For as long as men have been keeping score, there has been pornography. And for as long as there has been pornography, there has been the occasional celebrity fuckboy. Robert Pattinson is the latest male celebrity to be disgraced by his predilections, as they’ve managed to shut down the actor’s social media accounts after he was caught pleasuring himself on film. But though the tabloids may have moved on, online pornographers haven’t.
The latest installment in the ‘Stars and Their Secrets’ series focuses on the life and times of Mr. Pattinson, as well as his struggle to stay in shape while being pursued by the paparazzi and his ardent fans. The English actor rose to prominence for his role as Edward Cullen in the Twilight films, and went on to star in the highly rated Mr. Turner and the poorly received The Lost Boys. In 2019, he’ll appear in Ralph Breaks The Internet and will be featured in the next film adaptation of Stephen King’s It.
The Making Of A Masturbating Twihardcore Legend
In the early 2000s, a wave of celebrity ‘twihards’ (the combination of Twilight and hardcore) broke across the globe. The success of the Twilight series saw the creation of online communities devoted to the film, with devoted fansites breaking down every facet of the stars’ sex lives and tribulations. Many early ‘twihards’ (as they were dubbed) went on to have fairly successful porn careers, and many still lead double lives as fame-hungry social media users. One of the most successful of these online entrepreneurs is the Russian entrepreneur Alexander Karell, better known as ‘Lexikalik’. The porn star extraordinaire has made a career out of documenting and chronicling the glamorous lives of famous men.
Karell first came to public attention in 2013 when he released a collection of JFK tapes, which he’d had secretly recorded over a decade previously. He then went on to become one of the top documentarians of Men In Love, an erotic anthology series that features intimate scenes with famous male actors. The majority of the footage was reportedly shot in Berlin, which is where the majority of the film’s stars hang out, as well as where Karell himself was born and raised. The French publication Boulevard reportedly spotted Karell at a local bar, surrounded by models and stars. They wrote at the time, “All eyes are on the sullen Russian who makes a point of not looking at the camera. He’s clearly not used to being filmed.”
Karell has also secretly recorded A-list stars like Johnny Depp and Colin Farrell engaging in various sex acts. The entrepreneur first came to film Depp and Farrell performing in an exhibitionist scene for a music video. Later, he’d convince the two actors to be in his Men In Love docu-series, and eventually convince them to let him document their entire sex lives. According to Depp and Farrell, the decision was completely their own. They’d previously never met, but were eventually given a happy ending and got to live their best life together.
Lexikalik’s Documentary Hits The Big Screen
In February 2020, the U.S. premiere of Lexikalik’s latest documentary, titled Lust For Life, will take place in Los Angeles. The film will be shown in several cities throughout the U.S. and Canada, in what will be a cross-country tour for the docu-series, which will also screen in London and Moscow in April.
The Lust For Life series focuses on the meteoric rise of online pornography in the mid-2000s, and how it changed the way we look at sex and gender. The series includes interviews with feminist icon Germaine Greer, sex toy designer Will Clarke, and pioneering gay porn performer Charles D’Amelio, who broke down the barriers of gender and sexuality in the adult industry in the 1970s and played a major role in defining the ‘golden era’ of gay porn in the 1980s and 1990s. The film also examines how the stigma associated with pornography has diminished over time, and how it has enabled gay men and women to come out of the closet.
Greer, Clarke, and D’Amelio will sit down for solo interviews with the filmmaker, discussing everything from the resurgence of feminism to the influence of social media and technology on our love lives. In November 2019, Greer commented in an interview with Variety about the film: “I can’t stop watching it. It’s such a brave and honest film. Most documentaries these days are so dull, but this one keeps you gripped. It’s great to see someone taking a stand like this in such a public forum. I admire the confidence of the filmmaker. He has certainly articulated my position perfectly, and I’m sure many others will share my view.”
Greer, D’Amelio, and Clarke are not the only famous individuals interviewed for the docu-series. The list of interview subjects includes filmmaker Michael Moore, performance artist Leigh Bowery, writer Chuck Palahniuk, and adult film legends John Holmes and Dennis Hofrenner. The series also deviates from the traditional porn interviews by including footage of LGBT individuals as a major part of its narrative, featuring the likes of porn legend Ron Jeremy and AIDS activists Bruce Ross and Mandy Moore. Jeremy, Ross, and Moore talk openly about their experiences as LGBT people in a male-dominated community, and how that has influenced their activism and the LGBT movement more broadly.
Behind The Scenes Of A Famous Twihardcore Performance
Amongst the many interviews in Lexikalik’s Lust For Life is one where the founder of the company talks about one of the most famous moments in the documentary. In the interview, Karell reveals that he had secretly filmed Depp and Farrell as they performed an exhibitionist scene for the music video for their song ‘Let It Snow’, and it wasn’t easy getting the two famous romantics to agree to be filmed together. According to him, their manager at the time helped secure their participation by promising them that it wouldn’t hurt their careers. Depp and Farrell, along with musicians Iggy Pop and David Bowie, originally appeared in an online commercial for the fashion brand Calvin Klein. In the commercial, the foursome strip down to their underwear while performing in a seductive tableau, and it was this image that served as the basis for the ‘Let It Snow’ video.
The scene was shot in February 2019 in Paris, and involved no script, no direction, and no rehearsals. It was a spontaneous act that came out of nowhere, and it was this spontaneity that helped make it one of the most iconic scenes of the decade. According to Depp and Farrell, who were in Paris to promote their film The Edge, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that they’ll never forget. The foursome had to be persuaded to do the scene, but once they saw it, it was clear that it was the right thing to do.
Where Do We Go From Here?
In an era when celebrities are expected to stay private and guarded, it is refreshing to see an influential celebrity like Robert Pattinson come out and speak publicly about his personal life and struggles. Though he’s arguably the biggest name in the docu-series, he’s far from being the only famous person involved in porn who has chosen to address these topics candidly and honestly. With the coronavirus crisis looming, it’s important that we have public figures who can help shed some light on the issues that affect us all. It’s not always easy being a celebrity in today’s world, and it’s nice to see those who have managed to find fame and success in spite of these challenges choose to use their platforms to help and inspire others.