Lucas Entertainment is a New York-based gay pornographic studio started by

porn star A pornographic film actor or actress, pornographic performer, adult entertainer, or porn star is a person who performs sex acts in video that is usually characterized as a pornographic movie. Such videos tend to be made in a number of dis ...

Michael Lucas. It is one of the largest such studios in the world. The studio is known for lavish, big-budget films, and it contends that its 2006 film ''

Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita ''Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita'' is a gay pornographic remake of the Federico Fellini classic film '' La Dolce Vita'', directed by Michael Lucas and Tony Dimarco and released by Lucas Entertainment in 2006. The film stars Michael Lucas, Jason R ...

'' is the most expensive gay porn ever made.Review of Lucas Entertainment
''The Banana Guide'', June 2009. The film won 14

GayVN The GayVN Awards are film awards presented annually to honor work done in the gay pornographic industry. The awards were sponsored by '' AVN Magazine'', the parent publication of ''GAYVN Magazine'', and continue the recognition for gay pornograp ...

awards in 2007, the current record.Michael Lucas' 'La Dolce Vita' Sets GAYVN Record
, Chicagopride.com, February 26, 2007. To expand its direction, the studio hired mr. Pam Doré, gay adult film's only female

videographer Videography is the process of capturing moving images on electronic media (e.g., videotape, direct to disk recording, or solid state storage) and even streaming media. The term includes methods of video production and post-production. It ...

, as creative director of film and production in August 2008. Reprint from GayPornTimes.com. Doré, who began her career at Falcon Video in 1996, was nominated for best director and

cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to foc ...

at the

GayVN Awards The GayVN Awards are film awards presented annually to honor work done in the gay pornographic industry. The awards were sponsored by ''AVN Magazine'', the parent publication of ''GAYVN Magazine'', and continue the recognition for gay pornograp ...

for the studio's 2008 ''Return to Fire Island''. In May 2009, Lucas Entertainment announced that it was filming on location the first gay porn film with only Israeli models, billing it as an effort to promote

Israeli culture The roots of the culture of Israel developed long before modern Israel's independence in 1948, and traces back to ancient Israel ( 1000 BCE). It reflects Jewish culture, Jewish history in the diaspora, the ideology of the Zionist movement that ...

.Sensitive Gay Porn Technology Smuggled to Israel
, Ryan Tate, Gawker, May 8, 2009.What Fun Stories Will Michael Lucas Bring Back From Israel?
Queerty, May 8, 2009. The company subsequently launched its Men of Israel

microsite A microsite is an individual web page or a small cluster of pages which are meant to function as a discrete entity (such as an iFrame) within an existing website or to complement an offline activity. The microsite's main landing page can have its ...

introducing the actors and film concept.Lucas Launches 'Men of Israel' Microsite
JC Adams,

XBiz 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 ...

News, June 30, 2009 Lucas has called the film his most important, and journalists from ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', ''

Out Magazine ''Out'' is an American LGBTQ news, fashion, entertainment, and lifestyle magazine, with the highest circulation of any LGBTQ monthly publication in the United States. It presents itself in an editorial manner similar to '' Details'', ''Esquire' ...

'' and ''

Yediot Aharonot ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' ( he, יְדִיעוֹת אַחֲרוֹנוֹת, ; lit. ''Latest News'') is a national daily newspaper published in Tel Aviv, Israel. Founded in 1939 in British Mandatory Palestine, ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' is the largest paid n ...

'' noted it as a landmark film as the first pornographic film shot on location with an all-

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i cast; while ''

Tablet Magazine ''Tablet'' is an online magazine focused on Jewish news and culture. The magazine was founded in 2009 and is supported by the Nextbook foundation. Its editor-in-chief is Alana Newhouse. History ''Tablet'' was founded in 2009 with the support ...

'' and the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' remarked on it being the first to feature an all-

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

cast.Gay-Porn Mogul Hopes to Arouse Interest in Israel
, David Graham, ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...

'', September 23, 2009. In July, the studio announced on Lucas's blog that it will open a European headquarters in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, the site of its current production, ''Paris Playboys''.Lucas Entertainment Launches European Headquarters in Paris
, Michael Lucas, Lucasblog.com, July 16, 2009. In 2013 Lucas Entertainment went from being exclusively a condom-only studio to filming and releasing "bareback" sex content.

History

Michael Lucas founded his own production company, Lucas Entertainment, in 1998.Oswoski, Kevin (April 22, 2005)
"Adult film producer fleshes out his 'fantasy' at tea"
, ''Yale Daily News'', retrieved from www.yaledailynews.com on August 31, 2006. He based the company in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

(rather than

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, where many of the other pornography studios are located), in part, to take advantage of the lack of competition.Mao, Tien (June 21, 2006
Michael Lucas, CEO Lucas Entertainment
, retrieved December 18, 2006 from www.gothamist.com In 2004, Lucas Distribution, Inc., his adult video distribution company, began operations. Lucas directs, produces and stars in his own films under the Lucas Entertainment banner. In March 2009 the studio hired Mr. Pam Doré as creative director of film and production.Lucas Entertainment Hires Mr. Pam As Creative Director
G. Zisk Rice,

Adult Video News ''Adult Video News'' (also called ''AVN'' or ''AVN Magazine'') is an American trade magazine that covers the adult video industry. '' The New York Times'' notes that ''AVN'' is to pornographic films what ''Billboard'' is to records. ''AVN'' spon ...

, August 11, 2008. Doré was the

and editor for NakedSword's Tim & Roma Show. Doré, a 12-year veteran of the business, had shot and edited award-winning films for COLT Studio Group and Black Scorpion Entertainment, amongst others. She was nominated at the 2009

for best

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

and

for the studio's 2008 ''Return to Fire Island''. In an interview, mr. Pam stated that she fulfills many roles on set, including "kick-ass cameraman, slutty friend or 'Mommy' if the boys need a hug or someone to talk with." The studio announced on Lucas's blog in July 2009 that it was opening a European headquarters in

. The new office will centralize production services, including

casting Casting is a manufacturing process in which a liquid material is usually poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solidified part is also known as a ''casting'', which is ejected ...

filming Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to foc ...

, and promotions. The studio last filmed in France in October 2001 for ''Inside Paris'', and announced it was to begin filming ''Paris Playboys'' in the city's gay district,

Le Marais The Marais (Le Marais ; "the marsh") is a historic district in Paris, France. Having once been an aristocratic district, it is home to many buildings of historic and architectural importance. It spreads across parts of the 3rd and 4th arr ...

Productions

The studio is known for lavish, big-budget productions that approach gay pornography combining technical

filmmaking Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, cast ...

expertise and raunch. The studio released its ''Gigolo'' in 2007.Lucas Entertainment's "Gigolo" Hits The Streets
, G. Zisk Rice,

, November 28, 2007. The film explored the underworld of

escorting and

hustling Hustling is the deceptive act of disguising one's skill in a sport or game with the intent of luring someone of probably lesser skill into gambling (or gambling for higher than current stakes) with the hustler, as a form of both a confidence tri ...

. When same-year ''The Intern'' won more GayVN Awards than the big production ''Gigolo'', studio head Lucas was bothered, stating that "even a retard" would not have chosen the one over the other.Michael Lucas Hates Himself
Queerty.com, February 17, 2008.

Michael Lucas' Dangerous Liaisons

In the summer of 2005 Lucas released ''Michael Lucas' Dangerous Liaisons''; the film featured celebrity cameos from RuPaul,

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singer ...

Graham Norton Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), better known by his stage name Graham Norton, is an Irish actor, author, comedian, commentator, and presenter. Well known for his work in the UK, he is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for his comed ...

Bruce Vilanch Bruce Gerald Vilanch (born November 23, 1948) is an American comedy writer, songwriter and actor. He is a two-time Emmy Award-winner. Vilanch is best known to the public for his four-year stint on ''Hollywood Squares'', as a celebrity participan ...

Lady Bunny Lady Bunny, originally known as "Bunny Hickory Dickory Dock" (born Jon Ingle, August 13, 1962), is an American drag queen, nightclub DJ, actor, comedian, and event organizer. She is the founder of the annual Wigstock event, as well as an occasion ...

, Amanda Lepore, and

Michael Musto Michael Musto (born December 3, 1955) is an American journalist who has long been a prevalent presence in entertainment-related publications, as well as on websites and television shows. Musto is best known as a columnist for '' The Village Voi ...

Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita

In 2006, the studio released ''Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita Parts 1 & 2'', a gay pornographic remake of the 1960

Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most i ...

classic ''

La Dolce Vita ''La Dolce Vita'' (; Italian for "the sweet life" or "the good life"Kezich, 203) is a 1960 satirical comedy-drama film directed and co-written (with Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli and Brunello Rondi) by Federico Fellini. The film stars Marcello ...

''.List of credits at th
tlavideo
online video store, retrieved from www.tlavideo.com January 9, 2007 At a budget of $250,000, the studio contends it is the most expensive gay pornographic film ever made. The film won a record fourteen awards at the 2007

, winning in every category in which it was nominated. In February 2007, International Media Films, Inc., which owns the

rights Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory ...

to Fellini's ''La Dolce Vita'', filed suit against Lucas (as Andrei Treivas Bregman), Lucas Entertainment, Inc., and Lucas Distribution, Inc. for

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...

and

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...

. The lawsuit seeks to collect unspecified

damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognised at ...

and to stop sales of ''Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita Parts 1 & 2''. At the preliminary injunction hearing in April, 2007, the attorney for the plaintiff asked the judge to enjoin further distribution of Lucas' film, which he refused to do.

Men of Israel

In May 2009, Lucas Entertainment filmed the first gay porn film using only Israeli models. The production was billed as a sexual journey to promote Israeli culture. In June 2009 the company launched its ''Men of Israel'' website to promote the film, which announced its release for July 22. The film received press coverage. Writing in ''

'', Wayne Hoffman observed that although mainstream publications from ''

'' to ''

'' to '' Yedioth Aharonoth'' called the project a landmark as the first gay adult film to feature an all-Israeli cast, Hoffman felt it was a landmark for featuring the first all-Jewish cast.Great Exxxpectations
Wayne Hoffman, ''

'', July 21, 2009. The openly all-Jewish cast was also remarked upon by the ''

'' blog, which noted that whenever Jews are more open about their

Jewish identity Jewish identity is the objective or subjective state of perceiving oneself as a Jew and as relating to being Jewish. Under a broader definition, Jewish identity does not depend on whether a person is regarded as a Jew by others, or by an exter ...

it is a "healthy development".'Men of Israel': The new box-office stud?
Patrick Goldstein, LA Times blog, July 22, 2009. Lucas, however, openly opposed the New York City's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center's recent (2011) decision to allow a group that opposes Israeli government policies toward Palestinians to meet there. "Calling the Center an 'anti-Israeli nest' and lenndaTestone he Center's executive directorand Mario Palumbo, the Center's board president, 'staunch anti-Zionists,' Lucas, in a series of emails, asked friends to stop donating to the Center and to contact elected officials to stop any government support." "Asked ... to compare the response to his most recent boycott threat to nearlier one, Lucas wrote, 'This group has had their first and last meeting in the Center. If someone fucks with Israel, I fuck them back. And I usually win.'"

Film lines

Lucas Entertainment – The flagship brand featuring

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

sex with men in their 20s and 30s. Lucas Raunch – An extreme fetish line. The first releases were ''FARTS!'' and ''PISS!''. In February 2009 the Canada Border Services Agency detained and banned both films.Michael Lucas Implores Obama, Harper to Talk About Porn
, AVN News, February 20, 2009. The CBSA's ''Policy On The Classification Of Obscene Material'' states that the "ingestion of someone else's urine... with a sexual purpose" made the films obscene, which was cause for banning them.Lucas Porn Films Detained At Border
, DNA Magazine, February 13, 2009 Sex In Suits – The studio's third line to be launched as its own independent website. Sex In Suits collects Lucas Entertainment's "Gentlemen" line of gay adult films featuring men in suits, which started in 2011 and other business-oriented items. The scenes are filmed in professional settings, allowing the studio to take advantage of its

home base. Current scenes on the Sex In Suits website feature bareback sex content.Lucas Entertainment Launches New Porn Site SEX IN SUITS
September 05, 2012

Publicity campaigns

In 2007 LE sent out a fake press release stating that Lucas had been found dead in his apartment.Michael Lucas Found Dead
, ''

Paper Magazine ''Paper'' (also known as ''Paper Mag'') is a New York City-based independent magazine focusing on fashion, popular culture, nightlife, music, art, and film. Initially produced monthly, the magazine eventually became a quarterly publication, and a ...

'', October 2007. A photo accompanying the release showed what appeared to be a bound, lifeless Lucas with a conspicuous bruise on his face.Anna Wintour à la Mode Bear Stearns, Really Into Bridge Gay-Porn King Michael Lucas Picks Wrong Time to Laugh at Death
''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker' ...

'', October 4, 2007. '' New York'' magazine's ''Daily Intel'' blog questioned the timing of the stunt, which occurred one week after the surprise death of New York performer and Velvet Mafia singer Dean Johnson. The resulting media attention won the studio an Xbiz Award for Best Publicity Stunt. In conjunction with the German publisher Bruno Gmünder, the studio released the photography book ''Michael Lucas' Gigolos'', which featured many LE models in highly sexualized situations.Michael Lucas' Gigolos
Jason Salzenstein, EDGE Boston, October 6, 2008. It included work by photographer Joe Oppedisano, and was lauded for its high production quality as it was designed to be a pornographic fashion book to accompany the studio's film release ''Gigolos''.
BeautifulMag review, October 27, 2008. After the Lucas Raunch releases ''FARTS!'' and ''PISS!'' were banned in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, Lucas released a letter in the media addressed to President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

asking for him to intercede on the studio's behalf at an upcoming summit with the

Canadian Prime Minister The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as such ...

Stephen Harper.MICHAEL LUCAS REQUESTS PRESIDENTIAL AID TO COMBAT CANADIAN CUSTOMS CRISIS
, Lucasblog.com, February 19, 2009. The LGBT blog ''Queerty'' responded to a studio marketing video that showed Michael Lucas simulating oral sex both with and on a Barbie doll.Is Michael Lucas a Porn Marketing Genius
''Queerty'', February 26, 2009. While acknowledging the overt attempt to draw traffic to his site with the video as linkbait, ''Queerty'' expressed admiration for Lucas' ability to create buzz for his company in the rapidly changing adult entertainment industry.

Awards and recognition

The studio has garnered many

and Adult Erotic Gay Video Awards ("Grabbys") nominations and wins. Timothy Greenfield-Sanders profiled Lucas in his 2004 book ''XXX: 30 Porn Star Photographs'' and the accompanying HBO documentary ''Thinking XXX''. Greenfield-Sanders asked Lucas, then still primarily known as a performer, for a list of his ten favorite films; the films he listed were all from his own production company. In 2020, Michael Lucas and the models of Lucas Entertainment were featured in the Gruenholtz book, "Uncensored: My Year Behind the Scenes with Michael Lucas and His Models." The book documents photography by Gruenholtz as he shadowed Lucas and his productions over the course of one year in New York, Fire Island, Puerto Vallarta, and Barcelona. At the 2009

studio head Lucas was inducted into the GayVN Hall of Fame. The studio also received a nomination for a 2010 XBIZ Award in the category of GLBT Company of the Year.XBIZ Announces Finalist Nominees for 2010 XBIZ Awards
''XBIZ'', Wednesday, Dec 16, 2009

Notable directors

* Michael Lucas * mr. Pam

Notable performers

* D.O. * Vito Gallo * Rod Daily * Andy O'Neill * Chris Crocker * Rafael Alencar * Ben Andrews * Rod Barry * Nick Capra * Matt Cole * Eddie Diaz * Darius Ferdynand * Derrick Hanson * Steve Holmes (actor), Steve Holmes * Wolf Hudson * Brett M. Hunt * Oliver Hunt * Wilfried Knight * Michael Lucas * Gus Mattox * Arpad Miklos * Vin Nolan * Spencer Quest * Zack Randall * Cole Ryan * Rob Romoni * Sahaj * Matan Shalev * Joe Strong * Jonathan Vargas * Jackson Wild * Naor Tal * Manuel Torres * Kurt Wild * Jonathan Agassi * Drae Axtell

References

External links

* * {{American pornographic film studios, state=collapsed American gay pornographic film studios Pornography in New York (state) LGBT culture in New York City Entertainment companies based in New York City American companies established in 1998 Entertainment companies established in 1998 Mass media companies established in 1998 1998 establishments in New York City