Back in 2004, it may have been a surprise to some when Legionnaires upset releases from bigger studios to walk away with the GAYVN Award for Best Foreign Release. But for fans who have been following Liquid London's rise since it started in 1996, the accolades were long overdue.
The studio is the passion of Jean-Marc Prouveur, a successful French photographer who turned his attention to film after his success with shooting male nudes hit big in shows across the globe. "He attended art school in France from 1975 to 1979, and then came to London where he met several underground artists, such as Derek Jarman, David Hockney and Rudolf Nureyev," notes Liquid London's Andrew Davey, sales and marketing manager. "Photographic exhibitions worldwide followed. He then moved on to experimental/underground films shown in festivals worldwide from 1993 to 1999."
Davey notes that Prouveur has a natural affection for the male body, and his undoubted photographic talents aided him in transforming that love to photography and video. Liquid London started making softcore releases, but when laws in the United Kingdom changed in 1999, the studio entered the hardcore realm. And with the release late last year of Heat & Lust — Postcards to a Pornographer, Liquid London found a new North American distribution home with Pure Play Media.
"I was put in touch with [Pure Play CEO] Richard Arnold following a trade show in Berlin. It was then a matter of liaising with him. He liked our product and we liked the idea of working with an established company that was about to push the gay side of its business," Davey says. "Previously we had sold the rights to our films in the market. Now we can really be involved working alongside Pure Play."
Davey also notes that the deal with Pure Play will help the studio grow its U.S. business and help establish the Liquid London name (in this market) as a studio that is unique. He says that the U.S. market is one of a kind given its size and diversity: "Every market has different requirements, and we must recognize this. We will advertise and market the product as we develop and grow in this exciting market."
Some Prouveur hits are currently with other studios: The Prisoner's Song is with Channel 1 Releasing in the United States, while Legionnaires is with Oh Man! Studios. Uniforms was the most recent release through Pure Play, and like all of the studio's hits, it boasts an international cast. All titles are shot with digital cameras but use film lighting to create a high-end look.
"The studio is always looking for models from around the world. Location filming is important, as our audience is global," Davey says, adding that the models are cast to fit the script and that locations are chosen to add to the film. "We have filmed in Poland, Morocco, Italy, Spain, France and the United Kingdom."
Davey notes that Prouveur's work is influenced by a wide variety of film from classic mainstream cinema on an international scale. "Many films stand out, starting with Pink Narcissus, which he saw in 1978, together with Jean Genet's Un Chant d'Amour [the influence for Legionnaires] and most of Jean Cocteau's films, without forgetting the avant-garde in France from the '70s: Godard, Truffaut. Or the experimental films from the States with Warhol, Morrissey, Curt McDowell, Russ Meyer."
Davey also notes that the Italian "new wave" from the 1960s - which included directors Bernardo Bertolucci and Federico Fellini - also had an influence, followed by the exciting new generation of filmmakers from Spain (like Pedro Almodovar) and Britain (Danny Boyle).
"So many films stand out for their sheer magic and their power to transport you into a world you could not have imagined. Guillermo del Toro is another filmmaker that stands out for Jean-Marc because of his astonishing magical tales. As for his own films, he is very proud of Gamins D' Auvergne, The Prisoner's Song, The Manor, Beast and both Legionnaires, without forgetting Polish Pleasures or Spanish Obsessions and his very first so-called hardcore movie, though he had already made over 30 erotic films prior to Lust & Betrayal. For the very same reason, he admires so-called mainstream films, with their abilities to mesmerize you and offer you a peep into someone else's universe."
The studio recently released the sequel to Legionnaires and plans to release up to six new titles a year. In addition, a streaming deal with Maleflixxx and television deals in Germany, France and Spain have expanded the studio's reach, as have mobile network deals in the United Kingdom and France.
"The studio believes that adult films are no different from any other genre and therefore ought to have a comprehensive storyline to carry the viewer along within its erotic universe," Davey says. "The films in general are either based on real-life characters, such as in Gamins d'Auvergne - where Jean-Marc has sought inspiration from Wilhelm von Gloeden, the 19th-century gay photographer - or on fictitious stories such as Rascals or Lust & Betrayal."
CONTACT: PurePlayMedia.com; LiquidLondon.com; (818) 717-5355.
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