I had a long chat this week with Raging Stallion’s Chris Ward and asked him how he could possibly top his Focus/ReFocus film noir epic. His answer? He’s already in the editing room with a movie he and Ben Leon co-directed. Tales of the Arabian Nights stars some very hot new guys, including a few new Turkish studs.
Some of the sets may be reminiscent of RSS’s Arabesque, but the new title includes a Turk named Aybans, whom Ward found on the free Cam4.com website.
It turns out that although free sites like Cam4 make it hard for pay sites to profit, live-cam sites can be a great place to find sexy new stars. A couple of the guys in Focus/ReFocus got their start playing around in front of a camera on Cam4.com, Ward said.
Look for the first part of Tales of the Arabian Nights to come out at the end of April; the second part will debut in July.
And speaking of Focus/ReFocus … Ward said the “mainstream” version due later this year from Breaking Glass Pictures will be a two-disc Blu-ray set that will include about 10 additional scenes not shown in the XXX version.
“I think the sex is more integrated as part of the story, and we shot more scenes with the idea that it would be a feature-length indie movie,” Ward said. “[The mainstream cut] does have a cum shot and some hard dick, so it will have to be released unrated, like [John Cameron Mitchell’s indie film] Short Bus.”
The mainstream movie runs 75 minutes and is expected to be available at Blockbuster and Netflix. Ward said he hopes to take the title to GLBT and other film festivals.
He also said he plans to be more involved in shooting movies this year, and he plans to focus on shooting more sex.
“It’s all about the penetration,” he told me, laughing. “I feel like I’ve not had as much time to do the shooting that I want to do because I’ve focused so much this last year on [expanding] the business.”
An increased emphasis on hardcore sex doesn’t mean Raging Stallion will turn away from story porn and acting. Ward told me he extensively ran lines with Focus/ReFocus leads Cole Streets and David Taylor. Both men came to the set “prepared like real actors,” Ward said—especially for the chilling finale at the end.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that these guys could make it in the mainstream world as actors,” he insisted.
Moving on: Last week porn chanteuse Sharon Kane picked up a microphone for the first time this century and sang in public. The performance was for a good cause: All proceeds went to help the earthquake victims in Haiti.
Kane joined husband Chris and his brother Vince Grant to sing with the band Gideon Chrome at Molly Malone’s Irish Pub in Hollywood, Calif. She may have appeared nervous at first, but she got into the spirit right away and harmonized to Grant’s heartfelt ballads and soft-rock songs.
“It was great getting back up on stage to sing; it felt good,” Kane remarked after her set.
The band also performed Monday at Bar Lubitsch in West Hollywood, and plans to perform in other venues, as well. For more information and other gigs, check out MySpace.com/gideonchrome.
A couple of quickies:
- The gay XXX mega-site Suite703.com just relaunched with a whole bunch of new studs. Among other things, the site offers new scenes and exclusive photo spreads featuring Drew Cutler, Spencer Whitman, and Rob Romoni, all represented by Jason Sechrest's DV8 Casting.
- Double penetration abounds in the new Cruising for Sex extravaganza
