Gay porn stars can earn $4000 to $5000 for a just an eight-hour day’s work, or a shoot over a weekend. The number one reason straight men do gay porn is cold, hard cash, says David. So what’s the appeal for these actors and the viewers? And can the performers really call themselves straight?Ĭurtis says the fact he began enjoying the feeling caused him confusion about his sexuality. Calling somebody gay is often used as a derogatory comment.”
“It’s interesting because there’s such a stigma against LGBT people in many places. “A lot of the main studios’ producers are straight men or women,” he said.
He realised this was increasingly reflected in both mainstream movies ( Brokeback Mountain, Dallas Buyers Club) and porn. “It’s not only subconscious cues, it’s promoted as this by the studios: ‘Look at these straight guy f**k!’”ĭavid became aware of the trend for heterosexuals to “go gay” for parts after he appeared in LGBT-orientated supernatural soap Dante’s Cove in 2004 and discovered he was the only “out” gay actor on set. “You’re seeing hypermasculine situations or sometimes professions, a construction worker and so on,” David told. Popular gay porn websites including (where Curtis works), Men.com, and all offer movies proudly featuring straight actors. I’m a Porn Star: Gay4Pay, which is released internationally on Tuesday, explores why straight men would have sex with other men, and why there’s such a huge market for it. At least half of all male gay porn stars identify as straight, according to Charlie David, a director from Montreal, Canada, who’s made a documentary on the subject. They’re not doing that much any more.”Ĭurtis’ experience may sound extreme, but it’s a common phenomenon. “They let me top the first sex scene I did just to ease me into it. “I thought about it a bit, experimented at home and was like, well that ain’t too bad, I can do that and come back with a pocketful of money, that’d be great. But soon enough, the chance to make even more money became too enticing. Pretty much just like jerking off at home is what it turned out to be.”Ĭurtis was emphatic that he would not do a sex scene. when you have three or four people with cameras, it’s pretty nerve-racking. I’d never been naked in front of anybody other than me and a girlfriend. “It was just, come back here, here’s the studio, get naked. “They made it real comfortable,” he says. "Vimeo empowers today's brightest talent to develop their best work, with total creative freedom, and bring it directly to Vimeo's worldwide audience.THE offer came through Curtis’ MySpace account: masturbate on camera for a gay porn film, and earn some quick and easy cash.Ĭurtis was straight, but as a struggling new graduate in fast-paced San Diego, it was a tempting idea.
SIGN UP for the free Indie Focus movies newsletter > "This new slate of Vimeo originals exemplifies the fresh, unique voices of Vimeo creators who are propelling online storytelling and entertainment to new levels of quality," said Vimeo CEO Kerry Trainor. But it hopes to lure creators with more favorable revenue splits, and audiences with novel lower-budget programming. The company, a division of IAC, is a latecomer to the game that already features more established players such as Netflix and Amazon. Launched primarily as a secure viewing platform for filmmakers and industry types, Vimeo has been looking to amp up its original efforts in the last year. They are: the latest season of the online hit gay comedy "The Outs," written by Adam Goldman and Sasha Winters a short film titled "Darby Forever" written by and starring "SNL" veteran Aidy Bryant and "Rolodex of Hate Comedy Special," a new standup one-off from comedian Bianca Del Rio. Vimeo is stepping up its new-programming efforts, announcing what it dubs as its "first ever slate of original programming." The site has said it has made deals for three new pieces of content and will debut them this winter.