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Michael Lucas (director)
Encyclopedia
Michael Lucas is an American
-Russian
-Israel
i gay
pornographic actor
, director
, activist, writer
and the founder
/CEO of Lucas Entertainment, New York's
largest gay-adult-film company. He is a columnist for The Advocate
and Pink News
.
The New Republic
dubbed Lucas "Gay Porn's Neocon Kingpin", and FrontPage Magazine cited him as "the most mainstreamed, provocative, and controversial figure in gay adult entertainment today." He contends that his film Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita
is the most expensive gay porn film ever made, with a budget of $250,000 and multiple celebrity cameo
s. In 2009, Lucas was inducted into the GayVN Hall of Fame, noted for "his stature as an A-list director and performer". He was included in a 2009 New York magazine feature about people who made it to the top, but arrived to the city with very little.
Lucas is particularly well known for his activism and outspokenness. His criticism of drug use
and his sponsorship of public service ad campaigns about the dangers of unprotected sex in the gay community
led Harvey Fierstein
to interview him for The Advocate
. His New York Blade columns on Ultra-Orthodox Judaism and Islam
sparked a campus debate at Stanford University
in February 2008 when Lucas was invited to give a speech to students. In 2010 he debated Peter Tatchell
and Sue Sanders
at England's Oxford University on whether the gay rights movement has undermined family values
.
In 2009, Lucas released the film Men of Israel
, which he called his most important. Journalists from The Atlantic, Out Magazine and Yediot Aharonot noted it as a landmark film as the first pornographic movie shot on location with an all-Israel
i cast; while Tablet Magazine
and the Los Angeles Times
remarked on it being the first to feature an all-Jewish cast. Lucas followed the film with a gay tour of Israel. New York's LGBT Center
stopped allowing groups associated with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
to meet in their building after Lucas led a protest over their allowance of an "Israeli apartheid" group.
, Russia
, to Lev Bregman, an engineer
, and Elena Treivas, a Russian literature
teacher. In 1994 he obtained a degree
in law from Moscow State Law Academy. After graduation, Lucas briefly owned and operated a travel agency
until 1995, when he left Russia for Munich, Germany, before settling in France for the next two years. In 1997, Lucas moved to New York City
.
On November 12, 2004, Lucas was sworn in as an American
citizen
. In October 2008 it was announced that Lucas had married his boyfriend of eight years, Richard Winger. A press release stated that the couple wanted to get married to make a statement about same-sex marriage
rights.
director Jean-Daniel Cadinot
, appearing as "Ramzes Kairoff" in two gay pornographic films, both released in 1996. Using the name "Michel Lucas," he worked as a Falcon Exclusive, performing as a top in five films released in 1997 and 1998.
. DiMarco and Lucas also won a 2008 XBIZ
Award for Best GLBT Director, and Lucas received an award for Best Publicity Stunt for "Michael Lucas Found Dead".
The Banana Guide called his productions the most polished, big-budget gay porn films ever made and cited Lucas' love for the subject and high technical aptitude.
(rather than Los Angeles
, where many of the other pornography studios are located in part because of the city's hospitable environment for adult films.) 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. His studio has garnered many GayVN Awards
and Adult Erotic Gay Video Awards ("Grabbys") nominations and wins.
In the summer of 2005 Lucas released Michael Lucas' Dangerous Liaisons
; the film featured celebrity cameos from RuPaul
, Boy George
, Graham Norton
, Bruce Vilanch
, Lady Bunny
, Amanda Lepore
, and Michael Musto
.
The company received 24 nominations for the 2009 GayVN Awards, including best picture for Return to Fire Island. That May, Lucas filmed the first gay porn film using all Israeli models, billing it as a sexual journey to promote Israeli culture. The company launched its Men of Israel website to promote the film, which announced its release for July 22.
Parts 1 & 2, a gay pornographic
remake
of the 1960 Fellini
classic La Dolce Vita
. The film won a record fourteen awards at the 2007 GayVN Awards
, winning in every category in which it was nominated.
In February 2007, International Media Films, Inc., which owns the rights
to Fellini's La Dolce Vita, filed suit
against Lucas (as Andrei Treivas Bregman), Lucas Entertainment, Inc., and Lucas Distribution, Inc. for trademark
and copyright infringement
. The lawsuit seeks to collect unspecified damages
and to stop sales of Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita Parts 1 & 2.
Lucas won the lawsuit in April 2010 in a summary judgment
by Judge John George Koeltl, who dismissed IMF's claims of copyright infringement, since many porn films have parodied mainstream films.
, both in the porn industry and the gay community at large. In August 2004, The Advocate
published an interview by Harvey Fierstein
with Lucas about his full-page public service announcement
s in several national publications warning of the dangers of unprotected sex.
Increasingly Lucas gained attention for his politics, and in particular his views on Israel and Muslims. In March 2008 he was profiled in The New Republic
as "Gay porn's neocon kingpin". The article explored his background and a controversy over his writings on Islam
that surrounded a lecture he gave at Stanford University
.
In an interview with Michael Musto
in April 2009, Lucas remarked that his stifled upbringing in Soviet Russia
influenced how vocal he is about his opinions.
Lucas wrote about the need for LGBT people to reassess conservatives in August 2010, citing Ann Coulter
as an example of a gay-friendly conservative leader. One month later he attended the GOProud
2010 convention, where he argued with Coulter about the perception of her anti-gay jokes among the Republican Party's
base voters.
decrying the group Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism. In March 2010 Lucas began writing a column for The Advocate
. His columns have focused on Israel
, Russia's confronting homosexuality, and the Park51 controversy.
have been controversial. In a 2007 New York Blade column, Lucas expressed support for artist Charles Merrill's burning of a Koran that was estimated at $60,000. He has condemned Islam for creating negative attitudes that lead to the persecution of homosexuals. Lucas wrote "Between the Koran and the Hadith
there is no question but that Mohammed, fatuously and ridiculously claiming to be speaking the thoughts and words of a Supreme Nincompoop called 'Allah,' believed that two men caught having sex with each other should be put to death."
As a columnist for The Advocate
, Lucas continued to explore Islamic topics. In a heavily-debated column, he called the Cordoba House, a proposed Islamic community center and mosque
controversially located near the World Trade Center
site, a 'monument to Muslim terrorism' and an example of "political Islam's ascendancy." After the 2011 Egyptian revolution
he wrote that the Muslim Brotherhood
would fill a power vacuum, asserting that it would be a problem for the discreet Egyptian gay community that has lived with relatively little government persecution.
Master's Tea at Yale University's
. The speech was organized with the assistance of gaYalies, a campus group for gay and bisexual men. He spoke about his life history and his views on pornography. In February 2006 he participated in a symposium
on adult entertainment that was sponsored by the Yale Journal of Law and Feminism, which later published Lucas' discussion in its Spring issue.
The Speakers Bureau at Stanford University
invited Lucas to speak in Cubberley Auditorium on February 14, 2008, about the role the adult entertainment industry plays in AIDS
prevention. The appearance sparked debate about his political columns for the New York Blade, particularly his assertions that "the Qur'an
is today’s Mein Kampf
" and that its teachings inspire Muslims to kill gay people.
Lucas, who grew up in the Soviet Union
and experienced its antisemitism
, was on a panel at The New School
on the state of gay rights and acceptability in Eastern Europe
.
The core of Lucas' worldview is his Jewish identity, and particularly his deep affinity for the state of Israel
. His time growing up in the Soviet Union
, which was notorious for its antizionism, meant that like many Russian Jews, Lucas had to repress his identity. Lucas has claimed that he was given his mother's maiden name at birth specifically because Treivas sounded less Jewish than his father's surname
Bregman.
Hezbollah's attacks in the 2006 Lebanon war affected Lucas, who in the midst of the fighting announced his plans to go to Israel
to entertain gay soldiers (who are allowed to serve openly in the military). Lucas received a positive response to the trip; however, some religious segments of Israeli society had expressed less enthusiasm for the arrival of a gay porn magnate. In an article, "Lucas responds," Lucas characterized some of the reaction as homophobic
and in an interview said, "Israel is my country as much as it is yours. To come to Israel is my birthright
." In September 2009 Lucas was granted Israeli citizenship.
The next summer in a New York Blade column Lucas brought up his disapproval of Haredi Judaism
in Israel once again. In "Trouble With Ultra-Orthodox," Lucas referred to the Ultra-Orthodox community in Jerusalem as "religious goons" and parasites for his belief that they take advantage of state welfare programs.
. The group, Siegebusters, had planned to hold a fundraising party on March 5 at the Center to help fund another vessel to break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza, as well as to train activists. Lucas protested and claimed that Israel is the only gay-friendly country in the Middle East, that the group was anti-Semitic, and that LGBT people in the Palestinian territories
are tortured and killed. After Lucas's calls for a boycott, the Center backed down and decided that Seigebuster was not an LGBT-related group, and so they should not use their space for the Israeli Apartheid Week
event. Siegebusters protested the decision by organizing an online petition; Lucas told The Jerusalem Post
that his success with the event's cancellation was a "landmark moment" in his life.
The controversy arose again in May 2011 after the Center agreed to let the group Queers Against Israeli Apartheid
meet in their building, triggering Lucas to again call for a boycott and an end to the Center's funding. In a statement defending the move, the Center said that it "provides space for a variety of LGBT voices in our community to engage in conversations on a range of topics." In a press release, Lucas responded that the Center had become an accomplice of an "anti-Semitic hate group whose goal is the destruction of the Jewish state of Israel". And in the beginning of June 2011, the Center decided to place a "moratorium" on renting space to "groups that organize around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."
' 2004 book XXX: 30 Porn Star Photographs
and the accompanying HBO documentary Thinking XXX
.
Greenfield-Sanders asked Lucas for a list of his 10 favorite films; the 10 films he listed are all films from his own production company. In May 2007, Kensington Books
published a biography of Lucas titled Naked: The Life and Times of Michael Lucas. Lucas asserts the book was published without his involvement or approval.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
-Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
pornographic actor
Pornographic actor
A pornographic actor/actress or a porn star is a person who appears in pornographic film. Most actors appear nude in films...
, director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, activist, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and the founder
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
/CEO of Lucas Entertainment, New York's
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
largest gay-adult-film company. He is a columnist for The Advocate
The Advocate
The Advocate is an American LGBT-interest magazine, printed monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a web site. Both magazine and web site have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to LGBT people...
and Pink News
Pink News
Pink News is a United Kingdom-based online gay newspaper.The paper version, The Pink News, officially launched at the Law Society on 28 June 2006 by Francis Maude, Chairman of the Conservative Party, Meg Munn, Minister for Equality, Simon Hughes, President of the Liberal Democrats and Meg Hillier,...
.
The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
dubbed Lucas "Gay Porn's Neocon Kingpin", and FrontPage Magazine cited him as "the most mainstreamed, provocative, and controversial figure in gay adult entertainment today." He contends that his film Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita
Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita
Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita is a gay pornographic remake of the Federico Fellini classic La dolce vita, directed by Michael Lucas and Tony Dimarco and released by Lucas Entertainment in 2006....
is the most expensive gay porn film ever made, with a budget of $250,000 and multiple celebrity cameo
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
s. In 2009, Lucas was inducted into the GayVN Hall of Fame, noted for "his stature as an A-list director and performer". He was included in a 2009 New York magazine feature about people who made it to the top, but arrived to the city with very little.
Lucas is particularly well known for his activism and outspokenness. His criticism of drug use
Recreational drug use
Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...
and his sponsorship of public service ad campaigns about the dangers of unprotected sex in the gay community
Gay community
The gay community, or LGBT community, is a loosely defined grouping of LGBT and LGBT-supportive people, organizations and subcultures, united by a common culture and civil rights movements. These communities generally celebrate pride, diversity, individuality, and sexuality...
led Harvey Fierstein
Harvey Fierstein
Harvey Forbes Fierstein is a U.S. actor and playwright, noted for the early distinction of winning Tony Awards for both writing and originating the lead role in his long-running play Torch Song Trilogy, about a gay drag-performer and his quest for true love and family, as well as writing the...
to interview him for The Advocate
The Advocate
The Advocate is an American LGBT-interest magazine, printed monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a web site. Both magazine and web site have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to LGBT people...
. His New York Blade columns on Ultra-Orthodox Judaism and Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
sparked a campus debate at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in February 2008 when Lucas was invited to give a speech to students. In 2010 he debated Peter Tatchell
Peter Tatchell
Peter Gary Tatchell is an Australian-born British political campaigner best known for his work with LGBT social movements...
and Sue Sanders
Sue Sanders
Sue Sanders is, as an "out and proud" lesbian, a British LGBT rights activist who has specialized in challenging oppression in the public and voluntary sectors for over thirty years....
at England's Oxford University on whether the gay rights movement has undermined family values
Family values
Family values are political and social beliefs that hold the nuclear family to be the essential ethical and moral unit of society. Familialism is the ideology that promotes the family and its values as an institution....
.
In 2009, Lucas released the film Men of Israel
Men of Israel
Men of Israel is a 2009 gay pornographic film released by Lucas Entertainment studio. Journalists from The Atlantic, Out Magazine and Yediot Aharonot noted it as a landmark film as the first pornographic movie shot on location with an all-Israeli cast; while Tablet Magazine and the Los Angeles...
, which he called his most important. Journalists from The Atlantic, Out Magazine and Yediot Aharonot noted it as a landmark film as the first pornographic movie shot on location with an all-Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i cast; while Tablet Magazine
Tablet Magazine
Tablet Magazine is a two-time National Magazine Award-winning online publication of Jewish life, arts, and ideas. Sponsored by Nextbook, it was launched in June 2009. Its Editor in Chief is Alana Newhouse....
and the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
remarked on it being the first to feature an all-Jewish cast. Lucas followed the film with a gay tour of Israel. New York's LGBT Center
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center is a nonprofit organization serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population of New York City and nearby communities.- History :...
stopped allowing groups associated with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
to meet in their building after Lucas led a protest over their allowance of an "Israeli apartheid" group.
Background
Lucas was born in 1972 in MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, to Lev Bregman, an engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
, and Elena Treivas, a Russian literature
Russian literature
Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia or its émigrés, and to the Russian-language literature of several independent nations once a part of what was historically Russia or the Soviet Union...
teacher. In 1994 he obtained a degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
in law from Moscow State Law Academy. After graduation, Lucas briefly owned and operated a travel agency
Travel agency
A travel agency is a retail business that sells travel related products and services to customers on behalf of suppliers such as airlines, car rentals, cruise lines, hotels, railways, sightseeing tours and package holidays that combine several products...
until 1995, when he left Russia for Munich, Germany, before settling in France for the next two years. In 1997, Lucas moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
On November 12, 2004, Lucas was sworn in as an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
citizen
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
. In October 2008 it was announced that Lucas had married his boyfriend of eight years, Richard Winger. A press release stated that the couple wanted to get married to make a statement about same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
rights.
Actor
Lucas began his career in a German heterosexual pornographic film. While in France, he worked under the influential FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
director Jean-Daniel Cadinot
Jean-Daniel Cadinot
Jean-Daniel Cadinot was a French director and producer of gay pornographic films.-Biography:Cadinot was born during WWII, in German-occupied Paris, in the Montmartre hill area of the Batignoles Quarter. His parents were tailors who custom fit clothes...
, appearing as "Ramzes Kairoff" in two gay pornographic films, both released in 1996. Using the name "Michel Lucas," he worked as a Falcon Exclusive, performing as a top in five films released in 1997 and 1998.
Director
He directed his first project, Back in the Saddle, in 1998, and also performed in the film. With co-director Tony DiMarco, Lucas won Best Director at the 2007 GayVN Awards for Michael Lucas' La Dolce VitaMichael Lucas' La Dolce Vita
Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita is a gay pornographic remake of the Federico Fellini classic La dolce vita, directed by Michael Lucas and Tony Dimarco and released by Lucas Entertainment in 2006....
. DiMarco and Lucas also won a 2008 XBIZ
XBIZ
XBIZ is an American publisher of business news and business information for the adult entertainment industry.In addition to its flagship website, XBIZ publishes two monthly trade magazines, hosts winter and summer exhibition & industry conferences, and facilitates networking among adult online...
Award for Best GLBT Director, and Lucas received an award for Best Publicity Stunt for "Michael Lucas Found Dead".
The Banana Guide called his productions the most polished, big-budget gay porn films ever made and cited Lucas' love for the subject and high technical aptitude.
Lucas Entertainment
In 1998 Lucas founded his own production company, Lucas Entertainment, with money he earned from working as a male escort. He based the company in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
(rather than Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, where many of the other pornography studios are located in part because of the city's hospitable environment for adult films.) 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. His studio has garnered many GayVN Awards
GayVN Awards
The GAYVN Awards are presented annually to honor work done in the gay pornography industry. The awards are sponsored by AVN Magazine, the parent publication of GAYVN Magazine, and continue the recognition for gay pornography which was part of the AVN Awards from 1986–1998.The award recipients...
and Adult Erotic Gay Video Awards ("Grabbys") nominations and wins.
In the summer of 2005 Lucas released Michael Lucas' Dangerous Liaisons
Michael Lucas' Dangerous Liaisons
Dangerous Liaisons is a gay adult film directed by Michael Lucas and released by Lucas Entertainment in 2005. The film is a film adaptation of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, a novel written in 1782 by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos...
; the film featured celebrity cameos from RuPaul
RuPaul
RuPaul Andre Charles , best known as simply RuPaul, is an American actor, drag queen, model, author, and singer-songwriter, who first became widely known in the 1990s when he appeared in a wide variety of television programs, films, and musical albums. Previously, he was a fixture on the Atlanta...
, Boy George
Boy George
Boy George is a British singer-songwriter who was part of the English New Romantic movement which emerged in the early 1980s. He helped give androgyny an international stage with the success of Culture Club during the 1980s. His music is often classified as blue-eyed soul, which is influenced by...
, Graham Norton
Graham Norton
Graham William Walker, known by his stage name Graham Norton , is an Irish actor, comedian, television presenter and columnist...
, Bruce Vilanch
Bruce Vilanch
Bruce Vilanch is an American comedy writer, songwriter and actor. He is a six-time Emmy Award-winner Vilanch is best known to the public for his four-year stint on Hollywood Squares, as a celebrity participant; in the entertainment industry he is best known as head writer for the show...
, Lady Bunny
Lady Bunny
The Lady Bunny is an American drag queen originally from Chattanooga, Tennessee, who has lived in New York since the 1980s. She is the founder of the annual Wigstock event and is well-known as a nightclub DJ, promoter and celebrity...
, Amanda Lepore
Amanda Lepore
Amanda Lepore is an American model, nightclub hostess, fashion icon, performance artist, and transgender icon. She has appeared in advertising for numerous companies, including M.A.C. cosmetics, Mego Jeans, The Blonds, Swatch, CAMP Cosmetics, and Heatherette, which has used her likeness on...
, and Michael Musto
Michael Musto
Michael Musto is an American columnist for the The Village Voice, where he writes La Dolce Musto. Musto was born in Brooklyn to an Italian American family. He attended Columbia University graduating in 1976. During his studies, he was a theater critic for the Columbia Spectator...
.
The company received 24 nominations for the 2009 GayVN Awards, including best picture for Return to Fire Island. That May, Lucas filmed the first gay porn film using all Israeli models, billing it as a sexual journey to promote Israeli culture. The company launched its Men of Israel website to promote the film, which announced its release for July 22.
Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita
In 2006, the studio released Michael Lucas' La Dolce VitaMichael Lucas' La Dolce Vita
Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita is a gay pornographic remake of the Federico Fellini classic La dolce vita, directed by Michael Lucas and Tony Dimarco and released by Lucas Entertainment in 2006....
Parts 1 & 2, a gay pornographic
Gay pornography
Gay pornography is the representation of sexual intercourse between men with the primary goal of sexual arousal in its audience. There is also a tradition, and continuing considerable output, of lesbian pornography....
remake
Remake
A remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
of the 1960 Fellini
Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , was an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Known for a distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images, he is considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century...
classic La Dolce Vita
La Dolce Vita
La Dolce Vita is a 1960 comedy-drama film written and directed by the critically acclaimed director Federico Fellini. The film is a story of a passive journalist's week in Rome, and his search for both happiness and love that will never come...
. The film won a record fourteen awards at the 2007 GayVN Awards
GayVN Awards
The GAYVN Awards are presented annually to honor work done in the gay pornography industry. The awards are sponsored by AVN Magazine, the parent publication of GAYVN Magazine, and continue the recognition for gay pornography which was part of the AVN Awards from 1986–1998.The award recipients...
, winning in every category in which it was nominated.
In February 2007, International Media Films, Inc., which owns the rights
Property
Property is any physical or intangible entity that is owned by a person or jointly by a group of people or a legal entity like a corporation...
to Fellini's La Dolce Vita, filed suit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
against Lucas (as Andrei Treivas Bregman), Lucas Entertainment, Inc., and Lucas Distribution, Inc. for trademark
Trademark infringement
Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attaching to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees...
and copyright infringement
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
. The lawsuit seeks to collect unspecified damages
Damages
In law, damages is an award, typically of money, to be paid to a person as compensation for loss or injury; grammatically, it is a singular noun, not plural.- Compensatory damages :...
and to stop sales of Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita Parts 1 & 2.
Lucas won the lawsuit in April 2010 in a summary judgment
Summary judgment
In law, a summary judgment is a determination made by a court without a full trial. Such a judgment may be issued as to the merits of an entire case, or of specific issues in that case....
by Judge John George Koeltl, who dismissed IMF's claims of copyright infringement, since many porn films have parodied mainstream films.
Writer, speaker and activist
In the 2000s, Lucas attracted attention for his views on politics and culture through a series of columns, speaking events and his increasing activism. He is a vocal opponent of drug use and an advocate for safe sexSafe sex
Safe sex is sexual activity engaged in by people who have taken precautions to protect themselves against sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS. It is also referred to as safer sex or protected sex, while unsafe or unprotected sex is sexual activity engaged in without precautions...
, both in the porn industry and the gay community at large. In August 2004, The Advocate
The Advocate
The Advocate is an American LGBT-interest magazine, printed monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a web site. Both magazine and web site have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to LGBT people...
published an interview by Harvey Fierstein
Harvey Fierstein
Harvey Forbes Fierstein is a U.S. actor and playwright, noted for the early distinction of winning Tony Awards for both writing and originating the lead role in his long-running play Torch Song Trilogy, about a gay drag-performer and his quest for true love and family, as well as writing the...
with Lucas about his full-page public service announcement
Public service announcement
A public service announcement or public service ad is a type of advertisement featured on television, radio, print or other media...
s in several national publications warning of the dangers of unprotected sex.
Increasingly Lucas gained attention for his politics, and in particular his views on Israel and Muslims. In March 2008 he was profiled in The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
as "Gay porn's neocon kingpin". The article explored his background and a controversy over his writings on Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
that surrounded a lecture he gave at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
.
In an interview with Michael Musto
Michael Musto
Michael Musto is an American columnist for the The Village Voice, where he writes La Dolce Musto. Musto was born in Brooklyn to an Italian American family. He attended Columbia University graduating in 1976. During his studies, he was a theater critic for the Columbia Spectator...
in April 2009, Lucas remarked that his stifled upbringing in Soviet Russia
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
influenced how vocal he is about his opinions.
Lucas wrote about the need for LGBT people to reassess conservatives in August 2010, citing Ann Coulter
Ann Coulter
Ann Hart Coulter is an American lawyer, conservative social and political commentator, author, and syndicated columnist. She frequently appears on television, radio, and as a speaker at public events and private events...
as an example of a gay-friendly conservative leader. One month later he attended the GOProud
GOProud
GOProud is an American tax exempt 527 organization representing conservative gays, lesbians, transgendered people, and their allies. GOProud advocates for small government conservatism at the level of federal public policy. GOProud was founded by Christopher R...
2010 convention, where he argued with Coulter about the perception of her anti-gay jokes among the Republican Party's
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
base voters.
Columnist
On April 20, 2007, The New York Blade began to publish regular opinion columns by Lucas, who had previously had a number of comments published in the Blade's opinion section. In October 2009, Lucas wrote a column for The AdvocateThe Advocate
The Advocate is an American LGBT-interest magazine, printed monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a web site. Both magazine and web site have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to LGBT people...
decrying the group Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism. In March 2010 Lucas began writing a column for The Advocate
The Advocate
The Advocate is an American LGBT-interest magazine, printed monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a web site. Both magazine and web site have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to LGBT people...
. His columns have focused on Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Russia's confronting homosexuality, and the Park51 controversy.
Islam
His writings on IslamIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
have been controversial. In a 2007 New York Blade column, Lucas expressed support for artist Charles Merrill's burning of a Koran that was estimated at $60,000. He has condemned Islam for creating negative attitudes that lead to the persecution of homosexuals. Lucas wrote "Between the Koran and the Hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
there is no question but that Mohammed, fatuously and ridiculously claiming to be speaking the thoughts and words of a Supreme Nincompoop called 'Allah,' believed that two men caught having sex with each other should be put to death."
As a columnist for The Advocate
The Advocate
The Advocate is an American LGBT-interest magazine, printed monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a web site. Both magazine and web site have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to LGBT people...
, Lucas continued to explore Islamic topics. In a heavily-debated column, he called the Cordoba House, a proposed Islamic community center and mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
controversially located near the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
site, a 'monument to Muslim terrorism' and an example of "political Islam's ascendancy." After the 2011 Egyptian revolution
2011 Egyptian revolution
The 2011 Egyptian revolution took place following a popular uprising that began on Tuesday, 25 January 2011 and is still continuing as of November 2011. The uprising was mainly a campaign of non-violent civil resistance, which featured a series of demonstrations, marches, acts of civil...
he wrote that the Muslim Brotherhood
Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers is the world's oldest and one of the largest Islamist parties, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna and by the late 1940s had an...
would fill a power vacuum, asserting that it would be a problem for the discreet Egyptian gay community that has lived with relatively little government persecution.
University lectures
In April 2005, Lucas was invited to speak before a Calhoun CollegeCalhoun College
Calhoun College is a residential college of Yale University.-Early history:In 1641, John Brockston established a farm on the plot of land that is now Calhoun College...
Master's Tea at Yale University's
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. The speech was organized with the assistance of gaYalies, a campus group for gay and bisexual men. He spoke about his life history and his views on pornography. In February 2006 he participated in a symposium
Symposium
In ancient Greece, the symposium was a drinking party. Literary works that describe or take place at a symposium include two Socratic dialogues, Plato's Symposium and Xenophon's Symposium, as well as a number of Greek poems such as the elegies of Theognis of Megara...
on adult entertainment that was sponsored by the Yale Journal of Law and Feminism, which later published Lucas' discussion in its Spring issue.
The Speakers Bureau at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
invited Lucas to speak in Cubberley Auditorium on February 14, 2008, about the role the adult entertainment industry plays in AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
prevention. The appearance sparked debate about his political columns for the New York Blade, particularly his assertions that "the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
is today’s Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf is a book written by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. It combines elements of autobiography with an exposition of Hitler's political ideology. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published in 1925 and Volume 2 in 1926...
" and that its teachings inspire Muslims to kill gay people.
Lucas, who grew up in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and experienced its antisemitism
Antisemitism in the Soviet Union
The Russian Revolution overthrew a centuries-old regime of official antisemitism. The Soviet Unions success, during its existence, in struggling with this legacy, and the degree to which its government fought against, or was itself guilty of antisemitism, is a topic of some debate...
, was on a panel at The New School
The New School
The New School is a university in New York City, located mostly in Greenwich Village. From its founding in 1919 by progressive New York academics, and for most of its history, the university was known as the New School for Social Research. Between 1997 and 2005 it was known as New School University...
on the state of gay rights and acceptability in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
.
Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. His time growing up in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, which was notorious for its antizionism, meant that like many Russian Jews, Lucas had to repress his identity. Lucas has claimed that he was given his mother's maiden name at birth specifically because Treivas sounded less Jewish than his father's surname
Surname
A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...
Bregman.
Hezbollah's attacks in the 2006 Lebanon war affected Lucas, who in the midst of the fighting announced his plans to go to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
to entertain gay soldiers (who are allowed to serve openly in the military). Lucas received a positive response to the trip; however, some religious segments of Israeli society had expressed less enthusiasm for the arrival of a gay porn magnate. In an article, "Lucas responds," Lucas characterized some of the reaction as homophobic
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
and in an interview said, "Israel is my country as much as it is yours. To come to Israel is my birthright
Law of Return
The Law of Return is Israeli legislation, passed on 5 July 1950, that gives Jews the right of return and settlement in Israel and gain citizenship...
." In September 2009 Lucas was granted Israeli citizenship.
The next summer in a New York Blade column Lucas brought up his disapproval of Haredi Judaism
Haredi Judaism
Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
in Israel once again. In "Trouble With Ultra-Orthodox," Lucas referred to the Ultra-Orthodox community in Jerusalem as "religious goons" and parasites for his belief that they take advantage of state welfare programs.
New York LGBT Community Center controversy
In February 2011, Lucas created a controversy over a pro-Palestinian group that planned to hold a meeting at New York's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community CenterLesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center is a nonprofit organization serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population of New York City and nearby communities.- History :...
. The group, Siegebusters, had planned to hold a fundraising party on March 5 at the Center to help fund another vessel to break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza, as well as to train activists. Lucas protested and claimed that Israel is the only gay-friendly country in the Middle East, that the group was anti-Semitic, and that LGBT people in the Palestinian territories
LGBT rights in the Palestinian territories
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender rights in the Palestinian territories are oftentimes spoke of in the geopolitical and cultural context of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict...
are tortured and killed. After Lucas's calls for a boycott, the Center backed down and decided that Seigebuster was not an LGBT-related group, and so they should not use their space for the Israeli Apartheid Week
Israeli Apartheid Week
Israeli Apartheid Week is an annual series of university lectures and rallies held in February or March. According to the organisation "[t]he aim of IAW is to educate people about the nature of Israel as an apartheid system and to build Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaigns as part of a...
event. Siegebusters protested the decision by organizing an online petition; Lucas told The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post is an Israeli daily English-language broadsheet newspaper, founded on December 1, 1932 by Gershon Agron as The Palestine Post. The daily readership numbers do not approach those of the major Hebrew newspapers....
that his success with the event's cancellation was a "landmark moment" in his life.
The controversy arose again in May 2011 after the Center agreed to let the group Queers Against Israeli Apartheid
Queers Against Israeli Apartheid
Queers Against Israeli Apartheid is a Toronto-based grassroots LGBT group involved in the movement against what the organization see as Israeli apartheid and is a member of the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid. The group has been involved in Israeli Apartheid Week as well as Pride Week...
meet in their building, triggering Lucas to again call for a boycott and an end to the Center's funding. In a statement defending the move, the Center said that it "provides space for a variety of LGBT voices in our community to engage in conversations on a range of topics." In a press release, Lucas responded that the Center had become an accomplice of an "anti-Semitic hate group whose goal is the destruction of the Jewish state of Israel". And in the beginning of June 2011, the Center decided to place a "moratorium" on renting space to "groups that organize around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."
In popular culture
Lucas appeared in Timothy Greenfield-SandersTimothy Greenfield-Sanders
Timothy Greenfield-Sanders is an American portrait photographer known for his strikingly intimate portraits of world leaders and major cultural figures. The majority of his work is shot in large format, 11x14 inch black-and-white film and 8x10 color film...
' 2004 book XXX: 30 Porn Star Photographs
and the accompanying HBO documentary Thinking XXX
Thinking XXX
Thinking XXX is a 2004 television documentary about the process photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders went through to create his book XXX: 30 Porn Star Portraits...
.
Greenfield-Sanders asked Lucas for a list of his 10 favorite films; the 10 films he listed are all films from his own production company. In May 2007, Kensington Books
Kensington Books
Kensington Publishing Corp. is an American book publisher.- Overview :Kensington was founded in 1974 by Walter Zacharius, formerly of Lancer Books. Steven Zacharius became president and CEO in 2005. Vice president Michael Rosamilia has been the CFO since 1989. Laurie Parkin is the vice president...
published a biography of Lucas titled Naked: The Life and Times of Michael Lucas. Lucas asserts the book was published without his involvement or approval.
Awards
- 2000 Adult Erotic Gay Video Awards ("Grabbys") Best Newcomer—Director
- 2001 GayVN AwardsGayVN AwardsThe GAYVN Awards are presented annually to honor work done in the gay pornography industry. The awards are sponsored by AVN Magazine, the parent publication of GAYVN Magazine, and continue the recognition for gay pornography which was part of the AVN Awards from 1986–1998.The award recipients...
Best Solo Performance, Fire Island Cruising - 2007 GayVN AwardsGayVN AwardsThe GAYVN Awards are presented annually to honor work done in the gay pornography industry. The awards are sponsored by AVN Magazine, the parent publication of GAYVN Magazine, and continue the recognition for gay pornography which was part of the AVN Awards from 1986–1998.The award recipients...
Best Actor, Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita - 2007 GayVN AwardsGayVN AwardsThe GAYVN Awards are presented annually to honor work done in the gay pornography industry. The awards are sponsored by AVN Magazine, the parent publication of GAYVN Magazine, and continue the recognition for gay pornography which was part of the AVN Awards from 1986–1998.The award recipients...
Best Threesome, Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita - 2007 GayVN AwardsGayVN AwardsThe GAYVN Awards are presented annually to honor work done in the gay pornography industry. The awards are sponsored by AVN Magazine, the parent publication of GAYVN Magazine, and continue the recognition for gay pornography which was part of the AVN Awards from 1986–1998.The award recipients...
Best Director, Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita (Tony DiMarco, co-director) - 2008 XBIZ AwardXBIZ AwardXBIZ Awards are given annually to honor "individuals, companies, performers and products that play an essential part in the growth and success of adult entertainment". Organized by the adult industry trade magazine XBIZ, the awards were first given in 2003...
GLBT Director of the Year (with Tony DiMarco) - 2008 XBIZ AwardXBIZ AwardXBIZ Awards are given annually to honor "individuals, companies, performers and products that play an essential part in the growth and success of adult entertainment". Organized by the adult industry trade magazine XBIZ, the awards were first given in 2003...
Publicity Stunt of the Year, Michael Lucas Found Dead - 2009 GayVN AwardsGayVN AwardsThe GAYVN Awards are presented annually to honor work done in the gay pornography industry. The awards are sponsored by AVN Magazine, the parent publication of GAYVN Magazine, and continue the recognition for gay pornography which was part of the AVN Awards from 1986–1998.The award recipients...
GayVN Hall of Fame
Filmography
A complete list of film performance and model credits can be found at Lucas Entertainment.com, including those directed, written or produced by Lucas.See also
- List of male performers in gay porn films
- List of pornographic movie studios
- GayVN AwardsGayVN AwardsThe GAYVN Awards are presented annually to honor work done in the gay pornography industry. The awards are sponsored by AVN Magazine, the parent publication of GAYVN Magazine, and continue the recognition for gay pornography which was part of the AVN Awards from 1986–1998.The award recipients...
- Adult Erotic Gay Video Awards