Raging Stallion has been shooting exclusively with high-definition cameras since last January and has a 30-title HD library.
“Mirage” is the sequel to Raging Stallion’s best-selling movie last year, “Arabesque.” The movie was shot in Hawaii, San Francisco and in the deserts near the Mexico border. It stars Jake Deckard, Steve Cruz, Dirk Jager and Hussein.
“With each production we do, we try to go bigger and better,” Raging Stallion President Chris Ward told XBIZ. “Being the first gay studio to release a film on HD DVD is a watershed moment for the industry and for our company. This movie is more than six hours long, features the biggest cast in our history and I just can’t wait for our fans to get their hands on it.”
According to Ward, he had been ready and willing to release a title on HD since late last year, but ran into trouble finding a replicator willing to touch adult content. Ward now believes the HD market is maturing and the demand for next-gen formats is increasing.
“I think we are starting to see a consensus among adult producers that HD is where we want to be going with our content,” Ward said. “Overall, HD is just easier to replicate and less expensive.”
Ward believes Raging Stallion’s first foray into the HD DVD market will be successful enough so that the company can begin releasing all its movies previously shot in hi-def onto HD DVDs.
“All the movies we shot in hi-def were shot with the idea that we will eventually go back and put them on HD discs,” he said. “It really depends on market demand, but we believe that future HD DVD releases will become part of our standard release schedule by the end of the year.”
As an added bonus, Raging Stallion is releasing “Mirage” in a special three-disc collector’s set — two discs for the standard definition version and one for the HD DVD version, so “our customers can still have an HD DVD in their collection ready to play when they buy a new HD DVD player,” Ward said.