Performer/director, now producer, Steve Drake will be among the attendees at the Wicked event this evening, but not for the purposes of winning a "fanny pack" in a raffle. Drake's got a co-producing gig with Dragonfly Productions [principals are Nick Grillo and Susan Woods], a company that's embarking on a huge documentary project about the adult business. The tentative title for it is Exxxposed. Tonight's Wicked party will kick off the shoot.
Award-winning director Douglas Keeve who helmed Unzipped, the documentary about the fashion industry, was supposed to have been the director. Plans changed - radically.
Drake: "It turned out that he [Keeve] was a real prima donna. He was asking for too many demands. He had too many irons in the fire. He didn't seem to make this project a priority. He didn't seem to have that enthusiasm, and I was going to have a day-to-day relationship with this person. It was just very difficult for me to deal with this guy. He lived in New York. When it came down to it, the producers I'm dealing with just canned this guy. They brought in a new guy who won some awards at Sundance. The new guy is Kevin DiNova. He's from Philadelphia. All the contracts have been finalized. The funding has been accomplished. We'll be in production for the next six months."
Drake says the plan is to shoot the majority of the documentary on high-definition video. "We're probably not going with film because of its problems and costs," says Drake. "We might also shoot some digital footage which may or may not even be used."
Drake: "The whole thing is going to revolve around the making of a movie, from the inception of an idea, the casting, the pre-production, the production of it, the sidebars, the personalities of the performers, the crew and cast; and the little dramas behind the scenes. Eventually we'll have a cocktail party and invite notable people from the industry, whether they be talent or producers and try to get a Jerry Springer affect. We'll invite Rob Black and John T. Bone and have some referees. [Drake laughs]. We'll want some compelling action."
According to Drake, Dragonfly was developed specifically for this project. Drake's been wanting to do a documentary on the adult business for years and, interestingly enough, hooked up with Dragonfly through a friend in New York who owns a restaurant. "I'm going to be doing this on a priority basis," says Drake.
