Roman Ragazzi with Barrett Long

Hey Guys--

We just shot Roman Ragazzi with Barrett long and let me tell you, the
sparks were flying! This scene, directed by Ben Leon, is a sure fire
contender for next year's awards! It is simply astounding. Here are
some photos from the shoot. We do not yet have a title for the movie,
but it will be a major release in September of this year.

Many of you may remember that Roman was just "outed" in the national press and was forced to give up his job at the Israeli consulate in New York where he was a member of the diplomatic corps (read the blog entry on the right: "Roman Ragazzi Makes Mainstream Headlines" for more details). Roman is very excited about his new career as an adult and physic model. Watch out world, the Roman Empire is BACK!

Enjoy!

Bits of News from Around the Business

I have been inundated with emails full of industry news this past week--some good some bad, but all interesting for porn insiders. I thought I would let you guys know some of the behind the scenes stuff at RSS for this week, May 21.

First up, RSS has just signed Rafael Alencar for GRUNTS, my major military project scheduled for shooting in July. What this means is that Rafael is no longer with Black Scorpion. Rafael helped start the company and delivered its first major hit, Dreams of Rafael. I assume the separation is amicable, but the bottom line is that Rafael is back! I can't wait to film his huge cock again!

RSS has also signed Brodie Sinclair to star with Rafael, Jake Deckard, Roman Ragazzi, and Steve Cruz in GRUNTS. Brodie, who made his mark at Falcon, has not yet performed in front of the RSS cameras. No doubt, it will be an event to remember.

RSS just finished filming another round of FF movies, the main one to be entitled Folsom Fist (to be released later this fall). The movie offers a new spin on the legendary Folsom Prison (remember the Johnny Cash song?). We hope to have the edit done in time for the Folsom Street Fair (which is not associated with Folsom Prison!), so watch this page for more details later this year.

Most of the owners of RSS are heading to Chicago for the Grabby Awards later this week. RSS has numerous nominations and we are all hopeful of doing well at the show. The Grabbys are, far and away, our favorite of all the award shows--the Grabby guys seem to be in synch with the RSS view of sexuality! Steve Cruz, our newest exclusive, has been chosen as one of the trophy boys for the event. Collin O'Neal, Roman Ragazzi, Michael Brandon, and many other RSS studs will be at the show. We hope to see all of you there!

Chi Chi LaRue has singed on to DJ at the RSS annual Folsom Street Fair party, the event where I will announce the 2008 Man of The Year. JD will also be on hand to give his "Bigger than Life" award to his favorite Centurion Pictures performer. Jake Deckard, our current Man of the Year, will host our booth at the street fair. We are now lining up twenty-plus stars to be on hand to meet fans. It is an event not to miss.

Raging Stallion has also taken the plunge and has agreed to do a major booth at Gay Pride in conjunction with Castro Gulch, one of the local gay retailers. Roman Ragazzi, Jake Deckard, Steve Cruz and many of our models will be on hand to meet and greet. Michael Brandon has a whole line up of events scheduled, so check in to the news page at RagingStallion.com for details!

Finally, I have the great pleasure to report that Mirage has become a major hit--just like Arabesque before it. If you have not purchased the movie yet, you can still get it at RagingStallion.com. Mirage goes into national release on June 1, so check your local video stores this summer for what is perhaps one of the finest films of the year!

Chris Ward

How Much is Hot Ass Worth in Today's Porn Market?

Model fees--the price we producers pay for actors--have steadily gone up over the years. Back in 1998 when I was just getting started in the industry, fees were generally under $500 for two long days of work. Top models then were getting up to $1000. Things have changed in the past ten years, and now no company with any self respect would even dream of hiring a model for under $1000 for one day of work, and some top stars are getting much more than that.



How do producers evaluate the value of hot ass? Here at Raging Stallion we take a model-positive approach. All three founders of the studio--JD Slater, myself, and Michael Brandon--were models before we were producers / directors, so we have a special relationship with our actors. Because we refuse to get caught up in the exploitation game, we try to pay out as much as possible to each actor. Last week a new east coast producer who specializes in Fisting Films wrote me an email pleading for us to reduce model fees because we were driving actor fees up! Too Bad is what I say. If you can't pay the wages, then get out of the business! Porn models do not get residuals, they don't share in profits, but they are the guys putting out. I think their fees should be as high as possible within the economic realities of the industry.



Anyway, how do we come up with model fees? There are several factors that come into play, and one of the main ones is how big is the "star" power of any given model. Big stars--like Jake Deckard-- who have a public following (which means higher sales of their films) get more money--provided they are not over-exposed because they have made too many movies. Another kind of top dollar star is the "new sensation"--the next François Sagat or Roman Ragazzi. Steve Cruz is another fine example of a new man on the block who sells movies like hot cakes. Another consideration is if the star is exclusive or not. Many studios--but not all--pay their exclusives more on a scene-per-scene basis. After all, an exclusive star cannot get outside work, so the home studio must pay enough to provide a decent income to the exclusive model. Special talents and / or attributes is still another consideration. A fisting bottom should always earn top dollar, as should talented tops and bottoms. Any fisting model who is offered less than top dollar is being insulted by devious producers who seek only to exploit their talent for personal gain. This is one of my pet peeves--so guys out there, only work with studios that really value your ASSets. Sure, I could make a lot more money by underpaying talent, but that is not how Raging Stallion does business. If you are thinking about getting into porn--especially fisting--don't be exploited and taken advantage of. Demand top dollar and guess what, you will get it. At least from producers with ethics.

Roman Ragazzi Makes Mainstream Headlines

Raging Stallion exclusive and Collin O'Neal discovery Roman Ragazzi resigned from his job at the Israeli Consulate office in New York after he was outed by a Page Six article in the New York Post. Ragazzi had worked as an administrator in the office for some time. It is unclear why an undercover investigation by the paper was undertaken given that Ragazzi was not a high level or career employee. Ragazzi, whose first movies will be released over the next few weeks, was unshaken by the news. He is eager to get fully behind his new career as an erotic superstar filming exclusively for Raging Stallion Studios and Collin O'Neal Productions. His first film is Collin O'Neal's Miami, due out on May 11. His second feature, and his first for Raging Stallion, is Michael Brandon's TAILPIPES, which is scheduled for a June 15 rollout. This Monster Bang movie features an amazing scene set in a car garage between Ragazzi and RSS exclusive Remy Delaine. Ragazzi will also star in Chris Ward's giant military epic, Grunts, which is set for filming this summer.

Ward, who serves as the President at Raging Stallion Studios, commented on
the controversy: "Roman is really in the hot seat right now--he is getting
lots of mainstream media exposure which is almost all negative. There is a great deal of pornophobia and homophobia in the reporting. I am proud of Roman for standing up forhis own sexual identity. He is a proud, sex-positive gay man who has earned my respect and admiration. On the upside for Roman, he will make a lot more money working for us than he did for the consulate!"

Roman Ragazzi will be available to meet fans at IML in Chicago (May 26) and at Gay Pride in San Francisco (June 24).