BijouBlog

Interesting and provocative thoughts on gay history, gay sexual history, gay porn, and gay popular culture.

Jawbreaker Pt 2: Location, Location, Location

By Josh Eliot

[Originally published 01/17/25]

Santa Clarita Studios
By far the most expensive studio location in Catalina history was when we booked the Santa Clarita Studios, but the management there made it all possible by throwing in Sunday for free if we paid for Friday and Saturday. This helped make the cost “doable.” The Santa Clarita Studios was the real deal, catering to big Hollywood productions, most recently including: Mayans, CSI: Vegas, Your Honor and Westworld. I searched all over the valley to find a studio with a jailhouse set and told Scott Masters about it. I have no idea how he was able to secure this place for us to shoot a gay porno in, but he did.

A side note here: Scott Masters is not credited on Jawbreaker as producer, even though he was. The reason was kind of a “twat-ish” move from our GM, because of his dislike for Masters. Masters and John Travis parted ways with the company midway through the production, so I took over the producing duties to complete the movie. The right thing to do was to credit Scott Masters and myself as co-producers, but our GM wouldn’t have it. When I re-cut the full feature PG version of Jawbreaker for my YouTube channel (here’s the link), I added Scott Master’s name back into the opening credits, like it should have been all along.

The studio was massive and featured several sound stages, with some having pre-built sets. There was a courtroom set, jailhouse set, sheriff’s station and even a 1950’s-style diner. I wasn’t about to let any of them go to waste, so I wrote dialogue for all of them. We started in the jailhouse set with models Chris Champion, Alex Stone, Bo Summers and Jeff Mitchell. The sheriff (Mitchell) and his deputy (Champion) end up in a fourway with Stone and Summers inside the jail cell. It starts with Champion shoving his ginormous cock through the bars, which Summers and Stone work on like two hungry junkyard dogs. We took our time and covered the oral extensively and then set up for everyone’s cum shot. After that, we set up in the sheriff’s office to shoot all of the dialogue associated with the scene. The next day, we started with Chris Champion’s box cover photo shoot and then went into the anal part of the fourway scene, which went very smoothly and ended up being a scorcher!

Our day wasn’t over, however, because three more models arrived to shoot the oral portion of their scene. The three models playing FBI agents were Anthony Gallo, Mark West and Sean Diamond. The hallway outside the sheriff’s office had a faux elevator that the boys walked out of and into a hallway that led to the offices. Everything was so well thought out with these existing sets that it made them feel so real! After shooting their oral, we were cleaning up when Brad Austin found something on the desk and brought it over to me. It was a shooting script call sheet for Melrose Place, one of the biggest shows at that time, and my personal favorite. The script was for a scene with red-headed vixen Sydney Andrews, played by Laura Leighton. They shot the scene a few days earlier where Sydney was taken into custody in the very same jailhouse set, before she was tied up in a straight jacket and dragged down the hall. Being an avid Melrose Place watcher, I waited patiently for months until the show finally broadcast that scene! I’ve kept that call sheet all these years, tucked away with other meaningful memorabilia!

Chris Champion, the Melrose Place call sheet & FBI agents in the jailhouse set
Chris Champion, the Melrose Place call sheet & FBI agents in the jailhouse set

 

On Sunday, our last (and free) day, we shot the fucking for the FBI agents and then took advantage of the courthouse set (frequently seen on L.A. Law), capturing some shots of the FBI agents walking through the courthouse prior to getting to the sheriff’s offices. I might mention that Sydney and the Melrose Place team also shot some scenes in front of the judge in that very same courtroom, as well, later in the season. I wasn’t about to let the only remaining set, the 1950’s diner, go unused, so I whipped up a scene where the FBI agents go there for lunch, only to have smoke blown in their faces by the country bumpkin chain-smoking waiter, who they refer to as a “fucking hick.” That studio was awesome, and as I am checking out their website today, I see they now have a real back lot, set up to look like New York streets. If only!! I would have done anything to have been able to shoot on a back lot!
 


Malibu Canyon
Chris Champion’s other scene in the movie was with Jake Andrews. It’s the final scene of the movie where Jake, the escaped convict, shows up to deputy Chris’ cabin on a mountain top shot in Malibu. It was a multi-million dollar view, for sure, and we took advantage of shooting the entire scene outside the home with all the gorgeous mountains surrounding them. Tragically, the property succumbed to a massive wildfire a few years later.

 


Arabian Horse Ranch in Garner Valley
This is where we shot the award-winning group scene with Ty Russell, Chip Daniels, Rod Majors, Daryl Brock, and Scott Russell. A gay couple owned this amazing property near Idyllwild, CA, with a huge barn full of Arabian horses, rugged mountainous acreage and small pond. Performer of the year awards go to Rod Majors and Daryl Brock for submerging themselves into that pond to shed their prisoner uniforms, take a bath and change into stolen clothes. The pair walk up onto the ranch and smart-talk their way into jobs working on the ranch with cowpokes Chip Daniels and the (two) Russells. Chip Daniels was definitely the hungry homeboy of the group and was all over every one of them with so much vigor that it was impossible for me to fuck this scene up. Chip’s versatility allowed me to shoot some great footage of him fucking while getting fucked himself, something always difficult to pull off.

The Arabian horse ranch & jail cell scenes
The Arabian horse ranch & jail cell scenes

 

The location was just over the mountain from Palm Springs, where we stayed overnight. The following morning, we drove back over Highway 74 to get to the ranch, which was about forty-five minutes away. Our route on Highway 74 is took us on a section of road that was used in the opening scenes of the classic movie Its A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World (1963).
 


The PONDEROSA Ranch Replica
Fans of the TV show Bonanza were able to rent out a replica of the Ponderosa Ranch in Lake Elsinore, CA. We rented the property for Jawbreaker, as well as for Brad Austin’s Hung Riders 1 and 2. Brad shot extensively for Hung Riders in and outside the Ponderosa replica, but I decided to use an outlying building on the property near a faux Saloon. It was more nondescript for this project, and the perfect place for cutie pie Tony Idol to hide out from the law (Vince Rockland and Hunter Scott). This set really came alive at night, and the two-story building was perfect for us to film some amazing aerial shots of the sucking and fucking.

 


Scott Masters left the company with one scene remaining to shoot, which took place at the bounty hunters' campsite. I wish I had a fabulous shooting location to mention for that scene, but it was literally shot in someone’s back yard just up from Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood Hills. The bounty hunters were played by Dave Logan, JT Sloan and Doug Perry, who all looked very cute in their “Duck Dynasty” outfits. We shot a lot of that scene inside a tent, which was giving me flashbacks to one of the very first scenes I worked on in 1987, for the movie The Young Cadets. Cameron Leight was doing the videography while I was holding the fill-light, trying not to burn Derek Jensen or Eric Lange with it or set the tent on fire. Fourteen years later, here I was shooting this massive movie with the added pressure of having just accepted the position of producer for all of Catalina’s productions. Again, on my birthday, just like when I was hired, the GM offered me the position while I was celebrating my big day at the Gold Coast Bar in West Hollywood. I didn’t let the pressure of it all enter my mind, at least not until this movie was in the can.

The larger than life scale of Jawbreaker was something I embraced instead of allowing it to intimidate me. Walking around the locations prior to writing the script really flooded my mind with possibilities instead of the limitations normally associated with our productions. The GM even honored my wish as the new producer to include an actual pack of jawbreakers with each and every copy of the movie sold through mail order, as a promotional tool. Jawbreaker was a standout movie in my career for many reasons, and would have been a great catalyst for Chris Champion’s career. I really think, as the new producer, I could have tailored some interesting roles for him, and I’m confident that would have happened, had he not been hastily released from his contract.

The Ponderosa set, Jake with Chris Champion in Malibu & Jawbreakers promotional gift
The Ponderosa set, Jake with Chris Champion in Malibu & Jawbreakers promotional gift

 

Bio of Josh Eliot:

At the age of 25 in 1987, Josh Eliot was hired by Catalina Video by John Travis (Brentwood Video) and Scott Masters (Nova Video). Travis trained Eliot on his style of videography and mentored him on the art of directing. Josh directed his first movie, Runaways, in 1987. By 2009 when Josh parted ways with Catalina Video, he'd produced and directed hundreds of features and won numerous awards for Best Screenplay, Videography, Editing, and Directing. He was entered into the GayVN Hall of fame in 2002.
 

 

You can read Josh Eliot's previous blogs for Bijou here:

Coming Out of my WET SHORTS | FRANK ROSS, The Boss | Our CALIGULA Moment | That BUTTHOLE Just Winked at Me! | DREAMLAND: The Other Place | A Salty Fuck in Saugatuck | Somebody, Call a FLUFFER! | The Late Great JOHN TRAVIS, My POWERTOOL Mentor | (Un)Easy Riders | 7 Years with Colt Model MARK RUTTER | Super NOVA | Whatever Happened to NEELY O’HARA? | Is That AL PARKER In Your Photo? | DOWN BY LAW: My $1,000,000 Mistake | We Waited 8hrs for a Cum Shot... Is That a World Record? | Don't Wear "Short Shorts" on the #38 Geary to LANDS END | How Straight Are You Really? | BEHIND THE (not so) GREEN DOOR | The BOOM BOOM Room | CATCHING UP with Tom DeSimone | Everybody’s FREE to FEEL GOOD | SCANDAL at the Coral Sands Motel | DEEP INSIDE THE CASTRO: The Castro Theatre | DEEP INSIDE THE CASTRO: The Midnight Sun | RSVP: 2 Weeks Working on a Gay Cruise Ship | VOYAGER of the Damned | I'M NOT A LESBIAN DIRECTOR | Diving Into SoMa/Folsom: THE FOLSOM STREET FAIR | Diving into SoMa/Folsom: A TALE OF TWO STUDS | BALL BROTH | My 1992 “Porn Set” Diary | Out of Print | There’s a Gloryhole WHERE??! | LUNCH HOUR: When the Big Boys Eat | IN and OUT and All ABOUT | UNDER the COVERs with Tom Steele | 8 Is Enough on Sunsex Blvd | Steve Rambo & Will Seagers For Breakfast | The Many Faces of Adult Film Star SHARON KANE | The ALL-MAN Magazine Interview: The Man Behind Catalina Video | Captain Psychopath | BAD BOYS SCHOOL | VAMPIRE'S GRAVE | The Making of CatalinaVille (PART 1) | The Making of CatalinaVille (PART 2) | Private Dick & The Young Cadets | Meet RAY HARLEY | The GOLD COAST Gold Rush Boys | Colt Model MARK RUTTER: In His Own Words | Bringing in the BIG GUNS | “WHAT THE F@CK?” Moments | You So RUSSO | Bond, SCOTT BOND | I Just Watched: KILLING ME SOFTLY | Sex in Tight Places | Calling GLORIA | DOWN FOR THE COUNT | More Than a Mouthful | When JON KING Returned to Catalina Video | Junior Meets the BEAR Patrol | A Taste for Leather and Fur | Straight to Bed | The Hills Have Bi’s | The Malibu Pool Boy: Cody Foster | New England Summer | The Making of RUNAWAYS 1989 | The Making of FULL SERVICE 1989 | Hot Buttered Cop | The Making of HARD TO BE GOOD 1990 | The Real CONJURING HOUSE | It’s Not a Crime, It’s a SCORE | I Just Watched: Steve Scott’s SCREENPLAY (1984) | Wet and Wild | 69: Discover the Secret | What Really Happened BEHIND THAT BARN DOOR! | I Just Watched AL PARKER & WILL SEAGERS in WANTED | Secret Boys Club | Jawbreaker Pt. 1

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"It's My Party & I'll BLOG If I Want To!"

Bijou Blog header
By Will Seagers

[Originally published 01/18/25]

Hi folks - Will here! Another strange but humorous title for a blog that doesn't quite fit my normal writing schedule. But hey... it's my birthday!

I have always been a fan of that special day of the year that each one of has. And I've always been of a mind that it should be celebrated just like any other holiday! It gives a special feel as we start yet another trip around the Sun!

Will at age 26 in a shirtless photo, holding a red rose
1977 - My 26th birthday!
 

As a kid, I was always anxious to get Christmas and New Years out of the way so we could get to "my day!" I remember my parents would invite the neighborhood kids in for ice cream and birthday cake for several of my childhood birthdays. What great fun! (And, some bellyaches!)

Some of the pics in this blog serve as mile markers in my life - one of which is still my favorite picture of myself. It's one of me on my 40th birthday at my friend Jim's house in San Francisco casually leaning against his kitchen counter. The fascinating backstory to this was that Jim, with whom I had become quite close, had the exact same birthday... January 18, 1951. Some of our interests and "behaviors" were eerily similar! (Wink!)

Will at age 40, smiling and posing in a kitchen
On my 40th birthday.
 

Another of my birthday behaviors is remembering other people's birthdays. I always loved how flattered people were when I sent a card or called them on "their day." With my birth family and my chosen family of friends, I am always on the lookout so as not to miss that special occasion. It always seems to brighten that recipient's day.

Will and two friends posing with a 50th birthday cake
My 50th.
 
Will smiling behind a 65th birthday cake and birthday balloon
Age 65!
 

This year I have been a little braver, in that I have finally shown some pics that are age-accurate. On Saturday January 18th, I turn 74! At the completion of this trip around the Sun, I am starting to realize that the "aging game" is finally catching up with me. Luckily, with the genes that I have been dealt, the aging process treated me with kindness... that is... until just recently! Having played the "Dorian Gray game" for years, all of a sudden I look and feel older. But, I really can't complain. As my friend George would say... "Hey you're still vertical!" LOL.

A recent photo of Will, posing with his bird perched on his shoulder
A recent photo - me and my chum, Romeo!
 

I am happy to report that I still am in good health after all of these years. As a regular at my nearby gym, I include exercise as part of my every day ritual. Albeit no more "Schwarzenegger Workouts," I have found that keeping my body regularly and sensibly exercised has warded off a lot of muscular and skeletal issues. And, the endorphins produced by this regular exercise boost my spirits.

Will in a recent picture, posing after a workout
A fresh from the gym selfie.
 

So, I end this year's "Party" with a wish of longevity and health for all... Happy Birthday to YOU! XO, Will.

A recent photo of Will with a rainbow behind him
Another recent photo - taken today, as I approach the big 74!
 

Bio of Will Seagers:

Will Seagers (also credited as Matt Harper), within his multifaceted careers and participation in numerous gay communities across the country in the '70s and '80s and beyond, worked as a print model, film performer, and DJ, just to name a few. He made iconic appearances in releases from Falcon, Hand in Hand, Joe Gage, Target (Bullet), J. Brian, Steve Scott, and more, including in lead roles in major classics like Gage's L.A. Tool & Die (1979) and Scott's Wanted (1980). He brought strong screen presence and exceptional acting to his roles and was scene partners with many fellow legends of classic porn.

Will Seagers, recent image, holding a globe
Will Seagers, present day
  

You can read Will Seagers' previous blogs for Bijou here:

Welcome Matt/Will | What's For Dessert? | On and Off the Set of L.A. Tool & Die | Wanted, Weekend Lockup and Weekends in Hermosa Beach | Honeymoon in the Palms | Birds of a Feather | The Stereo Maven of Castro Street | The Pass Around Boy | The Ecstasy and the Agony | Fitness and Fantasy | Chasing the Boys and Chasing the Sun | Becoming Invisible | The Reverse Story of Dorian Gray | Pin Money | One Organ Leads to Another! | The Wheels of Steel | Feast and Famine | An Alphabet Soup of Powders and Pills | Merry Christmas (and Getting Re-Organized) | Now and Then | DEEP INSIDE THE CASTRO: The Badlands | DEEP INSIDE THE CASTRO: Moby Dick Bar | DEEP INSIDE THE CASTRO: "Just Another Stroll Down the Castro!" | Diving Into SoMa/Folsom: Hamburger Mary's | Diving Into SoMa/Folsom: Long Live the Stud! | Diving Into SoMa/Folsom: Club Life..."Hit me with your Rhythm Stick!” | A "Split Ticket": SoMa/Folsom and The Haight! | Staying Vanilla in a Flavorful Culture | A Little Secret | Recollections of the 1977 S.F. Gay Pride Parade | Life's a Beach | Flora & Fauna | Once Is Just Not Enough! | A Love of Cultures – A Knack for Languages! | For the Birds | It's About Time! | The Perfect Storm | Hello Chicago/Adieu Fire Island Pines! | Sex in the Woods! | My Life at the Gym | The Last Picture Show | Cumming Attractions! | The Peter Pan Syndrome | Valentine's Day Reflections | The “Idus Martias” and a Peacock! | Taxing I.M.H.O. | Nope...This Sure Ain't Kansas! | The French Connection | Water Baby | Pride: You Wear It Well! | Life Goes On... | The Dance Floor and the Booth, Part 1 | The Dance Floor and the Booth, Part 2 | The Dance Floor and the Booth, Part 3 | The Other Side of the Booth | A Christmas Haiku

  438 Hits

Jawbreaker Pt 1: The All-Star Cast

By Josh Eliot

[Originally published 01/03/25]

My first blog of 2025 is celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the second biggest movie I ever directed. The movie was called Jawbreaker (1995) and the title was directly related to the giant cock of the lead actor, Chris Champion. The Grabby Awards of 1996 gave Jawbreaker the Best Supporting Actor award to Jeff Mitchell, who tied with Tim Lowe from Michael Zen’s movie Bulls Eye (1995), and the Best Cumshot award to Chip Daniels. Additionally, the 1995 GayVN Awards honored Jawbreaker with the Best Editing award (Josh Eliot) and the Best Group Scene award for actors Daryl Brock, Ty Russell, Chip Daniels, Rod Majors, and Scott Russell. If it sounds like I am name dropping some really big players in the industry at the time, I sure as fuck am.

First and foremost, when we sat down to plan out the making of Jawbreaker, one of the main things I wanted was to fill the cast with the top box office boys of the day - headliners who were in demand and could sell a movie on their name alone. It really had an open budget, because we came across a talent so big and exciting that our GM told me to pretty much remove all budget restrictions I had in my head and devise a plan to make this new discovery a star. The new discovery was Chris Champion, a guy who certainly had the goods, with nearly twelve hard and thick inches. When I first met Chris, I remember thinking to myself, “Wow, we’ve got our own John F. Kennedy Jr. porn star.” With his widely spaced eyes, yuppy-preppy persona and the hair to match, I immediately got JFK Jr. vibes. He was really down-to-earth, with no typical L.A. attitude - just a cool guy who would go with the flow. I saw the Polaroids first so I knew what to expect, but when he flopped it out in front of the GM and myself, I was like, “Okay, now… we need to star him in Powertool 3, but make it Powertool 3D and really put on a show.” The GM wasn’t really feeling that idea, maybe because when Powertool 2 was in production it turned into a real shit show.

Chris Champion in Jawbreaker and Too Damn Big!
Chris Champion in Jawbreaker and Too Damn Big!

 

Chris Champion had only worked in one other movie called All American (1994), directed by Matt Sterling. Matt Sterling had the opportunity to offer Chris an exclusive deal, but declined. Catalina’s GM immediately jumped at the opportunity and signed him to an exclusive multi -picture contract. Chet Thomas shot Chris Champion first for his movie Too Damn Big! (1994) to kind of break him in. I did videography on that one, so I got to get familiar with Champion before developing his character for the lead role in Jawbreaker. Alongside Chris was a real who’s who of talent who were mostly all gracing the box covers of hits releasing weekly. Vince Rockland (brother to Hal and Shane - the famous Rockland Brothers) worked as a sheriff’s deputy alongside Hunter Scott when they come across escaped convict Tony Idol. Vince Rockland worked for mostly Falcon and Mustang studios in about nineteen movies, sometimes alongside his brother(s). Tony Idol’s debut in Idol Dreams was the first of many movies as an exclusive star for Catalina Video. His uncanny looks mirrored that of mega-star Ryan Idol, making the “younger brother” marketing ploy for Tony Idol’s career an obvious choice. Tony Idol excelled from that bubble and became a very popular Catalina star, with leading roles in twelve movies before leaving the industry. Hunter Scott, to some, was the bridesmaid and never the bride - but what a bridesmaid. Even though he didn’t grace the cover of a lot of movies, he was a solid performer with a large fan base, working in nearly thirty movies.

Vince Rockland & his brothers, plus Scott Russell, Rod Majors & Tony Idol
Clockwise: Vince Rockland & his brothers, plus Scott Russell, Rod Majors & Tony Idol

 

The actors from the award-winning group scene mentioned above were all A-list performers. Making an immediate impression when he stepped onto the scene in 1993, Ty Russell became an instant sensation for mostly Falcon Studios. With star vehicle hits like Abduction 2 & 3, Billy’s Tale, Tony’s Big Brother and Oasis, Ty’s unique image of the clean-cut Midwest boy added to his popularity. Scott Russell, by contrast, was a corn-fed Colorado rancher type, a bit older, with blond hair and very masculine. He plays the head rancher in Jawbreaker, ordering all the young bucks around, perfect casting. Rod Majors' career started in 1992 for director Kristen Bjorn in Call of the Wild, and he worked non-stop in movies through 1998. With over fifty movies to his name, Rod was a tried and true performer and someone I personally would cast over and over again, always giving a stellar performance. Some of his movies include Lunch Hour 2, Montreal Men, Idol Country and Come and Get It. Daryl Brock, a hot Canadian model and Best Performer winner in 1995 for Grease Guns, is best known for the Secret Sex series, Every Inch a Man, Other Side of Aspen 3 & 4 and Link 2 Link. That’s just a few of the over fifty productions Brock has worked in. He had a fat cock that would never quit, I’ll tell you that! Then we come to Chip Daniels. With over forty titles to his name, he was also an award winner in the movie Grease Guns, earning Best Supporting Actor. Young, manic and always up and ready for action, his great spirit is what I remember most when shooting this five-way scene. His big hits include Big as They Come, Fast Idle, Man Country and Scorcher, a Matt Sterling movie.

Chip Daniels, Daryl Brock, Anthony Gallo, Jake Andrews, Hunter Scott, Bo Summers, Alex Atone, & Ty Russell
Clockwise: Chip Daniels, Daryl Brock, Anthony Gallo, Jake Andrews, Hunter Scott, Bo Summers, Alex Atone, & Ty Russell

 

Now mind you, Jawbreaker had a cast of nineteen hot hung studs, so I can’t get to them all. I could say a ton about our personal crew favorite, Anthony Gallo, who is fantastic in Jawbreaker as one of the FBI agents on the case, but I’ve got more guys to cover. Two real work horses in the industry who took part in the jailhouse scene with Chris Champion and award winner Jeff Mitchell were Alex Stone and Bo Summers. With well over one hundred and eight credits to his name, Bo Summers' California boy good looks took him a very long way in the industry. Bo, who I’ve worked with many times over the years, is a true bisexual, but always gave just as much energy to the boy/boy scenes as he did the bisexual ones. He’s been on my sets since 1992, when he was cast in my movie Body Masters. From 1992 – 2001, we continued working together on Single White Male, Cat Men Do!, Idol Universe and Down Bi Law. I first worked with Alex Stone in 1992 in the original Lunch Hour, where he really used his experience to help Matt Powers excel in the threeway scene they had together. He worked from 1988 to 2003 for nearly every studio in the business, with Rites of Winter becoming one of his standouts among his fifty or so movies. Jake Andrews worked with Chris Champion in the final scene of Jawbreaker as a rugged and masculine escaped convict who comes upon his old friend, the sheriff’s deputy. With over sixty movies to his credit, Jake Andrews should have and deserved to be on more box covers than he was, which surprises me. He was a great partner for Chris Champion; their bodies really complemented each other’s when we shot them on that desolate mountain in Malibu.

After wrapping Jawbreaker, we actually decided to make Powertool 3 with Chris Champion (not in 3D though, unfortunately). Needless to say, that movie never happened, because Chris Champion’s manager talked him into working in a film for a European company while under contract with us, telling him no one would find out. When it did come to our attention, Catalina’s GM freaked out and canceled Chris Champion’s contract, forbidding us from ever using that agent again. It was a real overreaction, for sure, and a bad business decision. This model had the goods, and I was certain we could showcase him and turn him into a big star. My words fell on deaf ears and Chris Champion was no longer a bookable Catalina model. I think he made a movie for Falcon’s Jocks line in 1996 and then faded away. What a waste. Shooting him for Jawbreaker, however, was an exciting time, to say the least. I will write more in Part 2 of this blog about all the effort from the cast and crew that went into making this movie.

 

Bio of Josh Eliot:

At the age of 25 in 1987, Josh Eliot was hired by Catalina Video by John Travis (Brentwood Video) and Scott Masters (Nova Video). Travis trained Eliot on his style of videography and mentored him on the art of directing. Josh directed his first movie, Runaways, in 1987. By 2009 when Josh parted ways with Catalina Video, he'd produced and directed hundreds of features and won numerous awards for Best Screenplay, Videography, Editing, and Directing. He was entered into the GayVN Hall of fame in 2002.
 

 

You can read Josh Eliot's previous blogs for Bijou here:

Coming Out of my WET SHORTS | FRANK ROSS, The Boss | Our CALIGULA Moment | That BUTTHOLE Just Winked at Me! | DREAMLAND: The Other Place | A Salty Fuck in Saugatuck | Somebody, Call a FLUFFER! | The Late Great JOHN TRAVIS, My POWERTOOL Mentor | (Un)Easy Riders | 7 Years with Colt Model MARK RUTTER | Super NOVA | Whatever Happened to NEELY O’HARA? | Is That AL PARKER In Your Photo? | DOWN BY LAW: My $1,000,000 Mistake | We Waited 8hrs for a Cum Shot... Is That a World Record? | Don't Wear "Short Shorts" on the #38 Geary to LANDS END | How Straight Are You Really? | BEHIND THE (not so) GREEN DOOR | The BOOM BOOM Room | CATCHING UP with Tom DeSimone | Everybody’s FREE to FEEL GOOD | SCANDAL at the Coral Sands Motel | DEEP INSIDE THE CASTRO: The Castro Theatre | DEEP INSIDE THE CASTRO: The Midnight Sun | RSVP: 2 Weeks Working on a Gay Cruise Ship | VOYAGER of the Damned | I'M NOT A LESBIAN DIRECTOR | Diving Into SoMa/Folsom: THE FOLSOM STREET FAIR | Diving into SoMa/Folsom: A TALE OF TWO STUDS | BALL BROTH | My 1992 “Porn Set” Diary | Out of Print | There’s a Gloryhole WHERE??! | LUNCH HOUR: When the Big Boys Eat | IN and OUT and All ABOUT | UNDER the COVERs with Tom Steele | 8 Is Enough on Sunsex Blvd | Steve Rambo & Will Seagers For Breakfast | The Many Faces of Adult Film Star SHARON KANE | The ALL-MAN Magazine Interview: The Man Behind Catalina Video | Captain Psychopath | BAD BOYS SCHOOL | VAMPIRE'S GRAVE | The Making of CatalinaVille (PART 1) | The Making of CatalinaVille (PART 2) | Private Dick & The Young Cadets | Meet RAY HARLEY | The GOLD COAST Gold Rush Boys | Colt Model MARK RUTTER: In His Own Words | Bringing in the BIG GUNS | “WHAT THE F@CK?” Moments | You So RUSSO | Bond, SCOTT BOND | I Just Watched: KILLING ME SOFTLY | Sex in Tight Places | Calling GLORIA | DOWN FOR THE COUNT | More Than a Mouthful | When JON KING Returned to Catalina Video | Junior Meets the BEAR Patrol | A Taste for Leather and Fur | Straight to Bed | The Hills Have Bi’s | The Malibu Pool Boy: Cody Foster | New England Summer | The Making of RUNAWAYS 1989 | The Making of FULL SERVICE 1989 | Hot Buttered Cop | The Making of HARD TO BE GOOD 1990 | The Real CONJURING HOUSE | It’s Not a Crime, It’s a SCORE | I Just Watched: Steve Scott’s SCREENPLAY (1984) | Wet and Wild | 69: Discover the Secret | What Really Happened BEHIND THAT BARN DOOR! | I Just Watched AL PARKER & WILL SEAGERS in WANTED | Secret Boys Club

  1872 Hits

Secret Boys Club

By Josh Eliot

[Originally published 12/20/24]

 
Secret Boys Club cover & cast
Secret Boys Club cover & cast

 

I’ve made a few “humdingers” - especially in my early years as a director for Catalina Video. In 1990, I was finally adjusting to life in Los Angeles and easing into the idea of shooting most of our movies in people’s homes or, once in a rare while, on a rented movie set. One day out of the blue, my producer Scott Masters called me and said we had a possible new location to go look at out in the valley. I remember him picking me up but not telling me where we were going, and I didn’t ask, but I became very excited when we pulled up to what appeared to be a very dated-looking, somewhat run-down building. It turned out to be the back entrance to the Sherman Square Roller Rink in the city of Reseda. I couldn’t control my excitement and Scott Masters could see it. The owner walked us through the facility and I immediately started imagining scenarios for sex scenes in the different sections of the rink. The public bathrooms, the roller skate rental room, the rink itself and, my biggest thrill, the snack bar restaurant. The whole place smelled very musty and looked like it had not been updated in decades, but that made it really enticing to me.

The owner was going to charge a lot more than we ever spent for a day of filming, so Scott Masters said it wouldn’t work for his upcoming movie, but if I agreed to shoot an entire movie in one day he could book it for me. I didn’t hesitate and said yes right away without even thinking about the logistics. This was the most exciting location since shooting Lunch Hour: When The Big Boys Eat in 1989 (read the blog). In Lunch Hour, we shot in a very cool sheet metal machine shop, also in one day. Chi Chi LaRue simultaneously directed that one with me, but this time it would be all on my shoulders to complete shooting of an entire movie in about ten hours. We would arrive at 8 am and had a “hard out” at 5:45, as the rink would open for business at 6 pm sharp. I agreed to this and threw caution to the wind, because I was not about to let this classic location slip through my fingers.

I had no idea about the amazing history this dumpy little rink had in its hey-day until I decided to write this blog. Around 1971, avid skater Helena Kallianiotes, a Greek immigrant, belly dancer and actress from Five Easy Pieces, discovered the Sherman Square Roller Rink when her friend Michelle Phillips asked if she’d give her skating lessons. Michelle (the Mamas and the Papas) was going to audition for a role in a roller derby-themed movie. The film ended up being Kansas City Bomber starring Raquel Welch, and also featured Helena, who got the role over her friend Michelle. Helena garnered a Golden Globe nomination for her performance and the movie became a cult favorite. Flash forward to the late 1970’s, Helena was listening to friend Ringo Starr complain about Los Angeles not having any fun places to take his son. It was through this conversation that she came up with the idea for Skateaway. She called up friends and invited them to a mystery location - was the Sherman Square Roller Rink, which she rented out. She made it a weekly event, which became so popular for the celebrities and their kids that Skateaway Mondays had an A-list of regulars including Jack Nicholson, Jeff Bridges, Angelica Huston, Rebecca De Mornay, Francis Ford Coppola, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Joni Mitchell, Penny Marshall and Cher. No Cameras, No Drugs, No Press was one of the few rules, and it was in full swing for four years. Helena pulled the plug on the event after there was a shooting outside the rink, albeit not on her Monday night booking.

Secret Boys Club DVD back cover & Sherman Square Roller Rink
Secret Boys Club DVD back cover & Sherman Square Roller Rink

 

Flash forward to 1990 as we showed up to this amazing location to shoot what would be called Secret Boys Club, released in 1991. Scott Masters was playing chauffeur all day by bringing models in for their scenes and then taking them home afterwards, while dropping off others. There was one point during the middle of the day where all the models were on set at the same time and that is when we shot the main portion of dialogue. It was basically a pledges vs pledge masters set up - on wheels. No one was really that good at skating, so there were a lot of falls and slams into railings, but everyone was having fun with it. Shooting moving shots while on skates wasn’t too much of a challenge for me, from my experience rollerskating as a child. I did, however, go to a celebrity birthday party at a roller rink a few years later with co- worker Peter Romero and had a hard fall, breaking both my wrists! The GM of Catalina let me fly home to Rhode Island for six weeks to stay with my parents, gifting me a great summer vacation in New England. Today was all business, though.

My first scene was Charlie Warner and Rod Abbott in the men’s public bathroom. Rod skated himself into a stall and found a secret note waiting for him, basically telling him to feed his really fat cock to a pledge master under the bathroom stall. They eventually fucked over the sinks. I remember thinking how cool it was to be shooting sex in an actual public bathroom without worrying about the cops coming in. Cum and run to the second set-up, which was in the skate rental storage room. Sean Hunter rolls up to find Ross Lambert working there and complains that his skates are hurting his feet. Bada-bing, bada-boom, Ross removes the skates, massages the pledge master's feet and then, per the secret note instructions, works his hands up the leg and directly to the crotch, featuring - you guessed it - an erect boner.

The movie only has four sex scenes, as opposed to five, because we thought that was what I could pull off. Scene three was my absolute favorite, starring Tony Erickson (aka Tony Sinatra) as the handsome pledge and waiter on wheels. In the snack bar restaurant, he is ordered by “bitchy” (in the movie and in real life - If I remember correctly) pledge master Chip Matthews to bring him a wiener on a bun. One of my favorite camera shots ever is when Tony Erickson pulls up on his skates and says, “Your wiener, sir,” as the camera pans down his body to show his rock hard cock filling the soft and delicious hot dog bun. Scott Masters, after viewing the movie for release, didn’t get the charm, but whatever! I always felt that particular shot and set up were pure cinema magic! I am from the Porky’s (1981) generation, after all. By the time scene four was ready to shoot with Marcus Braun and Robbie Anderson, I was ready to drop and the crew was already exhausted. We had to finish quickly, which Scott Masters kept telling me, as the rink was opening for business soon. We set up on this little stage alongside the rink, which wasn’t the greatest setting, but it had a table we could use for fucking. One of the models - I truly don’t remember which one - had hard-on troubles and the inability to cum. That was truly the icing on the cake, as the clock kept ticking. When we finally did wrap and started moving our equipment out the back door, skaters were arriving into the area!

Roller boys in action!
Roller boys in action!

 

I was so grateful for this cool location and the ability to film there. If money wasn’t always the issue and I didn’t have to rush, we could have really made this movie special with five full scenes and a more focused vision. This history-filled roller rink really deserved it. But, as life and reality would have it, Secret Boys Club was the epitome of a “rush-job” and the fabulous Sherman Square Roller Rink, home of celebrity-filled Skateaway, is now a fucking Walgreens Drug Store.

 

Bio of Josh Eliot:

At the age of 25 in 1987, Josh Eliot was hired by Catalina Video by John Travis (Brentwood Video) and Scott Masters (Nova Video). Travis trained Eliot on his style of videography and mentored him on the art of directing. Josh directed his first movie, Runaways, in 1987. By 2009 when Josh parted ways with Catalina Video, he'd produced and directed hundreds of features and won numerous awards for Best Screenplay, Videography, Editing, and Directing. He was entered into the GayVN Hall of fame in 2002.
 

 

You can read Josh Eliot's previous blogs for Bijou here:

Coming Out of my WET SHORTS | FRANK ROSS, The Boss | Our CALIGULA Moment | That BUTTHOLE Just Winked at Me! | DREAMLAND: The Other Place | A Salty Fuck in Saugatuck | Somebody, Call a FLUFFER! | The Late Great JOHN TRAVIS, My POWERTOOL Mentor | (Un)Easy Riders | 7 Years with Colt Model MARK RUTTER | Super NOVA | Whatever Happened to NEELY O’HARA? | Is That AL PARKER In Your Photo? | DOWN BY LAW: My $1,000,000 Mistake | We Waited 8hrs for a Cum Shot... Is That a World Record? | Don't Wear "Short Shorts" on the #38 Geary to LANDS END | How Straight Are You Really? | BEHIND THE (not so) GREEN DOOR | The BOOM BOOM Room | CATCHING UP with Tom DeSimone | Everybody’s FREE to FEEL GOOD | SCANDAL at the Coral Sands Motel | DEEP INSIDE THE CASTRO: The Castro Theatre | DEEP INSIDE THE CASTRO: The Midnight Sun | RSVP: 2 Weeks Working on a Gay Cruise Ship | VOYAGER of the Damned | I'M NOT A LESBIAN DIRECTOR | Diving Into SoMa/Folsom: THE FOLSOM STREET FAIR | Diving into SoMa/Folsom: A TALE OF TWO STUDS | BALL BROTH | My 1992 “Porn Set” Diary | Out of Print | There’s a Gloryhole WHERE??! | LUNCH HOUR: When the Big Boys Eat | IN and OUT and All ABOUT | UNDER the COVERs with Tom Steele | 8 Is Enough on Sunsex Blvd | Steve Rambo & Will Seagers For Breakfast | The Many Faces of Adult Film Star SHARON KANE | The ALL-MAN Magazine Interview: The Man Behind Catalina Video | Captain Psychopath | BAD BOYS SCHOOL | VAMPIRE'S GRAVE | The Making of CatalinaVille (PART 1) | The Making of CatalinaVille (PART 2) | Private Dick & The Young Cadets | Meet RAY HARLEY | The GOLD COAST Gold Rush Boys | Colt Model MARK RUTTER: In His Own Words | Bringing in the BIG GUNS | “WHAT THE F@CK?” Moments | You So RUSSO | Bond, SCOTT BOND | I Just Watched: KILLING ME SOFTLY | Sex in Tight Places | Calling GLORIA | DOWN FOR THE COUNT | More Than a Mouthful | When JON KING Returned to Catalina Video | Junior Meets the BEAR Patrol | A Taste for Leather and Fur | Straight to Bed | The Hills Have Bi’s | The Malibu Pool Boy: Cody Foster | New England Summer | The Making of RUNAWAYS 1989 | The Making of FULL SERVICE 1989 | Hot Buttered Cop | The Making of HARD TO BE GOOD 1990 | The Real CONJURING HOUSE | It’s Not a Crime, It’s a SCORE | I Just Watched: Steve Scott’s SCREENPLAY (1984) | Wet and Wild | 69: Discover the Secret | What Really Happened BEHIND THAT BARN DOOR! | I Just Watched AL PARKER & WILL SEAGERS in WANTED

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A Christmas Haiku

Bijou Blog header
By Will Seagers

 

[Originally published 12/25/24]

With all that's going on in the world, here is my heartfelt haiku and a wish for peace for all of you. This is not the time for us to stop our forward progress. We must continue with resolve. I am here to cheer us all on. Happy Holidays! XO

Haiku text: Pride for all decades. Darkness on our horizon. Loving strength prevails. Text surrounded by snowflakes and Christmas ornaments featuring pride marches and LGBTQ couples.

 

Bio of Will Seagers:

Will Seagers (also credited as Matt Harper), within his multifaceted careers and participation in numerous gay communities across the country in the '70s and '80s and beyond, worked as a print model, film performer, and DJ, just to name a few. He made iconic appearances in releases from Falcon, Hand in Hand, Joe Gage, Target (Bullet), J. Brian, Steve Scott, and more, including in lead roles in major classics like Gage's L.A. Tool & Die (1979) and Scott's Wanted (1980). He brought strong screen presence and exceptional acting to his roles and was scene partners with many fellow legends of classic porn.

Will Seagers, present day image

Will Seagers, recent photo


You can read Will Seagers' previous blogs for Bijou here:

Welcome Matt/Will | What's For Dessert? | On and Off the Set of L.A. Tool & Die | Wanted, Weekend Lockup and Weekends in Hermosa Beach | Honeymoon in the Palms | Birds of a Feather | The Stereo Maven of Castro Street | The Pass Around Boy | The Ecstasy and the Agony | Fitness and Fantasy | Chasing the Boys and Chasing the Sun | Becoming Invisible | The Reverse Story of Dorian Gray | Pin Money | One Organ Leads to Another! | The Wheels of Steel | Feast and Famine | An Alphabet Soup of Powders and Pills | Merry Christmas (and Getting Re-Organized) | Now and Then | DEEP INSIDE THE CASTRO: The Badlands | DEEP INSIDE THE CASTRO: Moby Dick Bar | DEEP INSIDE THE CASTRO: "Just Another Stroll Down the Castro!" | Diving Into SoMa/Folsom: Hamburger Mary's | Diving Into SoMa/Folsom: Long Live the Stud! | Diving Into SoMa/Folsom: Club Life..."Hit me with your Rhythm Stick!” | A "Split Ticket": SoMa/Folsom and The Haight! | Staying Vanilla in a Flavorful Culture | A Little Secret | Recollections of the 1977 S.F. Gay Pride Parade | Life's a Beach | Flora & Fauna | Once Is Just Not Enough! | A Love of Cultures – A Knack for Languages! | For the Birds | It's About Time! | The Perfect Storm | Hello Chicago/Adieu Fire Island Pines! | Sex in the Woods! | My Life at the Gym | The Last Picture Show | Cumming Attractions! | The Peter Pan Syndrome | Valentine's Day Reflections | The “Idus Martias” and a Peacock! | Taxing I.M.H.O. | Nope...This Sure Ain't Kansas! | The French Connection | Water Baby | Pride: You Wear It Well! | Life Goes On... | The Dance Floor and the Booth, Part 1 | The Dance Floor and the Booth, Part 2 | The Dance Floor and the Booth, Part 3 | The Other Side of the Booth

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