SAN FRANCISCO—Independent documentary filmmaker Ryan Sullivan has signed a three-year deal that will see Sullivan and Treasure Island Media founder Paul Morris working together to expose the inner sanctum of the controversial gay adult studio and the lives of the men the studio employs.
Sullivan’s work to date has been posted in “webisode” format to a new website, RyanSullivan’sIsland.com. According to Sullivan, new webisodes will appear weekly as part of his quest to uncover “the truth behind the most notorious film company in the world.”
“[Ryan Sullivan's] Island is the true story of a young filmmaker who left his small hometown in Nebraska and found himself exploring the dark realities of gay porn company Treasure Island Media,” Sullivan notes on the site. “A gay friend said he thought it was ‘immoral’ for me to commit to TIM. He made it sound like I was selling my soul to the devil. I don’t think so. They’re really nice guys.”
Sullivan, 25, credits Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo for his interest in filmmaking, which he began to explore during high school. In 2007, he received a grant from the Experimental Video Art Project in Omaha, Neb., to fund his first feature-length film. Unfortunately, he lost the entirety of the project when a lab accidentally destroyed his only print. Reeling from the setback, Sullivan relocated to San Francisco and began documenting the lives of pornographers he met. Early footage became the foundation for Ryan Sullivan’s Island.
Morris said the webisodes provide an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at Treasure Island, from porn shoots to daily life and occasional office drama.
“I’m impressed with Mr. Sullivan’s work,” Morris said. “Filmmakers have tried to capture the inner workings of TIM before. I have no doubt that Sully will be the one to succeed.”
For more information about the project, visit RyanSullivansIsland.com. For more about Treasure Island, visit TreasureIslandMedia.com.