Twenty years ago, Falcon founder Chuck Holmes asked friend Steven Scarborough for some assistance on-set. The job was to help the models talk dirty. In retrospect, it seems like the simplest of tasks for a man known for his diabolically dirty mind.
"I agreed to do it, but on the very first day I was supposed to shoot, I didn't show up. I couldn't.... So he sent somebody to come get me, and they brought me to the set, and I was very, very shy," Scarborough recalls. "I knew what I wanted to see, and I had considerable experience in sex. But I never had any technical movie training. So I was very timid in the beginning. I would whisper ‘...Is it possible to do this?'"
The fear soon faded, and in 1987 Scarborough became a director at Falcon, starting with Perfect Summer and quickly followed by his fourth entry, Touch Me, which won the 1988 AVN Best Gay Video Award. Not bad for someone whose previous pornographic experience was limited to dirty fiction and Playboy.
"Steven is like my big brother," says longtime friend and COLT president John Rutherford, who was hired at Falcon in 1989. "Steven has always been extremely charismatic.... Something that stands out for me when looking at Steven's movies is the character and sexual chemistry between top and bottom. Steven's always had a creative mind in coming up with scenarios of fantasy and playing roles of dominance and submission. He does this like no other, and continues to set the bar."
Bookmarked by his Best Director award at this year's Grabbys for Hot House hit Justice, Scarborough has put a stamp of authority on his career. It all started when Scarborough moved from South Carolina to San Francisco just days after turning 21 in 1974, the oldest of six children and a self-described Army brat. "Being the oldest child, I was always keeping everybody in line. My sisters tell me it made me bossy, so that maybe has translated itself into a career in directing."
He worked for a health food store and then founded his own on Castro Street, with a literal window on a gay rights revolution. He soon befriended many revolutionaries in the gay porn industry, including Matt Sterling, John Summers, Kristen Bjorn, and Holmes, who became romantically involved with Scarborough for a brief time in 1978. The two stayed friends, and when Scarborough's lover died in 1986, Holmes became a bigger part of his life once again. Soon, Scarborough had a hand in directing or producing 50 Falcon films, including the highly touted Abduction trilogy, which cleaned up on awards in 1993.
"I was a little overwhelmed in the beginning.... I didn't just step up into this job having all the confidence in the world, but I knew we could figure it out," he says. "Part of what I think defined my career at Falcon was the Touch Me movie and the Abduction series. And they couldn't be more different. It really showed both sides of the pendulum, from sweet and endearing to very pushing and on the edge."
But after almost seven years, Scarborough decided it was time to move on. "Even though it's difficult to work for someone who's as strong-willed as Chuck, my will is equally as strong, and I think we made a good team...but there comes a point where you want to do the movie you want to do, and you don't want to fight for it."
Knowing that he had a gift, Scarborough quickly decided to start the Hot House Entertainment era in 1993 with the release of On the Mark. Hit after hit followed, including the initial entries in two of Scarborough's most acclaimed trilogies: The Road to Hopeful and Skuff. And the Plain Wrapped and Club Inferno lines put the spotlight on heavy butt play and fisting action.
"I know he's partial to a fabulous derriere," notes Chi Chi LaRue, the co-founder of Channel 1 Releasing who was hired by Falcon shortly after Scarborough's arrival. "Steven is one of those people that really loves the business...and he's the kind of person that when something good happens to you, he's one of the first people to get on the phone and express his congratulations."
One of Scarborough's hits was the aptly titled Descent, which hinted at problems beneath the success - ones that almost had him selling the company to Falcon.
"I don't know quite what to say about the late '90s," he says. "We had a difficult time; my focus wasn't on this company. I had gotten caught up in partying a lot, and I took about a four-year break, and didn't come back to work seriously until about 2002.... That's when we really began to put Hot House back together again and get it on track. By this point I was sober and I had a clearer vision of what I wanted this company to be."
The new commitment instantly showed with Resurrection - which started the studio's rebirth - to hits like Perfect Fit, The Missing, and the Trunks series. And this year, Justice and dual hit Black-N-Blue mopped up GAYVN and Grabby awards.
"From the very beginning, I saw that Steven was an A-grade alpha male with a huge mind and overwhelming talent," notes Raging Stallion founder Chris Ward, who directed for Club Inferno and considers Scarborough his mentor - and the "buttman" of gay porn. "His experiences at Falcon gave him a knowledge of the industry that is unmatched by anyone. He is a conductor in full command of a brilliant orchestra. He loves Christmas, he loves animals, he loves people...his personality is such that those around him are fiercely loyal. In point of fact, his employees love him dearly. That shows his character more than anything else, and it is a huge compliment to his impact on those of us in the industry."
Brent Smith - Hot House VP and creative director, and Scarborough's partner of seven years - concurs, noting that Scarborough passionately cares about his staff: "He's a really exciting person to be around, and so funny...you find that behind a lot of big companies: the one big personality that holds it together. That's Steven to a T. He's very caring and very patient with people, and he's very forgiving...all that really fosters long-lasting relationships."
That includes Collin O'Neal, who became a star model at Hot House and has moved on to create his own award-winning work as a director with his World of Men label, where he puts many of Scarborough's lessons into action.
"Steven is a very interesting and complicated person," O'Neal says. "When I was a model, he always was very nice and generous - paying for my cousin or brother to come eat with us after a shoot - and on the set he was always patient.
"I know Steven has a dirty mind, but he also respected me as a model and knew I was a bit shy about vocalizing dirty thoughts," he adds. "I think I get along with him because we are both hotheads at times... I am skeptical of people that do not show emotion, so I am very comfortable with Steven."
As Scarborough gets set to turn 21 again, he's finding new inspirations in both of his worlds. There are two grandsons that are the "joy of my life," and a newfound energy with filming.
"I've learned to trust my instincts, which I think is a great lesson we all can learn in life in general.... I've also gotten to the point where I like doing it again; I'm really enjoying the creative process these days, and I think I'll direct until they carry me out of here," he says with a laugh. "One of the things that I have to fight today is doing it the same way, and I think that's one of the things that's helped me be successful these last few years: I'm willing to learn, and I'm willing to change.... It doesn't always have to be my way."
In the meantime, Scarborough can be found at the movies, political events, gardening, and eating with friends. "And I love being in and around the recovering community in San Francisco. That gives me strength, and it gives me faith in the goodness in people."
It's a feeling that is shared by his esteemed contemporaries, who have come to know and love him. "Steven is one of those stories...he may have been down at one time, and almost down for the count, and he came back like - I hate to say it because it's cliché - but like a phoenix," LaRue says. "That's really what it is. Now Hot House is one of the top studios.... He did it."
GayVN
- By
