For those of you in the LA area, the new issue of Frontiers Magazine is on the stands! Why am I so excited? It features my cover story on the stars of 'Boy Culture' that's why! And for those of you not in the area, I can't mail ya one but I can share it with you...enjoy!

THREE'S COMPANY: BEHIND THE SCENES WITH THE STARS OF THE SMART, SEXY NEW FILM 'BOY CULTURE'
By Greg Hernandez
Before they all arrived in Seattle to shoot Q. Allan Brocka’s new film, Boy Culture, Derek Magyar, Darryl Stephens and Jonathon Trent had never before crossed paths.
That could have been an obstacle since they had only 18 days to shoot a movie that required physical and emotional intimacy between the three leads. But the three actors bonded deeply as they got gym
memberships for daily workouts and lived together in the days before filming and all through the shoot.
“We were up in Seattle by ourselves. For the most part, it was the three of us,” says Stephens, best known for playing the title role in Noah’s Arc. “We had every opportunity to become real friends which I
think worked for the movie. All three are very different characters and have a genuine affection for each other.”
Boy Culture, which will be released in theaters March 23, tells the story of “X,” a wildly successful male escort played by Magyar whose life changes when he get entangled with his roommates (Stephens and Trent) as well as a reclusive elderly client named Gregory (portrayed by Patrick Bauchau).
“What drew me to the character was, at the core, he was somebody who is really afraid to love,” explains Magyar. “He’s kind of a tough guy, not the most chipper or sweetest. But underneath, he’s a great person who wants to be loved and accepted - that’s something we all want, gay or straight.”
Based on the critically-acclaimed novel by Matthew Rettenmund, the film goes beyond the drama that would likely arise when three available and very attractive men are sharing a home. Those attractions are explored but the film also focuses on the unlikely friendship the develops between X and Gregory.
Before Gregory will agree to sex with X, he tells an unsettling love story spanning fifty years and dares X to try something he hasn’t felt for years: emotion.
“It appealed to me more because I found that this had Gregory’s character was written in to expose X to real feelings and emotions,” Magyar says. “I would say that in the film itself, his roommates are his friends so to speak but Gregory becomes a close friend.”
He also found it especially gratifying to work with Bauchau who he says is “an incredible actor and great person and was very easy going with him. We just formed a friendship outside of work and it carried over into X and Gregory. It made it a very relaxing and comfortable environment.”
Stephens’ character Andrew and X are clearly attracted to each other but face a bumpy road toward getting close.
“Andrew is recently out of the closet and just moved to Seattle to get away from marriage engagement to a woman that didn’t pan out,” Stephens explains. “He is just coming into his sexuality and learning to deal with men on that level. When he met X, he was attracted to him but wasn’t sure about pursuing it. They sorta became friends but
it seems Andrew began to pursue other means of satiating his sexual appetite.”
Besides his own issues, it bothers Andrew that X is a male escort: “I think that was the big stumbling part of it. He likes X but doesn’t understand how he can share himself with people for money. He’s got a problem with that.”
Trent’s character is even more rudderless than his two older roommates and engages in self-destructive behavior involving drugs and sex.
“Joey is the child or the baby in the threesome,” says the young actor. “He’s this young kid who is very insecure and scared and lonely so he flaunts his sexuality to get what he wants. A lot of
people do that when they don’t know what else to go on. They use what they feel they have. For Joey, it was all about his sexuality. He’s charming in a slutty way.”
Stephens is confident the movie will connect with gay audiences given its popular reception at Outfest and other festivals. But he also this “film has great crossover potential. It has issues that cross race and cross age. Even though it’s essentially a gay love story, I think it will appeal to a broad audience.”
Magyar agrees.
“I think if you are looking for a story about love, being gay or straight, this is the movie to see,” he says. “It’s a drama with fun and humorous moments. It’s very real, something we can all relate to - that feeling of being afraid to love and putting up walls and barriers because we’re afraid of what it means to allow ourselves to feel certain things.
“I am very proud of the film.”