Siouxsie Q and Michael Vegas have been riding high. At the 2024 XBIZ Awards, the duo took home the trophy for Director of the Year — Gay Movies, while their title “For You, I Will” was named Gay Feature of the Year. Now, they pull back the curtain on their latest Disruptive Films feature, co-directed alongside Gamma Entertainment Creative Director Jessica Jasmin: “Honeyguide.”
Where “For You, I Will” took inspiration from the popular Netflix stalker-romance series “For You,” the upcoming “Honeyguide” draws on the hit indie film “Saltburn” — though Q notes that she had not yet watched “Saltburn” when she tackled the “Honeyguide” script. In fact, it originally had an entirely different title and featured no references to brood parasitism.
The interesting thing about ‘Honeyguide’ isn’t just the story or the talented actors bringing it to life, it’s the nuance and eroticism.
“I was truly struck by the animalistic nature of each character in this story,” she reveals. “I couldn’t help but draw parallels between the characters’ actions and the brutality of so many aspects of the natural world, including the species of bird that would become the film’s namesake: the honeyguide.”
The honeyguide lays its eggs in the nests of other bird species, so that its young can dine on the other species’ chicks once they hatch.
“Nature is absolutely horrific,” observes Q. “And that definitely includes human nature. That notion is at the core of this movie. Additionally, like ‘Saltburn,’ I wanted our film’s title to be simple, evocative and punchy, as well as a word that almost sounds like a euphemism for something erotic.”
She underscores, however, that ultimately “Honeyguide” is its own unique story, crafted through a true collaboration between writer, studio, production team and cast.
When selecting that cast, Jasmin notes, she and her team wanted to pick performers who might not be immediately familiar to viewers.
“Don’t get me wrong, I love working with the big names!” Jasmin says. “But I also love to be surprised by someone we haven’t seen in a while, like when I rediscovered Carter Woods last year. When choosing the lead for ‘Honeyguide,’ I knew I needed someone who could act and perform, but had a different type of beauty. I landed on Hoss Kado as our main protagonist, Alaric Spence, after I looked back at his performances since the beginning of Disruptive Films, and was impressed by how he inhabits his characters.
“Opposite Hoss, I needed a beautiful, innocent-looking jock to play Brooks Dunham, and landed on Kam Stone,” she continues. “I met him in Vegas in January and got such great vibes. The two leads needed to be completely opposite, in both acting and looks. Hoss and Kam each have a very different type of beauty.”
To surround the two leads with equally attractive and talented stars, Jasmin says, the team rounded out the cast with Sam Ledger as Brooks Dunham’s on-and-off boyfriend, Ethan; Ian Holms as Brooks’ father; and Trevor Brooks as his older brother. There is also a scene with Brooks’ teacher, played by Bruce Jones.
According to Vegas, all of the performers more than rose to the occasion.
“Shooting a feature is much different than standalone scenes,” Vegas points out. “Being able to work with actors throughout the multiday process really allows us, as directors, to help the actors find the nuance in their performance and carry those elements across the entire movie. All of our actors brought something just right and personally special to each character in this movie and I am so grateful for it.
“Especially Hoss Kado,” Vegas adds. “I had not had the chance to work with Hoss before this movie but I believe we will be hearing much more from him in the future. He really brought his character to life with bold choices and some of the best acting I have seen in an adult film. The ending scene from this movie is something really special that I think Hoss should be extra proud of. He even mentioned that in the final sequence he was nervous from being vulnerable like he had not been before. A stellar performance.”
Q agrees that the depth of acting and dedication each performer brought to mastering their roles helped elevate the project.
“I come from a theater background and one of my last jobs in the civilian world was teaching acting, so any time I get to work with actors who are interested in really diving into their roles and finding the nuances of each moment, I’m just over the moon,” she says. “I was really impressed by Kam Stone’s willingness to explore the motivations of his character, and of course we can’t say enough about Hoss Kado and the next-level performance he gave us.”
For the Disruptive Films team, strong acting and crafting a compelling storyline are part and parcel of striving to be a “cinematic” brand.
“We aim to capture the best sex out there, but one thing that viewers want to see are the characters and their development,” Jasmin notes. “In ‘Honeyguide,’ Taylor Saracen really went above and beyond, writing Alaric in layers that you peel off until the end when you finally understand the character’s motives. There is a beautiful buildup. The talent we cast are excited to act and show what they’re capable of.”
Disruptive Films, Jasmin underlines, is always about pushing the boundaries, a vibe the team tried to nail with every scene and shot.
“‘Honeyguide’ continues to challenge conventional narratives and explores new storytelling techniques,” she explains. “The interesting thing about ‘Honeyguide’ isn’t just the story or the talented actors bringing it to life, it’s the nuance and eroticism. It’s the quiet, twisted moments, the way we want them to feel as disturbing as they are alluring. It’s those decisions that allow ‘Honeyguide’ to push Disruptive forward.”
Of course, achieving that level of chemistry and intensity onscreen requires the right environment offscreen, on the set — especially for the sex scenes. For Disruptive, Q notes, that begins with enthusiastic consent.
“It’s truly the nucleus of every sexual interaction,” Q says. “Without it, you don’t have anything at all. This is part of why we always perform a robust and thorough consent talk before each sex scene we do. The only way to get truly hot, chemistry-driven scenes is if everyone knows the boundaries and parameters of what the scene will entail and what their partners are willing to explore.
“Even if the performers have worked together previously, it doesn’t mean that the boundaries and parameters are the same,” she elaborates. “Which is why we do a full consent conversation each and every time, and affirm to all performers that they can also decide to change what they’re willing to do during the course of a shoot, because consent is ongoing and can be revoked at any time.”
Also crucial to a successful Disruptive Films shoot such as “Honeyguide” is the dynamic behind-the-scenes teamwork, especially with a trio of co-directors in the mix.
“Teamwork is what makes our dream work!” Vegas says. “Having Siouxsie Q, Jessica Jasmin and Modest Pup as a powerhouse production team, combined with our support at Disruptive, allows us to create the incredible, memorable, high-production-value content our crew is known for. The three of them really keep the ship afloat and ensure we are getting what we need to make our award-winning movies.
“Plus, that teamwork and collaboration extends to all of our cast and crew,” he emphasizes. “We are collaborators at heart and we love to work with artists who are bringing something new to the table. Whether it is set design, lighting or acting, we collaborate with our team and it yields outstanding results. When everybody is invested in the product, the final results will shine. Special thanks to Joel Sinclair for the amazing lighting and extra hard work he put in for this movie. He is the hardest worker in adult film!”
According to Jasmin, that dynamic has evolved a great deal since the brand’s inception. Initially, she says, there was not as robust a collaborative process between pre-production and production.
“But the more I worked with production, both in LA and San Diego, the more I realized how essential it was for the brand,” Jasmin recalls. “When I met with Michael and Siouxsie in person, we connected creatively. Communication is key to our creative process. We all have different ideas that we discuss along the way. No one is right or wrong, and by communicating constantly and having our hands in this project, we reach a decision we can agree on. There is a lot of respect between us. We all make sure we are on the same page and that we’re happy with a take, a shot or a certain creative approach.”
Having set in place a free-flowing exchange of creative ideas, plus an efficient shooting process that sets performers up for acting success and sex scene chemistry, Jasmin next moves on to what she considers an even greater challenge: marketing the finished product.
“It’s probably the hardest part of the job!” she admits. “The most important thing is to generate excitement and keep it going. We want the viewers to keep thinking about this feature before it releases and even after. But it’s also essential not to give away the most iconic parts of the movie! For example, with ‘For You, I Will,’ we didn’t want to reveal the darkroom scenes too early because it was a key part of the storyline.”
Looking back on the “Honeyguide” shoot, the trio recalls several surprising and candid moments during production that ultimately helped elevate the end result.
“Every movie is a chance to tell a new story,” Vegas says. “Every day, there is an opportunity to see something new on set, to use the environment to tell the story in a new and unconventional way. This movie was no exception. Multiple times during filming we were able to find setups for our scenes that were even better than we originally planned or could have anticipated. Stealing shots when the sun is just right, searching for moments that the audience will remember — that is part of what made this movie feel truly remarkable.”
As for Jasmin, she was particularly struck by Hoss, who went full “method” in order to bring Alaric Spence to life.
“He took him and made him his own,” she notes. “There are many times when Hoss would make acting decisions that we, as directors, just let him go with because they fit the story so well. Let’s just say Hoss understood the assignment!”
She adds that “Honeyguide” was a more involved shoot than anything the team had done over the past two years, but that everyone involved stepped up.
“The whole crew wanted this feature the best it could be,” Jasmin says. “Pup, camera assistant and production assistant, mentioned how it felt like we were all like in a summer camp and that was spot-on. Joel Sinclair did an incredible job lighting the sets and giving it the perfect atmosphere in every single scene. I am beyond grateful for such a hard-working, loving crew.”
Q feels that the final scene in particular came together well. The ending offers a deeply cathartic, macabre and bittersweet sequence in which the viewer is invited inside the skin of the antihero to truly experience how much he relishes the terror and destruction he has managed to accomplish.
“We shot this sequence in just two takes in a long tracking shot up a winding flight of stairs,” Q says. “This sequence is set to music, and luckily our production manager, Modest Pup, and our production assistant, Daphne, are both accomplished DJs, so they were able to make sure our playback was all cued up, and at just the right volume for our actor to truly let himself loose and live in the role as Michael followed his every move.
“It was one of those moments you know is really actually magic, and you’re just grateful that it’s being recorded,” Q explains. “I remember looking up from the monitor and into the eyes of our gaffer, Joel, and our sound operator, Sam Solo, and we all just kind of nodded and grinned with that unspoken shared feeling of ‘This is really fucking good.’”
Jasmin says that Disruptive has a big marketing push in the works, with all departments fully involved to ensure “Honeyguide” receives maximum exposure.
“We poured our hearts and souls into the creation of this film, and I am eager to share it with as wide an audience as possible,” she says. “I’m extremely proud of what we’ve achieved and can’t wait to see how people react.
“Meanwhile, Disruptive Films will continue to evolve, break boundaries, push the limits and try new genres,” Jasmin concludes. “We are constantly challenging ourselves to surpass previous accomplishments. Collaborating with Michael, Siouxsie, Taylor and Conrad Parker, our San Diego director, always sparks fresh ideas and expands my creative horizons. I cannot overstate that Disruptive Films is a collaborative project, and I draw inspiration daily from all the talented people with whom I have the privilege of working.”
