With no shortage of porn-flavored reality television shows circulating through the media these days, Pomerantz's project is one of the first to date that will take a raw and honest look at the gay adult entertainment community and what it takes to be a gay porn star.
Titled "Sex, Lives & Videotape," the documentary aims to expose the emotional reality behind sexual fantasy, and whether the three finalists in the film can live up to their own public and private conceptions of what gay porn fame entails.
"I want to keep it quick-paced and fun, with a serious message," Pomerantz told XBiz. "We are putting sexual fantasy and reality on a collision course and no one is quite sure what the results will be yet. I have no doubt the titillation factor will be what draws in many filmgoers, but I intend to deliver an experience that resonates emotionally as well for viewers."
From a minimum of 2,500 applicants, a panel of judges will choose three finalists whose lives, personalities, and fantasies will be the primary subject of the reality documentary.
At the crux of "Sex, Lives, & Videotape," will be footage of a final night that each finalist spends with an established porn star, among whom Pomerantz has chosen Chicago-based Bret Wolfe, awarded 2003 Newcomer of the Year Award by the Grabby Erotic Gay Video Awards; Orlando-based actor/model Michael Vincenzo; and New York-based Venezuelan performer Miguel Leonn.
Pomerantz told XBiz that he wants to focus on all aspects of the reality and fantasy side of the entire experience for both the professional performers and the finalists, and then just let nature takes it course.
"In many ways, I want to show who gay male porn stars are today, that they are not just dumb meat," Pomerantz told XBiz. "There is a serious human and business side to them as well. They are marketing themselves just as much as any other type of entertainer."
Production on "Sex, Lives & Videotape" is scheduled for early 2004. The film will hit the gay and lesbian film festival circuit later that year in an edited, softcore version of the original documentary. A more explicit version will be released at a later date for the home entertainment market, Pomerantz told XBiz.
As an independent filmmaker, Pomerantz is working to raise funding through a variety of outlets, including his own resources and support from the gay community.
Pomerantz is credited with a recent documentary that explores the gay lifestyle titled "Skin Deep: Stories of Ethnic Diversity in the Gay Community and Open."
His films have so far appeared in film festivals including London Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, Milan Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, South Africa Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, Austin Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, and Australia's Queer-Doc Film Festival.
