defendants. We, as a family, have weighed the costs vs. benefits of testifying and have decided that going through the criminal process would be more detrimental than good.” Click on the links below for background and our previous items about this story. [Source KXLY.com.]
* Crime Blotter: Castagna Accuser Vanishes
* Crime Blotter: Arrest Warrant Issued for Porn Model
* Crime Blotter: Cody Castagna Pleads Not Guilty in Extortion Case
* Repub Sex Scandal Snags Gay Porn Actor

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Jun

5

Raging Stallion Sues Video Retailers

June 5, 2008 | 9 Comments

Raging Stallion Studios has announced they filed suit yesterday, June 4, in San Francisco Superior Court against adult video retailer Drakes and several others for “default on payments for DVDs sold…over the past two years.” Drakes is located in West Hollywood, California. Raging Stallion will seek to recover monies owed as well as concurrent legal fees. “We made every effort to negotiate a settlement,” RSS President Chris Ward states in a press release. “This is the first of about ten lawsuits we will be filing against stores and distributors who refuse to pay their bills. Drakes and other accounts have taken our DVDs, sold them, profited from them, and then refuse to pay for them.” Mr. Ward describes non-payment as a recurring problem “as economic times worsen” and declares that “stores will quickly learn that by refusing to pay they will incur significant legal debt and still have to pay us in the end anyway.” As for Drakes, “we will aggressively pursue them until our debt is satisfied, even if it means seizing assets.” (Trivia note: Drakes was founded by director William Higgins during his Catalina Video years, but it has long since passed from his hands.)

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May

16

Spunk Video Sues Lucas Distribution

May 16, 2008 | 23 Comments

News surfaced yesterday about a copyright infringement lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in New York by Spunk Video against Lucas Distribution and Lucas Entertainment over the same condomless film released by both companies, five months apart and under different titles. In late 2007, Spunk bought and released a condomless film they titled NASTY PISS BOYS. In April, Lucas Distribution solicited for an import film titled RAW TWINKS IN CZECH that appears to have used the same promotional photography as NASTY PISS BOYS; Spunk claims they recognized the films were the same and allege Lucas Entertainment commissioned the film, later rejected it upon completion and then changed their minds. Spunk Video’s Mike Brady told XBIZ about Lucas Ent. CEO Michael Lucas, “He ordered up a movie, then changed his mind and decided that he didn’t want to release a bareback movie… Then he changed his mind again…only he didn’t want to do it under his name and he wanted to do it on our dime. Frankly, if he had released it before we bought it then we would have no claim to it, but the fact of the matter is, this is our footage.” Click here for more details…

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May

9

Steve Cruz on “Sex Shame”

May 9, 2008 | 16 Comments

[Edits 6:45pm.] Click over to the blog belonging to pornster Steve Cruz and the Tuesday, May 4 entry titled “Commercial Break: whatever!” (or click here). Mr. Cruz is responding to an anonymously posted comment praising his physical beauty and then lamenting that he “fell into the porn trap.” Periodically we also receive email of this sort, usually when we write about a porn actor who decides to step outside the box and try music, acting or modeling. “Maybe someday you will wise up and do something with class,” writes Mr. Cruz’ non-admirer. Click here for the rest of the complaint and Mr. Cruz’ response…

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May

8

Crime Blotter: Castagna Accuser Vanishes

May 8, 2008 | 4 Comments

Crime Blotter Update: Cody Castagna, the part-time porn model charged with extorting former Washington state lawmaker Richard Curtis following a sexual tryst, last month “won the opportunity to face the star witness in the case,” according to a news report. “The only problem is that person—Richard Curtis—is nowhere to be found.” He is reported to be living out of state; however, “no one knows Curtis’ current whereabouts.” Mr. Curtis, married with children and a Republican, resigned his position within days of the scandal surfacing in local and national media in late October. The story’s lurid details include cross-dressing, bareback sex and blackmail, and came to light in the wake of the Senator Larry Craig lewd conduct arrest and subsequent national scandal in June 2007. Local news reports did not speculate on the status of the charges against Cody Castagna should the prosecution prove unable to produce their star witness/accuser. Click here and here and here for background on this case. [H/T KXLY.com; photo illustration Fleshbot.]

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May

5

Remembering Mark West

May 5, 2008 | 13 Comments

Sad news today about the loss of another one of our own: retired performer Mark West (not the hirsute, daddyesque performer named “Marc” West) died Thursday, May 1 from an accidental drowning while on vacation with his partner in Hawaii. A mutual friend alerted Chi Chi LaRue, who told me this morning. Mr. West, 53, was active between 1992 and 1996 or so. He was quite the sensation for a few years thanks to titles like ALL ABOUT STEVE (HIS Video, 1995), JAWBREAKER (Catalina Video, 1995), POSING STRAP (1994), ROLL IN THE HAY (Jocks Studios, 1994), SADDLE TRAMPS 2 (Mustang Studios, 1992) and THE TASTE OF LEATHER (Catalina, 1996). “He was one of my true discoveries. He did many movies of his movies for me,” Ms. LaRue recalled today. “He’s on the gorgeous cover of ALL ABOUT STEVE and ROLL IN THE HAY; those are just beautiful photos of him. You know, he was just a big, normal guy who worked construction by day and had no aspirations of stardom. He had no fantasies about porn when I found him in a nightclub. But he did it and he became a big star. Everyone wanted to work with him because he was just an all-around nice guy. Really, that was Mark. He was an all-around nice guy.” We’re working to double-source a few details; however, I did confirm his passing through a print outlet. Our condolences to his partner, family, friends and fans.

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Apr

30

U.K. Moves to Criminalize “Extreme” Porn Images

April 30, 2008 | 4 Comments

As of May 8, citizens of the United Kingdom may be prohibited from owning images the government considers “too extreme.” Part of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill includes the banning of images of bestiality and necrophilia, as well as acts or depictions of acts which “threaten or appear to threaten a person’s life [and] result or appear to result in serious injury to a person’s anus, breasts or genitals.” According to AVN.com, the law is expected to be approved and was prompted by the 2003 murder of Jane Longhurst, whose killer was found to frequent websites that feature graphically sexual and violent imagery. Reports AVN.com, “This led Longhurst’s mother Liz to campaign for a ban on the possession of sexually violent images.” Click here for more details…

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Apr

28

Adieu, Cadinot

April 28, 2008 | 5 Comments

The gay adult industry, and the blogosphere in general, is still reacting to the news that Jean-Daniel Cadinot has died. Click here or scroll down a bit for our story, whose comments section is filled with moving testaments to his influence from colleagues and fans. GayPornBlog writes, “To me one of the saddest things about Jean-Daniel Cadinot’s death is not so much his relatively young age (64) but the fact that his work has become somewhat unknown to gay audiences in the US for reasons I’m having a hard time understanding.” Agreed. Here are some of other stories and tributes (we’ll update as they appear):
Fleshbot: “In Memoriam: Au Revoir, Jean-Daniel Cadinot”
GayPornBlog: “Remembering Jean-Daniel Cadinot”
AVN.com: “Jean-Daniel Cadinot, 1944-2008”

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Apr

25

RIP: Jean-Daniel Cadinot (1944-2008)

April 25, 2008 | 51 Comments

Jean-Daniel Cadinot, one of gay adult’s legendary director-photographers, has died. GayPornTimes confirmed the news, through an intermediary, with his production company. Mr. Cadinot, 64, passed Wednesday, April 23 from a heart attack. His career in erotica began in 1972 when he first began to shoot nude photographs and over the next six years produced some 17 photo albums that sold several hundred thousand copies. He formed French Art in 1978 with the release of TENDRES ADOLESCENTS. He viewed filmmaking as gay activism: “”The still photo became too limiting. I quickly reached its boundaries and I had a desire for action and movement,” he once said. “I wanted to go further, to tell our collective stories as gay men. Video enabled me to do just that. I have to say that when I’m shooting photos I prefer to work as an artist and make artistic photos because otherwise it’s not long before it gets pornographic and I don’t like that. In that sense there was a progressive evolution towards films in order for me to tell stories about men. In a way it was my first gay activism to illustrate our sexual stories.” Jean-Daniel Cadinot’s films were celebrated for their sensual imagery and plot-driven narratives. He would write, produce and direct some 60 films over three decades; he won Best Director from the GAYVN Awards in 1991 for THE TRAVELING JOURNEYMAN, and Best Director honors (in 1997 and 2001) from the Venus Awards in Berlin. In 2001 he was inducted into the GAYVN Hall of Fame. Our condolences to his family, colleagues and fans. Click here to read the final entry on his official blog…

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Apr

21

DVD Wars: Blu-Ray vs. PPV vs. VOD

April 21, 2008 | 1 Comment

[Edits 2:01pm.] EdgeBoston.com has an article online (it went live 04/20) titled “Technology Changes Gay Pornography” (click here). Among the gay biz industryites quoted are Titan Media VP Keith Webb and GAYVN editor Harker Jones. “People are trying to say the DVD is dead or dying; but the penetration of DVD player ownership is huge, and the market isn’t going away for awhile,” says Mr. Webb. “Emerging technology is about high def and Blu-ray.” Titan released BREAKERS on Blu-Ray (the only other studio to do so is Raging Stallion with GRUNTS) and contends sales have been strong, particularly among “rich gay men who are tech savvy and early adapters of new technology. Lots of Upper East Side [New York] addresses have been shipped.” Mr. Jones voices a similar opinion, that folks are going to always want the tactile sensation of a physical DVD in hand. I agree that’s true for a certain segment of the gay porn market. But what about the younger generation for whom buying or renting a DVD has never really been an option? This Netflix generation doesn’t have the same sentimental attachment to physically holding onto a DVD (or a book, or a newspaper, or a CD, for that matter). Click here for the rest of the story…

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Apr

15

Crime Blotter: September Trial Date Set for Kocis Murder

April 15, 2008 | 29 Comments

Breaking news this afternoon in the Bryan Kocis murder trial: Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. ruled today that accused co-defendants Harlow Cuadra and Joseph Kerekes will stand trial beginning September 2 in Luzerne Country, Pennsylvania. The Citizen’s Voice reports that Mr. Kerekes will “abandon a ‘Plan A’ defense that stated he was out of state the night Kocis was killed [and] will instead offer a ‘Plan B’ defense that states he was at a…motel when the murder occurred.” The Times Leader newspaper reports that Mr. Cuadra’s attorneys have until May 9 to file any pre-trial motions, and that Judge Olszewski “ordered prosecutors to revamp their list of witnesses who are expected to rebut Kerekes’ alibi defense.” The original list contained 385 names of potential witnesses. Awaiting a ruling are motions asking for charges against Mr. Kerekes to be dismissed “for a lack of evidence and whether he has to undergo a psychiatric evaluation for prosecutors, as they had requested.” [Citizen’s Voice & Times Leader; screen cap from HandJtrial.]

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