The story of a gay porn mogul turned political activist/philanthropist.
As the head of Falcon Studios, Chuck Holmes rode the parallel wave of the home video explosion and the greater visibility of gay culture to a fortune in the 1980s and ’90s, providing gay men with access to adult entertainment in the privacy of their own homes. While a savvy businessman, the charismatic Holmes nevertheless harbored some ambivalence about the nature of his work, and, perhaps as a result, turned to philanthropy. Giving back to the community who enabled his profits, he donated millions to gay activist organizations, political advocacy groups, and gay and gay-friendly politicians – but was always aware that his contributions could be looked upon as tainted or potentially too damaging politically to accept because of his porn connections. Director Michael Stabile’s debut feature doc explores Holmes uneasy straddling of these two worlds – porn and philanthropy.
Stabile has until Monday night to reach his Kickstarter campaign goal of $25,000. At the time of this writing, he’s more than halfway there, with funds earmarked for final production and post-production costs. The film doesn’t appear to have a website yet, but the site for Stabile’s previous film, the short SMUT CAPITAL OF AMERICA offers bios and a mailing list signup.
As with a few of the other “in the works” projects I’ve profiled here in the past, I’m interested in Stabile’s doc for illuminating a corner of the LGBT world that is usually the subject of gossip or derision, and rarely afforded respectful treatment. The connections between the porn world and gay philanthropy – from political or community activism to financial support for AIDS advocacy organizations – is well worth exploring, helping to develop a more rounded sense of both of those domains, and of the interconnectedness of the larger LGBT community. Given his conflicted relationship with his career and fortune, Holmes sounds like a fascinating figure, and a great lens through which to explore these issues.
what (not) to doc 