Above:
The Abandoned Window by Robert J. Guttke
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Saturday, July 15, 2023
Prime-Time Supporters: Derek Yates
I can't believe it has taken me so long to spotlight model and actor Derek Yates. I first discovered Derek's work as a model on Model Mayhem a few years ago and loved following his work with many of my favorite photographers.
The actor's sexy shower scene in episode four of Minx also gave us plenty to talk talk about, not to mention, leading so many to record, re-watch, and make caps. Although actor Taylor Zakhar Perez was clearly wearing a prosthetic, it's unclear if Derek and the other actors showering were showing the real thing.
Perez's prosthetic looked pretty fake and Yates and the others showering had pretty penis' that looked far more real. For his part, Yates seems like the mystery. When a fan on Twitter asked if it was real, Yates replied with, Inquiring minds would love to know. 😏
It's sort of perfect that the actors shirtless strike photos are what motivated this post. Despite the fact that some big, well known actors are the ones getting most of the attention, it's supporting actors like Yates that strike is really about, and who will benefit the most depending on the results.
Stars of hit shows will be fine, but it's the supporting and guest actors that really need to be considered when discussing residuals. Networks used to order 20 plus yearly orders of episodes, but they've been ordering fewer and fewer. They've also been ordering fewer scripted series, relying more on reality and game shows.
Streaming networks have shortened seasons, some as few as 4 or 6 episodes a year. That makes it almost impossible for writers and supporting actors to count on making a living giving there are fewer and fewer opportunities for consistent work. Hoping for a short strike, with positive results for Derek and all of the other hard working supporting actors out there. The one's who don't get the big paychecks, or the magazine covers. They're the ones the strike is really all about.
A Look Back at Circuit
'John, a gay Illinois small town cop moves to Los Angeles, hoping to fit into a place more welcoming of his sexuality. He soon discovers the "circuit," where he meets an insecure hustler, who draws John into drug abuse and illicit sex.'
John (Jonathan Wade Drahos) temporarily moves in with his cousin Tad (Daniel Kucan), who is living with his suddenly ex-boyfriend Gill (Brian Lane Green) and Tad's new boyfriend Julian (Darryl Stephens). Tad is a filmmaker, shooting a documentary on circuit parties and Julian DJs at the parties.
Gill takes John to a party in the Hollywood hills, where he meets Hector (Andre Khabbazi), a hustler who is battling mounting insecurities over his looks and age as he is about to turn 30. John and Hector forge a friendship and Hector introduces John to the world of circuit parties and illicit drugs. One of Tad's subjects is Bobby (Paul Lekakis), an exotic dancer and model who performs at circuit parties (and with whom coincidentally John tricked at a party).
Paul Lekakis
John follows Hector deeper into circuit scene. Hector uses a variety of drugs including Special K, GHB, cocaine, crystal meth and, suffering from body dysmorphia despite being in terrific physical shape, anabolic steroids.
Jonathan Wade-Drahos
Dirk Shafer was still in the closet when he was named Playgirls 1992 Man of the Year. This made promoting his Playgirl spread more of an acting exercise, playing straight in his many interviews and television talk show appearances.
In part, as a way of dealing this with all of the this, Shafer went on to write, direct and star in Man of the Year, a 1995 mockumentary about his time as a semi-closeted gay man in the role of a heterosexual sex symbol. I was fortunate to have interviewed Shafer back in 2011 on FH, (HERE:) just four years before his death.
Andre Khabbazi
Shafer's next directorial project was Circuit, a fictional look at the world of gay male circuit parties. Filmed over a six-month period, Shafer, who was not part of the circuit party scene but who did say he did a little experimenting as research, used circuit party music to guide him in shaping the film.
'I picked out what I liked for this or that sequence, and pictured scenes to certain music.'
Dirk Shafer
Shafer shared that based the character of Hector (Khabbazi) on a real person he knew who was obsessed with growing older and his looks. He killed himself on his 30th birthday. To represent visually this obsession with youth and beauty, Shafer shot each character reflected in a mirror.
Although most of the main cast were relatively unknown actors, Shafer did cast some a few well known names in smaller roles. (Jim J. Bullock, Bruce Vilanch, Randal Kleiser, William Katt, and Nancy Allen)
Although most of the main male cast members had nude scene, ( like Khabbazi above) most were dark, or shot in flashes, with quick edits to mimic the music of the circuit parties.
The 'brightest' nude scene was one of the films first, with John in the police station locker room after his partner discovered he was gay. The brightness also parallels' John's journey as this was just before meeting Hector and getting into the circuit party scene.
Robert John Guttke: The Ammo Factory
'Every Spring the moat would flood and tadpoles would hatch. Then the water went done and the little frogs died, unable to escape.'
Although a master at light, shadow and studio work, artist Robert J. Guttke was most at home shooting outside. He loved shooting in rivers and in swamps and putting models in trees. Not just tree's Robert seemed to enjoy putting male models high in the air, something easy to do at his favorite place to shoot, the ammo factory.
The ammo factory began as an unfinished power plant in the 40's, but went on to manufacture ammunition until the late 60's. Robert, and his nude male and females models, inhabited the abandoned factory from the late 1980's through the early 2000's. Robert calls this time, especially the 90's, before the location was taken over by decay and graffiti artists, one of the best times of his life.
Models loved the location, especially male models who loved to explore the area, check out the old factory equipment, swing on the tires, but most of all climb. Robert shared how so often, especially with models who had never posed nude before, or were nervous to do so, the ammo factory served to relax them. Robert spent the first half of the shoot just letting the model explore the area, naked of course.
They'd climb walls and cranes and play as if in a playground built specifically for male models. Robert would follow them with his camera, snapping images along the way. After an hour or so, when Robert was ready to actually get down to work, with specific shots and poses, the models were comfortable in the environment, and at ease with being nude.
Sadly, but the late 90's Robert wasn't the only one who discovered the location. Soon, when they arrived to shoot, there would be other explorers, often with spray cans, playing among the buildings and locations Robert wanted to shoot in. This made Robert's process, especially encouraging his models to explore the area nude, more difficult to do.
This place looks nothing like this today. Covered in spray paint and the forest torn down. The buildings will be next as the property is sold off. I was lucky to be in a special place at a special time. But I was weary of it all by the late 90s.
I had been shooting at the ammo factory for about five years before the walls started suffering spray paint. It was then I discovered this shadowy area between two close buildings. The light levels were low and that meant a lot of out of focus photos. In the evening before sunset there would be shafts of light along the stone that gave it a different personality.
Oh to be a fly on the wall during the 90's at the ammo factory. Just from the images I've seen, Robert took hundreds of models to the factor to shoot, both male and female models, and even a set of male models twins. (which you can see HERE:) Indeed a special location, one with props and visuals stunning enough to match the skill of the artist shooting them.
Robert sent me hundreds of images from the ammo factory, but I don't want to over use the images, or Robert's generosity. There are a couple of themes however, including Robert's studio water shots, I will share down the road. Many have not been seen before and most of the images are just too striking to remain attachments in an e-mail.
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