James Franco’s gay porn biopic, “King Cobra“, is premiering this Saturday at the Tribeca Film Festival. Director Justin Kelly promises a very explicit and “unapologetic” depiction of gay sex. “A few times, the actors took things further than the script”, he says in an interview with The Wrap.
The film is based on events from 2007, when porn producer Brian Kocis (Christian Slater in the movie) was brutally murdered by two rival porn actors/producers, Harlow Cuadra and Joseph Kerekes (James Franco and Keegan Allen), in hopes of snagging Kocis’ studio star – Sean Paul Lockhart, also known as Brent Corrigan (played in the movie by former-Disney-star Garret Clayton).
At the time, Corrigan was in a legal battle with Kocis, claiming that his first scenes were filmed while he was underage.
“We wanted to make it as unapologetic as possible,” “King Cobra”‘s director told TheWrap, “I didn’t have a desire to shock – it’s a part of the story. Myself and the actors discussed from day one that you can’t shy away.”
A few times, the actors took things further than the script. He referenced an early scene in which Slater’s middle-aged character wants to sample the goods of his barely legal young star, played by Clayton. “Please, make me feel wanted,” he says as he half begs and half forces himself on the young man.
In the script, the encounter “was far more mild, just kissing on the couch,” Kelly said. “But they decided it had to go further. Christian takes him up against the closet.”
Equally graphic are the scenes between Franco, as the rival porn studio head, and Keegan Allen as his younger escort/lover, who have a volatile and verbal sex life predicated on jealousy.
Great still of our actor @garrettclayton1 #kingcobramovie #indiefilm #filmmaking #nyc #garrettclayton #film #tribeca pic.twitter.com/UIJsV3zZvw
— King Cobra The Movie (@kingcobramovie) April 5, 2016
h/t: Instinct Magazine
