Five Questions for Michael Lucas

With porn going pop, you're going to be seeing a lot of the gentleman to the left. At least if you live in New York.

Michael Lucas, a porn empresario whom I wrote about back in September, was gracious enough to answer a few questions I had about his life and career. Mind you, I'm the biggest prude in Chelsea. I wasn't especially thrilled with Mr. Lucas and his recent sex trek through Israel. But we talked about that in the interview below, and hey, he's got a right to live his best life, right? And while I don't think porn stars should be at the forefront of the movement for increased gay visibility in the mainstream I still wonder: what IS it like to have sex for a living?

Michael's got a new film coming out, "La Dolce Vita," and he was the subject of a feature story in last week's New York magazine.

I hope this ushers in a new chapter for Gay Conservative Liberal, as I want to start interviewing people to broaden the dialogue on this blog. Anyone you'd like to see interviewed here? Ask and ye shall receive.

Thanks to Mr. Lucas for answering my questions via e-mail.

Hat tip: DCB.
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You're huge these days! Do you think that becoming an even more visible figure in the mainstream press will ruin the fantasy that your fans have of you?

I have been in business since 1995 and obviously people know me better and better, and my popularity as a porn star has only grown with time. I guess that would answer your question. Aside from that, I never give away every detail of my life to the press. The general public knows very little about me.


You've tackled two timeless stories in your cinematic career, Dangerous Liasions and now La Dolce Vita. What are other classics that need an X-rated overhaul?

Nothing needs to be X rated at all. Dangerous Liaisons and La Dolce Vita were fantastic in their original conception and I'm not even trying to compete. But I found both storylines very sexually charged so it was easy to adapt them to an adult film. Both movies are also well known and loved, so the name recognition helps sell our film. I haven't thought about the next big project yet, but it will not be Titanic, that's for sure.

On to more serious fare: Some people (myself included) think that your recent tour of Israel may have projected an unfavorable image of gay people. How do you think your visit to the country helped advance the cause of gay rights in the Middle East?

I didn't have an agenda to advance gay rights in the Middle East. (Are you kidding me!) For the last several years I have given a club appearance in the biggest club in Tel Aviv. I have a huge fanbase in Israel and I was very grateful to have the opportunity to entertain them during a difficult time, when other much more "respectable" performers like Junior Vasquez, cancelled. I was not there to pursue a political agenda, I was there to make my fans happy and spend time in a country that I love.

Your enterprise is a family affair, so that begs the question: Is any topic off limits around the dinner table?

Everyone in my circle from my boyfriend, grandparents and friends, all knows that I am a gay porn producer and actor. But that doesn't mean that this is a topic of dinner conversation. We have much more interesting things to discuss, and I definitely have no interest in talking about the graphic sex details with my parents!

If you had to be labeled as just one thing, what would that label be?

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