The Hills Have Eyes... Um, I Mean Bi’s

One of my absolute favorite movies of all time is Wes Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes (1977). In the movie, a typical American family, with all their faults and neurosis, gets stranded in the New Mexico desert when their RV breaks down. To complicate things, they took the wrong “dirt” road and have no idea where they are. It turns out they are smack dab in the middle of some radioactive area that a local “inbred” family of hillbillies calls home. Oh, and did I mention that the hillbilly family is deformed from all the radiation and also appears to be psychotic? This heartwarming film features the actress who played the mother character from both Cujo and E.T. - Dee Wallace. She got the role in The Hills Have Eyes a couple years after making her minuscule debut in The Stepford Wives (1975). She really stole the show for me in The Hills Have Eyes and I found myself spotting her in countless movies throughout the years, with her newest, to debut this year, called Stream (2024). When someone has screen presence and can stop a scene cold I really take notice. She is one of those actors.

A show-stopper that I worked with ever since Valley of the Bi Dolls (1993) is Sharon Kane. She is also one of those scene-stealing performers to me. Naturally, I knew Sharon Kane would have one or two show-stopping scenes when I cast her in The Hills Have Bi’s (1996), but I had no idea that the supporting cast I compiled would also surprise me with their outstanding “drop the mic” performances. Yes, the script was probably one of the best I’ve written since Revenge of the Bi Dolls (1994), but little did I know how fun, cheeky and campy this movie would turn out to be. So much so that it won Best Bisexual Picture and Best Sex Comedy at the Gay Erotic Video Awards.

Every good bi movie needs a straight scene and a gay scene; I’ll start with the straight. Ever since shooting straight porn star “Bad Boy” Sean Rider in Straight To Bed 2 (the sequel to Straight To Bed, read the blog), we all wanted to get Sean Rider and his fat cock in front of our cameras again! Sean started his career as an adult performer at age 22 in 1993 and retired in 2002. Chi Chi LaRue, who plays a non-sexual role in Hills, was still in deep with Vivid Video and had inside access to the stars of the straight industry. Sean Rider had turned us down numerous times before, but this time he had an interesting proposal. He agreed to perform in the straight scene if and only if I could secure a new starlet on the porn scene named Lexi Erickson. I quickly went to work and drove my ass down to the valley to meet with the main agent in the straight porn industry. He was very welcoming and didn’t hesitate to reach out to Lexi Erickson on our behalf. Like I said, he was a powerful player in the industry and within that initial phone call he got her to commit to the booking, just like that! I couldn’t wait to call Sean and let him know! When the agent hung up the phone, he looked over to me and said, “Okay, who else do you need?” I told him I was also looking for an actress who would agree to do a bisexual scene. He said he had a few, then pulled out a giant book of photos and we started looking at the girls together. The industry was more open to bi movies at this point, but I was surprised that he didn’t “grimace” when I mentioned a bi scene. He was very cool and didn’t even flinch over the idea. The role I was casting was for the cheeky character called “Lupe,” the maid to an affluent Beverly Hills family. She needed to be a knockout, and actress Taylor Dante was just that! From the moment she walked onto the set, her confidence and sexual aura was evident. She ended up stealing the show every time she was on camera! Especially when she had a tit for tat with Chi Chi LaRue and Moist Towelette’s characters. Taylor Dante’s incredible looks and body that popped out of her maid’s uniform commanded attention while she shot attitude in every direction with her eyes and facial expressions. Her big moment was in a threeway with Paul Carrigan and Dylan James, two painters charmed by her beauty! She looked so incredible in that maid’s uniform, she asked if she could keep it, which of course I said yes to. Even though the two actresses were not on set together, her interactions with Sharon Kane were hysterical.

Lexi Erickson was 23 years old, stood 5’5” and had piercing hazel eyes and blond hair. When I first saw her in person, I was blown away by her beauty, looking very down home country girl. I can see why Sean Rider was chomping at the bit to work with her! She looked so pure and natural that I changed her character name to Sara Lee, from whatever it was before. She was meeting the Beverly Hills couple, Sharon Kane and Sean Rider, who were the parents of her fiancé, played by Drew Andrews. Getting Lexi in this role was a game changer, like Spelling getting Sammy Jo in Dynasty, except Sara Lee was sweet and kind. I was also pleasantly surprised that Sean Rider had grown his hair out since performing his J/O in Straight To Bed, where his head was shaven. He really fit the role of the family patriarch. The set up was that Sara Lee’s family was coming for the wedding and to meet her new in-laws. The problem was her family. Chi Chi LaRue, Moist Towelette (Chi Chi’s lover), and their sons from an unknown “daddy,” Alec Powers and Mason Walker, were a hillbilly family so backwards just them being themselves turned the household upside down.

When the father, Sean Rider, sneaks into Lexi Erickson’s room, we all were treated to some crazy fucking so wild that it ripped the condom in about twenty seconds and I felt guilty to even say the word “cut,” because I didn’t want to intrude on their crazy chemistry just to replace the condom, reset lights and move the camera. So we just jumped around the best we could while they fucked and fucked and pounded and pounded! It was hands down the hottest chemistry we ever caught on tape! I remember photographer Jeff Burton coming up to me all concerned because Sean was fucking her so hard. I chimed in and asked Lexi if everything was okay and she let out a big laugh and said, “You bet!” So we carried on; it was very impressive seeing that fat cock penetrating her tight pussy. Sean was like a rabid dog. I was so happy that he was pleased, as it showed in his rock hard boner!

Not to leave the gay boys out, Jake Taylor played the best man to groom Drew Andrews. The twelve-bedroom house was just so small that they were forced to share a bed for the night prior to the wedding. The groom found himself needing just one more hot juicy cock before resigning himself to a life of eating and pounding pussy. There is a great seduction scene between the two guys and I don’t think either of them ever looked better on the screen.

Last but not least, Sharon Kane as the matriarch Clarice, a pissed off, mentally drained wife who has reached the end of her rope with her cheating husband, Sean Rider. She tries to embrace the fucked up hillbilly family by offering afternoon tea, of sorts, but when Chi Chi tastes the caviar and Clarice explains what it is, Chi Chi freaks out and spits it out of her mouth, giving Clarice a face-full. The look on Sharon Kane’s face, full of caviar, is priceless!

Sharon Kane’s acting talents are not the only thing she brought to the table for this movie. She collaborated with Clint Yeager on a duet, which she performs in the middle of the night when she wakes up and realizes her husband is not in their bed. The song, “Desires of the Heart,” is a moody ballad that is a departure for both Yeager and Kane, and they nail it. Clint Yeager sings the opening title song, “White Trash,” which is a rocking tune more his style, and Sharon Kane sings the closing tune, “The Hills Have Bi’s,” as she’s driving off with her new hillbilly family after leaving her husband forever. I’ve linked the songs to this blog, should you like to take a look!

Clint Yeager, who worked in our Catalina offices in the art department, was lead guitarist in the Los Angeles based band GAYC/DC, and was a longtime bartender at Eagle LA. Unfortunately he passed away on August 15th, 2023 at the age of 53. We are all very proud of him and the vast history and legacy he left behind.

To me, The Hills Have Bi’s is so much more than a great viewing experience - from the story, to the sex, to the amazing cast, and all that great music. To me, it’s a celebration of how, when it all works and everyone is on the top of their game, a porno – yes, a porn movie – can be pure magic!

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.