ADAM Film World’s GAY VIDEO GUIDE

By Josh Eliot

In 2008, magazine empire owner Bentley Morris put his 50+ year old company on the market. There were no takers, and what was once called “One of the industry’s leading trade publications” by the Associated Press closed its doors forever. When I was working in the gay adult industry from 1987 to 2006, anyone and everyone in the gay industry read The Adam Film World Guide and its gay spin offs: The Adam Gay Video XXX Showcase, Adam Gay Video Erotica, Adam Gay Video Pictorial and The Adam Gay Video Directory. I’m sure it was the same for the straight industry with all of Adam's straight spin offs: Adam Directory of Adult Films, Adam Black Video Illustrated, Cinema X, Porn Star Annual and others. The magazine empire had a humble beginning as simply “Adam” in 1956, an attempt to tap into Playboy’s market by also covering mainstream films and stars. In 1966, It became The Adam Film Quarterly, then Adam Film World, with monthly publications, and finally the Adam Film World Guide. The publication started the very first adult movie awards with the X-Caliber Awards in 1975, renaming the award ceremony to The Adam Film World Guide Awards in 1981.

The models pleaded to be on its cover and studios opened every outlet when Adam came a-calling. The XXX Showcase spinoff would focus on a movie of the month; they would promote with the magazine cover, center layout and accompanying story. The very best movie stills were always reserved for the publication over all others and it was always a challenge to rip Catalina’s complimentary monthly copy out of any given co-workers hands in order to get a peek at the reviews and layouts. The Adam Gay Video Directory had the most prestige of the spin offs. It was a really big deal for the models and the companies to get the cover of the directory, which was released once a year.

From 1991-1993, John Rowberry was the editor of the gay directory, followed in 1995 and 1996 by Dave Kinnick and Wilder Guyjoy and finally Doug Lawrence, who took over as editor and held the role until at least 2005. Doug Lawrence took control of another series under his watch called The Adam Gay Video Erotica Magazine. The publication chose either a director or studio and featured their movies exclusively. All the top brass were chosen, like Kristen Bjorn, William Higgins, Dirk Yates, Jet Set Productions, George Duroy, John Travis, Gino Colbert, Jerry Douglas, John Rutherford, Chi Chi LaRue and even little ‘ol me.

The Films of Josh Eliot: The Catalina Collection was one of Adam Gay Video’s Erotica series of magazines. I remember when editor Doug Lawrence was putting the issue together, he came by the Catalina offices to pick out chromes from some of my favorite productions. In addition. we sat down with his audio recorder while I gave insights to an array of different movies and models. I wish I had some input into the title, because I would have asked him to cut the word “Films” and replace it with either “Movies” or “Videos.” But I never knew of the title until the copies of the magazine arrived. Doug was a real sweetheart, always very pleasant when he would come by the offices, so I was at ease sitting down with him. He allowed me to pick the movies and models I wanted to comment on, here’s a small sampling of some of the movies and models we discussed.

You’ll notice I included a few pics and comments on Catalina exclusive Matt Powers. Maybe because he has been on my mind lately since he actually just reached out to me last week! Keep in mind, we have not seen nor heard from each other since we worked on Lifeguard on Duty in 1991. He responded to my YouTube trailer postings of Lunch Hour and The Main Attraction. He thanked me for doing such a great job (his words) when I directed him in Lunch Hour. He also said he was very proud of the work he did for Catalina. He lives a very different life in Massachusetts, but it’s great to see that he embraced his career as much as his fans embraced him. Currently in the modern day adult industry, Adult Video News is the top trade magazine and has been going strong since 1983. AVN and its division GayVN host the best award shows, hands down, for both straight and gay XXX entertainment. The ADAM publications, though now obsolete, will always hold a place in history as one of the pioneers and success stories in adult film history.

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.