The internationally acclaimed director of Tender Strangers, Accidental Lovers, Sauna Paradiso, Lukas' Story, Pleasure Express, and The Plowboys is an unassuming man with a shock of brown hair, a round face, and a modest command of the English language, although he spends much of his time commuting between California and Eastern Europe, where his films have all been shot. Dressed casually in a sweatshirt and jeans, he greets me in his room in the Hotel Roosevelt in L.A. I activate the tape recorder.
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Manshots: The first question I want to ask you is: Do you have any idea what an impact your films have made on America in the last year?
Duroy: I would suggest that no. I know that only from reactions of people I know. Since I'm not here - most of the time I'm shooting things in Europe - it has been impossible for me to judge it properly.
Manshots: But you do have an American office here.
Duroy: There is an address in Monterey, but you have to understand that there is not one shop in Monterey that would sell these tapes. In Monterey County, they don't sell Manshots or other gay magazines. I believe they don't sell any sexually oriented stuff over there at all.
Manshots: How did you get into this business?
Duroy: Basically it was an accident, because it just happened. I wasn't sure what to do next.
Manshots: What had you been doing before?
Duroy: I've been working in show business all my life. And then I was living in the US for some time. I gained my Master's at UCLA in film. And then I moved back. I was working as a creative director for a major, I think, agency in the country. And I just didn't enjoy it. I just didn't enjoy it. That was about the time when someone, who sort of worked for Falcon then, asked me if I would produce - if I would try to produce - for the Falcon International line. He knew my still photography. I wasn't sure I am able to do it, because it's like I never hold a videocamera in my hands before. And I told myself - thinking it was just like the still photography - nobody ever told me how to do it, and I was able to do it. So nobody ever told me how to do video camera. I just bought one and basically I just read the manual how to operate it and that was it.
Manshots: Who was the first model you shot?
Duroy: Who was the first model I shot? I'm not sure. Because we were shooting two different projects at the same time. We were shooting Tender Strangers and Accidental Lovers basically in the same period, so I wouldn't be able to tell you if it was one of the models for Tender Strangers or if it was episode for Accidental Lovers.
Manshots: Did you purposely elect to shoot solos and hard core sex at the same time? You didn't feel that you should go through a period of solos first?
Duroy: No, it's like I was shooting solo for myself and for Bel Ami, and I was firmly decided then to just develop the solo and to do these two projects for Falcon on side. That's why you don't see any Bel Ami credit over there.
Manshots: Do I understand that you had a deal with Falcon before you ever shot anything?
Duroy:Yeah.
Manshots: That's terrific.
Duroy: Yeah, I believe so. This is so surprising?
Manshots: It's a risk that they took. They had seen your still work but they had no idea whether you could work a videocamera or not.
Duroy:They were obviously nervous when I was shooting the first one, and I was pretty nervous too, because anything that could go wrong went wrong during the shoot. I was shooting it forever. It took more than nine months to shoot it. And when I mailed the first tape - the first couple of episodes, when they were finished - they were really waiting for it desperately, just to see what kind of job I'm doing. It got lost in the mail, and it took about eight days for them to find it. They sent it somewhere, to Hong Kong or whatever. So the folks at Falcon in San Francisco, they thought I'd been making fun of them. But I think that when they saw first episodes, they calmed down.
Manshots: Do you remember the first double episode you shot?
Duroy:First double episode? I would say it was episode with Martin Valko and Slavo Jarowsky. It's second episode in Accidental Lovers.
Manshots: At the swimming pool.
Duroy:At the swimming pool and later in hotel room, because when I started to shoot, the weather was so bad that I didn't have any other options, so I went to Vienna and I shot it in very luxurious hotel there.
Manshots: So the hotel is in Vienna and the swimming pool is in another country?
Duroy: No, it's in hotel complex. It's part of the hotel. I used to go there before, so I knew it was about the only sunny place where I could go and get this kind of result when the weather was cold and rainy. It was July, and Falcon was waiting for materials. So that's what happened. The other thing was, I knew Valko enough so that I knew probably he wouldn't have any urgent problem or anything like this. He never has. So I believe it was good choice.
Manshots: Tell us about Martin Valko. Readers are fascinated by this man.
Duroy: (Chuckles) What should I tell you? What kind of man he is?
Manshots: Yes. And how did you find him?
Duroy:I had one boy who was working for me as a talent scout, living in small city in Central Slovakia, and that's where he found him. And I just didn't know that he would look so great or whatever. He was just one of many models, I would say. Only when I started to do videos with him, I realized how very sexual person he is. He is very professional, and when he shoots, it's very enjoyable to work with him, because he's always prepared. He never has any kind of urgent trouble or anything like this. It happened actually this fall, that he told me that he doesn't want to shoot anymore, because one of the boys he worked with was from the same city as him and started to talk about it over there. And it's small city of 20,000, and it was very uncomfortable situation for him because his mother realized what's going on, etc., etc. So he just left and he told me that he wouldn't do it anymore. He worked even in my office as a member of my staff. But fortunately enough, he returned to shoot another episode for Lukas' Story 2. So first man who ever took Lukas is Martin Valko.
Manshots: Oh, he's the one! Well, that was one of my questions. You saved me asking it. How do you go about finding models in Eastern Europe? Is it any different from the process here in America?
Duroy: I don't know how it's done here, so I can't compare. I would believe that for people who start doing it here, they would know they are starting a certain kind of career, and they have it in their mind. So, they are more professional here, and also I would say the age group available here is different. I work with younger models. Most of the American models are in their middle or late twenties or early thirties. Most of my models are anywhere between eighteen and twenty-four. Well, actually, Martin Valko is second oldest one, and he's twenty-three.
Manshots: What about Filip Smirnov, the man on the bus with the big dick in Lukas' Story?
Duroy: He's twenty-four. He's oldest model I had so far. So all the other boys who work for me are all nineteen, twenty, twenty-one. It's the average age. One thing is that I prefer to work with them. Second, it's easier to find them over there. It's more difficult over here probably.
Manshots: How do you find them?
Duroy: In the beginning, when I was shooting stills, I would put the ads in the newspaper, and in early Nineties, it would really work. Later, it became more and more difficult, because there were tons of people coming, but very few were usable. So I realized that if I want to get good ones, I just must find them and approach them. So that's what happens. If I see somebody I really like, I'll just go to him and I would offer him - though I certainly wouldn't offer him a porn job or whatever. I would ask him about photographs or about making money as an extra in videos. Because in the larger productions we have now, we use a lot of extras. And that's where we just sort of test them. So that's one way how we would do it. Another way is if people who I employ or who are somehow connected with me would bring quite a lot of boys too. But the problem is we wouldn't take just anybody. So, even for talent scout who would work for us, it can be sometimes very difficult job, because it happened one month that I had fifty models coming, and I decided to take all of them. And most of them really don't know what I am looking for. So best thing for me is if I'm with an assistant of mine, anywhere, and I see suitable model, I would just tell him (the assistant) to go and ask him if he's interested or whatever. I don't like to do it myself. But if this boy who is with me is twenty, twenty-one, it really works.
Manshots: Yes, it softens the edge. Is this sort of filmmaking particularly attractive to the young men of your country because of the economic situation? Is money even more important there, say, than it is here?
Duroy: I wouldn't say it's more important than here. It's like, one thing is sure, most of the models here and most of my models are coming from different social backgrounds. Surprisingly enough, I would say about half of my models are university students, and there are very few street kids among them. I would say they are middle-class boys.
Manshots: Out of this group of young men that you've assembled, are there any of them who make this a full-time job, or is it always just moonlighting?
Duroy: Just extra money for any of them. They wouldn't think about it as a career. Not a single one of them. They wouldn't do it if they knew it would sell over there. Quite often it's a matter of sort of personal contact. I would say bigger half of them would agree to do it only after they knew me well enough...
Manshots: To trust you.
Duroy: To trust me, yeah.
Manshots: Before we get too far away from Martin Valko, will we be seeing more of him, or was Lukas' Story 2 the end of his career?
Duroy: I don't know.
Manshots: I mean, where does it stand now?
Duroy: I would say it's more matter of money in his case.
Manshots: When he needs money, he'll be back.
Duroy: Yeah.
Manshots: Well, that's pretty much the same old story here, too.
Duroy: He denies he enjoys it, but I know him well enough to know that he does.
Manshots: Well, that brings us right into something that I wanted to talk about. How would you describe the sexuality of these kids, and how do they think of themselves sexually?
Duroy: Every single one of them thinks "I'm a straight boy". There is a single one exception, and it's the cover boy for Pleasure Express. He's on the box. That's the only gay boy we ever... The big-dicked boy who's in the last episode in train - in the mail carriage on the train. His name is Kristof Junas. So he is the only one who was openly gay from the very beginning, and the only one who I got from gay circles, I would say. Basically, I have different reasons for it, but my policy is to don't work with gay boys, and don't employ gay staff.
Manshots: Why is this?
Duroy: First of all, if I want to keep it discreet, with straight boys I'm very sure they would be discreet about it.
Manshots: They're as anxious to be discreet as you are.
Duroy: Yeah, that's one thing. The other thing is: who am I going to get to run my office? Only one of my assistants is gay. Otherwise all of the boys who are working in the office are straight. I wouldn't employ anybody who wouldn't shoot for me, so he wouldn't have a kind of attitude - "I would never do this" or something like that. Also, it's best way how to avoid any personal developments and dating and complications. So there is no jealousy and nothing. The boys will come in, and since I'm very often shooting these straight boys, when they come in the office, they feel very comfortable because they feel it's no gay environment. If they feel it is gay environment, it would be probably more difficult to convince them to do certain things. When they see that all the other boys who work for me are as straight as they are, they would do it.
Manshots: "Straight" in quotes?
Duroy: It's difficult to say quotes, because they might be, and they usually are, very sexual. Still it's very difficult to say about somebody that he's gay, 'cause it's like, he would be gay if he looks for other boys, if he dates another boy, or whatever, and there is not that with these boys. They would be pretty much available if you asked them, I would say, under certain circumstances, but they would never be looking for it.
Manshots: I understand. Available but not aggressive.
Duroy: Yeah. I would say so It's like it certainly wouldn't be their preference, but it's not that - you can see in the films the' they can do it pretty well. I dare say they enjoy it while they're doing it.
Manshots: Take me through the process from the time somebody comes into your office for the first interview through his first money shot. How do you get him from here to there?
Duroy: I would say in most cases, we would make layout with him first.
Manshots: What about the interview? What do you look for that says "This kid will do it, this kid won't"?
Duroy: It's pure instinct.
Manshots: But are there any signs?
Duroy: You would probably try to find out about his background. You would try to find out if there's any kind of problem or if there was anything he craves and can't get - which probably helps. But even then... Since we don't do only hardcore erotica, and since we even don't do only nude pictures, there are boys who are coming for regular kind of calendar photographs, or as an extra, or we would do some kind of soft erotica with them - because we shoot soft erotica line for Pride, an English company - so that's one way how they can start. If I feel I can tell them right away, I would, but in most cases I would not.
Manshots: Do you usually take it step by step up - soft, calendar art, nudity, solos, hardcore?
Duroy: In most cases, I would tell them very quickly that this is what we do. We do this kind of subject and this, and we pay this much for this, and for this. And I would tell them, it's up to you to decide how much money you want to make with us, because you can make 5,000 pounds as well as 100,000 pounds. It's really up to you.
Manshots: And then the ball's in their court.
Duroy: Yeah. I would say about half of the models, you go about it this way. Second half of models would come to your office because their friends would tell them and they know already.
Manshots: So they skip steps one through four.
Duroy: Yeah. That's what is easier part. But usually with very beautiful new boys, it just takes some time. With some boys it takes very long time.
Manshots: Do they ever reach a point where they say, "Okay, okay, okay, but I'll never get fucked"? Does it ever get to that point?
Duroy: Yeah, well, they would say, "I would never do this or that", and in the end they would.
Manshots: Sure.
Duroy: You've seen Pleasure Express - there is this tall boy with a big dick, Alexander Straus. He's in the mail carriage scene. He's active part of it, but he never sucks dick, he just fucks the other boy. When he first arrived, first he wouldn't do it at all, then he would do only this, and as soon as he needed money, he wanted to do the next one, and I said to him, "You can't do it if you won't suck dick... so it's up to you to decide". And he would maybe haggle with me a little bit about money, and I might pay him $5,000 extra or something, but when I would pay him extra, he would do it. I would say, in some cases, it's more that they need to have reason to do certain things than they would just like to do it.
Manshots: What else is in their psyches that makes them do this? Money is the obvious answer and it is the easiest defense, but there must be something inside them that ticks this off.
Duroy: It's hard to say, because for example, with Lukas the first time, I suspect very strongly that he enjoyed every minute of it. And he would sort of deny it, but still he makes more with me than anybody else. I would say even if I paid him much less, he would do it. When he first came to me, I would ask him, and he would probably be just, "No. No. No. No. Never". And now when you touch him, it would be he would get hard-on in twenty seconds. So it's like, they would still have all their girlfriends and their preferences and whatever, but I strongly suspect that in quite a few cases, they like it.
Manshots: Give our readers just a short background about what gay life is like in Eastern Europe, say in Prague.
Duroy: It really depends. We are working mainly in the region that used to be Czechoslovakia, but I personally don't really live and operate in Prague. The prices in Prague would be probably higher than elsewhere. Prices in Prague and Budapest are higher even than in Vienna. Prague is different from the rest of Central Europe, so it can't be taken as a proper measure. Because I would say right now the gay life over there is probably very intense, and there are quite a few gay bars.
Manshots: Is it more and more open?
Duroy: In general I would say the atmosphere in the Czech Republic and especially in Prague is extremely liberal. I would say it's as liberal as in Amsterdam. In cities like this there are no problems really.
Manshots: And these boys do not come from that milieu at all?
Duroy: No. These boys, most of them don't know that something like a gay bar exists. So that's the first thing. Basically I don't have any hustlers in my videos. I have first sort of hustler in Lukas' Story 2, but he is just in very short part.
Manshots: What is the prevailing attitude toward homosexuality in your country?
Duroy:People, the general population would be very conservative about your being gay. But if you tell them, they just wouldn't know what to tell you. They just don't have a clue. I remember one boy who came to me. I made photographs with him, and for some mysterious reason, he thinks that all the gays should be killed. I thought to myself, "Okay". And I decided to, I don't know, to punish him or test him or whatever. Two days later, I had sex with him - I was merciless. I did everything to him I could imagine, just because of this. And he didn't mind at all. And when it was over, I said to him, "Well, Robert, could you tell me why did you tell me two days ago that you would kill all the gays, and now you're doing this shit here with me, and he was so surprised - but genuinely surprised - that he said "Well, but you are not gay". Well, so tell me where the logic is.
Manshots: Of course, this business is full of "straight guys" who can rationalize their way into having gay sex.
Duroy: I would say it's sort of like Americans in the Fifties, like they really don't have concept what is bisexual, and what is heterosexual, and what is gay. They don't think about it that much.
Manshots: Is it sort of like the old Sixties' expression, "If it feels good, do it"?
Duroy: I would say so. And it really depends very much on you. It happens, I'm the sort of person who prefers straight boys. I would have sex with straight boys, if I was persistent enough. Most of them, in the end, don't have any special troubles with it. There is liberal atmosphere and there is not. For example, age of consent over there is fifteen. Both in Slovak and Czech Republic. In Poland, for example, too, although it's very strongly Catholic country. And nobody really cares. First of all, people, I would say, are much more sexual and sex plays a much bigger role over there in daily life Second thing is there is still no AIDS scare. For example, in Slovakia you have altogether thirty-six cases of AIDS, and three deaths so far.
Manshots: Are the kids amazed when you demand that they use rubbers? Do any of them know how?
Duroy: Most of them don't. Most of them use them for the first time in their lives when they shoot for me. Many of them complain literally, and I would gladly avoid it. I would say that in most cases, even if they don't use a rubber, they would be pretty much safe. We are using instant AIDS tests lately where the results are in ten minutes, but I would say they would be pretty safe without the rubbers. Anyway, if we are using rubbers, it's because we are more responsible.
Manshots: Let's go back to Tender Strangers for a few minutes. Of course, the first three scenes - Lukas, the boy on the log named Marcel, and then the duo between the two of them - would almost constitute a little play in themselves. Could you tell us a little about how you shot it?
Duroy: No it's Ken Christy and Lukas.
Manshots: On the film print, he's called Marcel. Let's talk about that scene. You might as well tell us how you found Lukas. Everybody wants to know about Lukas.
Duroy: Lukas just happened. An assistant of mine brought him in, and I just didn't expect too much. It's the same story like with Martin Valko. I realized how good he looked, I would say, only after it was published, not even after I shot it.
Manshots: Another person that the camera loved more than the naked eye?
Duroy: Yeah, even though Lukas looks very good in real life too.
Manshots: You didn't see magic, you just saw an attractive man?
Duroy: I started to realize very gradually, and I started to enjoy more and more when I started to know him, because he not only looks good, he is just an incredibly good person. For years I've known him, I never saw him raise his voice, I never saw him upset, I never saw him in a bad humor. Even if he has some troubles, he would be very nice and open about it. It's difficult to say - he has just a very pleasant personality.
Manshots: What does he do with the rest of his life?
Duroy: He's university student.
Manshots: Did you do still photos of him before you did the solo in the woods for Tender Strangers?
Duroy: Yeah, because I did still work with him one year before I started to -
Manshots: It took a year to get him before the video cameras?
Duroy: No, it's because I didn't shoot video stuff. I started to shoot videos only last year. And in my first videos, I used a lot of models I used for my still work, but when I was doing the stills, I didn't even think about videos. It just happened. I didn't plan to do videos. And when I asked him to do solos, he didn't have any trouble with it. He's a very good model in one way, because he just has a hard-on anytime he wants. It never takes him more than twenty seconds to get it up, and he has it as long as you need it. His only trouble during the shooting was to don't get it too early. Was never any trouble getting hard. These boys, it's very obvious in the videos, they don't have problems with hard-on. In fact, I selected boys I knew wouldn't have trouble.
Manshots: That's exactly what Kristen Bjorn said in an interview I did with him. He puts them through the print work first, and if they survive that, he knows which ones will work on video.
Duroy: I wonder if he did it the same way in Budapest. I also met Kristen two weeks ago. I don't know if he did two or three films over there. And it was very important to meet him, because we had a lot to talk about.
Manshots: I'm sure you did. And William Higgins too, for that matter.
Duroy: Well, Bill is sort of a father figure. He gives me all this advice all the time. When I come to Prague, I always visit him.
Manshots: Can you tell us about how you chose the location for the Lukas scene in Tender Strangers? It was such a perfect setting.
Duroy: Well, the location is exactly on the border between Slovakia and Hungary, along the Danube River. It was built for some sort of video or film production - sort of a fairy tale.
Manshots: The building looks like sort of a tree house or an abandoned fort.
Duroy: There is more of this location in the film, like when they're together on the steps - basically the same location. And in Accidental Lovers, the episode with all the pilings of the house, it's all the same location. Very beautiful place, but we had a real problem with it, because it was full of mosquitoes. It really complicated our life.
Manshots: How long does it take you to shoot a solo scene? How long does it take to shoot a duet?
Duroy: I'm never in a hurry, so I would say, it takes one day to shoot a solo scene, even though it would take two or three hours max - to find the location, to prepare. If I don't like it, I just repeat it. If I miss something - for example, with the solo in the abandoned, old railway carriage in Tender Strangers, it took two or three days. Because it wasn't very good in the beginning, so we had some problems. But in the end, it was fine. It really depends, but I would say generally a solo is one day. I might return one more day to do the nonsexual part of the solo. For example, Lukas was over there when we were shooting with the other boy (Marcel/Ken Christy), for all these shots, and then we shot the double shot later with two of them. It was the first time ever another boy touched Lukas, and for the other boy it was also first time touching other boy - even though it has very nice, gentle quality. In the beginning, I did not really plan to do this kind of double. I would just place them over there and tell them, "You can caress him or whatever", but especially (Marcel) was very natural doing it. He was just... you know, he can act a little bit too. First of all, they really liked each other a lot. That was obvious from the very first moment. I decided actually to do it after I had photographed the two of them for the cover, and when I'd seen them together, I decided to shoot one double scene then because I thought most of the people would expect them to be together. So, to not cheat, I would try to shoot it. Most people love the duo and thought it was right. There was one man who wrote me, "It's a joke". Well, there are people who don't like fantasy and the only thing they can like is a fuck. It's their bad luck, I would say.
Manshots: Tell us about Dano Sulik.
Duroy: Dano Sulik will be in Lukas' Story 2.
Manshots: Describe him to us.
Duroy: He's a little devil.
Manshots: The first time I saw him - I said, "My God, he's a blond Joey Stefano".
Duroy: He looks very young because he's short, and he will never be bigger, although he's quite muscular. He is one who, if I ever met somebody who would love sex, it's him. He just likes every minute of doing any kind of scene. He's just incredible. In this respect, he's just a real little sex machine, because it's like he'll just do it all the time - even though he has his periods where he will not appear for quite a long time, because he says, "I won't shoot anymore".
Manshots: He's retired.
Duroy: (Laughs) He's retired. But, on the other hand, it's like I told him - I got a little pissed with him because I told him, "You should work. The other film's for Falcon, and now I need you for my own production. Will you do it? It's not very friendly of you". So then he said, well, because of me, he would. Certainly, it's the same case as with Lukas. He has hard-on even before you start to shoot. And he can be both. He's perfect top and perfect bottom. He's the most energetic top I've ever seen. He might be better top than Valko.
Manshots: Let's talk about your second film for Falcon, Sauna Paradiso. Please tell us about the location.
Duroy: Sauna Paradiso was best shoot I've had, because it was all shot in the sauna, and we shot for nine days in a row and nobody ever disturbed us. It was very comfortable.
Manshots: The place appears to be a fully functioning sauna, and yet it appears to be totally empty. Was it abandoned? Did you rent it out?
Duroy: We rented for two weeks. It was during the summertime and it was closed for one month for reconstruction or something like that. So it was not so difficult to rent it, even though now it doesn't work anymore. They need money for repairs and they started reconstruction and they didn't have money enough, because reconstruction of really old sauna is quite expensive.
Manshots: And it took you roughly nine days to shoot the film?
Duroy: Exactly nine days.
Manshots: Tell us about Johan Paulik, the boy who has come to get the job at the sauna. He is also the one in the last scene in Lukas' Story.
Duroy: He is also in Lukas' Story 2. When I met Johan, I was still working in show business, and I was looking for dancers for TV, and about a year later when I started to shoot, I would ask him if he wants to make some money. He would do only solo in the beginning; but at the end of it, he would do what he did. (Laughing) I remember telling him for the first time if he would do sex with boys. He was like, "What?" It was during the theatrical shows somewhere I was in the theatre with him, I asked him if he would do it. He is actually a very good top, really very good. He is better top than bottom, although he can do both.
Manshots: Is he a professional actor or model, or a wannabe?
Duroy: No. He's also second year university student. Even though I believe he could work if he wanted, he's not interested in it that much. Actually, he works in my office too. He works as my assistant in my office and I will see what will happen to his university studies. He claims he doesn't enjoy it. Maybe it's just the wrong school for him. He's exactly twenty now, even though he looks like...
Manshots: Twelve.
Duroy: Twelve. (Laughter) I would just say about Johan, he's very similar to Dano Sulik. He just loves it. He doesn't have any troubles - he has a hard-on all the time. He just loves sex.
by Jerry Douglas
Interview appeared in Manshots, August 1995.
Manshots address is:
MANSHOTS - FirstHand Publication
P.O. Box 1314
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