Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita

Last updated
Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita
Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita.jpg
Cover art of the first part of Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita
Directed by Michael Lucas & Tony Dimarco
Written byTony Dimarco
Produced byMichael Lucas
StarringMichael Lucas
Edited byFrank Tyler
Music byNekked
Distributed byLucas Distribution
Release date
2006
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita is a gay pornographic remake of the Federico Fellini classic film La Dolce Vita , [1] directed by Michael Lucas and Tony Dimarco and released by Lucas Entertainment in 2006.

Contents

The film stars Michael Lucas, Jason Ridge, Chad Hunt, Cole Ryan, Pete Ross, Derrick Hanson, Ray Star, Brad Star, Jack Bond, Wilson Vasquez, Jonathan Vargas, Ben Andrews, and more. It features non-sexual cameos by Savanna Samson, Kevin Aviance, Amanda Lepore, Heather Fink, Will Clark and Johnny Hanson.

Lucas contends that the film is the most expensive gay porn film ever made due to a budget of $250,000 and multiple celebrity cameos. [2]

Cast

Cameos (non-sexual)

Awards

In 2007 at the GayVN's in San Francisco, it won all 14 awards it was nominated for, including best picture, best director (Michael Lucas & Tony DiMarco), best threesome (Michael Lucas, Derrick Hanson, and Jason Ridge), best actor (Michael Lucas) and best non-sexual performance (Savanna Samson). [3]

Lucas Entertainment, Inc., its distribution wing and Michael Lucas were named as defendants in a lawsuit filed by International Media Films, Inc. in February 2007. The suit alleges willful trademark and copyright infringement against the La Dolce Vita mark. [4] International Media Films owns the rights to Fellini's La Dolce Vita. [5] The suit seeks unspecified damages and to stop sales of Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita Parts 1 & 2. [6] In May 2007, a Manhattan federal judge rejected the request to enjoin the sales of Lucas' film, primarily on the grounds of "inexcusable delay" on the plaintiff's part. The judge noted that there were serious issues raised regarding trademark infringement or tarnishment, but also wrote that it "seems extremely unlikely that a hapless purchaser seeking to buy Fellini's film will inadvertently stumble across Michael Lucas's La Dolce Vita", which would be an important element in proving IMF's case. [5]

Lucas won the lawsuit in April 2010 in a summary judgment by Judge John George Koeltl, who dismissed IMF's claims of copyright infringement. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federico Fellini</span> Italian filmmaker (1920–1993)

Federico Fellini was an Italian filmmaker. He is known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time. His films have ranked highly in critical polls such as that of Cahiers du Cinéma and Sight & Sound, which lists his 1963 film 8+12 as the 10th-greatest film.

<i>La Dolce Vita</i> 1960 Italian comedy-drama film directed by Federico Fellini

La Dolce Vita is a 1960 satirical comedy-drama film directed and co-written by Federico Fellini. The film stars Marcello Mastroianni as Marcello Rubini, a tabloid journalist who, over seven days and nights, journeys through the "sweet life" of Rome in a fruitless search for love and happiness. The screenplay, written by Fellini and three other screenwriters, can be divided into a prologue, seven major episodes interrupted by an intermezzo, and an epilogue, according to the most common interpretation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vivid Entertainment</span> American adult entertainment studio

Vivid Entertainment Group is an American pornographic film production company, featuring internet content.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Savanna Samson</span> American pornographic actress (born 1967)

Savanna Samson is the stage name of Natalie Oliveros, an American former pornographic actress. The winner of several AVN Awards, she has spent most of her career as a contract performer with major producer Vivid Entertainment, and is known for her roles in acclaimed adult films such as The New Devil in Miss Jones. In addition to performing, she has her own adult film studio, Savanna Samson Productions. A native of upstate New York, she entered the adult film industry in 2000, after working as a dancer at the Manhattan strip club, Scores.

<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.

Dolce vita or la dolce vita is Italian for "the sweet life." It may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Will Clark (actor)</span> American gay pornographic film actor

Will Clark is an American gay pornographic film actor. He is a member of the Grabby Awards Hall of Fame and has received a special citation from the GayVN Awards for his fundraising work in support of HIV/AIDS charities.

Piero Gherardi was the Costume and Set Designer of Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita and , winning an Oscar for each film in the category of Best Costume Design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry's Bar (Rome)</span> Bar in Italy

Harry's BarRome is a historic bar and restaurant located on the Via Veneto in Rome, Italy. It gained international fame when it was featured in La Dolce Vita, a film by Federico Fellini.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Barresi</span> American pornographic actor

Paul Barresi is an American former pornographic actor, former pornographic film director, and media personality.

<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">Michael Lucas (director)</span> Russian-American producer, actor and pornographic film director

Michael Lucas is a Russian-American-Israeli businessman and the founder and CEO of Lucas Entertainment, Manhattan's largest gay-adult-film company.

<i>Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon</i> 2008 American film

Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon is a 2008 American documentary film about the life of Jack Wrangler, produced and directed by Jeffrey Schwarz of Automat Pictures. It had its premiere at the 2008 New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival (Newfest) and is distributed by TLA Releasing.

<i>Men of Israel</i> 2009 American gay pornographic film

Men of Israel is a 2009 gay pornographic film released by Lucas Entertainment studio. Journalists from The Atlantic, Out Magazine and Yediot Aharonot noted it as a landmark film as the first pornographic movie shot on location with an all-Israeli cast; while Tablet magazine and the Los Angeles Times remarked on it being the first to feature an all-Jewish cast. Director Michael Lucas—who is Jewish and obtained his Israeli citizenship in 2009—undertook the film as "a bold move to promote Israeli culture and tourism" and to counterbalance what he saw as biased portrayals of Israel in mainstream media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Logan McCree</span> German pornographic actor (born 1977)

Logan McCree is a German-born men's rights activist and former adult entertainer in gay films.

Rod Barry is a former pornographic actor and director from the United States who has been credited in over 150 pornographic films and internet-based shows since entering the industry in 1996. Most of Barry's appearances have been in the gay pornography genre, but he has appeared in bisexual, transsexual and heterosexual videos. In 2008, he was inducted into the gay pornography industry's Hall of Fame.

<i>Dream Team</i> (1999 film) 1999 gay pornographic film, written and directed by Jerry Douglas

Dream Team is a 1999 gay pornographic film, written and directed by Jerry Douglas, starring Tony Donovan, Rick Chase and Kurt Young, and produced by Studio 2000. This movie tells the coming-of-age stories of a group of high school basketball team players who come to terms with their sexualities at a young age in 1957, and later in a 1962 reunion.

<i>Out of Athens</i>

Out of Athens is a 2000 two-part gay pornographic film from Falcon Studios, starring John Brosnan and Roland Dane, and directed by Johnny Rutherford. Part one runs 87 minutes, and part two runs 74 minutes. In the film, after not being accepted to a fraternity club for his status, John Brosnan goes to Athens, Greece, posing as a Harvard alumni for a reunion gathering. There, Brosnan is exposed as an imposter and then is gang raped. A Greek resident Roland Dane, whom Brosnan met earlier during the tour, finds him lying on the streets and takes him to Dane's place, where they have sex.

References

  1. "Michael Lucas: The Porn King of New York". NYMag.com. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  2. Van Meter, William (October 30, 2006). "The Lion of Chelsea". New York Movies. New York Magazine Holdings LLC. Retrieved 2007-01-09.
  3. 2007 GAYVN Award Winners Source includes complete list of nominees, with the winners shown in bold blue. Keeneye Reeves, TLA Video; 1997 - 2009 TLA Entertainment Group, Inc.
  4. Copy of Complaint
  5. 1 2 Peter Lattman (4 May 2007). "Judge Refuses to Enjoin "Michael Lucas's La Dolce Vita"". WSJ. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  6. "NYC film company claims gay porn infringes on film classic 'La Dolce Vita'"
  7. "Michael Lucas Triumphs in 'La Dolce Vita' Lawsuit". EDGE Boston, MA. Retrieved 19 April 2015.