Cobra Video

Cobra Video is an American company involved in the production of gay pornographic films.

History and methods

Since its establishment in 2001 by Bryan Kocis^[1] (Bryan Philips), Cobra Video produced movies starring "twinks", exclusively in the 18-23 age category. Kocis had cast and directed all Cobra productions up to the date of his death.

Initially, Cobra Video mainly showed young men in solo performances, masturbating themselves to an orgasm. Cobra's first production, Ethan's College Buddies, is a typical example of this. Later, the studio moved to productions depicting men having oral and anal sex, both in couples and in larger groups.

The studio almost exclusively uses models who have not worked for other studios before they joined Cobra. Cobra is often categorized as an amateur studio, due to its use of low-cost filming locations (such as hotel rooms or rental apartments), lack of well-known performers, and limited use of specific lighting or model styling. This "amateur" status appeals to Cobra's customers who are attracted to the sense of reality.

Characteristics of Cobra Video sex scenes are: long camera shots, no dubbed music in the scenes, usage of natural sound, well-lit close ups of all cum shots, oral/facial and anal cum shots, and the performers having bareback sex. The bareback aspect has given rise to controversy because the studio shows young men having unprotected sex in the wake of rising HIV figures.^{[citation needed]} The success of the studio shows there clearly is a large market for gay porn starring "twinks" having bareback sex.

Almost all casting sessions done to test new models are released by the company in the Casting Couch product line.

In late 2004, Cobra released its first video starring a well-known "twink" porn star, Canadian Brent Everett, performing with some of the regular Cobra-exclusive actors (Bareboned Twinks). The pairing of Brent Everett and Cobra performer Brent Corrigan was hailed by many fans of the studio as a great scene.^{[citation needed]} In 2005, the studio released another video starring both Brents.

Cobra Video has very successfully filled a market segment (ultra-smooth, very young-looking men having bareback sex and clearly enjoying it a lot) that was previously uncovered by the large established gay porn studios.^{[citation needed]}

Legal issues

In 2002, police found a videotape of Bryan Kocis, then 39, and a 15-year-old boy in his home. Kocis, owner/producer of Cobra Video and owner of a local adult-video store, met the boy on the internet and transported him to his hometown. Kocis pled guilty to one count of Sexual Abuse of a Child. He was initially charged with child pornography and transportation of a minor for sexual purposes. Similar to the situation with Brent Corrigan, Kocis claimed as a defense that the teenage boy lied about his age.^[2]

In September 2005, Cobra's distributor, Pacific Sun Entertainment, abruptly pulled four of Cobra's most popular videos (Every Poolboy's Dream, Schoolboy Crush, Bareboned Twinks, (bareback sex) and Casting Couch 4) off the market after reports that one of the featured models (Brent Corrigan) was under the age of 18 when his scenes were filmed.^[3][4]

On April 12, 2006, Pacific Sun Entertainment, via an industry-wide email, urged its customers to remove all DVD and VHS copies of Cobra Video titles Campus Boys 1 and Campus Boys 2 from their shelves. "Under no circumstances should these titles be sold, rented or shipped to anyone," the email instructed. "They must be boxed, sealed, and stored at your facilities until further notice." No reason was given, but it is likely that these titles contain a possibly underage or undocumented performer.^[5]

Kocis death

Main article: Bryan Kocis

On January 24, 2007, Bryan Kocis was found dead in his Dallas Township, Pennsylvania home. According to the Luzerne County coroner investigating the death, Kocis was stabbed 28 times and his throat was cut, then his body left in the house which was set on fire. A folding-style knife was found nearby. Officials had to use dental records to identify Kocis, because his body was burned beyond recognition.^{[6] [7] [8][9]}

In May 2007, Harlow Cuadra and Joseph Kerekes, both whom were adult film actors, were arrested and accused of the murder. Police arrested the pair after discovering evidence on Kocis' computer hard drive, which survived the fire. Police theorize they killed Kocis because they wanted to work with an actor who was under contract to Kocis. It is believed that one of the suspects emailed Kocis, assuming the identity of an aspiring porn actor, and arranged to meet him on 24 January 2007. In the email, he asked if they could meet alone. The pair are alleged to be shown on surveillance cameras buying a gun and lock blade folding knife at a local pawn shop. The knife is consistent with the one which was used to stab Kocis. Additionally, police have audio recordings of one of suspects saying, "Actually seeing that fucker going down, it's actually sick, but it made me feel better inside. It almost felt like I got revenge and I know that sounds fucked up". In a search of the pair's home, police also found video equipment which they believe belonged to Kocis. Other evidence the police feels incriminates the pair are a background check of into Cuadra paid for by one of them, and a prepaid cellphone the pair purchased which was activated in the vicinity of the murder scene.^[10][11]

The pair claimed they were innocent, and set up a MySpace page to state their case. Both have since been sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Notable performers

• Lance Evans
• Brent Everett
• Brent Corrigan
• Brenden Michael
• Brandon
• Cameron Lane
• Kaipo

See also

• List of pornographic movie studios
• Bryan Kocis

External links

• Cobra Video's corporate web site
• Cobra Video's Site for Brent Corrigan

References

1. ^ Cobra Video required 2257 compliance
2. ^ The Citizens Voice
3. ^ Possibly Underage Gay Performer Worked for Cobra
4. ^ article on AVN about age
5. ^ GAYVN Article
6. ^ Buynovsky, Sarah (2007-01-25). "Man found in burned home was murdered". TimesLeader.com. Archived from the original on 2007-02-03. http://web.archive.org/web/20070203045817/http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/16552307.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-25. 
7. ^ "Update: Coroner says victim dead at time of fire". 2007-01-25. Archived from the original on 2007-02-07. http://web.archive.org/web/20070207081836/http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/16545269.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-25. 
8. ^ "Gay porn producer slain". TimesLeader.com. 2007-01-26. Archived from the original on 2007-02-03. http://web.archive.org/web/20070203045817/http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/16552307.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-26. 
9. ^ Yum, Rosa. "Court Papers: Kocis Stabbed Dozens of Times". WNEP.com. http://www.wnep.com/wnep-courtpaperskocisstabbed-6005997,0,3086009.story. Retrieved 2007-01-29. 
10. ^ Gay porn actors charged with killing executive in scheme to work with star; Simon, Mallory, CourtTV.com; 2007-07-17. Retrieved 2007-08-16.
11. ^ Virginia Seizes Assets Of Pair Accused Of Killing Gay Porn Producer; 365gay.com;2007-08-15. Retrieved 2007-08-16.