Mailbag
November 29th, 2009
“I’m a big Joe Gage fan, he is the best director but I have to say this movie is my least favorite. It just didn’t seem like a Joe Gage film. The theme and men were not masculine enough for me…..but I guess we all have different taste.” –Dave
When Sir Donald Wolfit, the last of the great English actor/managers, was lying on his death bed, one of his young actors said to him:
“Sir Donald, after a life so filled with success and fame, dying must be hard…”
To which Sir Donald replied:
“Dying is easy….Comedy is hard.”
I’m going for something slightly different this time around.While not by any stretch a wacky, balls-out comedy, it has a lighter tone than usual. If this comes as something of a surprise, try going with it and see how it hits you. Not masculine enough for ya? Who says you can’t be butch and funny at the same time without being broad enough to come off like a player in a Mama’s Family sketch?
Typical diva attitude: always take all criticism personally and blow it out of proportion. How about your best days are really behind you and “Oil Rig 99” seems like Proust compared to your current drivel.
Comment by ggreen — November 29, 2009 @ 11:18 am
hmmmm, well you’ve got me intrigued. but trying to figure out what a non-masculine theme would be has me baffled!
but an attempt at comedy sounds interesting, i just wouldn’t expect porn models to pull it off. I think that’s always going to be the biggest limitation with porn – you can’t get folks who are ACTORS first; they are sex workers first, and we ask them to follow some direction and speak a few words – much more than that can be dangerous territory – so editing, direction (of the camera) etc become much more critical when the acting is always going to be limited.
Comment by bj — November 29, 2009 @ 12:14 pm
Diva? Moi?
JG
Comment by admin — November 29, 2009 @ 1:03 pm
hey….the comment was just my personal opinion. However I did love “Dad Takes a Fishing Trip” It is one of my favorite Joe Gage films. The only problem I had was the father and son did not get together AGAIN! I was very disappointing in that regard. That’s what we are all waiting for and again it didn’t happen. Other than that it was a great movie.
In response to the comment by the first poster. There are very, very few movie makers that can come close to Joe Gage. When I see Joe Gage directed a movie I know it’s going to be quality and I am going to be turned on. I’m only attracted to very masculine, closeted “straight” men and he does that theme very well.
Comment by Dave — November 29, 2009 @ 3:53 pm
With your return and the release of Tulsa County Line, hopes were high. Then from the partnership with Titan Media (fem-bear specialists) came Closed Set 13 (the final insult). No one wants to bring back the past but a future filled with effeminate bear types constantly talking (long on back story and short on the erotic action) stinks. Magically appearing condoms and anal penetration in nearly every scene is typical of Titan, not Joe Gage. Classic Gage knew the brain was the largest sex organ. Maybe the Fab five (The Trilogy plus Handsome and Heatstroke) are like Citizen Kane.
Comment by ggreen — November 29, 2009 @ 4:03 pm
Well I have to say fem men with lisps are a scene killer for me. I don’t care how good looking they are, how well they perform, if they sound fem it’s all over. Yes in some of the movies I’ve had to mute or fast forward because of this………but for the most part Joe Gage is an excellent director unlike most others.
Comment by Dave — November 29, 2009 @ 4:14 pm
Well, I haven’t gotten through it yet – some days I have limited time to watch porn. BUT, I loved the first and second scenes. I thought the opening sequence with Tony Buff and JR Matthews was a hoot – loved how you teased us by not showing us Tony’s beautiful cock until the end. Looking forward to seeing the rest.
I really don’t think any of the models in it can be called “Fem.” Ggrreen, who are you referring to?
Alan
Comment by Alan — November 29, 2009 @ 4:30 pm
Well, from my take on the subject at hand, I think that I could quite easily get off on a light comedic scene played between Alec Baldwin and Gerard Butler which then turns into mutual humpy-build stroking and then cocksucking.
I mean to see Alec Baldwin, his shirt open, crouching as he nurses on Gerard Butler’s Scottish schlong would make for a very nice scene indeed I would imagine. And yes. Even as he makes a funny comment whilst unzipping Butler’s trousers!
:O)
But maybe that’s just me.
Wow. Talk about the SHOW BIZ cliche of “You’re only as good as your last picture!”
A thing I’d like to mention is that you have to look at a creative’s whole body of work. Otherwise, well, with “Marco Polo” on his resume, luminously-gorgeous, hunkalicious Gary Cooper would be relegated right after that appearance to the E! channel in today’s world. Yet that doesn’t happen when you step back and keep in mind that he was THE prototype for all leading men who have since filled our collective subconscious minds.
You know that you don’t have an artist on your hands if he takes no risks or doesn’t try a variety of things. Otherwise you just have a hack. Joe Gage isn’t a hack. And therefore like Rita Hayworth going blonde for a picture, a creative person takes risks. And sometimes they pay off. Other times they don’t. That’s art. That’s part of the creative process. You keep moving on and creating more.
How to always find the biggest-dicked guy for a picture who might not also lisp or be a graduate of the Pia Zadora School of Dramatic Arts? Its tricky. Even major mainstream productions blow thru tons of auditionees.
Ever watch the audition reels for “The Sound of Music?” My GOD! You realize what a dream the pretty but wooden-toned Charmian Carr truly was once you watch the Liesels alone! lol
And who knew that choosing a Rolf could have been so hard? I mean, you’d think that you just find a big-dicked blond kid and put him in a courier’s uniform. But MAN! There were some mannequin-like boys calling themselves actors back then.
Porn would then be even more difficult. I mean, to find a guy who can walk and talk AND ejaculate on cue? That’s something not even asked of De Niro!
You wonder how many roles George Clooney would LOSE if he were also then told that he’d have to appear throughout the entire film with a massive erection that he sticks into everyone’s mouths or buttholes.
He probably wouldn’t get a lot of roles. Patrick Dempsey couldn’t be cast in a porn because some claim that he doesn’t have a very big willy. (McDreamy but McAverage doesn’t land you the title role of “Hung Hank Sows Hayseed”)!
So to look for all those elements in one actor…wow! Its amazing that some porn films can even fill the eight main roles.
But then, every once in a while – just like in all movie making – a STAR or a guy who WOWS the crowd and becomes a legend comes along. .
Which includes directors.
Comment by Mr.gloryholeJUNKIE — November 29, 2009 @ 6:09 pm
I haven’t seen it yet, so, I should probably reserve my comments, but after reading this I just gotta put my two cents in.
First, let me say, the teasers and the trailer haven’t left me all excited. Actually, they have rendered me cautious, and for the first time in my on going love-affair with Joe, I’m going to rent this title first before I buy it sight unseen.
Second, let me say I love Titan, but the studio’s most recent attractions seem to be the same old “cookie cutter” material offered by everyone else. This brings me to conclude that there may possibly be some studio intrusion into this title which may not or may not have been at issue in the past. I mean, there’s a contractual obligation right? And, who’s to know about the the studio’s say on budget and location not to mention who gets cast? It’s gotta be a factor in some of the blandness (slam-bam-thank-you-ma’m) which appears to carry thru onto the final product.
So, let me finish now by reserving final judgement untill I actually see the video from begining to end. I’m very impressed with DG Media, and it seems to me they are taking “the high road” while the big studio’s (along with the Titan of late) seem to be more budget conscious and going by the way of the dinosaur for me.
Good or bad, hey, I’m a grateful fan, Joe, so keep ‘em coming!
Comment by Andrew — November 29, 2009 @ 11:38 pm
Well I have to say fem men with lisps are a scene killer for me
Clearly what’s needed here is a Marni Nixon.
Comment by Throbert McGee — November 30, 2009 @ 1:52 am
ggreen ggripes:
Word up on the “magically appearing condoms” issue — when you don’t show the condom wrapper being torn open, the rubber unrolling onto the big throbbing erection, and the squirt-squirt of condom-safe lube, you’re essentially encouraging the viewers to imagine that the actors are barebacking. And if there’s one thing that the gay male community needs much less of, it’s the message that “bareback = super-sexy”. (Personally, I could do with a lot fewer anal-sex scenes in general, since I invariably get bored after a few minutes and end up fast-forwarding through them, but I know that anal is kind of a must for gay porn to be commercially successful.)
Dude, clearly you haven’t seen Sex Files 2: Uncle Pruitt Shows Me How to Do It, or else you would’ve said “the Sex-sational Six.” Although it nominally involves a 40-ish uncle and 20-ish nephew, it’s very very very easy to ignore this and pretend that they’re father and son — and they get into a whole lot of mutual jacking and sucking with each other and with their respective buddies (but no anal whatsoever).
Comment by Throbert McGee — November 30, 2009 @ 2:18 am
is there a modern contemporary for Marni Nixon?? i had to look her up.
but yeah, i definitely agree w/Dave regarding lisps & fey mannerisms. i’m not biased – that’s just a personal preference regarding porn & sex partners.
and i also like Throbert McGee’s take on magical condoms. well done, sir.
Comment by jkrs — November 30, 2009 @ 4:28 am
I have to agree with Andrew. “Breakdown” seemed to come all of a sudden, without much hoopla. Watching the trailer left me unimpressed. From what I can tell in the trailer there are only “pairings” and if I’m not mistaken that’s a first for you Joe. The other thing I noticed was it seems very similar to Brian Mills’ work. This is not to suggest Mr. Mills is not a good director, just that you (Joe) are VERY different. Honestly, I have no desire to see it until it comes up on pay per view, which surprises the fuck out of me.
I too have noticed a disappointing trend in Titan’s films. Once upon a time there was an epic quality to their productions, casts were large and diverse, many of Joe’s films had group scenes, only to be followed by another group scene. I suspect this is not Joe’s choosing. IMHO in this outing you were either restricted or underused. Basically my complaint is not with the director but with the studio. Their dvd’s average fifty dollars, even with a 17% savings through their website. I would suggest they harken back to their golden days.
And to answer jkrs, Marni Nixon has no equal.
Comment by Ptolemy13 — November 30, 2009 @ 1:45 pm
Throbert McGee croaks:
“you’re essentially encouraging the viewers to imagine that the actors are barebacking. And if there’s one thing that the gay male community needs much less of, it’s the message that “bareback = super-sexy”.”
Why heavens yes, the point of all porno is to tell viewers exactly what they are supposed to imagine.
Keep your politics out of other peoples porn.
Comment by ggreen — November 30, 2009 @ 2:18 pm
The porn biz, like every other business in the country, is hurting due to the recession and the dominancy of the Internet…why buy expensive porn when there’s so much free stuff out there? The days of “anyone can get rich off porn” are long gone. And, much of the blame can be laid at the feet of the pornographers themselves…they were stupid and selfish and greedy and lazy and short-sighted just like the magazine and newspaper barons and publishers and everyone else in “Old Media”…and, it’s actually worse for porn because they thought they were immune and recession proof. The porn companies are going to have to learn to re-invent themselves in order to survive…and they need to start by lowering the price on the products.
Comment by Michael Strangeways — November 30, 2009 @ 2:21 pm
I miss that Sex Files series Mr. McGee, they were by and large off the hook. I have always believed that a big ‘ol jack off scene (the bigger the cast the better) with a liberal dose of oral can’t be beat in porn. Pun intended.
Comment by Ptolemy13 — November 30, 2009 @ 2:51 pm
I agree, Ptol–So what better place than this thread to announce that “The Night Before The Wedding” will be the first entry in the renewed Joe Gage Sex Files series.
JG
Comment by admin — November 30, 2009 @ 3:05 pm
As they say, “You can’t please all of the people all of the time”. And this thread sure demonstrates that. lol
I mean, think: If its full-on, semen-squirting bare-backing, some guys don’t like that. But if you go through a Health Class scene of a 10-inch stud pulling on a rubber, other guys hate that.
If its a movie of a dude nursing on every boner in a subway, some viewers wonder why no one screwed the slut’s ass. If he pulled down his shorts and let all f the subway riders take turns fucking his ass, people wonder why he didn’t suck their dicks instead.
The sexual demands of we men…they’re ENDLESS! lol
In a movie, if the dad “only” beats off in front of his son as that son is sucking on another man, that annoys some viewers. Like “BLOW YOUR DAD ALREADY, KID!” lol
And yet, if the dad as he watches his son suck off a room of 30 men, were to place his hand upon his son’s shoulder – causing his head to turn – and then shoved his boner between his offspring’s lips as he says, “Hey, don’t forget that while here in the toilets, I’m a piece of trade, too, kiddo”, that would shock other viewers.
Its a hard one.
I mean, issue, of course. :O)
And gay porn in particular has gotten itself into a bit of knot. Which is what happens when an industry gets all befuddled by its own self-imposed rules and a certain amount of contradictory “political-correctness”.
A guy shooting semen onto another dude’s tongue is now a bit “underground”, “fetish” and “alternative”. Yet when 35 guys do the same on a girl’s tongue in a straight video, its simply one more cranked out low-end title that the masses, er, eat up.
Its show business, though. The business of show. Unless someone self-finances all, its always, more or less a product by committee. What do we think the Hollywood greats were always fighting for? Smart ones were always fighting for complete creative control. (And yet there were still those who called Barbra Streisand a bitch for demanding that. lol).
That’s why even in mainstream “legit” movies, there is always the “Director’s Cut” version. The way that he’d have loved for general release audiences to have seen Marc Antony – naked, boned up and blowing a massive load down daddy Julius Caesar’s throat. Amazingly, its the very scene that the STUDIO wanted cut before its release at 900 CineFamilyPlex mall theaters. lol
Comment by Mr.gloryholeJUNKIE — November 30, 2009 @ 3:06 pm
Mr GH Junk and Strangeways, I Couldn’t agree more. The current gay porn establishment media is a giant pyramid with Chi Chi and the GayVN at the top. Dictating any and all acts of sexuality or eroticism that will be allowed in the their type of mass produced porn. And guess what they are loosing market share and credibility faster than the NY Post. The indie productions have an element the big flashy PC porn houses don’t usually include in their product: erotic sex. If you’ve ever been on a gay porn set for a big company and seen the sausage being made, erotic is the last thing on the minds of the participants.
Comment by ggreen — November 30, 2009 @ 5:44 pm
“… and seen the sausage being made” Holy shit that was funny gg.
I had a rough day, thanks for that.
Comment by Ptolemy13 — November 30, 2009 @ 8:19 pm
did i just hear “The Night Before the Wedding” – ?? i hope some sort of ode to Steve Scott’s I DO is in there somewhere – blowjob at the tailor – though i doubt you can get an actor to top Steve Collin’s smooth talking the brother into letting Steve suck him off……
gotta go!
Comment by bj — December 4, 2009 @ 10:37 pm