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March 31, 2008
A note from the Lucas team
I’m sorry to announce that Michael Lucas’ mother, Yelena Treyvas, passed away this morning, March 31, 2008, at home in Brooklyn, New York. If you would like to send any condolences, please contact me and I will make sure Michael gets them. You can also leave a comment here.
If you are close with the family and want to pay respects, please contact myself or Richard Winger, Michaels’ partner, after 5pm today, as there are no details yet in what the arrangements are.
Thank you,
-Bryan Christopher
Publicity Director
Lucas Entertainment
press@lucasentertainment.com
Posted by Michael at 12:59 PM | Comments (16)
March 27, 2008
NY Blade column: Oh No Bama
Hillary is stronger on security—and that is favorable to progress in gay rights.
By Michael Lucas
Friday, March 14, 2008
http://nyblade.com/2008/3-14/viewpoint/opinion/1211NoBama.cfm
GAYS SHOULD BE hoping that Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic candidate for president in the general election. Hillary isn’t stronger than Barack Obama on just gay rights; she’s also stronger than her opponent on national security issues. Obama, in my opinion, is feeding off a stupid and dangerous tendency among American voters to go for a fresh face over a seasoned mind.
It’s worth mentioning that firstly, I can’t imagine Obama beating McCain in November. Many current polls reinforce that idea for me. Parenthetically, I’ll state that McCain is not the worst person the Republicans could nominate.
In most other places in the world, political experience is valued as a prerequisite for holding high office. Unfortunately in America, we’ve seen relatively inexperienced people such as Jimmy Carter and the two Bushes leapfrogging over better candidates by virtue of, quite frankly, idiocy among the voters and the media.
When Al Gore ran against W. in 2000, the media for some reason never got tired of asking voters with whom they would rather have a beer—Bush or Gore. Bush won the beer drinkers’ opinion poll and the election. Why do so many Americans, when it comes to such serious matters as choosing a president, value supposed likeability over political chops?
Then too, I can’t understand why anybody would base his or her choice for president on the candidate’s gender, skin color, or religion. Political matters are too important to be decided on that basis. I know Americans understand very little about politics, so it is appropriate for me to remind readers that the word “politics” comes from a Greek noun which translated to English means “the science of the state, the art of governing and the art of administrating the destiny of the nation.” So no matter how tempting it might be to have a “first” this or that minority member as president, the decision regarding for whom to vote should be based exclusively on the candidate’s platform, experience, knowledge and ability to lead the nation. And I would not shy away from voting for the right person even if he happens to belong to the Republican Party.
I HOPE I DON’T have to go through all the details of everything good we know about Hillary: her education at Wellesley and Yale, her stands on issues, her support for gay rights, and her status as First Lady of Arkansas, a very involved First Lady of eight years, and then as a two term U.S. Senator. Among her many accomplishments as Senator are her taking a leading role in investigating health problems experienced by 9/11 emergency workers and her voting against the Federal Marriage Amendment twice. We should not forget that Hillary has been very candid and open about her long friendship with her lesbian college roommate Eldie Acheson. And it was also nice to see Sen. Clinton march more than once in gay pride parades.
Then you look at Obama, a typical example of an American presidential candidate rising from almost nowhere. He’s a first-term senator, and his greatest plus appears to be his perceived articulateness. Don’t get me wrong. Being articulate is great. We definitely have been stuck with a loser in that department for the length of the Bush presidency (his ability to speak could only be compared to one Yasser Arafat), and having a president who can speak English better than W. will be a humongous relief. But it isn’t as if Hillary weren’t articulate.
And we don’t know very much about Obama vis-à-vis gay issues beyond his flowery speeches. Here, by the way, is something Mr. Articulate said to the Chicago Tribune: “I’m a Christian. And so, although I try not to have my religious beliefs dominate or determine my political views on this issue, I do believe that tradition, and my religious beliefs say that marriage is something sanctified between a man and a woman.”
Every time that Obama’s campaign hits a snag with an anti-gay Obama supporter, Obama emerges to make one of his enchanting monologues. It happened with Donnie McClurkin; it happened with Louis Farrakhan. McClurkin is a bogus jerk suffering from internalized homophobia; he advocates for ex-gay ministries. Farrakhan on the other hand has as his occupation leading the Nation of Islam. He has said that the white man is “the skunk of the earth.” So much for rapprochement. As recently as February 2006, Farrakhan said “"These false Jews promote the filth of Hollywood. It's the wicked Jews, the false Jews that are promoting lesbianism, homosexuality.”
Yet Obama had to be prodded, by Hillary Clinton, towards a full rejection of Farrakhan’s support. As Sen. Clinton said: “There’s a difference between denouncing and rejecting.” Speaking of her 2000 campaign to become senator, she said “I made it very clear that I did not want their support, I rejected it. I would not be associated with people that make such comments.” Hillary said that to Obama’s face, whereupon Obama did say that he “would” reject Farrakhan. But where is the official communication from Obama rejecting Farrakhan and his support?
Do we really need a president who can’t be bothered to reject a supporter who says that it’s the wicked Jews that are promoting lesbianism and homosexuality? Isn’t it strange that Obama didn’t find the right words of complete rejection? Something like this would do: “You, sir, should never mention my name in any of your ‘speeches,’ because you and those who support you disgust me and I would rather lose my candidacy than have your support.” Instead, he carefully minced his words.
Then there’s the question of who is supporting Obama. I would like to rest my case by having you go to the website www.muslimsforobama08.com. It has an English audio translation of the Koran for you to enjoy. I’m not interested in voting for a candidate supported by terrorists and candidates for the terrorists.
It’s important to remember that progress in gay rights in the United States has a connection to what is happening in our international relations. Hillary offers sound experience and wisdom in dealing with friend and foe alike. Obama wants to talk directly with Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He’s the monster who has gays hung in public squares, and then denies that gays are hung in his country on the basis that there are no gays in his country. What is Obama going to talk to that eternal terrorist about?
If there were another terrorist attack on American soil, the electorate would vote for politicians even more conservative that Bush, and as a result, expanding gay rights would have a very low priority in the country. In the past seven years, terrorists have carried out attacks in Spain, Great Britain and many other places—but not in the U.S. We are doing something right, and I don’t want Obama to change that.
Hillary’s campaign was criticized for releasing a dramatic television advertisement in Texas intimating that she is stronger than Obama on national security. But if you look at these two candidates’ records, it’s clear that Hillary truly is stronger on security. And homeland security, when all is said and done, is favorable to progress in gay rights. Were a combination of Obama’s naïveté and greenness to result in a terrorist attack on the U.S., a certain casualty of that attack would afterward be gay rights. So I close as I opened: We should all be hoping that Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic candidate for president in the general election.
Posted by Michael at 01:59 PM | Comments (14)
March 26, 2008
HX column: Big Porn Star on Campus
I know this HX column is from a couple weeks ago (March 14th, to be exact), but I didn't have the chance to post it until now:
I was recently invited to speak at Stanford University. They thought I could help spread the Safe Sex message. Spreading that message is a hell of a lot better than spreading absolutely horrible, nightmarish things such as HIV, syphilis and gonorrhea.
What shocked me, though, was the ignorance on the part of the majority of Stanford University students regarding HIV. These supposedly intelligent students at Stanford revealed an annoying, camel-like stubbornness about understanding the ABC's of HIV transmission.
The truth is that condoms do work. I dutifully reminded people that one must always use fresh condoms with plenty of good, water-soluble lubricant. Some of these jerks were still whining at me about what would happen if a condom broke and the bottom getting joyously fucked wound up infected. With all the holes I have fucked (always using fresh condoms and good quality, water-soluble lube) I have never had a condom break. Could it be that these whining morons at Stanford are all just too stupid to check to see whether the condom they are about to use has expired? Or is it a money issue? Maybe somebody could take up a collection for them, so that when they're fucking in the back seat of their BMWs, they'll have fresh condoms to use.
These supposed scholars at Stanford argued at me using "statistics," and then weren't able to tell me the source of those statistics. When I invited them to reason, they reacted like the idiot in Mao Tse-Tung's famous saying: "If you point at the moon with a finger, the idiot looks at the finger and sees the finger. Not the moon." Mao also said, "Learn from the masses, and then teach them."
But I'm going to go one better than that. I've learned from the masses at Stanford University, and now I'm going to teach the elite, beautiful gay readers of HX that you should always, without exception, use fresh condoms and plenty of water-soluble lube. If Miss Thing has a tub of Crisco out on the night table, do not fuck her. Do not let her fuck you, either. If by some chance your condom does break, then please go to the emergency room. Remember that you have 72 hours to get a 28-day supply of medication to take religiously, and then you'll be just fine.
XXX,
Michael Lucas
Posted by Michael at 04:15 PM | Comments (0)
March 24, 2008
A Letter From My Mailbox
I like to get lengthy emails about my blog posts from ignoramuses like Adam below, so I decided to respond to each paragraph. Sorry if my points are not very convincing, but I didn't want to give him more than 15 minutes of my time.
On Mar 18, 2008, Adam wrote re: "A response":
Michael -
With due respect to your opinions and your religion, do you suppose it's fair to cast all Muslims, and the faith as a whole, off to the dogs because of the insane and obnoxious behavior of a few? The Koran is really no worse than the Bible or Torah in its condemnation of homosexuality.
Firstly, who told you that I am a religious person? Are you calling the terrorist attacks the "insane and obnoxious behavior of a few?" The word obnoxious can only be applied to your letter, not to millions and millions of Koran-crazed lunatics, who are happy to give their lives in order to kill Westerners, in order to be able to rape virgins in the Garden of Eden. It's not just a few that terrorize humanity for the past thirty years, with their "martyrs," or I'd rather call them today's fucked up kamikazes. We're talking about millions and millions of terrorists, that are breeding and multiplying gloriously (much faster than any other religious group). We're talking about those who are dreaming to conquer the world and turn everyone to their fucked up religion, or become a slave to it, who instead of improving civilization, are doing nothing but squawking prayers five times a day with their asses up in the air. This is what I think of your "obnoxious behavior of a few."
That many Muslims would see Israel wiped off the map does not ingratiate me to Islam. But that Israel would behave the way it does in Palestine does not really ingratiate me to Israel, either.
Before saying the word Israel, you better cross yourself, as Israel is the only country in the world that is being terrorized on a daily basis, and answers with tolerance to intolerance (which is suicidal) which is surrounded by only enemies, and not on single friend as Israel is the only democracy in the region. And for this matter alone, Israel is hated by its neighbors. Islam cannot exist in democracy, as it does not tolerate a second opinion or free thinking, as it tortures and kills anyone who speaks against it. And I'm not talking about the past thirty years, I'm talking about 1400 years. Isn't that the reason why Islam never gave the world anything close to what the Western world gave to humanity in the fields of thought, science, literature, music, art, etc. For 1,600 years, Islam succeeded in only one art: the art of terror, the art of war, the art of Islamization.
I fail to see how any of these religions can claim moral superiority over any of the others. The Abrahamic religions - all three - have participated in harmful and violent wars for at least the last 2000 years in the name of God and at the expense of each other.
As a non-religious person, I don't have particular admiration for any religion. Yes, I am very well aware of the Crusades, which were often defensive actions against the Muslim colonization of Europe (which they continue today by means of legal and illegal immigration, and by high breeding). Yes, I do know about the ugliness of the Inquisition. But if you're talking about the Christian Church, then let me break you the news that in the last several hundred years, it changed and evolved, just like the West changed and evolved, while Islam is stuck in the medieval centuries for 1,600 years. It never evolved. It never changed. It never moved.
To me - an agnostic American, and a gay guy to boot - it all seems so silly. Two thousand years of war and strife, hundreds of millions dead, millions more set to die over what amounts to some acreage and bragging rights with God? Come now - you can't honestly believe that it's worth all the trouble.
Mr. Agnostic American, I went much further than you -- I'm not agnostic. I'm 100% atheist. I don't believe in any higher power. But I absolutely believe that you are "gay to boot." It seems to me that all you've read is The Devil Wears Prada and all you've watched only Will & Grace and Sex in the City. I'm sorry that you've never heard of Plato. Over 2,500 years ago, he said that war would always be a part of human life, since it always comes from human passions. In other words, this is something that has always existed and will always exist.
Yes, Muslims have done some horrible things in the past, and will likely continue to do so. And, yes, Islam doesn't always stand for the things you or I might stand for - but so too have Christians and Jews done terrible things, and so too do both of those religions stand for things which are not necessarily agreeable to everyone. That doesn't mean that all Muslims are bad any more than it means that all Christians or all Jews are bad.
What is it that Jews did bad for this world, except surviving genocides, programs, and Holocaust? Besides being deprived of their rights and freedoms in every country throughout history? What bad did they do except giving the world the best scientists, thinkers, philosophers, artists, writers, etc. Are you really comparing Christians and Jews to some mullahs and medieval wackos, who if not for their oil which they enslaved us with, will be back in the desert living in tents with their livestock, where they belong?
Does rhetoric like yours carry any more moral high ground than the rhetoric of those like Iran's Ahmadinijad? I'd ask you to ask yourself what you're contributing to the dialogue. Wouldn't a more germain cause be to bring people together with the understanding that we don't always have to agree in order that we may always get along? Peaceful coexistance would seem to me to be the more morally virtuous cause versus the continuation of war and pain because no one wants to give an inch - not even by simply taming the rhetoric.
"Peaceful coexistance?" You crazed pacifist, when will the likes of you finally understand that there is no way to peacefully coexist with those that want to kill you, and thus successfully killing, thanks to the masochism of idiots like you? Maybe when you finally get some knowledge?
A proposal: the Muslims stop saying that the Holocaust never happened and that Israel doesn't deserve to exist (points upon which they are wrong to a degree that disgusts me), and the Israelis start letting the Palestinians receive food, medicine, and other essential services without fear of air strikes (points upon which Israel is wrong to a degree that disgusts me). What do you say? Respectfully,
Adam
I would say that you are just another reason for homophobia of the Right, that you are an embarrassment to the gay community, that you are a victim of the extreme Left, and that you should shove your proposal up your ass (which will be easy, as this is the part of your body that you use much more than your head).
Posted by Michael at 10:26 AM | Comments (7)
March 21, 2008
Give Me the Presidency and I Will Make America Post-Racial
Barack Obama gave a speech about race. It was a great speech and a greatly delivered one. But Obama's gift as a skilled orator is already well-known. So did we learn anything new about the mysterious front-runner?
First, and most importantly, Obama is just another politician -- typical and banal. He stretches the truth and lies when controversy arises, when momentum is lost, and when victory no longer seems to be simple and definite. "Did I ever hear [Reverend Jeremiah Wright] make remarks that could be controversial while I sat in church? Yes." Well, I've seen Obama being interviewed by everyone from CNN to Fox News. Each and every journalist asks him the same question: Did he ever hear any controversial remarks from his pastor? Each time Obama looked into the interviewer's eyes and said firmly "No, never." "But did anyone tell you about any such remarks?" insisted Anderson Cooper. "No, never," was the answer.
So what made Obama change this answer in just a few days? The answer is simple: Politics. We all knew way too well that Obama was lying when every television station was playing the numerous, nasty tirades by his pastor. Of course, how could he not know? Even if I were to imagine that he missed church every time Rev. Wright would blast against Whites, Jews and gays; praise his friend Louis Farrakhan (no stranger to blasting against Jews and gays); or speak about a trip to see Libyan dictator Qadaffi (whom both "Reverends" visited)... Even if I believed that no one were to say to Obama, "What a great speech you missed last week," I will still never believe that Obama didn't know the basic beliefs of a friend of twenty years.
Obama should never have tried to explain his relationship with Rev. Wright. He should have just denounced it, again and again and again. He also should have never defended the Trinity Church, which is so "full of righteous laughter, and sometimes bawdy humor." Your church is ugly, homophobic, and anti-Semitic, Mr. Obama, just like most other black churches and numerous white churches. Your relationship with Rev. Wright is nothing but an embarrassment and in my opinion, highly suspicious.
"Rev. Wright helped introduce me to my Christian faith," said Obama. I know this should sound like music for Christian Fundamentalists. And like every other politician, this is what Obama is going for. But I just don't think that in order to be introduced to convert from Islam to Christianity, one should turn himself to a fascist like Rev. Wright (and you don't even know how difficult it is for me to say "Reverend" when I speak about Jesse Jackson or Louis Farrakhan or Wright. In this country it's so easy to be respected... just shove the word "Reverend" before your name).
To say that we do not talk about race enough is just like hearing Paris Hilton say that we're not talking enough about dumb celebrities whose status has no substance. America talks more about race than John McCain talked about his time in Vietnamese captivity, John Edwards about his son, and John Kerry about his war record. So what kind of post-racial candidate are you if you think we need to talk about race more? If you really believe that we need to talk about race, then stop calling yourself post-racial.
I am post-racial. Or rather, I was never racial. The subject of race has always been foreign to me: I'm not interested in excusing Rev. Wright's crazed racism. I'm also not interested in treating minorities like retarded people. I'm not interested in degrading them by putting them on affirmative action programs. I also think that it's quite low to compare Wright's racism to Obama's white grandmother who apparently confessed to a fear of black men in the streets. Wright accused white people of inventing AIDS to kill black men, and you are comparing this man to your grandmother? A person like that can only be compared to Rosie O'Donnell, who believed that 9-11 is an inside job, something orchestrated by the U.S. government. In other words, to someone who hates America, and who wants others to hate it as well.
Obama is not looking for an excuse for his grandmother. His grandmother is guilty, full stop. It's Rev. Wright who is being excused throughout the whole speech. So what's Obama's way out? What is his solution? He gives it you throughout the whole speech: give him the presidency, and only then maybe, just maybe, all talks about race will be over.
Posted by Michael at 12:21 PM | Comments (10)
March 15, 2008
Per Your Requests
I've been asked by many to write about my take on Governor Spitzer's scandal. I don't think there's much controversy on the subject. As you can imagine, I don't have an issue with a governor hiring escorts.
I believe escorts are great for those who are stuck in their offices, be it in Washington, DC, or Albany. It's a good thing to have an escort who can be invited for an hour to relieve you from stress so you can get back to serving the country. My issue is not with hookers, sex, or issues Spitzer has with his wife... that's his private business. I think Monica Lewinsky was providing a great relief to Bill Clinton, a relief that his wife was too busy to provide (and no, I'm not blaming her for that at all). With apologies to the former president, it's the hypocrisy, stupid (those who remember the Monica scandal will remember what I mean).
All of the fellowing politicians are hypocrites: Bill Clinton (who instead of acting like French President Sarkoszy, decided to lie to the entire world and didn't tell everyone to mind their own business), Jesse Jackson, Larry Craig, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, former Spokane Mayor James West, the Rev. Ted Haggart, Newt Gingrich, Strong Thurmond, Mark Foley, Rudy Guiliani, Gary Condit, Ted Bargin, Bob Packwood, Henry Hype, and let's not forget "gay icon" James MacGreevy (as I've always said, it's a mystery why he was endorsed by gay groups... do we really have to worship liars who come out of the closet only when forced to?). And of course, there are all those Catholic priests. This list covers just the last decade of hypocrisy. If I went back starting with Jim Bakker though John Kennedy and finally finishing with Thomas Jefferson, that would be a long, long list in between.
Hypocrisy is nothing new and has been talked about on so many levels and in so many words that there is nothing much left for me to say. However, I will tell you that Spitzer's actions would be perfect for serious psychoanalysis. How can a man climbing up the political ladder all his life (and in Spitzer's case, with the support of his billionaire father who paid for everything from universities to his apartment on 79th Street) flush everything down the drain... and all for a vagina? I wouldn't be surprised if the man committed suicide. Just imagine: this man will never be able to dream about becoming President (something everyone was predicting), never be able to look into the eyes of his supporters, never be able to go to the restaurants he frequented, to the Whitney Museum (which is right across from his apartment), to attend his daughters' school parties, etc.
What it all comes down to is that I have no pity for a hypocrite who was a crusader against prostitution. Spitzer is a disgrace to his class. But, sadly, so are so many others who came before him—no pun intended—and who will no doubt come after him, as well.
Posted by Michael at 03:45 PM | Comments (8)
March 10, 2008
LUCAS PR: Michael Lucas profiled in The New Republic magazine
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New York, NY (March 10th, 2008) -- Lucas Entertainment President and CEO Michael Lucas is the first gay porn entrepreneur ever to be profiled in America's most influential journal of opinion, The New Republic. The article, entitled "Hard Right," is the most in-depth analysis thus far of Lucas' political opinions.
Mentioned on the cover of the current issue of the magazine on newsstands now with the tagline "The (Neocon) Kingpin of Gay Porn," the article can be read online in its entirety here: http://www.tnr.com/story.html?id=156266ab-dc0b-46da-a59d-5d95a4332faf
"I am very proud to be featured in my absolute favorite magazine," said Lucas. "I have subscribed to The New Republic since 1997 when I arrived in America. This is a magazine which I can relate to much better than most other publications. Their views very often echo my own."
Headquartered in Washington, DC, The New Republic was founded in 1914 with a mission to provide its readers with an intelligent, stimulating and rigorous examination of American politics, foreign policy and culture. The magazine, published twice per month, continues to be America's best and most influential journal of opinion.
"This is the best gift for my birthday today," continued Lucas. "I can't imagine a better present for my 36th."
Posted by Michael at 01:12 PM | Comments (11)
March 07, 2008
Auditions 21: Michael Lucas & Scott Spears
"Auditions 21" (available NOW in our online store) also features hairy sex pig Scott Spears (below) auditioning with me. As you can see below things got pretty hardcore with fingering, plenty of fucking, cum-eating, and finally, piss-swallowing! Scott can really do it all.
Members can watch the scene right now here only at LucasEntertainment.com.
• Full Production Stills Gallery
• Full Scott Spears Gallery
Posted by Michael at 01:30 PM | Comments (1)
March 06, 2008
My FLORIDA appearances this weekend!
Score MIAMI club appearance
Location: Score, 727 Lincoln Rd.
Miami Beach, FL 33139
Time: 11:00 PM
SUNDAY MARCH 9th, 2008
Tropixx Video Meet & Greet
Location: Tropixxx Video, 1514 NE 4th Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304
Time: 4:00 PM
Boardwalk Party
Location: Boardwalk, 1721 N. Andrews Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Time: 10:00 PM
Posted by Michael at 05:09 PM | Comments (2)
Auditions 21: Kyle Hennessy & Michael Lucas
"Auditions 21" (available NOW in our online store) features the gorgeously handsome Kyle Hennessey (below) as its cover star. I had the pleasure of auditioning him, and as you can see below, our hardcore fucking session features feetplay, assplay, and cum-eating!
Members can watch the scene right now here only at LucasEntertainment.com.
And stay tuned for more scenes from this brand-new volume!
• Full Production Stills Gallery
• Full Kyle Hennessy Gallery
Posted by Michael at 11:24 AM | Comments (1)
March 05, 2008
LUCAS PR: Michael Lucas featured in leading Israeli newspaper Maariv
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New York, NY (March 5th, 2008) -- Lucas Entertainment President and CEO Michael Lucas is featured in the current issue of Maariv, Israel's leading mainstream newspaper. The four-page article, entitled "Patriot," features photos and an in-depth interview with Michael—translated into Hebrew—which was conducted during his trip to Israel last week.
"I was thrilled to be interviewed by Maariv," said Lucas. "I've been giving more and more political interviews as of late, which make me very happy and proud. As a porn star you have to work twice as hard in order to be taken seriously by mainstream press, so I take this article with great pride."
Below are JPEG scans of the article as well as the English translation.
You can visit Maariv online at http://www.nrg.co.il.
For more information about Michael Lucas, visit http://www.MichaelLucas.com.
Michael Lucas, king of New York’s gay porn movies, is a proud Zionist (the word ge’eh in Hebrew can either denote someone who is proud or someone who is “gay”), slightly right-wing, denounces the gay parade in Jerusalem, is appalled by Gal Ochovsky and detests Islam. He is now visiting the homeland to realize a dream: to produce a local gay porn film that will turn Israel into the international capital of the gays. Boys, come on down.
Michael Lucas has been waiting for over two years to realize his life’s dream. New York’s porn king, the man who received a 2007 award for his appearance in “The most successful orgy of the year” dreams of “promoting the Israeli tourism industry”. Lucas, a proud Jew and Zionist, is planning on doing it his way. He believes a well invested porn film aimed at the global gay community is exactly what this country needs.
Why?
“Whenever I visit Israel I hear the same nonsense. People ask me if I’m afraid of random suicide bombers and if I’m sane. So it’s time people got a different outlook on Israel and that’s exactly what I intend to do. I’ll show the global community that Israel is a country with plenty of amazing men and I have no doubt this will attract tourists. By the way, I’ve already made films in countries which later became community tourist destinations”.
Lucas means every word. Here is a man who heads one of the world’s largest adult film production companies. Lucas Entertainment, the company he owns, is ranked ninth in the world in gay porn films. In addition to being CEO, he directs most of the films and acts in a large part of them. Production of his films is estimated at a quarter of a million dollars per film (the cost of three to four local feature films) and these are distributed in hundreds of thousands of copies worldwide.
“As you can see, money is not something I am lacking”, he says, sprawled out on a couch in his suite on the first floor of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. “For me, the idea of producing a film in Israel does not stem from financial motives but from a genuine desire to portray a different kind of Israel”.
His most recent attempt at expressing solidarity and portraying a different Israel fell through. His last visit to Israel was in August 2006, during the war. At that time he invited soldiers to attend, free of charge, an erotic performance he staged in several clubs in Tel Aviv and Haifa, in order to raise national morale. Reactions, to put it mildly, weren’t exactly encouraging.
“It didn’t really surprise me because there will always be people who aren’t pleased with the way I choose to do things”, he says. “But I know Israel to be a country that welcomes the homosexual community with open arms”.
Are you also familiar with the Israel where a former minister by the name of Shlomo Ben Izri claims earthquakes are a punishment for homosexual relations?
“I did hear of him, but you get the same from various groups in the USA. In any case, he could very well be right. Maybe it really was a couple of gays having extremely rough intercourse”.
Between the Russian and Chechnian mafia
Lucas is an odd bird. Even in terms of the porn industry, where there are many odd individuals. He makes a point of voicing his firm opinions against drug and alcohol abuse in the semi-publicistic columns he publishes in several magazines (we’ll get back to them) and he is undoubtedly one of the only stars in the gay porn industry that managed to squeeze his way into the heart of mainstream America. His closest friends include Bette Midler and fashion designer Marc Jacobs, who even let him use one of his Manhattan shops to film a scene for one of his most recent films.
He has been attracting more and more attention this past year. Except for his participation in two documentary films (one for HBO), he granted interviews to countless leading US magazines and talk shows and became a regular in the gossip columns. “I think it’s happening mainly because our society is so driven by celebrity adoration that it’s become an obsession”, he says. “Take Paris Hilton for example. Here’s a girl who became famous simply because of her wonderful ability to be Paris Hilton. People hunger for their dose of celebrity, that’s all”.
Fame also came with the required dose of mannerisms. Lucas documents virtually everything he does. Whether it’s a visit to New York’s fashion week or a visit to the Wailing Wall, there’s always a video photographer with him. When personnel at the King David hotel tried to explain to him in a delicate manner that he and George Bush share the same suite and that even the honorable President didn’t complain, he dismissively said: “George Bush was raised on a farm, I want another room”. He got another room.
It’s rather hard to believe all this comes from a person who arrived in the USA a little over a decade ago as a penniless Russian immigrant who made money as a male escort. He doesn’t really like to talk about that time in his life even though he now holds Manhattan by the balls.
Lucas was born 36 years ago in Moscow as Andrei Treyvas (he says his family preferred he use his mother’s maiden name because it sounded less Jewish than his father’s name – Bergman). His mother was a literature teacher and his father an engineer. “I had a very happy childhood and grew up in a very liberal and intellectual family”, he says. “My grandmother taught music at the Moscow conservatory and my grandfather, like my father, was an engineer. It was a warm, pleasant home and I wanted for nothing. However, growing up a Jewish boy in Soviet Russia wasn’t easy. It began at school where everyone knew I was Jewish and gave me a hard time because of it. It later went on when I discovered my sexual orientation. Russia was, and perhaps still is, a homophobic, antisemitic country. So you can see that it wasn’t really a good place for me. Ironically, when I moved to the West, I instantly became “Russian” and as long as I lived in Russia I was never a “Russian”, I was always a “Jew”. I think that’s one of the reasons I admire Israel so much, because no matter where you are and what your situation is, you always know you can come to Israel and they will accept you for what you are”.
Like every good Jewish mother, Lucas’ mother dreamt of her son becoming a lawyer and the boy indeed graduated with a degree in Law in Moscow. During his studies, he opened a small travel agency and did very well. That is until the Russian mafia nearly took over his business. “Naturally once people saw there’s money to be had they wanted to cash in on it. It began with Russian mafiosos who asked me for protection and I quickly found myself dealing with Chechnian criminals asking for the same thing. Instead of making money I financed a bunch of criminals and their girlfriends and was forced to provide them vacations to England and Turkey. Ultimately I couldn’t take it any longer and closed the business”.
In 1995 he decided that he had had enough and boarded a plane. He landed in Germany with 200 deutsche marks in his pocket, lots of ambition and starting working as a male model. A few months later he participated in his first porn film. It was the only heterosexual film he took part in. He once said he really regretted having done that. “Not the fact that I acted in a blue movie but the fact that I acted in a German blue movie”.
Not just sex but a plot too
Lucas defines his entry into the porn world as a rational, intelligent career move. “From a very young age I had a huge passion to enter the entertainment world but I knew the odds”, he explains. “I was a poor immigrant with broken English, surrounded by tons of people who were much more handsome and much more talented than me. So I made a very rational choice and entered a world where I knew I had better odds of succeeding. I knew that competition in the porn world wasn’t too tough and I knew I could stand out and make something of myself. Ultimately, all the exposure I enjoy today, this lifestyle, is thanks to porn and I’m not ashamed of it, on the contrary”.
When did you pick up the phone to your mother and tell her: I know you wanted me to be a successful lawyer but I ended up in the porn industry?
“I never made that phone call. It has to do with the fact that my family is very intellectual and liberal and therefore respected my decisions. I never had to “break the news”. They understood from our phone calls what direction I had taken. Many people can’t understand this, especially when we’re talking about a Jewish family from Russia, but I think that because they are Jews they are much more open. Also, as a family of intellectuals in Soviet Russia, my grandmother had many homosexual friends from the conservatory, some of whom paid the price and were arrested for their sexual orientation. That’s why it wasn’t so unusual for my family”.
But there is a difference between telling them you’re coming out of the closet to telling them you work as a male escort and star in porn films.
“I didn’t call them up and say Hey Ma, I’m a porn star! They simply understood that on their own. I told my mother my dream was to make it in Hollywood and though it would have been wonderful, unfortunately it was pretty remote. And she understood. You know how many people I met along the way who dreamt of Hollywood? Hundreds. People who worked in Los Angeles in restaurants and bars and dreamt of the day they’d get their big break, but it never happened. Then they came to me and asked for a job. So I merely sidestepped the process”.
One of the wisest moves he made shortly after arriving in the States was to set up his production company in New York and not in LA –home of the porn industry. With minimum competition he managed to become a monopoly in a short period of time. “I think what set me apart from other companies was that my films looked different”, he says. “I raised the bar and turned the product into something very glamorous. It’s not only sex, it’s a good story and an interesting plot. It may sound somewhat pathetic but when thousands of blue movies are produced every year, all I had to do was add a little plot and glamor and change the picture. I made a product that people could take home without feeling guilty or ashamed. It looks good on the outside and good on the inside”.
This is an industry that is constantly criticized. Can you understand why?
“I don’t have to take a critical stand on it, why should I? To tell you the truth, I don’t watch porn movies except the ones I was in, and it’s not easy watching yourself in a film like that because you’re very critical”.
Do you watch them so that you can improve?
“That’s one reason. It’s not that I watched porn for the porn, because it doesn’t really interest me. I watched my scenes in order to do it better the next time. Today, however, I don’t have to do it anymore”.
Even though you can afford to retire you still insist on being in your movies. Why is that?
“Mainly because I can (laughs). Why shouldn’t I be in them if I have so many fans? My motto is supply and demand. Once there’s no more demand, I’ll stop. It’s not that I enjoy it, it has nothing to do with enjoyment. When you have sex on camera you’re doing it for the cameras. Not for yourself, not for whoever is doing it with you, but for the camera. You’re mind is always on the angles, the lighting and so forth. It’s a job like any other”.
It seems the American porn industry isn’t too happy with his over exposure. Recently he has been forced to deal with two law suits: One filed by a competitor who claims he is fraudulently taking over the market and the other filed by a production company that owns the rights to the films of Italian director Federico Fellini. The company is suing him for copyright violation after he distributed his porn version of one of Fellini’s canonical works of art “La Dolce Vita”, in 2007.
His colleagues don’t really know what to make of him. At the last Gayvn awards (an event dedicated in its entirety to gay porn films) he got a barrage of ice cubes thrown at him by his peers when he went on stage to receive the award for best film of the year. “This industry is not really made up of the most intelligent people I have met. After all, this isn’t the Oscars”, he says with a smile. “So when I got on stage for the 14th time that night and took home the award for best film, there were some discontented drunks who threw the ice from their empty alcohol glasses on me. My motto is as long as it makes media noise, it merely promotes my interests”.
The Angelina Jolie precedent
If there is something Lucas specializes in it’s creating noise. Lots of noise. Last year he crowned himself unofficial spokesman of the Israeli policy and he’s infusing it every opportunity he gets. The columns he writes in gay-lesbian magazines and in his blog breed quite a few enemies. He gets a lot of hate mail every week and several Moslem organizations have waged all out war on him. Last week he came to lecture at Stanford university and was greeted by a group of Moslem students who demonstrated against him. In a rare act, Wikipedia editors have recently locked his entry to editing because of the unflattering compliments his adversaries added from time to time (from writing that he is a racist to indicating the size of his genitalia).
“The American liberal left is certain I belong to the wrong camp because of my opinions”, he says. “I’m supposed to alter my thoughts to match the left in the US and Europe, the one that butts heads with Israel whenever it can, and when that doesn’t happen, people don’t understand why”.
A small turn of the Jewish-Arab switch is all it takes for Lucas to launch a monologue in which he attacks Islam with an impressive variety of arguments and ends by glorifying Israel. When asked if a porn star isn’t supposed to deal with more optimistic matters, he cries out: “Why is it a strange combination?! Doesn’t Angelina Jolie speak out about hunger in Africa? As long as you have a large following of fans, and with all modesty I have quite a few, and you have lots of media attention, why not take advantage of it? Sure I can talk about how I put it in and take it out and how much fun it is and then all my porn fans will be happy. But I prefer to talk about other things. I know that at the end of the day the things I say aren’t new, I’m not inventing the wheel and the things I say are quite mundane, but for most of the American population I am inventing the wheel. These are matters they never considered nor read about, because they aren’t really interested. They don’t understand that Islam’s lack of tolerance for homosexuals and the rest of the world threatens us all”.
The Rabbinical establishment in Israel doesn’t really like your community either. I assume you know that two years ago a marcher in the gay pride parade in Jerusalem was stabbed.
“How can you compare a stabbing by a person who obviously isn’t sane to the way Islam has been terrorizing homosexuals for decades? You think someone would ever try to organize a parade in a Moslem country or even come out of the closet? The Israeli left doesn’t understand that whenever the parade in Jerusalem hits the headlines, it doesn’t end in Israel. The world doesn’t draw the simple facts from it – that Israel is a liberal country that accepts homosexuality – rather that a gay marcher was stabbed by a Hassidic Jew. That’s the story that will open the newscasts in the States and that’s the story that I get thrown in my face everywhere I lecture. So to what extent does it help the gay community in Israel and Israel as a whole? Very little”.
So I gather you are against having the gay parade in Jerusalem?
“In my opinion, sending drag queens to Jerusalem is like waving a red cape in front of a raging bull. Tel Aviv is 45 minutes from Jerusalem and the parade is received with open arms there. To me it’s just stupid. The world is constantly waiting for Israel to screw up, that’s a fact, and in recent years everytime the parade in Jerusalem makes headlines, Israel is portrayed as an obtuse society that doesn’t enable homosexuals to parade down its streets.
“I don’t know, it seems quite a few people have a vested interest in depicting Israel in a distorted fashion. Like Gal Ochovsky for example and his film “The Bubble”. It’s merely anti-Israel propoganda by an Israeli film maker and you go so far as to give him awards and celebrate the film instead of punching him in the face and saying ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’ I watched the film with a friend, a CNN reporter, and the audience was in tears, no less. When we left he said he thinks we can learn a lot from the movie. I asked him what he learned and he told me the unavoidable conclusion is that one should never date Arabs. That’s how I see it too”.
Did you tell Ochovsky what you think?
“I met him once during one of my visits here. He asked me what I thought about his movie and I said it was ‘very interesting’. I think that made him a bit mad because he’s used to being treated like Fellini”. (Gal Ochovsky responded: “I remember an encounter with Michael Lucas at Shirazi’s party in Tel Aviv. As far as I recall, he wasn’t dressed and was just about to get on stage. He stood before me naked and we shook hands. I think it’s best he focus on porn. At least in that respect he has some extremely outstanding advantages”).
Towards the end of the month Lucas will leave politics behind and begin seeking local stars for an Israeli film he is working on. “The biggest problem with this project that I have been working on for a long time is that I cannot find actors”, he confesses. “It’s not for lack of amazing men in Israel, but because this country is so small that people don’t feel comfortable taking part in this kind of movie”.
Have you already considered a name for the movie?
“I only start shooting in May so I have time”.
How about “Zionism”? (the word Zion in hebrew can either denote Zionism or sexual intercourse)
“Catchy name but people won’t get it”.
(A NOTE FROM MICHAEL LUCAS: I would like to make a remark about Gal Ochovsky, the director of "The Bubble." I do consider myself a liberal in the real sense of the term, not in the way that has been degraded by the likes of Rosie O'Donnell and Michael Moore. In Israel, I ran into the same so-called left wing extremists. As you can see in the article, the sarcastic response of the director to me is, in a simple translation, that I should shut up and talk about porn and porn only, that I have no right to talk about anything else. Using this logic, the cook can only judge the food and the doctor can only judge the illnesses. This is precisely where my problem with the left is: The formula that the left uses today is that if you don't agree with their point of view, you are a moron and should be silenced, humiliated, and loathed. I call it intellectual terrorism. It's similar to the institution of Islam in that both the left and Islam don't accept any other point of view. The difference is that Islam tortures you physically while the left tortures you intellectually. Gal Ochovsky is a great example of that.)
Posted by Michael at 02:01 PM | Comments (3)