Seattle, WA -- When director Brian Mills told me Titan had plans to produce a prison themed movie for the Folsom series of leather/fetish films on the set of Home Invasion back in December, my mind immediately began racing with ideas. We discussed the project on the trip back to San Francisco from the ranch. I don't think I'll ever forget that trip because it was my first opportunity to really connect with Brian on a deeper level. It was also the beginning of what was to become the strongest and most rewarding collaboration of my 'art film' career to date.
Brian and I talked at length about what motivates me to participate in creating features that include my BDSM play and what drives him to capture that kind of action. We found common ground in both the personal and altruistic reasons that inspire us. From that conversation came the look and feel for Folsom Prison as well as the framework for my scenes in the movie. I had no idea at the time I was about to become a screenwriter or have such a huge role in creating, blocking and driving the action on screen.
There is an inherent challenge to producing features like Fear and Folsom Prison. These are not your standard sex films. They capture an aspect of male sexuality that many would rather condemn, censor and deny. They document the kind of radical sexuality that is at the heart of our queer liberation. They spark our sexual imaginations, confront social mores and present new constructs with which we can frame our lives. They engage us in a way that not only gets us off physically but mentally and emotionally as well. As such they become, in my opinion, a truly artistic medium.
Therein lies the challenge; these films must break through to an audience pre-conditioned to mass-market productions designed for consumer-consumption. To overcome this challenge everyone involved must commit and invest their talent. I believe that those involved in Folsom Prison have done just that. And I don't think I'm the only one that shares that opinion. As Martin Cox writes in his review on ManNet.com:
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As for the cast, there's no arguing that this group of studs is one of the best Titan has ever assembled.
For one thing, these dudes aren't just hot as hell, they can act. Take for example Tony Buff, who looks amazing in every scene he's in and also makes us believe he's as corrupt and sadistic as it comes as the prison's corrections officer. Following Tony's lead, in the opening scene two more ultra-bad guys, Markus Ram and Bjoern Giger abuse and use prisoner Diesel Washington.
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Mr. Cox isn't the only critic to recognize the effort. Harley Shadow's review for XX Factor reads in part:
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Kink, corruption and domination tossed in with a mix of blazing wall-to-wall sex equals the best film of the year so far.
It always amazes me when I see a porn star that has more talent than we're used to seeing. Along with director Brian Mills, stars Diesel Washington and Tony Buff have written the jaw-dropping, rip-roaring epic, Folsom Prison. It takes place in a notorious prison where the warden may be the big boss, but it's Buff's correction officer who is in charge, and trust me, Buff is definitely large and in charge.
Not only did Buff star in and co-write the film, he appears on the DVD cover with his uniform unbuttoned to the beltline, sporting aviator sunglasses. Only a few people in the world could pull off this look and make it look fucking sexy instead of like a Village People rip-off, and Buff is one of them. In the film he growls, sneers and intimidates his fellow officers and inmates, and while he can knock the snot out you - as he does to Derek da Silva in the latter half of the film - he will still make your cock hard.
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And as Rick Strokum (don't you just love the nom de plume) writes in today's Guilty Pleasures article for GayWired.com:
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Fans of Titan's more fetish oriented film will not be disappointed with this new release. Folsom Prison raises the bar for all films in this genre. Hunky cover man Tony Buff proves yet again that he's more than just a beautiful face or body. Buff's intelligent, thoughtful, educated and sex-positive approach to his performances in this film, and in all of his work with Titan, lay the ground work for a new kind of adult performer in this industry. Buff's scene with Alex Baresi is raw, intense, and real. Superstars Diesel Washington and Rick Van Sant also turn in memorable performances. Two nightsticks up.
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So say the critics. But I'm more interested in what prompted enough viewers to place Folsom Prison in blue-ray at the top of the JRL Weekly Gay Rental Charts for last week (screen capture above). Could my relationship with Titan actually be helping to broaden the understanding of this thing of ours? I certainly hope so.
For the Record: My boy da Silva is one hard corps fucker and the true star of that shower beat down scene in Folsom Prison. Not only did he let me take a three-hundred-fifty-thousand volt stun gun to his nuts and submit to being aggressively sodomised by both Damien Crosse and myself, but, if you watch closely you can see the moment I knocked him senseless with a face punch. Don't try that at home without a mouth guard and, of course, the guidance of an experienced practitioner.
