SAN FRANCISCO - Blue Movie, the directorial debut of Steve Cruz and Leif Gobo, has completed principal photography - on schedule, on budget and with quite a bit more than the standard 15 minutes of fame.
The project for Falcon Entertainment's Mustang Studio's division became the center of a minor media storm last week when Los Angeles vice officers raided its Northridge, Calif., filming location three days prior to wrapping. Falcon director of promotion, model development and recruiting Troy Prickett said the raid was eerily apropos, considering gay adult film sets haven't been invaded on such a scale since the 1970s, and coincidentally, that's the era in which Blue Movie's story takes place.
Ultimately, the studio was cited for failing to have a filming permit as required by Los Angeles county code, Prickett said.
"Falcon secures filming permits each and every time we film outside of a studio," Falcon director of production Adam Q. Robinson said. "This incident was a welcome wake-up call not only for us, but for the entire adult film industry. If you do not have a valid filming permit while working in a studio, anyone with an axe to grind can inconvenience your filming schedule by calling in a simple complaint. The person or persons responsible for this not only drew attention to Falcon, but to every other studio filming today."
According to Prickett, the person responsible for Falcon's inconvenience was a disgruntled former employee, and the studio is "99 percent sure" they know the identity of the culprit.
"Everything worked out fine in the end," he told GAYVN.com. "We and everybody else in the industry were under the impression you don't need a permit if you're shooting inside a privately owned studio. As it turned out, you need a permit if you film anywhere. That's good to know.
"We shot the rest of the last scene [of Blue Movie] in San Francisco," he added. "As it turned out every single person involved in the raided scene was already scheduled to be in San Francisco for Folsom Street Fair weekend, from performers to crew to the guys from the studio. We recreated the raided set in our studio right down to the last nut and bolt, minus the guys from Vice. What we got was probably 10 times hotter, because the atmosphere on the set was just unbelievably energetic."
The last scene to be shot actually opens the movie. Scene partners Dillon Buck and Colton Steele said after the raid, they were determined to give the most over-the-top performance of their careers. Consequently, both abstained from carnal relations for the three days between the raid and the re-shoot.
"We were blessed to have such incredible talent on this shoot," co-director Cruz said. "The dedication, willingness and trust made this production fly, especially after the raid. We all rallied together and did what we had to, and I have to say the end result was a better set, better lighting and over-the-top performances by Dillon Buck and Colton Steele.
"This did not set us back. We weren't defeated. It only made us come back stronger and better."
According to Prickett, the fallout from the raid provided "you-can't-buy-this publicity for the movie."
Falcon Entertainment owner Steve Johnson added, "From all reports Cruz and Gobo handled this film from beginning to end like well-seasoned pros. I'm extremely excited to confirm a new direction for Mustang and proud to announce that Cruz and Gobo have secured an ongoing position with Mustang Studios. I look forward to their continued development and forging a long-term relationship with both of these up-and-coming directors."
Blue Movie will release Dec. 23, right on schedule.
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