Charles Steven Key, better known as Paul Morris, is the owner of

Treasure Island Media Treasure Island Media (also known as TIM) is a U.S. gay pornographic studio founded in 1998 by Paul Morris that primarily produces bareback films. It was the first commercial producer to specialize in bareback films as part of the emerging 1990 ...

, a

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

-based

gay pornography Gay pornography is the representation of sexual activity between males. Its primary goal is sexual arousal in its audience. Softcore gay pornography also exists; it at one time constituted the genre, and may be produced as beefcake pornogra ...

studio that specializes in

bareback Bareback riding is a form of equestrianism, horseback riding without a saddle. It requires skill, balance, and coordination, as the rider does not have any equipment to compensate for errors of balance or skill. Proponents of bareback riding argu ...

pornography.

Career

Before being a pornographer, Morris studied composition. He holds an MFA in Electronic Music from

Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University is a private college in Oakland, California and part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was ...

. He has studied with

Robert Ashley Robert Reynolds Ashley (March 28, 1930 – March 3, 2014) was an American composer, who was best known for his television operas and other theatrical works, many of which incorporate electronics and extended techniques. His works often involve ...

Philip Corner Philip Lionel Corner (born April 10, 1933; name sometimes given as Phil Corner) is an American composer, trombonist, alphornist, vocalist, pianist, music theorist, music educator, and visual artist. Biography After The High School of Music & Ar ...

, Grosvenor Cooper,

Terry Riley Terrence Mitchell "Terry" Riley (born June 24, 1935) is an American composer and performing musician best known as a pioneer of the minimalist school of composition. Influenced by jazz and Indian classical music, his music became notable for it ...

, and

Lou Harrison Lou Silver Harrison (May 14, 1917 – February 2, 2003) was an American composer, music critic, music theorist, painter, and creator of unique musical instruments. Harrison initially wrote in a dissonant, ultramodernist style similar to his form ...

. Morris started

, naming the business after his favorite childhood book (''

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...

''). In 1998, he filmed ''Raunch Lunch''. Alongside his own videos, Morris has expanded the studio to release videos directed by Damon Dogg, Max Sohl, Liam Cole, and the Mecos group in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, and independently produced videos by Swiss members of the Dark Sun Collective. He is known to be a patron of independent filmmakers and has supported work by

Vanessa Renwick Vanessa Renwick (born 1961) is an American artist and filmmaker living in Portland, Oregon. Since 1981, she has been working in experimental and documentary forms—writing, producing films, videos, photography, sculpture and installations. In 1996 ...

, Bill Daniel,

Todd Verow Todd Verow (born November 11, 1966) is an American film director who resides in New York City. He attended the Rhode Island School of Design and the AFI Conservatory. With his creative partner James Derek Dwyer, he formed Bangor Films in 1995. ...

, Daniel Rabinowitz, Lee Krist, Ryan Sullivan and others. He has also funded projects by San Francisco's Artists' Television Access. He was a primary producer of Todd Ahlberg's film, ''

Meth Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamphe ...

'', a feature-length documentary on drug abuse among gay men. In October 2007, Morris's Treasure Island Media (TIM) won the prize for Best US Studio at the DAVID Award

in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. This caused controversy as TIM produces

films, filmed without a

condom A condom is a sheath-shaped barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both male and female condoms. With proper use—and use at every act of in ...

, causing

Titan Media Titan Media is a San Francisco-based gay pornographic studio founded by director and cinematographer Bruce Cam and Robert Kirsch (1961-2001) in 1995. Overview The company grew to become one of the largest producers of gay adult content in the ...

founder Bruce Cam to decline a Lifetime Achievement Award at the same event."Titan’s Bruce Cam Declines DAVID Award"
By Joanne Cachapero, October 23, 2007,

XBiz.com XBIZ is an American publisher of business news and business information for the sex industry. In addition to its flagship "Xbiz.com" website, XBIZ publishes two monthly trade magazines, hosts winter and summer exhibition and industry conferenc ...

. Retrieved 2007-11-01. In 2008, Morris received a Best Director Golden Dickie Award for "What I Can't See 2" (which also won Best Video) from Rad Video and Treasure Island Media received the most awards of any adult company including Best Studio. Morris and his company have been repeatedly banned from consideration for most adult industry awards and events. In July 2009, it was announced that Treasure Island Media had been banned from participating in both The

Folsom Street Fair Folsom Street Fair (FSF) is an annual BDSM and leather subculture street fair, held in September, that caps San Francisco's "Leather Pride Week". The Folsom Street Fair, sometimes simply referred to as "Folsom", takes place on Folsom Street bet ...

and Dore Alley in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, and also

International Mr. Leather International Mr. Leather (IML) is an international, though largely American, conference and contest of leathermen held annually in May since 1979 in Chicago, Illinois. Every year, the event corresponds to the weekend of the United States' Mem ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. When asked for his opinion on winning awards, Morris states, "I don't pay attention to those things. Prizes are for kids. I'm a grown up now." In his article "Unbecoming: Pornography and the Queer Event",

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

professor

Lee Edelman Lee Edelman (born 1953) is an American literary critic and academic. He serves as a professor of English at Tufts University. He is the author of four books. Early life Lee Edelman was born in 1953. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree fr ...

discussed the role of Morris's pornography as work that "hopelessly heralds the future" of what Edelman calls the "posthumanous". In this function, Edelman wrote, Morris' pornography is similar to the film works of both

Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...

and

Michael Haneke Michael Haneke (; born 23 March 1942) is an Austrian film director and screenwriter. His work often examines social issues and depicts the feelings of estrangement experienced by individuals in modern society. Haneke has made films in French, G ...

. In May 2014, Morris gave his first phone interview in almost ten years to Australian journalist, Toby McCasker, on the topic of HIV as seen in the Treasure Island picture, ''Viral Loads''. Morris has co-published academic articles with porn studies scholar

Susanna Paasonen Susanna Paasonen (born 1975, Helsinki) is a Finnish feminist scholar. She is a Professor of Media Studies at the University of Turku, and was a visiting scholar at MIT in 2016. She gained her PhD from the University of Turku in 2002; her dissert ...

in '' GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies'' and ''The Oxford Handbook of Sound and Image in Digital Media''.

References

External links

"Paul Morris:Rebel Artist or Provocateur?"
interview by Rick Reed, ''

Windy City Times ''Windy City Times'' is an LGBT newspaper in Chicago that published its first issue on September 26, 1985. History ''Windy City Times'' was founded in 1985 by Jeff McCourt, Bob Bearden, Drew Badanish and Tracy Baim, who started Sentury Publicati ...

'', 2005-05-25. Retrieved 2007-11-01
"A Tale of Two Pornographers"
interviews on the subject of

barebacking Bareback sex is physical sexual activity, especially sexual penetration, without the use of a condom. The topic primarily concerns anal sex between men who have sex with men without the use of a condom, and may be distinguished from unprotected se ...

, with Paul Morris and Chi-Chi LaRue, by Michael Slezak, GayHealth, June 15, 2001
"Gay Porn Cult - Treasure Island Media"
article on Paul Morris and

2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Paul 20th-century American LGBT people American pornographic film directors American pornographic film producers American gay men Directors of gay pornographic films Living people American LGBT film directors LGBT film producers Producers of gay pornographic films Year of birth missing (living people)