Johnny Murdoc

One of the best things about being a writer, a zinester, and a blogger is that I get to meet and converse with a lot of interesting people. It also means I get to exploit those connections and get awesome interviews. So, today I have an interview with Travis Mathews (come on, you have to know that I love him by now), the writer-director of I Want Your Love.

I Want Your Love, the erotic short film, is available to view for free now at NakedSword.com.

When I last spoke to Mathews about the project, he said:

“I think people are also desensitized to sex via the Xtube revolution. it’s so much hotter to actually feel invested in the characters you jerk off to. It’s like any movie, if you care about and maybe relate to the people you’re watching you’re more impacted when big things happen to them. I think the same can be said about them having sex.”

The short film I Want Your Love is a demo for a longer project, correct?

That’s right. The demo is a scene from a feature that I’ve written of the same name which NakedSword is also Executive Producing. The demo is basically that, a demo, or reel, to show prospective funders and to generate interest from guys who’d like to audition for the feature. The demo only shows two guys, but there’s a whole cast of friends who populate the feature.

What made you decide to go with NakedSword.com as a distributor?

Working with NakedSword was one of those great accidents that couldn’t have been planned. I was at a small dinner party where a friend introduced me to Jack [Shamama], who would eventually produce the demo. He’d seen, and liked, the series I did with Butt Magazine, In Their Room, so we talked about working together. I mentioned that I’d been working on a feature that married naturalistic dialogue in the tradition of Cassevettes with depictions of real sex, as people have sex. He appreciated what I was doing with In Their Room and the concept behind I Want Your Love was interesting enough for him/NakedSword to take the leap into production.

I like the idea that a porn company is producing this. Why not? There were a lot of great art film/porn hybrids in the 70s that people seem to forget or overlook. Radley Metzger and Curt McDowell are a couple of strong inspirations for me…arty, honest, playful, introspective…and erotic. I’d love it if there was a new wave of narrative/porn hybrids that eschewed bad acting and ridiculous plot lines in favor of something that showed real people in situations that most of us can relate to.

Are you worried that the film will be dismissed as “mere” pornography, and would you mind if it was?

I can’t control how people will respond to this. I know that it’s different than anything else on NakedSword’s site so I’m expecting polarized reactions. I’m also well aware that it occupies an in-between space that’s not fully porn and not fully the land of traditional narrative. I enjoy that. I suppose it’s also a bit difficult to read since you’re viewing a demo from a yet to be filmed feature. In the feature, I want the sex to be a bit less of the showcase and more matter of fact, i.e., these are guys in their 20s and 30s and their sex lives are just one component of their lives.

When John Cameron Mitchell was promoting Shortbus he was often quick to explain that the film was not pornography. Is I Want Your Love intended to be porn, an examination of relationships, or an examination of a culture?

I’ve had several people suggest that I should start labeling I Want Your Love as anything other than porn, but when I think of doing that it just feels defensive. I want to make the movie that feels right to me and let people judge it on that, not who’s producing it or how much sex is in the piece itself.

It’s intended to be an examination of the types of guys in San Francisco that I know and love and see out and about. I want to show them in an honest light and part of that includes exposing their sex lives. These are smart, creative guys who like to push boundaries and be playful in the process. It only makes sense to add sex to what is basically an examination of how they live and interact with each other.

What was the writing process like?

I’m not necessarily writing from my personal experience, but I’m all over this, and the In Their Room series, without being in any of it. I like that marriage of sweet introspection with sexy mischievousness and I think it reads in my work.

You mention wanting to update Tales of the City and I find that notion really interesting. TOTC was obviously an important and kind of groundbreaking series, both as the novels and the television series, but at the same time maybe doesn’t feel as relevant or relatable to the people of our generation. Can you explain your reference a little more?

That’s maybe a little misleading because I didn’t enter into this project with TOTC in mind. It’s more of a realization of what I’m doing.

I’ve lived in San Francisco for more than a decade now, it’s my home, and I love it here. I’ve often thought of making a love letter movie to this city, but I never wanted to do something so explicit. A lot of people mentioned how In Their Room oozed San Francisco and once I allowed myself some distance fr
om it I saw what they were talking about.

With I Want Your Love I wanted to make a story with interconnected friends that had San Francisco at its heart. The basic logline for I Want Your Love, which isn’t even hinted at in the demo, is about Jesse leaving the city he loves. He’s been here for more than a decade—er, like myself—and because of reasons that involve money he has to move back with his dad in the Midwest. The feature takes place during the last 24 hours before he leaves San Francisco, providing a lot of opportunity for all the major notes I’ve already said I’m drawn to: reflection, intimacy, playfulness and sex. The demo is actually the only flashback in the movie, the moment when Brenden and Jesse first move from friend column to other. The feature takes place several years later when Brenden and Jesse are now exes.

I guess in some way this is the TOTC hangover. Has Jesse let San Francisco down or has the promise of it failed him? It’s not totally clear. Where TOTC was Marry Anne Singleton’s introduction to a new world, IWYL is Jesse’s goodbye to it in exchange of a familiar one.

Coincidentally, like Mary Ann Singleton, I’m also from Ohio.

TheSword.com blog post mentions that your project has “the backing of several major indie musicians.” Can you talk a little about that? How important was the intersection between queer culture and indie culture to “IWYL”?

Music is hugely influential to me in terms of mood and inspiration. Most of the guys I’m friends with have a similar relationship with their favorite bands so I wanted to capture that. I also thought it would be interesting to have an indie soundtrack to what some people are obviously going to label as porn. It might nudge some people to think twice about what this really is.

One of the comments on TheSword.com was “Ew, San Franciscan boys are so unfortunate. Do they not have mirrors in S.F.? Should’ve shot this in LA.” You can kind of guess the reaction of “indie” gay culture (Butt readers, etc…) to the film, but what do you think the reaction will be to gay cultures outside of the Butt/Pinups/zine/Grizzly Bear circle?

I have no idea. Polarized, probably. I’d prefer that people have strong opinions one way or another. It’s going to be interesting…

So, what’s next for “IWYL”? And for you?

The plan is to get funding for the feature then move forward with production on the feature tentatively scheduled for late this year.

I want to thank Travis for taking the time to answer my questions, and for the great film. I’m really looking forward to the full-length feature, and you can be sure that I’ll tell you all about it when it comes out, and probably have a new interview with Mathews.

Until then, you can watch the entire short film for free at NakedSword.com right now!

After you’ve watched it, be sure to fill out the survey. We need to support more projects like this, and that means being more vocal about them.