Michael Lucas may have reached a new zenith in publicity-making when he staged his own "Paul is dead" kind of death, and then apologized for it. These days, when the industry is mourning the death of Danny Roddick, it was a shock for many to see the headlines that Manhattan police found Lucas dead.
Lucas apologized, saying, "Yes, I was murdered yesterday. But it was only for the role I'm playing in my new film Gigolo. So, yes, here it is, the publicity stunt. Nothing more than that. Most of you caught on to the joke, as we put very clearly in the corner of the picture the Lucas Entertainment watermark, and there were a few obvious mistakes in the text. For those who did not catch on [to] the joke, my true and sincerest apologies. I did want to try to keep the charade going for another day or two, but after I received several very concerned e-mails and phone calls, I decided to cut it short. For those who said that this is nothing more than a publicity stunt - duh - and in very bad taste because of the porn stars who have passed on this year, let me tell you, people die in every profession."
Chi Chi LaRue threw a kick-off party for one of his best movies in years. Link V: The Evolution is simply breathtaking, even the trailer. It was the beginning of a whirlwind tour that took the crew to Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco and to Berlin. At the Faultline in L.A., Chi Chi intro'd Cole Ryder, Tyler Saint, Steve Cruz, and Blake Riley as well as some of the other great models in this super-sequel. It was also a great chance to hang out with old friends, especially Jim Steel and Sharon Kane.
Then, Channel 1 Releasing launched a party at the Pleasure Chest in West Hollywood with their new Rascal Toys line from novelty manufacturer Topco Sales. LaRue hosted as Rascal Exclusives Eddie Diaz and Cole Ryder were on hand to sign autographs and model the replicas molded from their famous private parts.
At the party, director Andrew Rosen told me about his upcoming Code Violators, which features Jet Set Men Exclusive Nickolay Petrov, who is definitely a guy to keep an eye on. This dark-haired Eastern European hunk with an always-hard dick already made heads turn in Proven Straight and Chris Steele's Just Add Water, but in Code Violators, he's a foreman for a guesthouse and he demands a blow job from unsuspecting visitor Blu Kennedy. He then pummels the redhead blue on the living room sectional, ending with a spectacular cum-shot across the kid's fair-skinned but ripped bod. "Nickolay is an amazing, take-charge performer, as he proved in the scene where he commanded Blu to satisfy him," said Rosen, who was also spotted perusing the stalls at the West Hollywood Book Fair. The director is smart enough to rip stories from the headlines, so with John Tegan he created a film called The F Word about a Hollywood actor who uses the wrong word beginning with "F" one too many times.
How great that there's a new Steele in town with the former model taking over production at Jet Set Men. He has plans for upcoming titles like On Fire!, co-directed by Chad Donovan and starring Dean Phoenix. Congrats, Chris!
Jim Steel said he's happy with the success of his Men of Odyssey's Jim Steel's Beach House Diaries, which is now available in video on demand on MenOfOGV.com. Bob East explains, "In this new market, VOD and downloading have become as common as rentals became in the '80s. We were advised to hold off a while to put this on the web because it was thought it would hurt sales of the title. But we have had so many inquiries about VOD that we figured we'd give it a try." But Steel is also planning on shooting porn direct for the Internet now.
Meanwhile, Titan Media is asking fans to call Miller Brewing Company and thank them for their support of the Folsom Street Fair and "not caving in to right-wing pressure to pull out from presenting sponsorship of our fair," Bruce Cam said. They urge you to contact Miller spokesman Julian Green at [email protected] or call (800) MILLER 6 or (414) 931-2000 to let them know how much you appreciate them and their beer.
Also, Titan filed suit and shut down a major online gay porn piracy ring in its continued fight to stop such thievery. The lawsuit names Gilbert Michael Gonzales of Desert Hot Springs, Calif., as the ringleader, along with 21 others. The suit alleges willful copyright infringement of more than 45 Titan films. Gonzales's ring is believed to be responsible for more than 100,000 illegal downloads.
"The message we are sending is that you can run, but you cannot hide," says Keith Webb, Titan's vice president. "If you steal Titan Media property, we will identify you and we will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law."
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