Manhattan Digest

Black Friday & Cyber Monday Deals for Manhattanites

Black Friday and Cyber Monday is shortly approaching! For all of us Manhattanites, we want to get the best deals possible whether it is something for ourselves, friends, family or that special someone in our life. Lucky for all of you, Manhattan Digest has found some really great deals to get you psyched for the two biggest shopping days of the year! Check out the offers below.

HARD ROCK CAFE: NEW YORK

This year, Hard Rock Cafe New York is offering a FREE breakfast entrée from its new breakfast menu beginning on (Black) Friday, November 27th and extending through Sunday, November 29th, for guests who make a $40 retail purchase from the cafe’s Rock Shop.

Looking for the perfect holiday gift? Hard Rock Cafe New York has limited-edition gifts that give back as part of its IMAGINE campaign – the below options would make great stocking stuffers and proceeds support WhyHunger’s fight to end childhood hunger and poverty:

Bracelets – For a $2 donation, guests can choose from an assortment of colored bracelets with 100 percent of funds raised benefiting WhyHunger

T-Shirt – 15 percent of the retail price of the IMAGINE T-shirt, which features the inspiring words “IMAGINE THERE’S NO HUNGER” alongside a peace sign, will benefit WhyHunger

More info here.

AHAVA

As the definitive Dead Sea Minerals beauty expert, AHAVA knows more than anyone else about the science behind the Dead Sea’s power to revitalize and brings this knowledge and innovation to every one of its products.

Black Friday/Cyber Monday – Special offers up to 50% off at ahavaus.com.

Special Promo Code– AHAVA would like to offer up to 25% off purchases made on ahavaus.com with select promo code ManhattanDigest. Valid 11/24-12/18. Offer excludes new products, sets and value sizes.

RETAILMENOT (www.retailmenot.com)

Before even entering the Black Friday door busters or logging in for Cyber Monday, arm yourself with the RetailMeNot app. Recent survey findings from RetailMeNot state almost 65% of consumers find their biggest financial holiday season stress to be the cost of gifts and turn to Black Friday and Cyber Monday for bargains.

RetailMeNot makes make it easy to save money when you are shopping online and in store by sharing hundreds of thousands of digital promotions and coupons from a variety of retailers on their site and app – West Elm, Best Buy, Target, Sephora, Frontier Airlines, Toys ‘R’ Us, Amazon, Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy’s etc. Walk into a mall or shopping center and RetailMeNot will use geofencing to send you notifications with coupons at the stores closest to you.

ALTERNA HAIRCARE

Cyber Week Deal: Friday, 11/27 – Friday, 12/4

Caviar Moisture Trio – Travel-friendly Caviar Moisture Shampoo & Conditioner and Caviar CC Cream, this fan favorite collection is perfect for stocking stuffers or holiday traveling.

Price: $10, Available at Sephora and Sephora.com while supplies last

Repairx Trio – Help repair stressed strands with this trio that includes: Caviar Repairx Shampoo & Conditioner and Caviar CC Cream

Price:$15, Available exclusively at salons

ILUMINAGE

Cyber Monday Deal: Monday, 11/30

The first and only, personalized at-home permanent hair removal device FDA cleared for all skin tones and clinically proven for the widest range of hair colors. iluminage will be running a one day only flash sale—30% off all hair removal products.

ANTHONY

Cyber Week Deal: Wednesday, 11/25 – Monday, 11/30

20% off on most items, exclusive of kits and jumbo-sized products

BEAUTY.COM

Find the perfect gift for every beauty junkie on your list

Cyber Week Deal: Monday, 11/23 – Monday, 11/30

More than 50 gift with purchase options at Beauty.com

Click here for updates on daily gift with purchase options from favorites such as bliss, bareMinerals, Caudalie, Deborah Lippmann, Laura Geller Origins, and Too Faced, amongst others

These amazing deals are only available while supplies last

BLISS

Black Friday Deal: Friday, 11/27 – Monday, 11/30

30% off all products at blissworld.com by using the code: Dazzle30 at checkout

Deluxe gift with purchase – free with any $150 purchase, this is kit includes: micromagic microdermabrasion treatment, triple oxygen ex-‘glow’-sion, fabulips sugar lip scrub and fabulips softening lip balm in a limited edition Kate Spade cosmetic bag (valued at $176)

Holiday beauty gift bag free with any purchase of $75 or more. Use brilliant15 at checkout

Available at Blissworld.com

Spa Only Members

Treat your feet with a pedicure: 30% discount and a FREE full size Foot Patrol product

Personal shopping– Give bliss your shopping list and price points and bliss will have your gifts ready for you when you are finished with your service. Available in all NYC locations

Cyber Monday Deal: Monday, 11/30

Save an additional 50% off 10 of bliss’ best-selling bundles. Customers can use the promo code brilliant15 or DELUXE at checkout to get one of our free gifts

bliss fabulous foaming face wash set of 2; Price: $28 ($48 value)

bliss triple oxygen radiant energizing serum & energizing vitamin c day cream; Price: $99 ($170 value)

bliss lemon + sage body butter set of 2 full retail value; Price: $29 ($58 value)

Available at Blissworld.com

BLUSHINGTON

Blushington Makeup & Beauty Lounge is the premier makeup service destination lounge that started in LA, opened in Texas and has opened its FIRST NYC outpost. Think of it like the DryBar for makeup. Located inside the Underground at Le Parker Meriden, Blushington is the first of its kind and truly the original concept. It transforms the experience from a special occasion luxury to an everyday necessity. There’s a variety of services offered that include (and extent beyond) makeup… full face makeup application, eyelash extensions, faux lash applications, brow maintenance, tinting and extensions, touch-ups and more.

Black Friday Deal: Friday, 11/27- Monday, 11/30

20% off ALL products + services for Friday only. *Not applicable to gift cards or memberships; Valid in-store only

CAUDALIE

Black Friday Deal: Friday, 11/27

Don’t miss amazing savings this Black Friday! Spend $100 at Boutique locations and receive two travel items of your choice plus a Caudalie Makeup Pouch

Value: $25 – $47

Cyber Monday Deal: Monday, 11/30

Tier 1 – Spend $25 to receive Caudalie Winter Duo (Lip Conditioner, Hand and Nail Cream 30ml); Price:$12

Tier 2 – Spend $75 to receive Caudalie Winter Duo + Beauty Elixir 30ml and City Girl Tote; Price: $50

Tier 3 – Spend $150 to receive Caudalie Winter Duo + Beauty Elixir 30ml + Moisturizing Mask 25ml, Foaming Cleanser 50ml and Weekend Bag; Price: $93

ERNO LASZLO

Combat dry skin and any other skin concerns this winter with multiple deals and savings from ErnoLaszlo.com to keep you fully loaded with all your skincare essentials.

Cyber Week Deal: 11/23 – 11/30

Spend $225 and receive: 3-piece Firmarine gift including: Firmarine Moisturizer SPF 30 (15ml), Firmarine Night Cream (15ml), Firmarine Serum (5ml)

Spend $350 and receive: 3-piece Transphuse Gift: Transphuse Day Serum (5ml), Transphuse Night Serum (15ml), Transphuse Line Refining Cream (2ml) + the $225 Firmarine Gift

Spend $450 and receive: 3-piece Repair Gift: Timeless Skin Serum (15ml), Phormula 3-9 Repair Balm (30ml), Phormula 3-9 Eye Repair (1ml) + the $350 Transphuse gift + the $225 Firmarine gift

JUNE JACOBS

Cyber Week Deal: 11/23 – 11/30

Make sure to stock up on all the June Jacobs favorites (and include gifts for any skincare junkie on the list) with promotions on JuneJacobs.com that last throughout all of Cyber Week. Starting Monday, November 23^rd until midnight on November 30^th, receive 24% off on all orders. Free shipping and a free full size Neroli Mist will be included in any order of $50 or more, while supplies last.

Available on JuneJacobs.com

KENNETH COLE BLACK

Black Friday Deal: Friday, 11/27 – Saturday, 11/28

Celebrate the 20^th Anniversary of the Kenneth Cole brand, Black is a sexy and sophisticated masculine fragrance that reflects the elegance and style of the city. There is an opulence that only Black conveys – it evokes an undeniable presence that’s as masculine, modern and timeless and the color itself. With its invigorating blend of mint and mandarin combined with masculine notes of incense, exotic woods and black suede, this fragrance is a modern combination that’s both fresh and sensuous at once. Kit includes: 3.4 oz EDT, 3.4 oz After Shave Balm and 2.6 oz Deodorant.

Price: $40 ($110 value); Available at Macy’s

KÉRASTASE PARIS

Black Friday & Cyber Monday: Thursday, 11/26 – Wednesday, 12/2

Enjoy savings on luxurious haircare products and deluxe gifts from Kérastase!

10% off all online orders

Free deluxe sample of Chronologiste Parfum Oil

Free shipping on orders $75

Visit Kerastase-USA.com/SpecialOff-Show for details

LAURA GELLER

Stock up on Laura Geller favorites for every beauty junkie on your list with a variety of deals, multiple gift-with-purchase options, and free standard shipping on all orders over $50 throughout Cyber Week on LauraGeller.com.

Black Friday Preview: Monday, 11/23 – Thursday, 11/26

25% off all orders with code: PREVIEW25

30% off orders over $100 with code: PREVIEW30

Laura Geller Fabulous Favorites 3 Piece Gift With Purchase ($34 Value) on orders of $50 or more. GWP features a travel size Baked Bronze-n-Brighten in Medium, Mini Color Drenched Lip Gloss in French Press Rose and the Spackle® Under Make-Up Primer in Original

Black Friday Deal: Friday, 11/27 – Sunday, 11/29

25% off all orders with code: FRIDAY25

30% off orders over $100 with code: FRIDAY30

Laura Geller Black Friday 3 piece Gift with Purchase ($30 Value) on orders $50 or more. GWP features a Mini Fortifying Lashes Eyelash Primer, Mini Color Drenched Lip Gloss in Café Au Lait and Mini Spackle® Original Under Make-Up Primer (0.50 oz.)

Cyber Monday Deal: Monday, 11/30 (offers below can be combined for one day only)

50-75% off select products

45% off orders $135 or more with code: CYBER45

Free Large Foundation Brush and Deluxe Spackle® Supercharged Sample (1 oz.) with orders of $50 or more

PETER THOMAS ROTH

Black Friday Deal: Friday, 11/27

Buy a Peter Thomas Roth Mega Rich Body Cream and get a free CC Eye Correcting Concealer; Price: $18.00 ($42 value)

Cyber Monday Deal: Monday, 11/30

Buy a Peter Thomas Roth Ultra-Lite Anti-Aging Cellular Repair and get one for free; Price: $52.00 ($104 value)

RALPH LAUREN FRAGRANCES

Cyber Monday Deal: Monday, 11/30

Throw in an extra gift for any man on your list this holiday season. On Cyber Monday only, customers will receive three travel-size bottles (7ml) of Polo Red, Polo Black, and Polo Blue with any Ralph Lauren Fragrance purchase of 3.4oz or larger.

Available exclusively at Macys.com

SKIN LAUNDRY

Skin Laundry is a simple, smart and safe laser skin treatment solution designed to make maintaining healthy skin both accessible and convenient. The signature 10-minute medical-grade treatment uses modern technology and advanced non-invasive lasers and light therapy to vaporize the dirt, debris, pollutants and toxins in the skin and deep within pores for brighter, cleaner and clearer skin. Regular treatments will visibly improve skin’s smoothness, evenness, tone, texture, radiance and clarity, while diminishing the appearance of acne, pores, hyperpigmentation, reducing the look of lines, wrinkles and restoring firmer, tighter skin.

Black Friday Deal: Friday, 11/27

Skin Laundry is offering an exclusive week-long in-store promotion from Saturday, November 21^st through Sunday, November 29^that each of their locations in Los Angeles, Scottsdale and New York City. Free Starter Kit includes full size products: Gentle Foaming Wash, Clarifying Toner, Advanced Protection Daily Moisturizer SPF 35 and Restoring Night Serum ($110 value) when you join the Laundry Club and sign up for the 4 treatments per month membership.

Cyber Monday Deal: From Thursday, 11/26 – Monday, 11/30

Save an additional 25% online on all products in their extensive collection

STRIVECTIN

Stock up on all your skincare essentials with 20% off site-wide and with any purchase at StriVectin.com from November 21^st until December 1^st.

Black Friday Deal: Thursday, 11/27 – Saturday, 11/29

Receive a Holiday Travel Treats ($45 value) set with any $75 purchase. The kit includes three deluxe samples of the SD Advanced™ Intensive Concentrate for Wrinkles & Stretch Marks, Advanced Retinol Intensive Night Moisturizer, Instant Retexturizing Scrub

Cyber Monday Deal: Monday, 11/30 – Tuesday, 12/1

Receive a 24/7 Skin Facial Fix Trio ($35 value) set with any $75 purchase. The set includes: three deluxe samples of SD Advanced™ Intensive Concentrate for Wrinkles & Stretch Marks, Advanced Retinol Intensive Night Moisturizer, StriVectinLABS 5-Minute Weekly Glycolic Peel Duo Packette

Available at StriVectin.com

URBAN DECAY

Black Friday Deal: Thursday, 11/27 – Friday, 11/28

Crush Your Gift List with 20% off site wide on UrbanDecay.com. Score cult favorites for the holiday season including the latest addition to the NAKED palette franchise, NAKED Smoky, plus limited-edition must-haves, like Vice 4, that will fulfill the color craving for the makeup junkies on your list.

Cyber Monday Deal: Monday, 11/30

Bust out the laptop charger and cozy up to your wireless router – Urban Decay has got a killer Cyber Monday deal and you’re not going to want to miss out…the Naked Vault Volume II is coming back. Sold out in just mere HOURS when it first launched earlier this month, this blockbuster set includes EVERY SINGLE PALETTE in the NAKED franchise: NAKED, NAKED 2, NAKED3, NAKED Smoky, NAKED Basics and NAKED2 Basics.

Price: $165, Available at UrbanDecay.com

An Interview with Lesli Margherita: The Queen is a Broad

by Ryan Leeds

If you happen to be Christmas shopping for Broadway star Lesli Margherita this year, here are a few helpful hints: Science fiction books rate high on her list of favorites, along with the music of megastars Celine Dion, Cher, Barbara Streisand, Bette Midler, and Janet Jackson. Hip-hop also gets her vote. When it comes to clothing, Marchesa gowns grab the eye of this self-proclaimed, “fashion whore” who also prefers to mix and match higher end apparel with simple, everyday, Forever 21 pieces. But do not even think of bringing her reggae or any music of the folk genre. “It’s too hippy-ish and it’s just not sparkly enough,” said the Olivier Award winning actress who originated the role of Mrs. Wormwood in Broadway’s Matilda. “I’m so gaudy. I’m so tacky. I’m so Italian. The more rhinestones or bling, the better,” she joked recently in a sit down interview at the Helen Hayes theater where she stars as brassy diva Mona Kent in Dames At Sea.

The inexhaustible actor prepared for her current role while she was still performing in the smash hit Matilda, located across the street in the Shubert theatre. For three weeks, she went back and forth between rehearsals and performances. “I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone, but that scenario just never happens,” she said. “I knew that my last week at Matilda would be my 1000th performance and I really wanted to be there for it.” Her energy prevailed, however. As the over the top, scene stealing mother in Matilda, Margherita had kept herself in top physical shape with spin classes. Now, she is shaking her wicked legs in the tap heavy Dames At Sea in which she single-handedly opens the show with a solo song and dance number. Although her recent shows hadn’t focused on tap-dancing, the skillful triple threat- who had started tap dancing at the tender age of 4- wiped the dust from her tap shoes and quickly reacclimated to the form.

On Monday November 30^th and December 7^th, Margherita will appear in a more intimate venue as she takes to the stage at Birdland for her new solo show, Broad, which explores sultry and sassy women who have made Lesli…Lesli. With a 5 piece orchestra, she’ll be performing songs of Sophie Tucker, Jessica Rabbit, Judy Garland, and other personalities who sang banned lyrics from past decades. It’s a bit of a diversion from her usual material, All Hail the Queen, a show based a persona she adopted from childhood. “I called myself a Queen growing up,” she explained. “And when I thought about putting a solo show together, I wanted to create a character similar to Bette Midler’s Divine Miss M, so I came up with the idea of “Queen Lesli’ (also her current twitter handle). As an uber diva, things are constantly going wrong for Queen Lesli so in reality, the shtick relies more on self-deprecation than superiority. “It’s not that I think I’m better than anyone. My message is ‘rule your own kingdom. Be the king or queen of yourself and don’t let anybody rule you’. It’s a positive message.” It’s also a popular one, as Margherita’s twitter feed provided the basis for her book, Neck Punch and Carry On, available here.

“I’m glad I didn’t call myself ‘Fart Leslie’ or something like that”, she laughed. We are too, Queen. We.Are.Too.

Margherita became hooked on performing at an early age after witnessing a clumsy orphan in the stage version of Annie in San Francisco, close to her home in nearby Fremont, CA. “I saw this kid in the cast mess up some steps and I was so irritated! The next year the tour was coming through the area again, so I auditioned.” The determined youngster was told by her parents that she might be cut and they warned her not to be too upset if that happened. After hours in the audition room, she walked out, looked at her mom and said, “Well, I got it!” She soon climbed the ranks from “random girl” to playing the title role. Margherita hasn’t looked back.

Immediately after graduating from UCLA, she was cast in a television show and shortly thereafter, the stage beckoned . When Matilda was offered, she instantly made a geographic transition to the east coast. While she misses her car, the beach, and the laid back vibe of California, she admits to liking New York more than she thought. “New York has really been nice to me,” she said with a broad grin. Incidentally, that sentence has been used by absolutely no one else I’ve ever talked with, but when two Broadway shows are vying for one’s participation, it makes perfect sense.

Those who have seen Queen Lesli in either Matilda or Dames At Sea can attest to the originality, talent, and flair she brings to each role. She took home an Olivier award for cryin’ out loud! That’s british for “big freakin’ deal”, folks.

Fans will have a chance to see her in an all new light when she’ll bring those same winning qualities to Birdland on Nov. 30th and Dec. 7.

Rhinestones welcome, but not in lieu of the modest cover charge. After all, a broad’s gotta eat!

Lesli Margherita at Birdland (West 44th between 8th and 9th) , Mondays Nov. 30 and Dec. 7 at 7 PM ET. For tickets and information visit Queen Lesli’s Website

For tickets to Dames At Sea (Helen Hayes Theater West 44th between Broadway and 8th), click here or walk your bad self to the box office.

Black Friday & Cyber Monday Deals At The Library Hotel Collection

by Ryan Shea

Two of the biggest holidays are right around the corner! No, I am not talking about Thanksgiving and Christmas… I am talking about Black Friday and Cyber Monday! My favorite hotels in the city… The Library Hotel Collection, are each offering some fabulous discounts for their customers as we head into the busy holiday season. All of these hotels offer something unique, special and amazing and I would recommend staying at any of them! These deals start at midnight on Black Friday. More details for each are below, with links to book. Happy Travels everyone, and a safe shopping holiday for all!

Hotel Giraffe

Book your 2016 NYC getaway now and save 25% off their Best Flexible Rate at Hotel Giraffe! Enjoy their lowest rate available and lots of wonderful free amenities with no deposits and no blackout dates! Cancellation policy: 30 days notice required to avoid any charges. To access the special offer, please click “book here” or use Promotional Code: CYBER. Book here!

Hotel Elysee

Plan your 2016 NYC getaway now to take advantage of their biggest sale ever! Save 25% off of their Best Flexible Rates on any room or suite, and enjoy lots of wonderful free amenities plus a bottle of wine on arrival. Conditions: No deposits required and no blackout dates apply. Cancellation policy: 21 days notice required to avoid any charges. To access the special offer, please click “book here” or use Promotional Code: CYBER. Book here!

Casablanca Hotel

Book your 2016 NYC getaway now for the best deal they have ever offered! Save 25% off our Best Flexible rate and enjoy lots of wonderful free amenities at one of TripAdvisor’s top NYC hotels. Conditions and Cancellation: No deposit is required until 30 days prior to arrival. To avoid being charged, please advise the hotel of your change of plans prior to that date. Blackout dates are: December 1–17 and 27-31, 2016. To access the special offer, please click “book here” or use Promotional Code: CYBER. Book here!

Library Hotel

Book your 2016 NYC getaway now and save 22% off their Best Flexible Rate at the award winning Library Hotel! Enjoy their lowest rate available and lots of wonderful free amenities plus a Library Hotel signature tote bag with no deposits and no blackout dates! Conditions: The promotion will not apply to the Love Room and Mythology Room. A minimum stay may be required. The Library Hotel signature tote bag will be limited to one (1) reservation only; one (1) tote per room. Cancellation policy: 21 days notice required to avoid any charges. To access the special offer, please click “book now” or use Promotional Code: CYBER. Book here!

Instapour’s On Demand Premium Cocktails for Thanksgiving!

by Ryan Shea

We all know how crazy hectic the holidays can be, especially with this upcoming week now that Thanksgiving is only a couple of days away. Whether you are hosting a party with family or doing a ‘Friends-giving” type situation, it is always important to keep the guests happy and one thing that keeps a smile on their faces is delicious drinks for them to devour and enjoy. Instapour, which launched only a couple of months ago here in NYC, is being touted as a premium, on demand cocktail delivery service, will be offering some great packages for customers both in our area, Los Angeles and nationwide to enjoy for this coming holiday weekend.

Instapour will be offering the Caliche Rum Spiced Apple Sour and Pomegansett Punch cocktail packages from November 25th to November 29th! If you are ordering nationwide outside of New York City or Los Angeles, it must be done 3-5 days beforehand, so get on that as soon as possible! For us Manhattanites and LA people, the free delivery will be available within the hour between 9am-8pm EST (for NYC) and PST (for LA). So in case you have a shortage, want to try something new or just enjoy a delicious cocktail, Instapour will guarantee delivery and yumminess in an hour and will add to the enjoyment you will be having.

Included in this article are recipes on what to make with the Caliche Rum package you will receive. I tried the Apple Sours with Caliche Rum over the weekend and it was simply divine and amazing. The perfect drink for this fall weather we are having. All of the detailed information is below. Have a safe and Happy Holiday and don’t forget Instapour when you want to enhance your party experience!

WHAT: Fall Caliche Rum Cocktail Packages by Instapour available nationwide for the holidays!

WHEN: Nationwide: Wednesday, November 25^th – Sunday, November 29^th (**limited cities may not be included

due to liquor delivery restrictions)

New York & LA: Available within the hour in NYC between 9am-8pm EST and LA between 9am-8pm PT

HOW: Order at www.Instapour.com (mobile friendly)

Nationwide: Pre-order cocktail packages 3-5 days in advance for nationwide delivery

New York & LA: Enjoy this unique cocktail experience and order cocktail hour for delivery within the hour

PRICE: FREE DELIVERY | | $39 – $59 Monthly Cocktail Box Subscription | $59 Start an Instaparty per-hour

SOCIAL MEDIA: @Instapour.Cocktails, @CalicheRum, #DrinksOnDemand, #InstapourFavor, #DaiquiriDelivery

Magnolia Bakery Opens Up New Shop In Penn Station

by Ryan Shea

As someone who frequently commutes back and forth from Long Island to New York City, I was thrilled to see that one of my favorite cupcake places had opened up right inside Penn Station- Magnolia Bakery! Magnolia has been a favorite of ours at Manhattan Digest, and we have done a couple of features on them before. Check out one of them here. Here is some more information about the opening below, including a signature cupcake that is exclusive for this location!

Located on the lower level, near the A,C,E subway station, the new store will serve their wide variety of freshly baked desserts, including cupcakes, cakes, pies, muffins, scones, banana pudding, cheesecakes, cookies and brownies, as well as a range of coffee beverages and tea.

In addition to their classic desserts, they’ve introduced a signature Penn Station Cupcake in celebration of the new location. The chocolate cupcake is topped with an all new white chocolate buttercream and chocolate disc depicting the 34th Street subway station. The cupcake will be available every day exclusively at their Penn Station store for $4.00.

Perfect timing now that the holidays are in full swing and Penn Station is busier than ever! They also open early and close late so you can’t miss your chance to try out what they have to offer (Banana Pudding at the top of my list!) Go see what all the fuss is about and check out the Penn Station location today! Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.

Hours:

Monday–Thursday: 6:00 a.m. – 12:00 a.m.

Friday–Saturday: 6:00 a.m.-1:00 a.m.

Sunday: 7:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m.

York Theatre Honors Dame Angela Lansbury

by Ryan Leeds

How much would you pay to dine with Angela Lansbury? That was the question posed by actor Richard Kind this past Monday evening in front of theater aficionados at Manhattan’s posh Guastavino’s. Kind led an auction which raised funds for the York Theater Company. Stage and screen celebrities were gathered to honor Dame Lansbury, who turned 90 years old last month. With her extensive Broadway credits, it was only fitting that she be honored with the Oscar Hammerstein Lifetime Achievement Award.

The term “legend” is used so often that its meaning has become diluted. Few would argue, after watching Monday’s line-up however, that there is hardly a more appropriate descriptive. The answer to Kind’s question turned out to be a total of $6,800 (2 separate parties bid $3,400 and they decided to share a meal).

Following the dinner and auction, Something Rotten star Brad Oscar kicked off the evening with a parody of “It’s Today” from Mame and introduced the evening’s emcee: Lansbury’s former Sweeney Todd co-star and silver haired heartthrob, Victor Garber. Brian Stokes Mitchell followed with a rich and stirring version of “This Nearly Was Mine” from South Pacific.

Melissa Errico performed a medley of Anna’s songs from the The King and I, a role which Lansbury played for a very brief time in the 1977 Broadway revival. Later, John McMartin read a letter written by an absent Stephen Sondheim. Sondheim wrote, “If Oscar Hammerstein would have lived long enough to see you play Anna, he’d have written a sequel.”

Lansbury made her Broadway musical debut in 1964 in Sondheim’s Anyone Can Whistle. The fresh faced Yale Whippenpoofs vocalized on a lovely arrangement of the title song.

Composer Alan Menken was particularly moving as he sat down to the piano and recalled the day when Lansbury and the late Jerry Orbach shared the recording studio for Disney’s Beauty and The Beast. He then sang the title song, made popular in the movie by Lansbury’s character, Mrs. Potts.

Klea Blackhurst, Karen Ziemba, Judy Kaye, Karen Mason, and Marilyn Maye all payed individual homage through song to the octogenarian. Maye sang a beautiful rendition of “If He Walked into My Life” from Mame and told the audience that her birthday is next month. “I will be as old as there are keys on the piano,” she said. Then continued, “Usually I’m the oldest person in the room. Thank goodness for Angela Lansbury!”

Len Cariou, who originated the title role in Sweeney Todd, wound down the evening with a musical mash up tribute parody, but not before James Earl Jones took to the microphone to offer some words about his Driving Miss Daisy co-star. “When you drive someone to the Piggly Wiggly eight times a week, you get to know them quite intimately,” he quipped. He then went on to lavish praise on Lansbury citing the fact that in spite of her age, she remains “younger than springtime”

A visibly touched and humbled Lansbury expressed her gratitude, both for the award and for everyone who has ever supported her career. Those in attendance could surely echo Auntie Mame’s jubilant observation: “I know that this very minute has history in it, we’re here!”

The York Theater Company will continue to celebrate the joys of musical theatre with the New York premiere of the Stuart Ross charmer, Plaid Tidings, beginning December 8^th and running through the 27^th. For tickets and info, click here.

Head To Christopher Street And Enjoy Dominique Bistro

by Ryan Shea

It is always good to welcome a new neighbor to the block, especially one that is as iconic as Christopher Street happens to be. This new neighbor happens to be one that is quite delicious, and will hopefully be staying around for quite some time to spread its tasty flavors and great atmosphere. This place is Dominique Bistro, who just opened their doors a mere two weeks ago.

Located at the intersection of Christopher and Gay Street, Dominique Bistro boasts delicious Parisian style food with French finesse, elegance and so much more. It is bistro style in terms of size, with beautiful wood furnishings throughout and dim lighting at night to enhance the mood and essence of the location. This location was originally called Whynot Bistro but has been rebranded as Dominique, so I was excited to see the variety of foods that they had for me and my friend to try out.

Here are some good recommendations for when you go. For their French Market section, generally the appetizers, I would recommend trying the Steak Tartare (prime beef, shallots, cornichons, quail egg) and their Mussels (PEI mussels, saffron, cherry tomatoes, fennel) as a starting off point. The Tartare has a great taste and texture to it, especially with the Quail egg, and the Mussels have this amazing broth that you can dip your bread into. The fennel and saffron also enhances the flavor of both. They also have other traditional dishes in this part of the menu like Foie Gras & Escargot if that strikes your fancy.

If pasta is what you are in the mood for, they have a couple of great dishes for that as well. I tried their Fettuccine (chanterelles, burgundy truffles, brown butter), and thought it was simply divine. Anytime you add brown butter to something, you will have me hooked, and the combo of the fresh pasta with the chanterelles and truffles with the butter was quite tasty. For their entrees, they have several different seafood and meat options that would fit even the peskiest of eater. For fish I would recommend their Salmon (North Atlantic salmon, sun dried tomatoes, spinach, white beans, pesto). The Salmon was cooked to perfection and paired well with the assortment of vegetables that went along with it. They also have two amazing duck dishes, Duck Confit and Duck Cassoulet, as well as great beef dishes such as Beef Bourguignon and Chateaubriand for you to devour.

I would definitely recommend trying Dominique Bistro out. They also have an amazing brunch that happens each weekend, so if brunch strikes your fancy then check out the menu here. This also includes all the different menus and anything you need to know regarding Dominique Bistro. If well cooked Parisian food with a flare piques your interest, then this is the place to go.

Happy Eating Everyone!

Get To Know Gay Manga’s Intelligent & Handsome Graham Kolbeins

by Ryan Shea

I happen to love when people enjoy what they do for a living, because they had a passion for it at some point and they took that passion and made it a full time thing. I have done that with this publication, and I can truthfully say the same for the very creative, dashing and smart Graham Kolbeins, who is currently the creative director at MASSIVE and Editor at Gay Manga.

What are both, for those who are not in the know? Graham describes more in detail below, but MASSIVE is a line of gay manga-inspired apparel and goods. It is designed by Graham and brought to you by his partner in crime, writer/producer Anne Ishii. Gay Manga on the other hand is a wildly popular Tumblr page, all about Japanese gay comics. I became aware of Graham on the popular HBO series “Sex On”, where they were discussing the art & concept of “Hentai” (Erotic Manga). I had heard of Hentai before, but never in the way that Graham & Anne had put it out there with the primary focus being muscular and husky men in their designs and concepts. It was really beautiful and done in a very tasteful way, and seeing as I have a bit of a background in the bear world, I knew that Graham was someone who I really wanted to interview about his passion and so much more.

Graham sat down with Manhattan Digest this week to discuss what Manga really is, how he got into the business in the first place, his appearance on “Sex On”, struggles for LGBT businesses to find their way into mainstream, future plans, and more. Check it out.

So for people who don’t really know, what exactly is Manga, and is gay separate from the word?

Manga is a term for comics created in Japan. Translating to “whimsical drawings,” it was originally used in the 18th and 19th century to refer to impromptu drawings and sketches. Manga as we know it today developed during the U.S. Occupation of Japan after 1945. Osamu Tezuka’s seminal 1952 manga Astro Boy helped usher in the explosive popularity of the manga medium, which has in the past six decades evolved into a multi-billion dollar publishing industry. Even though the publishing industry in Japan (like publishing industry elsewhere) is in decline, an avalanche of new manga is being published every month at a rate that makes American comics seem like a cottage industry. A variety of main genres exist within the manga medium including seinen (comics for adults), shonen (comics for boys), shojo (comics for girls), and the sub-genre shonen-ai (boys’ love or “yaoi”– comics for girls who like reading male-male love stories). gei komi (Gay manga– comics written by gay men) is a relatively niche genre in Japan. For the past three decades, gay magazines have almost exclusively been the platform this type of manga. Because gay magazines don’t typically appear on traditional newsstands, gay manga has been mostly sold in specialty gay shops, below the radar of mainstream manga readers.

How does this differentiate from anime in the first place?

Anime just means animation, and outside of Japan the term refers mainly to Japanese animation. So far there have been no animated adaptations of gay manga. I hope it will happen, though! Gengoroh Tagame, one of the artists we collaborate with at MASSIVE, has written several long-form manga works including the 900-page historical epic Shirogane no Hana (The Silver Flower). I’d personally love to see that manga adapted into an anime series, but the financing and interest just isn’t there yet.

So you had a clear yearning to be in the arts, and usually when people get into any field they have inspirations that get them to that point. Who were yours?

I look up to so many artists across all forms of art, it’s hard to narrow them down! I will say that one of the immense privileges and pleasures of working for MASSIVE is working alongside some of the artists who inspire me most. Stumbling upon the artwork of Gengoroh Tagame, Jiraiya, and Seizoh Ebisubashi when I was in high school completely changed the way I conceived of gay identity and provided innumerable positive images of my sexuality that I had been sorely lacking. I always saw them as heroes who lived half a world away, so I never imagined I’d actually meet them. A decade later, no one had done the work of publishing their work in North America and I decided to try and make it happen myself. That led me to meeting Anne Ishii (my partner at MASSIVE) and graphic design genius Chip Kidd, with whom I co-edited the gay manga anthologies The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame and Massive. Now I’m working with some of my idols on a daily basis and have to keep pinching myself to make sure it’s real!

So I can see in a lot of the shirts that you design and designs in general for MASSIVE that the Japanese men are husky and muscular ala Bear/Huskular. Have you always designed your characters that way?

I’m not a character designer myself– I can barely draw a stick figure– but I design the clothes with artwork by Japanese manga artists. So far we’ve been working mainly with artists who have an interest in larger-bodied, masculine-presenting men. Gay manga artists’ tastes are all over the map: some draw characters with more traditionally handsome, muscular looks, and other veer towards the svelte, androgynous bishonen (beautiful boys) of yaoi. It’s the bigger, bearish figures– sometimes called gachimuchi (muscle-chubby)– that really call out to me, personally. Artistic representations of larger men are so rare and the technical skill of these artists is so high that these representations mean a lot to me as someone who desires larger men. It’s also so rare in American culture to see representations of bigger Asian men, so I think that’s been part of the appeal for us– challenging cultural expectations of what an Asian male body can be.

Do you find that the LGBT audience still struggles to get their material to be mainstream overall in this world?

Absolutely. In spite of the serious strides that have been made by LGBTQ culture in the past decade, there are still a lot of hurdles to overcome. Tom of Finland, undoubtedly one of the most iconic gay artists in the world, only recently (and posthumously) had his first museum retrospective in America at MOCA. Gay art is just beginning to enter the mainstream in America. The status of artwork by LGBTQ individuals in Japan is perhaps even further underground, but we’re seeing some exciting developments: Gengoroh Tagame has had great success his first work published in a general audience manga magazine. The manga series is called My Brother’s Husband and eschews the more familiar BDSM erotic themes of Tagame’s work for an emotional family melodrama about a Canadian man who travels to suburban Tokyo to meet his late husband’s twin brother and his young daughter. The story has successfully introduced gay issues to a broad audience of manga readers in Japan for the first times. MASSIVE is currently working on securing a deal for English-language publication of My Brother’s Husband, so keep an eye out!

Adding onto that, are you surprised at the amount of people who have a vested interest in this sort of thing?

I think when we released The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame and our first MASSIVE T-shirts in 2013, we weren’t really expecting the huge crowds of dedicated fans that turned out to meet Tagame in Toronto and New York. That really opened our eyes to how many people have been thirsting for these artists’ work in North America and how varied the audience can be. There’s that really solid core audience, and I feel like the clothes have helped bring in new audiences, people who had never heard of gay manga but just fall in love with the artwork immediately. When MASSIVE started collaborating with Opening Ceremony last year, that really blew it up and expanded the audience into the mainstream fashion world in an incredible way. It makes me happy when I meet straight people who can appreciate the artwork beyond sexuality and proudly wear these beautiful hunky Jiraiya pin-ups on their chests.

I discovered you and Manga on the HBO series “Sex On”. How did that process come about and what has been the experience post airing?

That was an awesome surprise! I just got an e-mail out of the blue from the production team that they were interested in featuring us in a segment on hentai (erotic manga). I was stoked because I really loved Chris Moukarbel’s documentary about Chris Crocker and YouTube, Me At The Zoo. We shot in L.A. and Tokyo and Chris came to the launch party we had for our book Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men Who Make It at a bar in Shinjuku Ni-Chome, Tokyo’s gay entertainment district. I even got to accompany Chris on an interview with straight hentai master Toshio Maeda, the artist majorly responsible for popularizing “tentacle porn.” The whole “Sex On” series is really great and as a filmmaker, I see it as an exciting example of how a mainstream venue like HBO can approach sexuality and erotic art in a thoughtful way. We’ve definitely been contacted by more than a few people who heard about MASSIVE through Sex On! I think it’s really proved to be popular on HBO’s streaming services.

What is going on for the rest of 2015 regarding Gay Manga and MASSIVE?

We’re excited to launch MASSIVE’s Holiday collection this week, featuring collaborations with the great restaurant Mission Chinese Food and new media artist Terrell Davis, who made an amazing 3D collage with Jiraiya’s artwork. The new collection also sees the long-awaited return of Jiraiya’s “Best Couple” sweatshirt, one of our most requested garments since it went out of stock last year. The Best Couple is an original illustration of Jiraiya’s ideal couple, a pair of hulking dudes with comparable BMI who love taking drives down dusty country roads in their Jeep. Though it hasn’t been announced officially, we also have a collaboration with swimwear brand Pretty Snake coming out very soon!

As far as the gay manga genre itself, German publisher Bruno Gmunder has been releasing a steady stream of English-language books from a variety of gay manga artists (many of them translated by Anne Ishii), and you can look forward to even more publications from them in 2016!

In closing, what are you hopeful for regarding both of their futures?

I want to see more acclaim for these amazing gay manga artists, there are dozens of incredible creators out there who deserve to have their work recognized and distributed widely. We’ve only scratched the surface of the genre. At the same time, I’m hoping MASSIVE can expand beyond gay male content and work with more manga artists from across the LGBTQ spectrum and beyond. We’re currently working with the artist Rokudenashiko, who was arrested by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police twice last year for making vagina art (including, infamously, a 3D-printed vagina kayak). She’s brazenly taking on the system right now, challenging her obscenity charges in court. Keep an eye out for Rokudenashiko’s manga memoir, What Is Obscenity? The book is produced by MASSIVE and will be published in May 2016 by Koyama Press.

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Theater Review: SYLVIA

by Ryan Leeds

Is “sweetness” enough to sell a Broadway show? The producers and creative team behind A.R. Gurney’s Sylvia certainly think so—and they’re absolutely correct. But the playwright’s latest revival, which originally opened off Broadway in 1995, also adds heaping teaspoons of charm to the mix, creating a recipe for a satisfying night of theater.

Set in a posh New York apartment, Sylvia invites us into the home of Greg (Matthew Broderick) and Kate (Julie White), a couple whose 22 year old marriage has grown dull and uninspired. After finding Sylvia, a dog in human form (Annaleigh Ashford), Greg adopts her, much to Kate’s chagrin. Kate focuses on her plans to teach Shakespeare to high school students and ignores Greg’s mid-life crisis (and Greg, for the most part). Robert Sella rounds out the quartet cast in three roles: Tom- a fellow friend in the dog park, Phyllis-Kate’s college friend, and Leslie-a “gender fluid” psychiatrist. Sella, who was marvelous in last year’s 30^th anniversary production of The Mystery of Irma Vep, brings his versatile comedic skill to the table once again.

Tony winner Julie White, who could easily let her character slip into the territory of “unlikable shrew”, carefully straddles the fence between frustration and eventual understanding. White, even in this year’s unsuccessful Airline Highway, can do no wrong in her roles. She is a master of the craft and continues to perfect it here.

Broderick brings appropriate lackluster to Greg, a man desperately seeking improved existence. Although Broderick’s stage career is comprehensive, his default acting always steers into blasé territory. Here, it works to his advantage though as this Eeyore of a man slouches through life in search of his greater purpose.

Let’s not kid ourselves, though. This show undeniably rests in the capable…paws? hands?… of Ashford, who injects this show with more enchantment than should rightfully be allowed by law. Her agile antics and physical embodiment of a canine is truly impressive. Like her previous roles, Ashford never “overdoes” it, but manages to add the exact amount of quirkiness needed to charm audiences. David Rockwell’s smart costuming allows her to sniff, scamper, and scoot with uninhibited energy. Within moments, we’re won over as though a puppy has been placed directly into our laps.

Gurney’s work doesn’t reach the depth of his other plays, but there is simple poignancy here. It’s not a particularly new observation that many of us inhabit lives of quiet loneliness in this congested city of masses. Yet with eyes and ears yearning for connectedness, Gurney shows us that even a domestic pet can gently nudge us to a comforting space of validation.

Sylvia plays at Broadway’s Cort Theater (West 48th between 6th and Broadway). For tickets and further info, click here or visit the box office.

Get To Know Legendary Film Director Jasun Mark

by Ryan Shea

For so many articles that I have done about people in the gay porn industry on Manhattan Digest, they have always been people who have performed in front of the camera. As talented as a lot of them are (my hand definitely thinks so) all of what they do wouldn’t be possible without the people behind the lens. Someone behind the camera who has done an incredible job at making a name for himself in the gay porn industry is Titanmen director Jasun Mark, who has worked for huge studios ranging from Jake Cruise to Fratpad to Cocksuremen.

I have been a fan of Jasun’s work for years, not to mention that he himself is pretty easy on the eyes. I also have gotten to know him personally and on top of being a fantastic director he is also a very intelligent human being who has a keen eye on what is going today, both in and out of the industry. I recently sat down with Jasun to discuss it all, from how he got into the industry, his meteoric rise to where he is today, people he still wants to work with and where he sees his future. Take a look.

So Jasun, how did you get involved in the adult industry to begin with?

My first actual paying job was as an HTML designer for a Canadian porn site called Bedfellow, but I really feel like I got my “real” start working for Fratmen and Fratpad. They hired me as a video editor and graphics guy, but before long I was taking part in production and marketing and just about every aspect of what we were doing. Fratpad was a crazy 24-hour cam circus, and while it was 24-hour stress and work, I loved it all. A lot of people copied what we were doing, but Fratpad really was the first and I think best-ever cam house. My first feature I directed on my own was a documentary about our shoot in Australia called “Fratmen Going Down” and then I started shooting a lot of the fun at Fratpad. Those Jack-Off Races were mine. I’m honestly really proud of how well all that stuff turned out, considering I really didn’t much know what I was doing.

I left Fratpad after about 4 years because I wanted to direct hardcore and I knew I was never going to be able to do that where I was. Leaving Fratmen was hard… it was like a close knit family there. But I knew when it was time to leave the nest. I’m still in contact with everyone there, and we’re all still friends. There was no bad blood leaving. I took a job with Jake Cruise… He was starting what was at that time called “Jake’s Men” which was essentially JakeCruise.com without Jake. That, of course, is what was eventually re-named CocksureMen. That was a total dream gig… I was basically allowed to do whatever I wanted. I spent four years learning how to direct on the job while shooting content I actually wanted to see. I’m very proud of the work I did there.

But the brass ring for me was ALWAYS a job working for Titanmen. Titan had been my favorite studio since the 90s and it was always a dream gig. Getting the call from Brian Mills asking if I wanted to come hang out on set and shoot some bonus content for the new François Sagat movie was like getting called up the Big Leagues. I still have to pinch myself that this is all real.

Anytime someone has the desire to enter an industry, there are usually inspirations that drive that particular passion. Did you have any yourself prior to joining?

It’s funny, when I was studying film and even when I was in high school wanting to become a film maker, I was divided between whether I wanted to do children’s horror movies, science fiction or porn. When I was in elementary school I was already writing scripts. Sadly I came from a music family so my begging for a movie camera was laughed off as a silly dream and I was forced to take cello and bassoon lessons, which in itself explains why “children’s horror movies” was on my want list, probably (laughs). But by the time I was in high school I was writing a lot more porn-ish scripts. Most of which were about teenagers stuck in small towns escaping to a city that tried to eat them up but the protagonist always ended up making the city his bitch. I guess my musical background was always there. When I was in high school I recorded an album of songs for my Canadian Literature class that had a song called “Stand Up” about football players checking out each others dicks in the shower. So I guess I was always a bit of a sexual shit-disturber.

What I’ve always loved about making porn is that you’re getting people at their most primal and personal. I can make all the comedy or Sci-fi movies that entertain people [Jasun Mark worked on the Gay Film Festival darling “Birthday Cake” and the Sci-Fi Zombie Web Series “Project: Phoenix”], but porn is what really gets under people’s skin. I’ve heard from so many young men that they were scared, lonely gay teenagers who thought they’d never find a place to fit in until they saw those Fratpad Jack Off Races where instead of getting called “faggot” for expressing sexuality, there were a bunch of guys standing around cheering. One guy told me that after he saw that he knew everything was going to be OK and he was going to find a place where he’d fit it. So I guess the “Ricky/Kent Jerk off race” was my best “It Gets Better” video.

Your work has been primarily behind the camera, was there ever a thought of performing in front?

Honestly, no. I’m um… well, I’m not physically what a porn star should look like. I’m pretty short and stout and I just can’t be arsed to work out enough really look good on camera. When I was doing marketing for Jake Cruise, I did actually stand in for Jake doing some massage videos where I was fully clothed and I did one scene with my friend Adam Russo for Nasty Daddy just to see what it was like to be a performer. But I never really considered being a porn star and no studios have asked me. I’ve always wanted to be a film maker. I never really seriously considered performing.

You have worked for high-profile studios like Jake Cruise, Cocksure Men and of course Titan. Do you have a particular favorite scene that really resonates with you to this day?

Oh man… that’s a hard one. I’ll choose that Ricky/Kent Jack Off Race from my Fratpad days. From Cocksure Men I think I’ll choose the 3-way with Dean Monroe, John Magnum and Devin Draz. I was chatting with Dean the other day and he told me that of all the scenes he did in his 20-year career, that’s one of the few that he still jerks off to. From Titanmen… Almost too hard to nail down. Maybe the opening scene from Nightfall where Thomas is lured from out behind his computer by Alessio Romero. Or the one with Hunter Marx and Damien Stone in Bad Cop. There’s also one coming out this coming Christmas with Jesse Jackman and Eric Nero where I finally got to put some of my cinematic chops on display. I’ll admit that it’s going to be fun to show people I can do more than just shoot good video of hot men fucking…

What about performers, anyone in particular that stands out for one reason or another?

I’ve been so lucky. I got to work with some of the best gay porn stars going. François Sagat, Dean Phoenix, Dean Monroe, Arpad Miklos, Allen Silver, Jesse Jackman, Johnny Hazard, Adam Herst, David Anthony… the list goes on and on. I’ll tell you this… François is one of the most unappreciated geniuses I’ve known. And I grew up in a family of university professors. He’s fascinating and disarmingly nice but surprisingly modest and shy. He’s an enigma, but I’m so proud I got to work with him and still stay in touch with him.

Coinciding with that, is there anyone you would like to work with both in front and behind the camera?

There are a few guys I’ve wanted to work with. I regret I never got a chance to work with Kennedy Carter, but I’m so proud of how well he’s done post-porn. I wish I’d gotten a chance to work with some of the greats like Leo Ford or Anthony Gallo. Guys currently working… I still hope I can get a chance to work with Jaxton Wheeler. Behind the camera… I’ve worked with Joe Gage and Brian Mills… so I guess my only remaining idols are Kristen Björn and ChiChi LaRue.

What is your take on the industry today? Do you find the word “gay porn star” to be a bit of thing of the past?

Not at all. I think it’s easier to BE a gay porn star now so the term is a bit watered down. I also think that as porn performers become more accessible to us, they lose a lot of their mystique. Now you can friend and follow your favorite porn stars on Facebook and Twitter and interact with them in a way you never could in the golden age. But we still have huge stars like Jesse Jackman, David Anthony, Trenton Ducati, Adam Russo, Rocco Steele… I mean the list goes on.

As far as the state of the industry… I think we’re still at a cross-road much like the TV and music industries. The digital age has meant some HUGE changes to how people access and consume content. 20 years ago, production companies had people by the balls. You had to buy things how they chose to sell them. Record labels ruthlessly monopolized record store shelves, TV schedules were chosen for us along with programming. Now that people have broken that model and can consume content in their own ways… it’s evened things out in ways we never thought of before.

Now a tiny artist like Justin Bieber from a tiny town in remote Canada with NO industry connections can use Youtube and become the biggest pop star of a generation. Small home-made porn sites like Sean Cody could totally buck the system and sell his content only online on his own self-hosted, cutting out DVD retailers altogether… and that revolutionized how gay porn was DONE. Look at how the guys from Where The Bears Are have been able to skip the middle man and get their fans to fund their series season by season. Independent Radio shows didn’t really exist before iTunes launched Podcasting. Now even the major players are diving into that. None of that would have been possible in the 90s and most of that wouldn’t even have been possible until about 2005 when we got Podcasting and Youtube.

Even making a movie on a very tight budget is possible if you’re willing to do the work. Digital film making has made budgets almost unimportant. People ask me how much I had to spend on all the digital effects in Nightfall and Dick Danger and the answer is “nothing.” It just meant I stayed up very late for a couple weeks and did it myself. Now you just have to be willing to work your ass off.

All of this means that the porn industry has had to constantly reinvent itself and adapt to a new digital age where we’re putting out a new scene every week instead of a new movie every month. We have tighter budgets and more competition for people’s attention on Twitter and the blogs. We have to have a well-designed and easy to navigate site, we need to have a good social media presence AND we have to have good movies. I find it all exciting but yes… it’s not as easy to get rich making porn as it was maybe in 1997.

What do you have planned for 2016 that your fans can be excited about?

I have some amazing stuff in the works. the really sad thing is that I can’t really talk much about it. Titanmen has a pretty long turn-around time for our movies because we all like to polish and perfect and do all the work we can to make them their best possible and THAT means other studios that turn their stuff around in a week or two can easily copy what we’re doing and release their crappy knock-off the same week you release yours. I think starting this Thanksgiving with my Dad/Son movie Like Father Like Son you’ll see exactly where we’ve been going… more stories and scripts and characters. More hot setups and more developed ideas. Let’s get back together in April and you’ll see just how hard we’ve been working. I can tell you that Like Father Like Son is the most story-driven porn movie I’ve ever directed. You can already see the trailer and people are going ape-shit for it. So looks like I struck that primal nerve I was talking about.

Ultimately, what is your biggest goal for yourself moving forward?

I used to say “to be lead director for Titanmen” and I’ve been letting myself bask in that glory for a bit. But now my job is to pick up that mantle and run with it. Titan has a very proud history and I know just how much responsibility my job came with… so I guess my goal is to live up to the standards of what came before me.

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