Everyone’s heard of the Oscars, but did you know there’s an award show unofficially known as the Oscars of Gay Porn?
They’re called the GAYVN Awards and they honor excellence in all-male adult entertainment. Truth be told, I love me some porn — gay or straight. Anything with the word “Folsom” in the title or directed by Joe Gage is right up my alley.
I’ve never had any reason to pay attention to the GAYVN Awards, but this year a company founded by a Philadelphia leatherman scored four big nominations.
“GRIND, Vol. 1” from the new studio Forbidden Funk Media is nominated for Best Picture, Best Group Sex Scene, Best Ethnic-Themed Film and Best Music — not bad for their first year in the biz! “GRIND” is a really cool movie, with a gritty look, a funky soundtrack and some clever references to grind-house double features of the ’70s.
Forbidden Funk Media was founded by Blackkat, who grew up in Philadelphia and held the title of American Leatherman 2005. I caught up with Blackkat recently to ask him about his company and what it’s like being nominated for the industry’s highest honor. PGN: So where did the idea for Forbidden Funk Media come from? BK: We realized as a company that most porn featuring men of color comes from one perspective. It presents a very limited view of how black men express sex and their sexuality. That perspective mostly focuses on young guys and, if it involves leather, it’s mostly with white men. That gives an imbalanced view of who we are, how we live and how we do it. Any visual medium influences people, so we thought, why not show leathermen of color with other leathermen of color?
PGN: What else makes Forbidden Funk unique? BK: A lot of studios go for a certain type or look and once they find it that’s the only thing they offer. We don’t do that. We’re unique for having a variety of men and a whole range of looks: different body types, different ages, different backgrounds and different complexions. All men of color, but all very different.
PGN: How did you feel when you heard about the nominations? BK: This was the first project that I directed and it’s exciting to be nominated, especially for one of our first releases. We took a lot of risks doing something as big as “GRIND” this early!
Blackkat isn’t the only Philadelphian nominated at the GAYVNs this year. The Best Music nominee for “GRIND” is Byron Hightower but you may know him as Martin Bailey, an active member of the Keystone boys of Leather and an associate member of Philadelphians MC. Bailey has also composed scores for the body-building documentaries “Beyond the Pain: The Vicki Nixon Story” and the “Raising the Bar” series.
And the Philly “GRIND” connections don’t stop there. The assistant director, a handful of camera operators, the graphic-design company responsible for Forbidden Funk’s logo, branding and Web site, and even a couple production assistants all hail from the City of Brotherly Love.
OK, truth be told, I was one of those production assistants. It was quite an experience! The guys were hot and the shoot was a lot of fun, but my favorite memory is when I had to clean the dildos between the day and evening setups. Since there was no dishwasher at our location, I had to scrub them all by hand. It was a little gross, but all I could think of while trying to get Boy Butter off all those huge fake cocks was, “And dad said my English degree wouldn’t get me anywhere!”
The 11th annual GAYVN Awards will be presented at the Castro Theater on March 28 in San Francisco with co-hosts comedian Margaret Cho, supermodel and reality-TV star Janice Dickinson and actor Alec Mapa (the fashion reporter on “Ugly Betty”). Check www.gayvn.com for more details.
Here’s hoping “GRIND” hits a grand slam and brings home all four awards! You can check out their stuff at www.forbiddenfunk.com or watch streaming films at www.nubianfunk.com. And watch for “GRIND, Vol. 2” to be released later this year.
New Philly leather contest producer
In contest news, MidAtlantic LeatherSIR 2008 Andy Liu has taken over the reins as producer of the Mr. and Ms. Philadelphia Leather contest for The Bike Stop. Liu is already hard at work putting everything together and he’s confident that it will be a great contest this year.
November is closer than you think, so if you want to compete or volunteer, watch The Bike Stop’s Web site for information (www.thebikestop.com). I guarantee you’ll have a lot of fun — and I also guarantee there will be no dildo scrubbing required.
Upcoming events
— Woof! Philly is held Sundays from 5 p.m. to close at 200 S. 12th St. Visit www.woofphilly.com or www.myspace.com/woofphilly for more information.
— Charity Trivia will be held from 7-11 p.m. March 6 in The Pit at The Bike Stop, 206 S. Quince St. Visit www.queeropinion.com/charitytrivia for more information.
— Get Out Get Laid will be held from 9 p.m.-1 a.m. March 5 at The Bike Stop.
Questions? Comments? Nifty dildo cleaning tips? Contact Jim at [email protected].