SAN FRANCISCO—Raging Stallion Studios President Chris Ward has named studio exclusive and former RSS Man of the Year Steve Cruz his personal principal videographer. The role places Cruz in the footsteps of Lester Moore, Leif Gobo, Ben Leon, Tony DiMarco and David Hempling.
Cruz’s debut in the new position will take the form of the Ward-directed scenes in Raging Stallion’s upcoming Tales of the Arabian Nights. Ward co-directed the feature with Leon.
“I am very excited to be working with Steve,” Ward said. “He has talent; he really understands sex and how to film it. I have watched him grow over the many years, and I can say that he is as good as it gets.
“I guess what really makes him click with me is that he and I seem to have the same understanding and feeling for what makes hot porn, from general ideas about casting down to the minor details, like how long to hold a shot or what angles to get,” Ward continued. “Having a good teammate when making movies is critical to a director, and having Steve on the camera really makes me happy.”
Cruz said he is happy about the promotion, too, but he was taken a bit by surprised by Ward’s expression of confidence.
“My head is kind of spinning,” Cruz said. “This next phase of my career is proving to be the most exciting yet. I am honored to be working alongside Chris, and he’s excited to be directing full-time again.
“I’m grateful to have such an accomplished mentor in my life. Learning, growing and co-creating under a huge talent I’ve admired from day one? It’s really too good to be true.”
Ward discovered Cruz in 2006 and immediately cast him in Lords of the Jungle and Mirage. After appearing in seven movies for a variety of studios that year (including a GAYVN Award- and Grabby Award-winning role in Channel 1 Releasing’s Link: The Evolution), Cruz signed as a Raging Stallion exclusive in 2007.
In addition to performing, Cruz also served as videographer for Raging Stallion’s Grunts, Focus/ReFocus, Ink Storm and Hotter Than Hell parts 1 and 2 (for which he also wrote the scripts). He directed Blue Movie for Falcon’s Mustang line. With boyfriend and fellow Raging Stallion exclusive Bruno Bond, Cruz co-founded the website HardFriction.com, which recently released its first self-titled gay adult DVD under Raging Stallion’s aegis.
“When Chris discovered me in 2006, I was flattered and curious about how far I could go in this business, but I wasn’t sure how I’d be received,” Cruz added. “Like everything I do, I just put my heart and soul and everything I have into it. The journey has been incredible, often surprising, and mind blowing.”
Tales of the Arabian Nights, the sequel to Raging Stallion’s award-winning Arabesque, is expected to release later this spring.
For more information, visit RagingStallion.com.
