PRESS ROOM

Join our media list

 

Release Schedule

     
December 9, 2008   Vickie Shaw: You Can Take the Girl Out of Texas…
     
December 9, 2008   Daydream Obsession: Legacy
     
December 2, 2008   Ornaments
     
November 18, 2008   Jason Stuart: Making it to the Middle
     
November 18, 2008   The Gay Bed & Breakfast of Terror
     
October 21, 2008   Half A Person
     
September 23, 2008   The Books of John
     
August 5, 2008   Oh Happy Day
     
July 15, 2008   R U Invited?
     
July 15, 2008 Straight Men and the Men Who Love Them 2
     
June 24, 2008 Gay Getaways: Liberace
May 20, 2008 Dollgatory
May 20, 2008 Gay Getaways: Las Vegas
April 8, 2008 Guys Next Door 4
April 8, 2008 Running Deep
March 18, 2008 Suzanne Westenhoefer: A Bottom on Top
March 4, 2008 Soul Maid
February 26, 2008 Darker Secrets: Sideline Secrets 2
February 19, 2008 Laughing Matters... The Men
January 22, 2008 Kate Clinton: The 25th Anniversary Special
January 8, 2008 Beastly Boyz

Michael J. Shoel, co-founder of Ariztical Entertainment, executive producer and producer of the indie film festival hits Eating Out, and Eating Out 2, has been promoting independent films for over seventeen years. Through Ariztical, Shoel seeks to align himself with productions that fulfill his company’s goal of “building bridges and breaking through barriers.”




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     
TITLE: Breaking The Surface - re-release
STUDIO: Ariztical
RELEASE DATE: April 10, 2007
PREBOOK DATE: February 27, 2007
GENRE: Drama
DVD PRICING: $19.95
SYNOPSIS:   Seoul 1988: While plummeting toward the water, Greg Louganis (Mario Lopez of Saved by the Bell and Dancing with the Stars) hits the diving board, cutting his head open. Splashing into the water Greg begins to have flashbacks: Being ridiculed by other neighborhood children and his own unaccepting, overbearing father; winning the silver medal; the 1982 world championship; two gold medals in Los Angeles; the struggles of an abusive relationship with Tom Barrett; his father’s terminal cancer; Tom’s losing battle with AIDS and Greg’s own HIV positive status.  After doctors in Seoul stitch Greg’s head wound, he returns to competition and picks up two more gold medals. Soon after the Seoul Olympics, Greg’s father succumbs to cancer and tom looses his battle with AIDS. These tragic events inspire Greg to courageously go public with every aspect of his life.

Based upon the book “Breaking the Surface” by Greg Louganis with Eric Marcus.

CAST: Mario Lopez, Michael Murphy, Jeffrey Meek, Rosemary Dunsmore, Aki Aleong, and Bruce Weitz
Director: Steven Hilliard Stern
Writer: Alan Hines
DVD EXTRAS:
RATING: Not Rated
RUNNING TIME:  95 minutes
TRAILER: http://www.ariztical.com/screening_room.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TITLE: 10 Attitudes - re-release
STUDIO: Ariztical
RELEASE DATE: April 10, 2007
PREBOOK DATE: February 27, 2007
GENRE: Comedy
DVD PRICING: $19.95
SYNOPSIS:  

Josh (Jason Stuart from Coffee Date) is a sensitive, Jewish, thirty-something who just found out that his boyfriend of 10 years is a cheater. Spared by a bet from his best friend Brandon (Christopher Cowen) with encouragement from his sister (Alexandra Paul from Baywatch), Josh sets you to find true love in the shallow pools of West Hollywood. If he fails, the lonely solitude of Cleveland, Ohio awaits him. Yikes! Refashioned by Jim J. Bullock, Josh sets out on the prowl. During the search of Mr. Right, Josh meets a bevy of attitudes. Bryce (Scott Kennedy) the only remaining Marky Mark fan, Billy (David Faustino from Married with Children) the straight guy indulging his girlfriends’ boy on boy fetish, a faux filmmaker (Sean Kanan from Bold & the Beautiful) and Judy Tenuta with some estranged love advice. Follow Josh on a whirlwind tour of the prevailing 10 Attitudes in Los Angeles, to see if he can find the simple man who just puts three Equals in his coffee

CAST:   Jason Stuart, Jm J. Bullock, Christopher Cowan, David Faustino, Sean Kanan, Alexandra Paul, and Judy Tenuta

 

Director: Michael Gallant
Writers: Michael Gallant, Jason Stuart
DVD EXTRAS:
RATING: Not Rated
RUNNING TIME:  93 Minutes
TRAILER: http://www.ariztical.com/screening_room.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TITLE: HIT & RUNWAY - re-release
STUDIO: Ariztical
RELEASE DATE: April 10, 2007
PREBOOK DATE: February 27, 2007
GENRE: Comedy
DVD PRICING: $19.95
SYNOPSIS:  

Alex is an ambitious Italian-Catholic, working class, testosterone-driven young dream who fantasizes about making it big as a Hollywood screenwriter. Elliot is everything Alex is not – gay, jewish, thirty-something, nebishly intellectual and Talented. Alex has a great title and an awesome concept for a hit film, Hit and Runway, about a New York cop, who goes undercover as a gun-wielding fashion model. The only problem is, Alex can’t write. Determined not to spend the rest of his life washing dishes, Alex begins a rocky collaboration with Elliot who considers the project to be nothing more than fluff. Elliot agrees to participate only after Alex promises to help him get a date with Joey, (Kerr Smith from Dawson’s Creek) the cute struggling actor who works with Alex at the café. By the end of this heartwarming, laugh-out-loud comedy, Alex and Elliot not only have written a great screenplay, they’ve rewritten each other’s lives.

CAST: Michael Parducci, Peter Jacobson, Judy Prescott, Kerr Smith, and J.K. Simmons

Director:   Christopher Livingston  
Writers: Jaffe Cohen & Christopher Livingston
DVD EXTRAS:
RATING: Not Rated
RUNNING TIME:  101 minutes
TRAILER: http://www.ariztical.com/screening_room.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TITLE: OTHER VOICES, OTHER ROOMS - re-release
STUDIO: Ariztical
RELEASE DATE: April 10, 2007
PREBOOK DATE: February 27, 2007
GENRE: Drama
DVD PRICING: $19.95
SYNOPSIS:  

This semi-autobiographical work, based on the novel by Truman Capote, traces the journey of a young boy as he reconnects with his estranged father and grows up in the deep South. Thirteen year old Joel Sansom has been summoned to the deep South to meet the father he has not seen since he was a baby. Upon his arrival in town he meets a variety of eccentrics including the mistress of the house, Amy Scully, and Randolph, her debauched and unpredictable cousin, but Joel’s father is nowhere to be found. It is not until he discovers a man lying paralyzed in the forgotten attic of the crumbling mansion that Joel begins to unravel the mysterious secrets that surround him.

CAST: Lothaire Bluteau, Anna Thomson (The Unforgiven), David Speck (The Client)

Director: David Rocksavage
Executive Producer: Robert C. Stigwood (Grease, Saturday Night Fever, Evita)
DVD EXTRAS:
RATING: Not Rated
RUNNING TIME:  96 minutes
TRAILER: http://www.ariztical.com/screening_room.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
TITLE: GET YOUR STUFF - re-release
STUDIO: Ariztical
RELEASE DATE: April 10, 2007
PREBOOK DATE: February 27, 2007
GENRE: Comedy
DVD PRICING: $19.95
SYNOPSIS:   Phil is a respected psychotherapist and couples counselor. Eric is a successful attorney. They’re the “perfect” hot, handsome couple. They have lots of friends, tons of money and host pool parties complete with appropriately flamboyand friends. Phil and Eric are anxiously waiting to adopt a baby. In the interim their friend Gloria, a resourceful child services case worker, talks them into taking in two juvenile delinquent brothers who turn out to be foul mouthed, liquor cabinet raiding terrors! Originally she assures them all that “it’s just for one night.” As one night stretches into many, the “father-son” conflicts escalate. Things become even more complicated when the alchoholic, prostitute, junkie mama arrives on the scene to retrieve her babies—until she sees the mansion and the open bar! What results is a lively and touching comedy that explores what we think love looks like and the unlikely places we find family!
CAST:   Cameron Watson, Anthony Paul Meindl, Grady Hutt, Blayn Barbosa, Elaine Hendrix, Kimberly Scott, Kelly Packard, Patience Cleveland, Jm J. Bullock, David Faustino, and Jason Stuart

 

Writer/Director: Max Mitchell
DVD EXTRAS:
RATING: Not Rated
RUNNING TIME:  93 minutes
TRAILER: http://www.ariztical.com/screening_room.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
TITLE: GIRL KING - re-release
STUDIO: Ariztical
RELEASE DATE: April 10, 2007
PREBOOK DATE: February 27, 2007
GENRE: Drama
DVD PRICING: $19.95
SYNOPSIS:  

With a fistful of fetish in every frame, Girl King is a sexy, swashbuckling, gender-bending adventure on the high seas.  When a naïve baby Butch is taken prisoner by the pirate Captain Candy, a hunt begins to find the Queen’s stolen “treasure.”  In a world where “men were men, and girls were girls,” the loss of the Queen’s treasure has turned things upside down. Now, tops are bottomed, pirate captains are seduced by tranny sailors and cross-dressing femmes pack a wallop. With the help of the mysterious Easy, can Butch and Captain Candy find the Queen’s lost treasure and restore the line between butch and femme, or will the treasure, and the “natural” order, be lost forever? Decidedly tongue-in-cheek, this clever tale uses a stylish pastiche of ‘pirated’ images and themes to lead us into the uncharted oceans of dyke desire and queer identity.

 

CAST: Chrystal Donbrath-Zinga, Michael-Ann Connor, Raven Courtney, Victoria Deschanel, Joyce Pate, and Jonathan Sutton

Writer/Director: Ileana Pietrobruno
Producers:
DVD EXTRAS:
RATING: Not Rated
RUNNING TIME: 
TRAILER: http://www.ariztical.com/screening_room.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     
TITLE:   A SIREN IN THE DARK
     
STUDIO:   Ariztical
     
RELEASE DATE:   2007
     
PREBOOK DATE:   2007
       
GENRE:   Drama  
       
DVD PRICING:   $29.95  
       
SYNOPSIS:   Cameron, a police officer with psychic ability, is called upon to interview an accused teen -- in the hope of finding the teen's abusive lover. His investigation leads him into a sordid tale of rape, drugs, sexual obsessions and a mysterious man living on a deserted mountain road. This handsome but deadly siren is a seeker of the lost and the lonely and preys on their addictions. Has the abusive lover met his end? Is the accused himself even among the living? In the end not even Cameron my be safe from the deadly Siren in the Dark. The Sixth Sense and Blue Velvet meets gay cinema...

 

       
CAST:   Orion Cross, James Townsend, David Beutler

 

       
Writer/Director:   Steven Vasquez  
       
Producers:   Michael J. Shoel  
       
DVD EXTRAS:   TBA  
       
RATING:   not rated  
       
RUNNING TIME:       
       
TRAILER:   http://www.ariztical.com/screening_room.html  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Michael Serrato, Marco Dapper


Rebekah Kochan, Jim Verraros

TITLE: EATING OUT 2: Sloppy Seconds
The 1st American Gay Sequel in Theatrical History!
STUDIO: Ariztical
RELEASE DATE: May 29, 2007
PREBOOK DATE: April 17, 2007

Mink Stole and Jim Verraros
GENRE: Comedy
DVD PRICING: $24.95
     
SYNOPSIS:

How far would you go to get the person of your dreams? In EATING OUT, Kyle (Jim Verraros) convinced his straight roommate to pretend to be gay to get the girl. Now, with the help of Gwen (Emily Brooke Hands) and Tiffani (Rebekah Kochan), Kyle pretends to be heterosexual to land Troy (Marco Dapper), the new guy -- and nude model -- in town, only to find himself joining the campus ex-gay support group and nabbing a girlfriend! Kyle's ex boyfriend, Marc (Brett Chukerman), is horrified at the plan and decides to pursue the confused Troy with his own tactic -- being his out gay self. Who will win him first? In the boy eat boy, boy eat girl world of EATING OUT 2 SLOPPY SECONDS (the first American gay sequel ever), stakes get raised, sexual boundaries are obliterated, and the answer is never what you might expect!


Adrian Quinonez with Jim Verraros

CAST:   Jim Verraros (American Idol, Eating Out)
Emily Brooke Hands (East of Sunset, Rick & Steve the Happiest Gay Couple in All the World)
Rebekah Kochan (Halloween Nights, Freakshow)
Marco Dapper
Brett Chukerman (Undressed, Crush)
Jessie Gold (Growing Pains, A Crime of Passion)
Adrian Quinonez (Now & Later)
Mink Stole (Another Gay Movie, Pecker, But I'm a Cheerleader, Serial Mom)

Director: Phillip J. Bartell
Producers:   Q. Allan Brocka
J.D. Disalvatore
Jeffrey Schwarz
Michael J. Shoel
Writers:   Philip J. Bartell
Q. Allan Brocka (Characters)
DVD EXTRAS: - Serving Seconds: the making of Eating Out 2 Featurette
- Special commentary with the movie by Rebekah Kochan, Marco Dapper, Phillip J. Bartell and Q. Allan Brocka.
- Coming attractions: The Sex Movie, MGA Pusang Gala (Stray Cats), UnCivil Liberties
- Photo Gallery

Mink Stole


Mink Stole

RATING: not rated
RUNNING TIME: 
TRAILER: http://www.ariztical.com/screening_room.html      http://www.myspace.com/eatingout2
PRESS CLIPS:
DVD: Theatrical:
Gaywired.com OUT MAGAZINE
www.pollystaffle.com   OUT MAGAZINE
www.journalnow.com GENRE
Rebekah Kochan, Jim Verraros and Mink Stole
www.windycitytimes.com Gay & Lesbian Times
www.knightatthemovies.com   Gay & Lesbian Times
Video Business   Gay & Lesbian Times
Wanda Wisdom/Lavender Magazine Next Magazine
Echo Magazine
  Echo Magazine
Mink Stole and Jim Verraros
  Echo Magazine
Fab!
  Fab!
Frontiers
  Frontiers
  Frontiers
  Frontiers
Bottom Line
HX
  HX
  HX
Adelante
  Adelante

 

 

 

 

 

 

     
TITLE:   Guys Next Door 2
     
STUDIO:   Ariztical
     
RELEASE DATE:   April 24, 2007
     
PREBOOK DATE:   March 13, 2007
       
GENRE:   Male Nudity  
       
DVD PRICING:   $29.95  
       
SYNOPSIS:   Male Nudity

 

       
CAST:    

 

       
Director:   Steve Malis  
       
Producers:   Steve Malis  
       
DVD EXTRAS:      
       
RATING:   not rated  
       
RUNNING TIME:       
       
TRAILER:   http://www.ariztical.com/screening_room.html  
       

 

 

 

 

       
TITLE:   Sindrome
     
STUDIO:   Ariztical
     
RELEASE DATE:   May 22, 2007
     
PREBOOK DATE:   April 10, 2007
       
GENRE:   Drama (non-gay themed title)  
       
DVD PRICING:   $29.95  
       
SYNOPSIS:  

When a man finds out he only has a short time to live he kidnaps his ex-girlfriend and tortures her so that she learns to better appreciate life.

 

       
CAST:   Javier Albalá, Adriana Davidova, William Miller

 

       
Writer:   Adriana Davidova, Liberto Rabal  
       
Director:   Liberto Rabal  
       
Producers:   Liberto Rabal  
       
DVD EXTRAS:      
       
RATING:      
       
RUNNING TIME:    95 minutes  
       
TRAILER:   http://www.ariztical.com/screening_room.html  
       

 

 

 

 

 

 

       

 

 

TITLE: GET A LIFE
STUDIO: Ariztical
RELEASE DATE: July 31, 2007
PREBOOK DATE: June 19, 2007
GENRE: Comedy
DVD PRICING: $29.95
SYNOPSIS:  

A comedic peek inside the life of Jaime (Brian Campbell), a disenfranchised Chicago gay boy looking for love and acceptance in some very interesting places. Jaime wishes and fantasizes about a straight lover who will become “gay” just for him, and absolutely him only. Along the way, Jaime meets some very interesting and colorful people, leading to new and surprising insights into his own life. All and all in the end, Jaime is amazed to discover someone he never thought he would, himself!

 

CAST:  

Brian Campbell, Martin Aistrope, Michael Gonring, Paul Stark, Peter Marinelli, Valentina Stefano, Wildot

 

Director: Toby Ross
Producers: Carl Provorse
DVD EXTRAS: Audio commentary (Racy audio commentary with the director and crew)
RATING: not rated
RUNNING TIME:  71 minutes
TRAILER: http://www.ariztical.com/screening_room.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     
TITLE:   Stray Cats (original title: MGA Pusang Gala)
     
STUDIO:   Ariztical
     
RELEASE DATE:   August 21, 2007
     
PREBOOK DATE:   July 17, 2007
       
GENRE:   Gay Dramedy  
       
DVD PRICING:   $29.95  
       
SYNOPSIS:  

Set in the Phillipines, Stray Cats is an imaginative parody on adult romantic relationships.  Gay Boyet (Ricky Davao) and straight Martha (Irma Adlawan) are neighbors, and best buddies.  The film depicts how these two hopelessly romantic friends negotiate for fair and equal treatment by their respective lovers, and how eventually they both liberate themselves from their "romantic traps."  Boyet deals with his elusive and sometimes "straight" boyfriend Dom (Lauren Novero), while Martha is frustrated with her long term affair with the handsome and also elusive Steve (Reggie Curley).  Add in Boyet's live-in "son," Jojo (Alchris Galura) and the antics never stop!

Winner: Docker’s Best First Film at Frameline Film Festival, San Francisco 2006

STRAY CATS first opened the Pink Film Festival in Manila, June 2005, at local commercial circuit of about 70 theaters nationwide in August, then at the 16th International Women's Film Festival at the University of the Philippines, March 2006 and is now going around various festivals abroad. Below please find a list of international festivals Stray Cats has been invited to:

  • 20th edition Fribourg International Film Festival, March 12-19, 2006
  • Panorama Section, Philippines: Digital Cinema from Revolution to Evolution
  • Newfest 2006: The 18th New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Film Festival, June 1 – 11, 2006
  • Frameline 30, the San Francisco LGBT Film Festival, June 15 – 25

  • Dallas LBGT Fil Festival, October 28,2006
  • Reel Affirmations, Chicago LGBT Film Festival, Nov. 5, 2006
  • Competition -Montreal, Qb, Canada
  • Image Nation Film Festival Nov. 16-26
  • Melbourne Queer Film Festival, March 15 – 25, 2007
  • Mardi Gras Film Festival, Sydney Australia, Feb. 15 – March 1, 2007
  • TLVFEST 2007, Tel Aviv, June 18-23, 2007
  • Films of Desire: Sexuality and the Cinematic Imagination, March 6 – 10, 2007

 

 

 

       
CAST:   Ricky Davao, Irma Adlawan, Lauren Novero, Reggie Curley, Alchris Galura

 

       
Director:   Ellen Ongkiko-Marfil