HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - There's no doubt by now you've heard of Raging Stallion Studios' epic 2008 release, To the Last Man. The production company's marketing included a controversial calendar, widespread advertorial promotions-in print and online-as well as a coffee table book from Bruno Gmuender.
Instead of stopping there, Raging Stallion accepted an invite from Unzipped Media to throw an old-fashioned, Hollywood movie premiere - a first for either company. Held Wednesday, January 21, the screening of a tamed-down version of the fuck flick was held at the Showcase Theater in Hollywood. Known for being a location for the Outfest Film Festival, the Showcase Theater is owned by Regent Entertainment, parent company of Unzipped Media.
Unzipped and Raging Stallion pulled out all the stops for the event, from red carpet arrivals to introductions of To the Last Man's three directors and several cast members. In addition to being the first RSS movie to be screened in a mainstream theater, Tony Dimarco, co-director and writer of the film, said that To the Last Man marked another beginning for the company.
"To the Last Man is the first time Raging Stallion has outsourced the music for an original score," he told GAYVN.com. "In addition to using music from our very own J.D. Slater we utilized a company in New York to create original music specifically for our footage. We sent them each scene as they were finalized and edited and they wrote an original score to match each scene."
Clocking in at around six hours, To the Last Man was edited down in both length and content so as to be suitable for public viewing in a mainstream theater. The buzz before the movie began was that it was edited to what might be considered an R rating. Fifteen minutes in, it was obvious this was more of an NC-17 pushing X. Just enough sex to whet the appetites of those in attendance to prod them into wanting to go out and buy the real thing, but without making anyone uncomfortable.
Several cast members turned out including the film's leading men, Raging Stallion exclusives Ricky Sinz and Scott Tanner, along with all three directors, Chris Ward, Tony Dimarco and Ben Leon. Also in attendance were Unzipped Media staff and the owner of the ranch in Arizona where To the Last Man was shot.
An after-party for those in attendance and the general public was held at The Eagle, Los Angeles' premier leather bar, where even more porn stars, including Johnny Gunn, Nick Piston and Tober Brandt, made appearances.
Raging Stallion is one of the few gay adult production companies to release high-budget pornography, a gamble in today's economy. Chris Ward, co-owner of RSS and co-director of To the Last Man said that in hindsight the film was worth the investment.
"You have to realize a movie like this costs a lot of money to produce," he said. "We put nearly a quarter million into To the Last Man last summer and while working to get it ready had to come out with all of our regular releases. A film like this doesn't really start making its money back for up to six months, maybe even a year. We're proud of the final product and the response it's received since its release and feel confident it will perform well as more consumers become familiar with it."
For more information or to order To the Last Man, visit RagingStallion.com.
To see photos from the premiere and after-party, visit GAYVN.com's photo gallery.
