Angel on his shoulder

While filming Another Gay Movie, director Todd Stephens believed the project had an unexpected guardian angel watching over it.

For a film depicting a group of young gay men’s desperate efforts to lose their virginity, Stephens believed it’s appropriate that guardian angel was the long-dead screen siren, Mae West. -“ the woman who introduced sex to the movies in the 1920s, and scandalised Hollywood as a result.

Stephens is a West fan, and even has some of her old furniture in his apartment. But while he was filming Another Gay Movie, he discovered an even closer connection with West.

She was one of my big idols as I was growing up, and a big influence on me, Stephens says from his New York home.

When I was living in Hollywood while making this film, I discovered I was living right next door to where Mae lived for 50 years, and that was a total coincidence. I liked that as this is a very sex-positive movie, and certainly Mae was into that.

She never apologised for exploring sexuality on screen, and neither do I with this film. So I felt I had her spirit watching over me the entire time I was making this film.

Another Gay Movie, which played at the recent Mardi Gras Film Festival, is about to be released on DVD. The film is a Porky’s-meets-American Pie exploration of a group of gay teenagers over a summer.

The film stars Michael Carbonaro, Jonathan Chase, Jonah Blechman and Mitch Morris as the four teenagers, while drag legend Lypsinka plays the mother of one of the boys. TV comedian Graham Norton plays a Russian schoolteacher, while porn star Matthew Rush also appears as a party boy searching for love.

Another Gay Movie has been a popular hit on the film festival circuit, and Stephens says making the film was his response to what he believes is the current dull state of gay cinema.

I thought gay cinema was getting a little redundant and, while I love coming out movies and gay romantic comedies, I thought it was time to laugh at ourselves, he says.

A sequel is in the works with the title of Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild, and will commence filming in September.

Another Gay Movie will be available on DVD on 18 April.