Ask The Pornographer - 2016 Edition

[xboxfan34]

How would you respond to someone who said they wanted to switch lives with you?

 

[Soilwork]

How would you respond to someone who said they wanted to switch lives with you?

Before you do that I'd probably want to show people what my life is really like

Ok so... while obviously there are a lot of pictures out there of me rolling around on the ground with porn stars fucking over my head, there are a lot of pictures of me interacting with hot naked men with boners. There are a lot of videos of me shooting movies and splashing around in the pool. But I don't show people the hours and hours I spend the other 20 days of the month working alone in my own home office editing, writing scripts, planning shoots, doing pre- and post-production. Casting, dealing with plane tickets and hotels and juggling crew and cast.

It's NOT an easy job and it's not always fun.

That said... I do occasionally think about how I do get to work from home a lot, I'm married with a great home and private life and friends I love.. My job is hard and very stressful but quite rewarding and I do live where I've always wanted to live.

So yeah... all things considered, I would wanna trade lives with me, too.

 

[AlphaKennyBody]

Would you ever consider doing a full blown TV show? Only like 12 episodes or so, but full 43 minutes with actual storyline etc, but it would still be porn.

For example, it could still have drama and shit, but when it comes to the sex scenes, it would actually be sex longer than ten second and you could see everything.

 

[Soilwork]

Would you ever consider doing a full blown TV show? Only like 12 episodes or so, but full 43 minutes with actual storyline etc, but it would still be porn.

For example, it could still have drama and shit, but when it comes to the sex scenes, it would actually be sex longer than ten second and you could see everything.

I totally would love to do that. I'm not honestly sure it would work.. people ask me about that all the time, so it seems there would be a market for it, although I've never seen it done very well. Some people really loved that Shortbus movie but it didn't make much money and I thought it was dreck.

 

[Kyanimal]

What about a more HARD Core version of "Queer As Folk"?

 

[Soilwork]

What about a more HARD Core version of "Queer As Folk"?

logistically that would be hard... Finding men who can act well enough to carry off more than a few lines of dialogue and still be good porn performers. And look the part. And want to do it. Plus script writers and the amount of editing and post to carry it off... It would be a huge investment in time and money and I'm not convinced it would work. We all wanted to see Brian fuck Justin but would we want to see a sex scene between those same two men every week?

I would be willing to try if someone wants to write the checks...

 

[Latimer]

logistically that would be hard... Finding men who can act well enough to carry off more than a few lines of dialogue and still be good porn performers.

I'll bet there are any number of men who with the proper coaching could pull off both; whether or not they'd actually want to do both is another question.

I've known a more than a few escorts who were otherwise good-looking actors waiting for their big break who would have been great at it, but who would have regarded doing so as career suicide.

 

[Soilwork]

I'll bet there are any number of men who with the proper coaching could pull off both; whether or not they'd actually want to do both is another question.

I've known a more than a few escorts who were otherwise good-looking actors waiting for their big break who would have been great at it, but who would have regarded doing so as career suicide.

Honestly as much as everyone including me likes the idea, it seems like way more trouble than it's worth, and I can already see all the internet fuckwit whiners complaining about how they don't like stories and "it would be hotter if it was bareback."

... Or whining that "we've already seen Brian and Justin fuck. I wanna see ____ and ______" or "the big downfall of this show is that they don't [insert personal fetish of the one guy posting]."

 

[jbrown329]

Internet fuckwit whiners, I'm so stealing that!

 

[smokeshadow]

Jasun - not sure how long you've been in the business, but in your experience, how has gay porn changed in the last 10 years? How has it changed since the 70's and 80's?

 

[Cobyforrester]

There are a lot of opportunities in amateur porn. In the last two years webcam modeling has peaked and now it is starting to get difficult to get seen in that area unless you have a pretty face and a great body. But even then places like xtube prefer more realistic visions of the sexual act even though the most real view is going to be in person. I would never diminish the reality of porn however. I haven't done too well but you can do well in the field if one has the right space and right people in their lives. Hopefully 2016 will be my successful year online!

 

[Soilwork]

Jasun - not sure how long you've been in the business, but in your experience, how has gay porn changed in the last 10 years? How has it changed since the 70's and 80's?

I've been in the industry roughly 13 years.

when I first started there were two solitudes...

the BIG HUGE MOVIE STUDIOS who released all their movies on VHS and DVD. They had huge budgets and movies were released when they were ready..they had no "must get a new scene out Tuesday." They would release two versions... a retail 1 Disc version and a 2-Disc director's cut. They made a fortune and brand loyalty was big.

Then there were the Online studios... the small ones. There were just a handful and most of them had shoe-string budgets and the content was shot in poorly-lit places, usually single-camera and usually very "Gonzo." The director talking to the performers and the whole thing was kinda skeezy.

Back in those days, we'd go to conventions and the DVD Studio people were all kinda bitchy and cunty and looked down on the Online people who they considered to be bush league.

The Big Studios generally didn't have websites other than for mail ordering their movies. If they had membership sites, they were terrible. They wouldn't give access to the entire catalogue, they were poorly designed and poorly run. Video streaming was almost non-existent and seldom worked. Many got fooled into that silly "Digital Rights Management" scam and paid all sorts of money to hobble their content to the point that even their paying customers couldn't view it.

Slowly over the years, the online studios became a bigger part of the puzzle. People turned to online distribution because it was easier and cheaper and more private. If you were too embarrassed to walk into a store and didn't want to wait for weeks to get your DVD in the mail... online solved that problem.

I remember one year at a convention when all the DVD Studios were suddenly all being... very nice. VERY nice. They would take me to dinner and buy all the drinks and ask me all about how they could change their sites to break into the online market better. The footing became much more even and when that happened... the weaker online studios disappeared as the big studios ate their market share. But also ... the online studios started to spend more money on productions and started to produce content closer to the level that the DVD studios were making... at the same time... the DVD studios saw their bottom-lines shrinking and their budgets came down.

It wasn't just the studios making less money... performers saw their pay going way down and the size of the staff shrank...

At one time you needed to advertise your website in print ads in magazines... now it's the other way around... you advertise your DVDs online.

when I started with Jake Cruise, we had a HUGE staff.. two video editors (plus me), three guys directing, two guys working in DVD mailing... an office manager, TWO graphic designers, an IT guy... accountant and Jake... before long it was clear we didn't need all of that.


Things were really odd for years. We couldn't agree on a standard for content delivery. We couldn't convince people that they weren't going to get their identity stolen if they gave us their credit card numbers, we couldn't find ways to give people what they wanted how they wanted it.

Things seem to me calming down now and making more sense. As internet speeds continue to increase and streaming technology gets better and people's computers can handle the data... they trust sites more and we're able to deliver our content better. Good online studios like Naked Sword and Men.com are right next to the long-living DVD studios like Titan and Raging Stallion. Small niche sites still exist... I'm excited to see where it goes next.

 

[Kyanimal]

WOW! What a Unique perspective, and I can't put into words how Interesting that is. Thank You! for sharing your "Inside" view!

I work in "Print", which has certainly morphed into "Media", of all kinds. And I find your insights into the many marketing aspects, of all kinds of communication, quite fascinating, and relevant.

I can't claim I've been stalking you, Jasun, butt I've certainly been "following" you, since the early days of JUB. Knowing what I do, and having been privileged to witness your progression, the one word that comes to mind is "Impressive"!

You may not be aware of just how AWESOME you are! Butt, trust me, what you've been doing, and sharing, means more than you can probably realize!

By all means ... Please keep it UP! (And, I don't mean that in "just" a sexual way.)
Chaz

 

[Soilwork]

There are a lot of opportunities in amateur porn. In the last two years webcam modeling has peaked and now it is starting to get difficult to get seen in that area unless you have a pretty face and a great body. But even then places like xtube prefer more realistic visions of the sexual act even though the most real view is going to be in person. I would never diminish the reality of porn however. I haven't done too well but you can do well in the field if one has the right space and right people in their lives. Hopefully 2016 will be my successful year online!

that's actually a really great cottage industry. Guys doing camming from their own homes.

 

[Soilwork]

I can't claim I've been stalking you, Jasun, butt I've certainly been "following" you, since the early days of JUB. Knowing what I do, and having been privileged to witness your progression, the one word that comes to mind is "Impressive"!

It's funny... I was talking with someone recently about the early days of JUB when I was still working as a video editor in Toronto and hoping that one day I could move to LA and maybe if I was REALLY lucky... get a job for one of the big studios.

I'll admit that when Titan called me in and offered me the job of director (that I hadn't applied for and never thought I'd get), I almost fell out of my chair. It's been an incredible journey but more than that it's ben rewarding... even if the amount of work is staggering and stressful and I never really know where my life is going... but that said... I've always just kept moving forward and it all manages to work out.

So far... for all I know I'll be homeless by the end of the year.

 

[xboxfan34]

Jasun, who would you say is the gay equivalent to Hugh Hefner?

 

[Soilwork]

Jasun, who would you say is the gay equivalent to Hugh Hefner?

ChiChi LaRue. A legendary porn maker whose personal life became part of the whole story AND someone who leads a bit of a wild lifestyle surrounded by hot (men, in this case). Chichi is someone who became synonymous with their brand and many of us live vicariously through.

 

[smokeshadow]

Well, if ChiChi is gay porn's Hugh Hefner; then who is gay porn's Marilyn Monroe?

 

[Soilwork]

Well, if ChiChi is gay porn's Hugh Hefner; then who is gay porn's Marilyn Monroe?

Joey Stefano.

- - - Updated - - -

Or... no.. Maybe Leo Ford. Beautiful blond man who died in his 30s. (motorcycle accident)

 

[Soilwork]

Or... no.. Maybe Leo Ford. Beautiful blond man who died in his 30s. (motorcycle accident)