SAN FRANCISCO—With a budget of $177,000, Focus/Refocus is set to be the largest production of the year for gay adult studio Raging Stallion.
Described by co-director and RSS chief Chris Ward as “an expansive crime drama that builds on Raging Stallion’s big-movie tradition,” the four-disc film noir epic will be shot from a 60-page script by Dan Rhodes. As has become traditional for RSS, controversial elements abound and will “raise eyebrows,” according to co-director Ben Leon. As in the 2009 GAYVN Best Picture Award winner To the Last Man, there will be blood, but most of the violence in Focus/Refocus occurs off-screen instead of in living color before the lens. Even so, co-director Tony Dimarco said the grand finale of Focus/Refocus will be one of the most controversial scenes yet released by a major adult studio. Performers and crew have been sworn to secrecy about key aspects of the film.
“As a filmmaker, my goal is to face new challenges and push myself and those around me to produce bigger and better, but also more refined, films,” Leon said. “As a follow up to To the Last Man, the Raging Stallion team is ready to hit new heights that the critics and the audience expect.
“Focus/Refocus is a script that is demanding on multiple levels,” he continued. “The acting is essential, the lighting is essential and of course the hot sex is essential. As a team, Chris, Tony and I are continually pushing each other to raise the bar. This project will be a culmination of all our talents and skills.”
Like the script, the cast is of epic proportions. Newcomer Cole Streets was tapped to play the lead. David Taylor, Steve Cruz and Bruno Bond have been cast in principal supporting roles. Ricky Sinz, Scott Tanner, Ryan Raz, Austin Wilde, Wilfried Knight, Adam Killian, Jason Crew, Francesco D’Macho, Damien Crosse, Tristan Jaxx, Conner Habib and Alejandro Fernandez round out the enormous talent pool.
“I am very, very excited by this cast,” Ward said. “These guys not only look great, but the combined acting talent here is amazing. This will be a major movie of top quality. Cole Streets is going to do a great job; he is going to become an instant superstar with this role. And the other guys! Who would ever believe one single movie would have [all of those A-list performers in one place]? It’s a director’s dream. The stars are lined up for us to produce another classic, best-selling film.”
Dimarco added, “I feel this movie is probably one of the biggest undertakings so far in my career in terms of the scope and the complexity of the story. It’s much more developed than anything I’ve worked on in the past. I love the challenge of doing things I’ve never done before, and I’m excited to be working on this project.
“We were also very lucky to come up with such an amazing A-level cast,” he continued. “Things just seemed to fall into place and before we knew it, we were looking at many big names. We didn’t plan it that way, but now it makes total sense.”
The studio expects to release Focus/Refocus during Thanksgiving weekend.
For updates during production, visit RagingStallion.com.
