LOS ANGELES - Village Lighthouse, parent company of Greenwood/Cooper and 10Percent.com, is gearing up to release Knockout!, its first film by famed photographer Joe Oppedisano.
Knockout! is an inside look at the making of 10Percent.com's 2009 wall calendar of the same name.
According to the press release, the DVD "candidly follows Oppedisano from the locker room to the ring with seven alpha-male, no-holds-barred fighters."
Oppedisano is known for his aggressive, masculine style of photography, which has resonated with fans of Tom of Finland and COLT.
Knockout! captures "something you can't get in book or a calendar or any still, two-dimensional photograph: the movement, the visceral feeling, the idea behind the ‘narrative,' the moment-to-moment inspirations, the give-and-take with the models," Oppedisano said. "Seeing the guys sweating and showing off in this film undoubtedly provides an extra dimension to the photographs."
Knockout!, shot by Tony Sellari at New York's world-famous Gleason's Gym, features the male energy of seven brawlers set to music compiled by Bill Coleman, owner and founder of the Peace Bisquit music label. Oppedisano said the soundtrack compiled by Coleman "rocks."
"It's got a rough, redneck, sexy truck sound that only strengthens the imagery," he said. "I'd like to think it's a heavier, edgier update of ‘70s porn music. The title track by Cazwell sums it all up. It's a mash-up of hip-hop and Southern rock, the kind of stuff I grew up on."
Though Knockout! is Oppedisano's first film project, he has been in demand by publications and corporations around the world for fashion spreads, covers and major advertising campaigns. His recent work has included the 25th-anniversary Calvin Klein spread published in the Italian magazine Collezioni Uomo, the best-selling photo book Testosterone, wall calendars, and album covers for Colton Ford and Ari Gold. He also shot this year's infamous "Black Party" poster featuring AVN Award-winner Buck Angel.
The Knockout! behind-the-scenes DVD will be released on May 20, and a 2009 wall calendar of the same name will follow by the end of the summer.
The movie trailer has been posted at YouTube.
