Seattle, WA –- Given the amount of focus and energy I have been spending on 'what's next' I haven't had much time to reflect on the past year and the body of work created. Truth is I was on set at the Titan studios filming the first in our upcoming line of hardcore fetish/Sm line of features on Tuesday last week when the slurry of messages began coming in regarding the GayVN Award nominations. I must admit, I am honored to be among the many, many talented individuals recognized for their contributions to the industry and just as pleased to have played a role in helping to create many of the nominated features released by Titan Media.
The previously un-reported addition of a category for Best Fetish Performer was the most pleasant surprise for me personally. The inclusion of this category represents the growing trend toward more BDSM/fetish content within the industry and a validation of the efforts many of us have been making to bring responsible portrayals of our play to the screen. I am honored to be among the first nominees to this new category and doubly proud that my boy Derek da Silva shares this distinction with a nomination of his own. Considering the fact that four of the features nominated for Best Fetish Film (Folsom Prison, Sounding #1, Folsom Undercover & the Mechanic) feature performances from either one or both of us, I think it is safe to claim the efforts we've made to bring this thing of ours to a broader audience of new and potential players.
My second individual nod came in the form of a Best Actor nomination for my role in Home Invasion. From my experience on stage I know that any actor's performance is only as good as the script they're working off and the director they are working under (no pun intended), so it came as no surprise that Joe Gage received both Best Director and Best Screenplay nominations for Home Invasion, that Tyler Saint would get a Best Supporting Actor nom or Tommy Ruckus and Jackson Wild would get a joint Best Solo Performance nod for their roles in the film. Home Invasion is also the source of the first of two Best Group Scene nominations that include me, this one shared with Jackson Wild, Sean Preston, Ty Roberts and Tommy Ruckus (although I'm pretty sure that scene also included Geoffrey Paine).
I did two features directed Brain Mills from the co-branded TitanMen/Folsom line of hardcore/fetish films that garnered a total of five nominations. As mentioned, Folsom Prison was nominated for Best Fetish Film. The other Best Group Scene nomination came for my performance in Folsom Undercover with Tyler Peter, Dirk Jager and Frank Philipp. Folsom Undercover received three other nominations including Best Leather Film, Best Marketing and Best Fetish Film.
Those of us at the studio were truly happy to learn Breakers received so many nominations since it was director Bruce Cam's farewell opus and the first gay adult film released on Blu-ray. The film earned Bruce a Best Director nomination in addition to nods for Best Picture, Best All-Sex Film, Best HD Feature, Best Packaging, Best Marketing, Best DVD Extras and Best DVD Special Edition. My co-director on the new fetish/Sm line for Titan, Paul Wilde and cameraman Jeff Slurry received Best Cinematography nominations for their work on Breakers. James Sheridan and Kawai, who will be editing the new line, also received nods for Best Editing on the film. And the performances delivered by Dean Flynn, Rick van Sant and myself earned a Best Threesome nomination for our contributions.
Of final note here is Titan’s third fantasy trip to the carnival, Funhouse. This visually stunning feature earned Brian Mills a Best Director nomination in addition to a Best Art Direction nom for both him and Paul Wilde. The film also garnered a nomination for Best All-Sex Film and Dean Flynn and Eric Moreau a Best Sex Scene – Duo nom.
The GAYVN Awards are dedicated to recognizing outstanding movies and talented individuals who have contributed to the advancement of the gay adult entertainment industry. Its broad-based, nation-wide panel of judges, predominantly gay-press-affiliated, has been awarding trophies for 21 years, making the GAYVN Awards the most respected and recognized awards in gay adult entertainment history. You can view a complete list of all the 2009 GayVN Award Nominations or Titan Media's Press Release at your leisure. The 2009 GayVN Awards Show will be held at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco on Saturday, March 28th, 2009. You can buy tickets for all the weekend events here. You can bet Derek and I will be there.
