Paul Morris (producer)
Encyclopedia
Paul Morris is the owner of Treasure Island Media
, a San Francisco, California
-based gay pornography
studio that specializes in bareback pornography.
Known to be reclusive
, Morris has never attended an event sponsored by his studio and in fact, when invited to speak at the 1998 World Pornography Conference in Los Angeles
, he asked a thirty-year-old part-time administrative assistant to deliver his essay.
He is openly
gay
.
, naming the business after his favorite childhood book (Treasure Island
). In 1998, he filmed Raunch Lunch. Alongside his own videos, Morris has expanded the studio to release videos directed by Damon Dogg http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1504733/, Max Sohl http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1733010/ and Liam Cole http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3228807/, and independently produced videos by Swiss members of the Dark Sun Collective.
He is known to be a patron of independent filmmakers and has supported work by Vanessa Renwick, Bill Daniel
, Todd Verow
, Daniel Rabinowitz, Lee Krist, Ryan Sullivan
and others. He has also funded projects by San Francisco's Artists' Television Access. He was a primary producer of Todd Ahlberg's film, "Meth
", a feature-length documentary on drug abuse among gay men. http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=605
For “Breeding Season”, a movie made in 2006, Morris collected 73 shots of cum in a condom which he put into the freezer to turn it into what he called the “Devil’s Dick” – a dildo made of cum.
In 2007, Richard Curtis
, Washington GOP Representative, resigned after media reports quoted him as saying that a man he had sex with was trying to blackmail him. The man in question, Cody Castagna, had appeared in the T.I.M. movie "America 3: San Diego" five years earlier”. http://www.spokesmanreview.com/breaking/story.asp?ID=12195, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21568392/
In October 2007, Paul Morris’ Treasure Island Media (TIM) won the prize for Best US Studio at the DAVID Awards http://www.gayporntimes.com/hardnews/2007/10/25/david-awards-dust-up-ii-jason-sechrest-sam-dixon/ in Berlin
. This caused controversy as TIM produces bareback
films, filmed without a condom
, causing Titan Media
founder Bruce Cam http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0131048/ to decline his award. In 2008, Morris received a Best Director Golden Dickie Award for "What I Can't See 2" (which also won Best Video) from Rad Video and Treasure Island Media received the most awards of any adult company including Best Studio.
Morris and his company have been repeatedly banned from consideration for most adult industry awards and events. In July 2009, it was announced that Treasure Island Media had been banned from participating in both The Folsom Street Fair
and Dore Alley in San Francisco, CA, and also International Mr. Leather in Chicago, IL.
In his article "Unbecoming: Pornography and the Queer Event", Tufts University
professor Lee Edelman
discussed the role of Morris' pornography as work that "hopelessly heralds the future" of what Edelman calls the "posthumanous". In this function, Edelman wrote, Morris' pornography is similar to the film works of both Pier Paolo Pasolini
and Michael Haneke
.
Academic queer theorist David M. Halperin has referred to Morris as "The embodiment of the posthuman."
Morris is also extensively quoted in Tim Dean
's http://english.buffalo.edu/faculty_staff/faculty/dean/ "Unlimited Intimacy: Reflections on the Subculture of Barebacking"(University of Chicago Press, 2009). http://shc.stanford.edu/publication/unlimited-intimacy-reflections-subculture-barebacking. Dean is a professor of English at the University at Buffalo.
Treasure Island Media
Treasure Island Media is a San Francisco-based gay pornography studio founded in 1998 by director Paul Morris and specializing in bareback films. The studio is named after Morris's favorite childhood book, Treasure Island. In addition to the original San Francisco office, T.I.M. has production...
, a San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
-based gay pornography
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....
studio that specializes in bareback pornography.
Known to be reclusive
Recluse
A recluse is a person who lives in voluntary seclusion from the public and society, often close to nature. The word is from the Latin recludere, which means "shut up" or "sequester." There are many potential reasons for becoming a recluse: a personal philosophy that rejects consumer society; a...
, Morris has never attended an event sponsored by his studio and in fact, when invited to speak at the 1998 World Pornography Conference in 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...
, he asked a thirty-year-old part-time administrative assistant to deliver his essay.
He is openly
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
.
Biography
Morris started Treasure Island MediaTreasure Island Media
Treasure Island Media is a San Francisco-based gay pornography studio founded in 1998 by director Paul Morris and specializing in bareback films. The studio is named after Morris's favorite childhood book, Treasure Island. In addition to the original San Francisco office, T.I.M. has production...
, naming the business after his favorite childhood book (Treasure Island
Treasure Island
Treasure Island is an adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of "pirates and buried gold". First published as a book on May 23, 1883, it was originally serialized in the children's magazine Young Folks between 1881–82 under the title Treasure Island; or, the...
). In 1998, he filmed Raunch Lunch. Alongside his own videos, Morris has expanded the studio to release videos directed by Damon Dogg http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1504733/, Max Sohl http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1733010/ and Liam Cole http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3228807/, and independently produced videos by Swiss members of the Dark Sun Collective.
He is known to be a patron of independent filmmakers and has supported work by Vanessa Renwick, Bill Daniel
Bill Daniel
William Partlow Daniel , was a Governor of Guam and Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives...
, Todd Verow
Todd Verow
Todd Verow is an American film director who now resides in New York City, New York. He attended the Rhode Island School of Design and the AFI Conservatory. Together with his creative partner, James Derek Dwyer, he formed Bangor Films in 1995. He was also the cinematographer for Jon Moritsugu's...
, Daniel Rabinowitz, Lee Krist, Ryan Sullivan
Ryan Sullivan
Ryan Geoffrey Sullivan Ryan Geoffrey Sullivan Ryan Geoffrey Sullivan (born 20 January 1975, in Fitzroy, Victoria (a suburb of Melbourne) is an Australian international speedway rider.-Early years:...
and others. He has also funded projects by San Francisco's Artists' Television Access. He was a primary producer of Todd Ahlberg's film, "Meth
Meth (film)
Meth is a feature-length documentary on drug abuse among gay men. Paul Morris was a primary producer....
", a feature-length documentary on drug abuse among gay men. http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=605
For “Breeding Season”, a movie made in 2006, Morris collected 73 shots of cum in a condom which he put into the freezer to turn it into what he called the “Devil’s Dick” – a dildo made of cum.
In 2007, Richard Curtis
Richard Curtis (politician)
Richard Curtis is an American politician from La Center, Washington. He served as a Republican member of the Washington State House of Representatives from 2005 to 2007...
, Washington GOP Representative, resigned after media reports quoted him as saying that a man he had sex with was trying to blackmail him. The man in question, Cody Castagna, had appeared in the T.I.M. movie "America 3: San Diego" five years earlier”. http://www.spokesmanreview.com/breaking/story.asp?ID=12195, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21568392/
In October 2007, Paul Morris’ Treasure Island Media (TIM) won the prize for Best US Studio at the DAVID Awards http://www.gayporntimes.com/hardnews/2007/10/25/david-awards-dust-up-ii-jason-sechrest-sam-dixon/ in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. This caused controversy as TIM produces bareback
Bareback
Bareback riding is a form of horseback riding without a saddle.Bareback may also refer to:* A type of rodeo event* Bareback , an act of unprotected sex* "Bareback" , a 2003 glam metal song...
films, filmed without a condom
Condom
A condom is a barrier device most commonly used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy and spreading sexually transmitted diseases . It is put on a man's erect penis and physically blocks ejaculated semen from entering the body of a sexual partner...
, causing Titan Media
Titan Media
Titan Media is a San Francisco-based gay pornographic film company founded by director and cinematographer Bruce Cam in 1995.-Overview:The company grew to become one of the largest producers of gay adult content in the world...
founder Bruce Cam http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0131048/ to decline his award. In 2008, Morris received a Best Director Golden Dickie Award for "What I Can't See 2" (which also won Best Video) from Rad Video and Treasure Island Media received the most awards of any adult company including Best Studio.
Morris and his company have been repeatedly banned from consideration for most adult industry awards and events. In July 2009, it was announced that Treasure Island Media had been banned from participating in both The Folsom Street Fair
Folsom Street Fair
The Folsom Street Fair is an annual BDSM and leather subculture street fair held on the last Sunday in September and caps San Francisco's "Leather Pride Week"...
and Dore Alley in San Francisco, CA, and also International Mr. Leather in Chicago, IL.
In his article "Unbecoming: Pornography and the Queer Event", Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
professor Lee Edelman
Lee Edelman
Lee Edelman is a professor and chair of the English Department at Tufts University. Lee Edelman began his academic career as a scholar of twentieth-century American poetry. He has since become a central figure in the development, dissemination, and rethinking of queer theory. His current work...
discussed the role of Morris' pornography as work that "hopelessly heralds the future" of what Edelman calls the "posthumanous". In this function, Edelman wrote, Morris' pornography is similar to the film works of both Pier Paolo Pasolini
Pier Paolo Pasolini
Pier Paolo Pasolini was an Italian film director, poet, writer, and intellectual. Pasolini distinguished himself as a poet, journalist, philosopher, linguist, novelist, playwright, filmmaker, newspaper and magazine columnist, actor, painter and political figure...
and Michael Haneke
Michael Haneke
Michael Haneke is a German born Austrian filmmaker and writer best known for his bleak and disturbing style. His films often document problems and failures in modern society. Haneke has worked in television‚ theatre and cinema. He is also known for raising social issues in his work...
.
Academic queer theorist David M. Halperin has referred to Morris as "The embodiment of the posthuman."
Morris is also extensively quoted in Tim Dean
Tim Dean
Tim Dean is a British philosopher and writer, notable in the field of contemporary queer theory. He is the author of Gary Snyder and the American Unconscious , Beyond Sexuality , and Unlimited Intimacy: Reflections on the Subculture of Barebacking , all published by the University of Chicago Press,...
's http://english.buffalo.edu/faculty_staff/faculty/dean/ "Unlimited Intimacy: Reflections on the Subculture of Barebacking"(University of Chicago Press, 2009). http://shc.stanford.edu/publication/unlimited-intimacy-reflections-subculture-barebacking. Dean is a professor of English at the University at Buffalo.
External links
- "Paul Morris:Rebel Artist or Provocateur?", interview by Rick Reed, Windy City TimesWindy City TimesWindy City Times is Chicago's oldest LGBT newspaper, and the only Chicago gay publication with an independent circulation audit current as of 2008....
, 2005-05-25. Retrieved 2007-11-01. - "A Tale of Two Pornographers", interviews on the subject of barebackingBarebackingBareback is a slang term to describe acts of sexual penetration without the use of a condom.The term comes from the equestrian term bareback, which refers to the practice of riding a horse without a saddle...
, with Paul Morris and Chi-Chi LaRue, by Michael Slezak, GayHealth, June 15, 2001. - "Gay Porn Cult - Treasure Island Media", article on Paul Morris and Treasure Island MediaTreasure Island MediaTreasure Island Media is a San Francisco-based gay pornography studio founded in 1998 by director Paul Morris and specializing in bareback films. The studio is named after Morris's favorite childhood book, Treasure Island. In addition to the original San Francisco office, T.I.M. has production...
2008.