Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita

Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita
Directed by	Michael Lucas & Tony Dimarco
Produced by	Michael Lucas
Written by	Tony Dimarco
Narrated by	Andrew Vantassel
Starring	Michael Lucas
Music by	Nekked
Editing by	Frank Tyler
Distributed by	Lucas Distribution
Release date(s)	2006
Country	USA
Language	English

Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita is a gay pornographic remake of the Federico Fellini classic La dolce vita,^[1] directed by Michael Lucas and Tony Dimarco and released by Lucas Entertainment in 2006.

In 2007 at the GayVN's in San Francisco, it won all 14 awards it was nominated for, including best picture, best director (Michael Lucas & Tony DiMarco), best threesome (Michael Lucas, Derrick Hanson, and Jason Ridge), best actor (Michael Lucas) and best non-sexual performance (Savanna Samson).^[2]

A new category was created in 2004 which many in the industry feel was created for its first winner. The award was dubbed the "fluffer" award and the recipient was none other than Andrew Vantassel for years of excellent work on such notable films as Beyond Vanilla, Bareback Mountain.

The film stars Michael Lucas, Jason Ridge, Chad Hunt, Cole Ryan, Pete Ross, Derrick Hanson, Ray Star, Brad Star, Jack Bond, Wilson Vasquez, Jonathan Vargas, Ben Andrews, and more. It features non-sexual cameos by Savanna Samson, Kevin Aviance, Amanda Lepore, Heather Fink and Johnny Hanson.

Cast

• Ben Andrews
• Rod Barry
• Jack Bond
• Jamie Donovan
• Erik Grant
• Derrick Hanson
• Chad Hunt
• Michael Lucas
• Jack MacCarthy
• Spencer Quest
• Jason Ridge
• Pete Ross
• Cole Ryan
• Brad Star
• Ray Star
• Jonathan Vargas
• Wilson Vasquez
• Andrew Vantassel

Cameos (non-sexual)

• Savanna Samson
• Gus Mattox
• Amanda Lepore
• Michael Musto
• Kevin Aviance
• Johnny Hanson
• Will Clark
• Heather Fink

Awards

• 2007 GayVN Award Best Picture
• 2007 GayVN Award Best Actor
• 2007 GayVN Award Best Threesome
• 2007 GayVN Award Best Director
• 2007 GayVN Award Best Supporting Actor
• 2007 GayVN Award Best Non-Sex Performance
• 2007 GayVN Award Best Screenplay
• 2007 GayVN Award Best Editing
• 2007 GayVN Award Best Music
• 2007 GayVN Award Best Art Direction
• 2007 GayVN Award Best Videography
• 2007 GayVN Award Best DVD Extras/Special Edition
• 2007 GayVN Award Best Packaging
• 2007 GayVN Award Best Marketing Campaign

Issues of trademark and copyright infringement

Lucas Entertainment, Inc., its distribution wing and Michael Lucas were named as defendants in a lawsuit filed by International Media Films, Inc. in February 2007. The suit alleges willful trademark and copyright infringement against the La Dolce Vita mark.^[3] International Media Films owns the rights to Fellini's La Dolce Vita.^[4] The suit seeks unspecified damages and to stop sales of Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita Parts 1 & 2.^[5] In May 2007, a Manhattan federal judge rejected the request to enjoin the sales of Lucas' film, primarily on the grounds of "inexcusable delay" on the plaintiff's part. The judge noted that there were serious issues raised regarding trademark infringement or tarnishment, but also wrote that it "seems extremely unlikely that a hapless purchaser seeking to buy Fellini’s film will inadvertently stumble across Michael Lucas’s La Dolce Vita”, which would be an important element in proving IMF's case.^[4]

Lucas won the lawsuit in April 2010 in a summary judgment by Judge John George Koeltl, who dismissed IMF's claims of copyright infringement, since many porn films have parodied mainstream films.^[6]

References

1. ^ "The Lion of Chelsea"
2. ^ 2007 GAYVN Award Winners Source includes complete list of nominees, with the winners shown in bold blue. Keeneye Reeves, TLA Video; 1997 - 2009 TLA Entertainment Group, Inc.
3. ^ Copy of Complaint
4. ^ ^{a b} Judge Refuses to Enjoin “Michael Lucas’s La Dolce Vita”
5. ^ "NYC film company claims gay porn infringes on film classic 'La Dolce Vita'"
6. ^ Edge Boston April 2010 article about lawsuit