Okay, there has been a lot of talk about him going over to Wicked, but... I don't know... I never really thought he was all that good of a director. At least, what I've seen by him has been okay, but not great, and somewhat subpar compared to some of the other stuff out there. His sex scenes usually aren't all that hot (not terrible, just not really... hot), and his movies tend to be underdeveloped. Although he is a decent writer (he wrote one of my favorite Paul Thomas movies). I'm just wondering if he has any real stand out movies out there. I'm really curious about Good Things (the Sunrise movie).
I must say I've never been awed by David Stanley movies either. I agree with your comments about the sex being not that hot, though I would say he's still one notch over Paul Thomas in that department. There's always one sex scene in Stanley movies that stands out. Unfortunately, where Thomas has a knack for storytelling that compensates for the lack of inspiration in sex scenes, Stanley usually has very interesting ideas that he has a hard time translating into film. In my mind, he's more a writer than a filmmaker. I've seen a trailer for "Hold Still" that looked damn zany, but after reading a review on ADE, it seems the same problems plague this one. Okay sex but no spark, lots of ideas but lack of firm accomplishment. There's room for progress, so I'm not saying a definite goodbye to Stanley. He's waiting for his epiphany. Let's give him time.
On the behind the scenes Vivid series they showed on TV over here he had serious creative differences with Steve Hirsh head of Vivid . Maybe he's yet to really produce the type of thing he's aiming for ? Could be interesting to see what he comes up with .
Has he worked with any other studios? I mean, Vivid and Wicked are two big ones, and all of them do pretty big features, but it would be interesting to see what he would do at a more low budget studio, like Legend.
From what I've seen it looks like he earned his wings at Vivid as a writer before moving to assisting Paul Thomas (I think) and then getting his shot at the director's chair . He's pretty new to the biz from what I remember , but with a real desire to do something different and better . I'm a sucka for that kind of ambition .
Well, we shall see if he can do it over at Wicked. I mean, they are going to be giving him some bigger projects than he had at Vivid. Still... he (and most directors) need to aim at directing better sex scenes.
I wonder what his first film is going to be. It should be interesting to say the least (and I mean that in a good way). He is a rather wacky guy when it comes to his stories, so it should be fun to see what he can do.
Still, the biggest complaint I've heard from people is the lack of heat in his sex scenes. Maybe with a better camera guy he'll get better results. We shall see.
P.S.- Devinn I can't wait for Lovers Lane. It sounds really cool! I heard you liked your scene with Randy Spears.
I just watched Pretty Girl last night. I was really impressed with it. Yes, the sex scenes were short and some of them were a little underdeveloped, but he also managed to make a few of the short scenes work. I went into it a bit apprehensive, mostly because it doesn't even last 70 minutes, but it has a very human and emotiional feel to it that completely drew me in. It also has some nice looks at the adult industry that put a smile on my face. After watching Pretty Girl I had to check the Pile O Porn for any other Stanley movies I had and dig them out. I'm thinking that in a week or two there's probably going to be three or four Vivid reviews showing up...
"Vegetarianism for me is about saying ‘yes’ to things - even meat." - Coupling
Has anyone seen Good Things? Sunrise listed it as one of her favorite movies in her bio in XXX: Thirty Porn Star Portraits, but I'm still a little iffy about picking up a Stanley movie.
Yeah, I reviewed it for That Magazine. It's kinda disjointed (the main character's motivation isn't revealed until halfway through the vid) but it's not his worst.
If you want to see his best see The Black Room . There may be others just as good but that's the one I recommend.
David Stanley just finished directing his first feature for us this week. Titled Polarity, it's a dark - and I mean dark - erotic thriller with a cast that features Nicole Sheridan, Kimberly Kane, and Alexis Malone.
He was a joy to work with, and brought a tremendous amount of energy and professionalism to the table.
I'll be back shortly with more details, the projected release date, and hopefully some still soon.
Just finished watching Stanley's Bare Stage , and loved it! Very different and very well done. I'd highly recommend it for anybody looking for something a bit different.
"Vegetarianism for me is about saying ‘yes’ to things - even meat." - Coupling
David Stanley's first movie was called "Big Game" for the now defunct Elegant Angel subsidiary "Arch Angel" I was the cameraman on his first four movies which also included "Turnabout", "Playback" and "Playback 2 -Fast Forward". Those movies were produced by Alex Ladd (owner of DVSX) and Michael Adam (Director for Metro) and they were probably some of the hardest but most fun days I've ever spent in my life. 20 hours without taking a break. After those 4 flicks we went our seperate ways but I have fond memories of working with him. David is an eccentric and interesting guy. I've only seen a few snippets of what he's done at Vivid but at the very least it was different. He'll do well for Wicked where he won't be in P.T's shadow anymore.
I ordered Polarity. I think, if you want to see good David Stanly, you should check out more of his early stuff. His newer stuff just got so out there, and so bizarre that he lost what made his movies great, which was a strong sense of emotion and feeling.
I've learned not to look at David Stanley's movies as movies, but as filmed theater. His movies have never been about great camerawork or any of that stuff, but about characters, and story (even if the story is fucked up). The more I look at his stuff like that, the more I like it (with the exception of The Contestants).
Posted - Apr 2 2005 : 2:14AM
