★★★★☆For their 2013 collaboration, Interior. Leather Bar, Travis Mathews and James Franco worked on the premise of a reimagining the lost 40 minutes of William Friedkin’s 1980 film Cruising - cut by sensors who deemed it too explicit. Rather than present the extent of their footage however, Mathews and Franco’s film appeared as more an experiment in promoting the latter’s attempt to dismantle the effect to himself, of heteronormative sexual propaganda in the American mainstream. Franco as inevitable subject of the film somewhat obscured the sterling and sincere work being done by Mathews in presenting the lives of gay men on screen, for which the release of the collection In Their Room partially rectifies.
- 12/8/2014
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Travis Mathews on Interior. Leather Bar, James Franco, and Cruising "I’ve shot stuff that’s sexy, and I’m sure people have jerked off to it, but it’s honestly not something I think about." by Alex Heigl Travis Mathews is mostly known for his in-depth looks at male intimacy in films like I Want Your Love and In Their Room. Last year, though, he was tapped to work on Interior. Leather Bar, James Franco's re-imagining of forty minutes of footage cut from William Friedkin's 1980 film, Cruising. As Interior: Leather Bar rides out its Sundance debut, we talked to Travis about the film. What prompted you to collaborate with James Franco on Interior. Leather Bar? He contacted me first, and we started talking about different ideas. He knew he wanted to do something that was a bit of nod to Cruising without being a [...]...
- 1/23/2013
- by Alex Heigl
- Nerve
This Saturday night, James Franco and filmmaker Travis Mathews ("I Want Your Love," "In Their Room") debuted their doc/narrative hybrid "Interior. Leather Bar." to a captive audience that was either slightly confused or completely excited. The film does its best to recreate the 40 lost minutes of William Friedkin's controversial 1980 thriller "Cruising" -- footage excised from the film that's assumed to be scenes depicting sex in the leather bars in which Al Pacino's detective character goes undercover. "Interior. Leather Bar." is much about the actual process of recreating those scenes as it is about the qualms the actor playing Pacino, Franco's friend Val Lauren, has about acting in the film. Read More: Sundance Review: James Franco Discusses His Sexuality (And Yours) In 'Interior. Leather Bar' Many in the audience wondered aloud why Franco wanted to delve into the themes in the film;...
- 1/21/2013
- by Bryce J. Renninger
- Indiewire
Indiewire has been tracking "Interior. Leather Bar.," the collaboration between filmmaker Travis Mathews ("I Want Your Love," "In Their Room") and James Franco, for several months now. Today, the project released its festival poster, which may not be what you expect. Read More: Exclusive: James Franco Teams With Gay Art-Porn Director Travis Mathews For a 'Cruising'-Inspired Film The designers have allowed the film to speak for itself with this one. The film will debut at this month's Sundance and is set to screen at the 2013 Berlinale, also. Check out the minimalist design here:...
- 1/5/2013
- by Indiewire
- Indiewire
The meta-documentary, "Interior. Leather Bar.," a riff on the missing forty minutes of William Friedkin's cult film "Cruising," was recently announced as a selection in the Sundance New Frontiers program as well as the Berlinale's Panorama section. The film, a collaboration between actor James Franco and director Travis Mathews ("I Want Your Love," "In Their Room"), who has made quite the mark in the genre of "art porn," explores the motivations of all of the people involved with the recreation of Friedkin's scenes. From Franco and Mathews to the various actors who must decide if it's worth appearing in something that will, to paraphrase the trailer, almost surely be called pornography, even if it's co-directed by a Hollywood star. It debuted in a shorter form earlier this year in a New York fashion boutique, but here's the trailer for the extended cut, ready to debut in January in Park.
- 12/18/2012
- by Bryce J. Renninger
- Indiewire
A fresh crop of directors are rejecting stereotypical roles and predictable plots, creating films that deal with real life and rounded characters
Ira Sach's new film, Keep the Lights On, follows the decade-long relationship between two men who meet on a New York phone-sex line in 1998. It includes explicit sex and copious drug use; it also includes domestic squabbles, quotidian work hassles and meals with friends, straight and gay. No one comes out or dies, and everything is shown with the same fluid, elegant transparency. "I feel very few films convey the communal nature of urban life these days, the lack of boundaries," Sachs says. "'Those are the gays over there' – that's not how we live any more."
Keep the Lights On is at once very good and conspicuously ordinary. Like several other recent features about gay characters by gay directors, it deploys naturalism – often shooting handheld in found locations...
Ira Sach's new film, Keep the Lights On, follows the decade-long relationship between two men who meet on a New York phone-sex line in 1998. It includes explicit sex and copious drug use; it also includes domestic squabbles, quotidian work hassles and meals with friends, straight and gay. No one comes out or dies, and everything is shown with the same fluid, elegant transparency. "I feel very few films convey the communal nature of urban life these days, the lack of boundaries," Sachs says. "'Those are the gays over there' – that's not how we live any more."
Keep the Lights On is at once very good and conspicuously ordinary. Like several other recent features about gay characters by gay directors, it deploys naturalism – often shooting handheld in found locations...
- 10/4/2012
- by Ben Walters
- The Guardian - Film News
James Franco Remaking the Lost 40 Minutes of ‘Cruising’ With ‘In Their Room’ Director Travis Mathews
When William Friedkin submitted Cruising – his Al Pacino-starring thriller about a murderer targeting gay men into the S&M scene – the MPAA slapped it down with an X-rating. Probably not enough violence for them. Famously, Friedkin cut 40 minutes from the film in order to secure an R-rating, but when he wanted to include the deleted footage in a DVD release, he discovered that United Artists no longer had it. Apparently James Franco does. According to IndieWire, the actor/producer/backslash-lover has been working with Travis Mathews on recreating those lost 40 minutes. Mathews is best known for his documentary series In Their Room and the film I Want Your Love, which he made with porn company NakedSword. “[Franco] knew he wanted real gay sex in it,” Mathews commented. “His people went looking for a filmmaker who had filmed real gay sex, and I suspect someone who would complement his vision. We talked about why we would be interested in...
- 8/23/2012
- by Cole Abaius
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Last October, award-winning gay filmmaker Travis Mathews (best known for his ongoing video web series "In Their Room") had the good fortune of being in Hamburg, Germany at the same time as Andrew Haigh, director of the hit gay romance "Weekend." Haigh was staying in a brothel-turned-hotel that dripped with enough sexual charm to demand a cheeky photo shoot and a quick chat about two of their favorite subjects: gay sex and movies. Indiewire asked Mathews, who is currently raising funds for his third in his "In Their Room" film series, "In Their Room: London" on Kickstarter, to expand his thoughts on shooting explicit sex. _______________ So let's talk about sex (baby). As recently as last night, I was introduced to someone who asked me what kinds of movies I make. I always pause, because depending on the audience the response sometimes varies. Gay art movies? Indie stuff? Mumbleporn? Okay, I never say.
- 3/23/2012
- by Travis Mathews
- Indiewire
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