Page 66 - AVN Januray 2017

GAYVN
MY LIFE, MY STORY
Brent Corrigan shares his thoughts on ‘King Cobra’
BY THE TIME
I TURNED
EIGHTEEN, BRYAN HAD COERCED ME
INTO A SEXUAL
RELATIONSHIP.
I WAS A
YOUNG MAN
FIGHTING TO
DEFINE WHO I WAS
AND WHO I
WANTED TO
BECOME, WITH BRYAN LEERING
OVER ME.
SEXPLORATIONS | By Brent Corrigan
actor James Franco.
M
My name is Sean Paul Lockhart. Most know me as “Brent Corrigan.” You likely have never heard of me.
Infamous and not famous at all, I have been referred to by many in the mainstream vein of the adult industry
as “the Traci Lords of gay porn.” This is only one element of a salacious true-life tale of porn, money, murder
and desperation. My past has played an integral role in my career as an adult star, producer and actor in LGBT
mainstream films. In July 2016 I was made aware of a film being made about me, my shameful underage stint in
porn, and the murder of Cobra Video owner Bryan Kocis. Spearheading the project (as producer and star) was
Random? Not really. James Franco’s borderline obsession with gay culture is no secret. James, rumored to be
gay for years, is not like the typical Hollywood leading man. With several credits as an actor and producer on
films with gay subject matter, Franco seems unconcerned about a pattern of behavior that might call his sexual
orientation into question. Milk, I Am Michael and Interior. Leather Bar. are just three LGBT films Franco has made.
His latest gay film is King Cobra. It haphazardly depicts the story of a young man growing up too fast as he’s
caught in the crosshairs of two feuding gay porn companies. In Franco’s film, the character based on Bryan
Kocis (played by Christian Slater) is a loner. He owns, produces, films and edits all content for his studio, Cobra
Video. The real Bryan specialized in the production of bareback gay porn featuring young men who looked way
too young to be legal. Bryan had a habit of cultivating inappropriate relationships with boys. Some as young as
15 years old.
It’s a tedious and maddening task abridging the series of events that led to Bryan Kocis’ murder. It starts
with my first shoot for Cobra on February 3, 2004. My experience working underage for Bryan is fairly well
documented. Simply put, Bryan was aware of my age before filming and moved forward with production despite
the formalities. In no way am I proud of my underage work and have worked hard to show that I respect and
value this industry.
By the time I turned eighteen, Bryan had coerced me into a sexual relationship. I was a young man fighting to
define who I was and who I wanted to become, with Bryan leering over me. Porn was never meant to become a
lifelong career choice. As I came of age on set it was the production and equipment that fascinated me.
By 2005, details about my start in porn began to percolate. As if they could smell the proverbial rotting
leftovers of scandal on the verge of coming out, vultures circulating overhead made their move. Bryan began to
lash out at me. He was disgruntled that I had not kept our secret better.
One of those “scavengers” was an attorney named Chad Belville. He offered to represent me as I prepared to
contend with Bryan Kocis and address the matter of my underage content proactively with the industry. Belville
went ahead to draft aggressive letters that would only embolden Bryan Kocis. Cobra Video distributor Pacific
Sun pulled all of Bryan’s releases of Brent Corrigan (underage and of age) upon receiving documentation from
Belville that proved I was underage in the DVDs. Pacific Sun refused to sell another Brent Corrigan DVD until
Bryan and I had worked out whatever we were going through. By the time my partner, Grant Roy, and I were
served papers for a million-dollar lawsuit, Chad Belville had ceased representation.
Bryan’s arrogance governed his choices. My actions
were guided by a man, Grant Roy, with whom I’d
fallen in love. Strong and loyal, Grant stood his
ground and deflected attacks from Bryan. Together
we endured the lawsuit and filed countersuit, citing
Bryan’s claims against me as defamatory. Bryan
charged that I had committed fraud and perjury
regarding the specifics of my age. In the end, it was
my word against his. I was a minor at the time and
therefore was not considered liable. The FBI did not
move forward with any form of investigation—in
the end it was left to the lawyers to draw out an
expensive, exhausting civil case. After one year of
depositions, filings, briefs and discovery we all just
wanted to move on. Bad blood or not.
During this time, Harlow Cuadra and partner Joe
Kerekes were fighting to establish a presence in gay
porn media. They watched from the sidelines while
the embarrassing legal charade played out between
Cobra Video and Brent Corrigan. It only made
“Brent” more visible, more intriguing and more of a
commodity in porn. Formerly in the military, Harlow
and Joe had all the right stuff to be successful in the
industry. It wasn’t lack of tenacity or talent holding
them back—it was their spending habits. They were
hemorrhaging cash made from their initial success
of a company called Norfolk Escorts. Money not yet
made was spent on a new home in Virginia Beach.
They bought a Ferrari. All the while, their production
company, Boy Batter, languished. They were seeking
a solution to all of their gay porn obscurity and
cash-flow problems. Obscurity was killing them
quickly. They turned their attention to a wild quick-fix
solution: hire the infamous Brent Corrigan.
Casual conversation online initiated by Harlow
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