MEN OF ISRAEL FEATURED IN ISRAELI NEWSPAPER YEDIOTH AHRONOTH
While filming MEN OF ISRAEL, our crew was visited by Ziv Raviv of Yedioth, Israel’s largest newspaper!
His article is here, and following is a translation from Hebrew:
Gay Porn King Michael Lucas arrived in Israel to film a movie about purely blue & white sex. Ziv Raviv was on set and returned to tell about it.
I took a deep breath. I stood in front of the entrance and paused. I was ecstatic about this movie, and this was certainly a dramatic moment. I love porn movies, and this was glimpse behind the scenes of the film.
I could hear a moan, then someone reaching orgasm. I see someone with an intriguing tattoo on the small of their back finish off their scene. And like that the cameraperson begins to pack up the equipment and microphone.
I need to backtrack and put this in perspective. I arrived and anxiously rang the doorbell. The production was in a beautiful two-story modern yet rustic villa, pure Israeli style. I walked into the living room, which was connected to a large balcony overlooking the aqua shore of Tel Aviv. A young man with long wet hair descended the stairs, his whole body naked, except for a small towel wrapped around him.
“Amazing, amazing, amazing,” he says out loud, not caring if anyone is listening. “I have had a lot of sex with men, but Michael is just amazing, amazing. This is the first time I enjoyed someone fucking me.” He searched the floor with trembling hands, looking for a small bag, and then afterwards lit a cigarette.
My body’s entire nervous system issued a call for help, and I kept saying to myself, “God, I’m in a gay porn film.” Such an unsure mistake can only happen to me apparently.
This was an opportunity to catch a rare glimpse into a high budgeted gay movie with an Israeli-only cast. They began filming two hours before I arrived, and my mind kept wondering what else would happen.
The producer of the film, Michael Lucas, is world famous and his videos have won numerous awards. Expecting to meet an old man with gray hair, I was instead introduced to young man, handsome and muscular guy.
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Michael Lucas,” he said in English with a slight Russian accent. “This film is the first of its kind for Israel. It’s hard to find Israeli performers who would be willing to do this. The gay community here is very small.”
Lucas is a 37-year old Jewish New Yorker. He’s the Tom Cruise of the world of gay porn, a wet fantasy to make every gay man proud. He was born in Russia and left the country when he was 18. He has lived in America for the past 12 years.
Following his success, of course, he has become a rich man. He lives in New York City and has two homes there. He spends tens of thousands of dollars on every production, and at the end of his trip, he will have the raw material to make his porn. It’s the first full length Israel porn. The name of the film, scheduled to come out in the summer, is “Men of Israel.”
The crew of about ten men treated Michael like he is God. When we moved from the living room to the bedroom, everyone’s teeth grinded a bit. Even the dog sprawled out on the floor seems like he was holding his breath. Everyone talked to Michael with courtesy, perhaps in fear. He had a look that makes me feel like he’s not counting on me.
The bedroom where the sex is filmed is on the top floor next to the makeup room. Downstairs is the living room, kitchen, and dining room with balcony. The actors and other crew members (producers, production assistants, driver, still photographers) are mostly gay, but one was questioning and felt this project was helping him define his sexuality.