BRUCE LABRUCE’S CINEMA occupies a liminal space between haute couture pornography and experimental narrative film. The prolific artist-provocateur is releasing his new book, The Revolution Is My Boyfriend, to coincide with his fifteenth feature film, The Visitor. LaBruce is also a savvy cultural critic and contributed an article titled “Notes on Camp—and Anti-Camp” to this magazine in 2014 (March–April issue). A hallmark of his sui generis œuvre is the delightful metafictions of his cosmology. One of his first big films, Hustler White, references Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard, and his new feature film, The Visitor, pays homage to Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Teorema.
A fan of his moviemaking, I must confess I also collect his still photographs. My favorite LaBruce movie, L.A. Zombie, starring mega-pornstar François Sagat is mega-hard to stream. The plenitude of pithy penises often mark LaBruce’s films as too dirty for narrative platforms and too arty for porn sites.
I interviewed LaBruce in his Toronto home from my West Hollywood apartment via Zoom on May 1st. Spencer Toulouse, my assistant, facilitated the research, recording, and transcription of the interview.
Phil Tarley’s essays and photography have appeared in LA Weekly, The WOW Report, The Advocate, Out magazine,Genre, and others.
