Michael Lucas was actually surprised. He was afraid his persona might hurt the chances of his smash epic at this year's GAYVN Awards. "A lot of judges do not like me, personally," he says. "To be honest, I thought that I had no chance in hell. I do believe this movie is better than anything else, judging just by reviews. This film is just different. It's too different from anything produced before, with so much effort in terms of dealing with celebrities, so I thought that the judges would vote against me, but I was hoping they would vote for the film. I was very happy and glad that they did what I think they had to do. Forget about my persona. Like me or not, let's vote for the film."
Dangerous Liaisons broke ground on many counts, stressing story just as much as sex and snagging some celebrities from outside the industry to make appearances. RuPaul, Boy George, Bruce Vilanch, Village Voice columnist Michael Musto and actor/ comedian Graham Norton were among the mainstream personalities to cross over.
"We had all these New York personalities who I'm always mingling with, and I was very touched that they were not afraid to do it," Lucas says.
"Having those people in the movie will bring more respect to the industry, and also I thought it would give the models more courage. There's a stigma that porn will ruin your career, that you will never be able to transfer to mainstream. Well, here is the mainstream, and your mainstream is endorsing adult films. I tell my guys, if it doesn't kill them, it won't kill your career."
Lucas was also eager to fuse fashion into his work: "We collaborated with a lot of fashion designers and fashion photographers and a lot of fashion personalities." That look, combined with mainstream film influences like Cruel Intentions and The Eyes of Laura Mars, gave Dangerous Liaisons a unique look. The skilled cast pulled off script and sex with ease, and the story infused each moment with extra energy, proving that not all fans just want wall-to-wall sex.
For Lucas, it was a huge step forward for his company. "I always want to appeal to people who have never seen porn. I want to somehow capture their attention, and I hope that to bring more dignity to porn, to break the cliche that porn is sleazy and disgusting... I think that this will do that. You can't just go and say, 'Porn is not what you think.' You have to prove it."
