Cobra Video

Last updated

Cobra Video is an American gay pornographic studio. The company has been the subject of scandals related to founder Bryan Kocis, who engaged in sex with a minor in one instance, and hired an underage actor to perform in another. [1]

Contents

Kocis was murdered in 2007, and although Cobra Video's website is still active, there have been no new video releases since Kocis’ death. [2]

In 2002, police found a videotape in the home of Bryan Kocis (then 39) engaged in sexual activity with a 15-year-old boy. Kocis, then owner and producer of Cobra Video and owner of a local adult-video store, met the boy on the internet and transported him to Kocis' hometown. Kocis pled guilty to one count of sexual abuse of a child; he was charged with child pornography and transportation of a minor for sexual purposes. Kocis claimed as a defense that the teenage boy lied about his age. [3]

Pacific Sun Entertainment (Cobra's distributor) advised its retail sellers, in September 2005, to withhold from further distribution four of Cobra's most popular videos ( Every Poolboy's Dream , Schoolboy Crush , Bareboned Twinks, and Casting Couch 4) when reports surfaced that a featured model, Brent Corrigan was, at the time of filming, under 18 years of age. [4] [5] [6] Pacific Sun Entertainment further advised, via an industry-wide email, the removal from availability additional Cobra Video product titles (Campus Boys 1 and Campus Boys 2) without reason except that in the past such action stemmed from a problem with distribution of questionable product such as performer's age. [7] The Kocis murder was motivated by a rival studio power play involving Corrigan. [8]

Kocis death

On January 24, 2007, Bryan Kocis was found dead in his Dallas Township, Pennsylvania, home. According to the Luzerne County coroner investigating the death, Kocis was stabbed 28 times and his throat was cut before his body was left in his house, which was set on fire after he died. A folding-style knife was found in the house near Kocis' body. Officials used dental records to identify him, as his body was burned beyond recognition. [9] [10] [11] [12]

In May 2007 Harlow Cuadra and Joseph Kerekes, both adult film actors/producers, were arrested and charged with his murder. Police took the pair into custody after discovering evidence on Kocis' computer hard drive, which survived the fire. Police theorized that the pair killed Kocis because they wanted to work with a particular actor who was under contract to him. Prosecutors believed that one of the suspects e-mailed Kocis, assuming the identity of an aspiring porn actor, and arranged to meet him on January 24, 2007. The e-mail's sender asked to meet Kocis alone. The pair appear on video surveillance buying a gun and a lock-blade folding knife at a local pawn shop. The knife is consistent with the one used to stab Kocis. Additionally, police have audio recordings of one of the suspects saying, "Actually seeing that fucker going down, it's actually sick, but it made me feel better inside. It almost felt like I got revenge and I know that sounds fucked up." In a search of the pair's home, police also found video equipment they believe belonged to Kocis. [13] [14] Both have been sentenced to life in prison without parole. [15]

Cobra Video, its founder Kocis and Brent Corrigan were depicted in the film King Cobra.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AVN Awards</span> Adult entertainment industry award

The AVN Awards are film awards sponsored and presented by the American adult video industry trade magazine AVN to recognize achievement in various aspects of the creation and marketing of American pornographic films. They are often called the "Oscars of porn".

Treasure Island Media is a U.S. gay pornographic studio founded in 1998 by Paul Morris that primarily produces bareback films. It was the first commercial producer to specialize in bareback films as part of the emerging 1990s underground interest in the pre-condom era of gay porn that was concerned with the freedom of the sexual experience. The studio is named after Morris's favorite childhood book, Treasure Island. In addition to the original San Francisco office, TIM has production offices in New York, London and Mexico City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brent Corrigan</span> American film and pornographic film actor

Sean Paul Lockhart is an American film actor and director, known for Milk (2008), Judas Kiss (2011), and Triple Crossed (2013).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiger Tyson</span> American gay male pornographic actor, and producer

Tiger Tyson is an American actor in gay pornographic films.

<i>AVN</i> (magazine) American magazine covering adult entertainment

Adult Video News is an American trade magazine that covers the adult video industry. The New York Times notes that AVN is to pornographic films what Billboard is to records. AVN sponsors an annual convention, called the Adult Entertainment Expo or AEE, in Las Vegas, Nevada along with the AVN Awards, an award show for the adult industry modeled after the Oscars.

Active Duty is the umbrella name for the American, originally North Carolina–based gay pornographic film studios founded by Dennis Ashe specializing in the production of pornographic movies. It features the portrayals of military men who are gay, straight ,and bisexual, engaging in solo or gay sexual action. Dink Flamingo was the pseudonym of the producer-director of the films. Since Active Duty was acquired by Montreal-based Gamma Entertainment in 2014, Dink Flamingo is a trademark that no longer refers to a person.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GayVN Awards</span> Gay adult entertainment industry award

The GayVN Awards are film awards presented annually to honor work done in the gay pornographic industry. The awards were sponsored by AVN Magazine, the parent publication of GAYVN Magazine, and continue the recognition for gay pornography which was part of the AVN Awards from 1986–1998. The awards went on a hiatus after the 2011 ceremony and returned in 2018.

Bryan Charles Kocis, also known as Bryan Phillips, was a director of gay pornographic films and founder of Cobra Video, a gay porn film studio. Kocis was murdered at his Dallas Township, Pennsylvania, home on January 24, 2007; arson was used in an attempt to disguise the circumstances of his death. Two escorts, Harlow Cuadra and Joseph Kerekes, were charged and convicted for Kocis' murder and subsequently given a sentence of life imprisonment without any possibility of parole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Scarborough</span> American pornographic film director

Steven Scarborough is an American gay pornographic film director, the founder of Hot House Entertainment (1993), and he was an Executive Vice-President and director for Falcon Studios from 1987 to 1993.

J. D. Slater is an American gay pornography actor, director, and music composer from San Francisco who co-founded Raging Stallion Studios (RSS) with Chris Ward in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucas Entertainment</span> New York-based gay pornographic studio

Lucas Entertainment is a New York-based gay pornographic studio started by porn star Michael Lucas. It is one of the largest such studios in the world. The studio is known for lavish, big-budget films, and it contends that its 2006 film Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita is the most expensive gay porn ever made. The film won 14 GayVN awards in 2007, the current record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter North (actor)</span> Canadian pornographic actor

Alden Joseph Brown, known professionally as Peter North, is a Canadian retired pornographic actor, director and producer. He has 2,155 credits as an actor.

Corbin Fisher is an American film studio with a focus on gay pornography, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The studio maintains a website at CorbinFisher.com; other web properties of the company include AmateurCollegeMen.com, AmateurCollegeSex.com, CFSelect.com, CorbinFisherLive.com, CorbinsCoeds.com, and ShopCorbinFisher.com. The founder of Corbin Fisher, who goes by the same name as an alias, started filming men and making videos during his spare time, and started the website CorbinFisher.com in 2004. The company released its first full-length DVD in September 2008. Since 2009 the company has collaborated with the European studio BelAmi on movie production and cross-distribution.

Schoolboy Crush is a 2004 gay pornographic film directed by Bryan Kocis, released on Cobra Video, and cast with Brent Everett and Sean Paul Lockhart under the stage name "Brent Corrigan". Corrigan being underage at the time of filming led to legal actions against Phillips and the withdrawal of the film Schoolboy Crush from the Cobra Video film catalog.

Transgender pornography is a genre of pornography featuring transsexual or transgender actors. The majority of the genre features trans women, but trans men are sometimes featured. Trans women are most often featured with male partners, but they are also featured with other women, both transgender and cisgender.

<i>King Cobra</i> (2016 film) 2016 American film

King Cobra is a 2016 American biographical film about the life and early career of former gay pornographic film actor Sean Paul Lockhart. It was directed by Justin Kelly and based on the book Cobra Killer: Gay Porn, Murder, and the Manhunt to Bring the Killers to Justice by Andrew E. Stoner and Peter A. Conway.

The GayVN Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by AVN Media Network at the GayVN Awards, given to a gay porn actor for his performance in a leading role in a film released that year.

References

  1. ↑ "The Citizens Voice - Dallas Township man pleads guilty to sexual abuse of children". zwire.com. Archived from the original on 28 April 2006.
  2. ↑ "CobraVideo.Com ::: Welcome". www.cobravideo.com. Retrieved 2019-10-31.
  3. ↑ "The Citizens Voice - Dallas Township man pleads guilty to sexual abuse of children". zwire.com. Archived from the original on 28 April 2006.
  4. ↑ "AVN :: Articles - Cobra Strikes Back". avn.com. Archived from the original on 26 April 2006.
  5. ↑ "Michael Lucas Vs. Brent Corrigan". Queerty. 30 March 2009.
  6. ↑ "AVN :: Articles - Possibly Underage Gay Performer Worked for Cobra". avn.com. Archived from the original on 11 March 2007.
  7. ↑ "GAYVN News". gayvn.com. Archived from the original on 8 May 2006.
  8. ↑ "Chad Noel, Porn Co-Star of an Underage Brent Corrigan, Dies at 25". Queerty. 29 March 2010.
  9. ↑ Buynovsky, Sarah (2007-01-25). "Man found in burned home was murdered". TimesLeader.com. Archived from the original on 2007-02-03. Retrieved 2007-01-25.
  10. ↑ "Update: Coroner says victim dead at time of fire". 2007-01-25. Archived from the original on 2007-02-07. Retrieved 2007-01-25.
  11. ↑ "Gay porn producer slain". TimesLeader.com. 2007-01-26. Archived from the original on 2007-02-03. Retrieved 2007-01-26.
  12. ↑ Yum, Rosa. "Court Papers: Kocis Stabbed Dozens of Times". WNEP.com. Retrieved 2007-01-29.
  13. ↑ Gay porn actors charged with killing executive in scheme to work with star; Simon, Mallory, CourtTV.com; 2007-07-17. Retrieved 2007-08-16.
  14. ↑ Virginia Seizes Assets Of Pair Accused Of Killing Gay Porn Producer; 365gay.com;2007-08-15. Retrieved 2007-08-16.
  15. ↑ "Cuadra to Serve Life in Prison". www.advocate.com. 2009-03-16. Retrieved 2019-10-31.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.