Director’s Take – The Journey of Route 69

• Tweet
• Pin It

Tony Dimarco’s Route 69 is, in a word, inspired! It’s one of the freshest and most interesting gay porn movie concepts to come along in years. We caught up with the award-winning director to discuss the making of this road trip flick, the inspiration behind it and the journey it took to get from the concept to the screen. It’s been a passion project of Dimarco’s and he’s been developing the project for the last five years. Check out the story of this instant classic and the classic Falcon movies that inspired modern scenes with the hottest current Falcon stars. It’s definitely a “trip”.

We’ve included some of the classic images that Tony Dimarco used as inspiration for the final scenes in Route 69.

HUNT: Tell us a little bit about how you came up with concept for Route 69

Tony Dimarco: It all started when I was thinking about doing a cross-country, road-trip, buddy movie at the same time we were approaching Falcon’s 40th anniversary. At the time, we were also think of doing a few remakes. We eventually decided to produce the sixth installment of The Other Side of Aspen that year and planned to do a few more.

I always wanted to do a buddy road trip movie and there was this location called the “4 Aces”. It was a movie set out in the middle of the desert. Falcon had shot some parts a film there years back. I thought this location would be perfect for the road movie. It had a gas station, a motel and a roadside diner all in the same place. You couldn’t ask for a better set up. So, I started thinking about this location and what I would do there.

Usually when I work on conceiving a movie I think up a few details and let them play out in my mind. I was thinking there are these two college buddies who decide to take a road trip through the desert on the famous Route 66. They’ve always had the hots for each other secretly. Along the way there listening to music having a good time, and start talking about porn. I knew that in the story that they would eventually end up having sex together so I thought what could happen along the way.

So, I continued to simmer on it and let the ideas play out…they drive up a road side gas station, and what happens next? Well they would drive into some situation, but what could happen there? I thought what if the drive up, and a hot gas station attendant comes out. Then what? Sex happens between the gas station attendant and the mechanic. Then it came to me…So what if they’re witnessing a porn movie? Not the filming of a movie, but what if they if they figuratively drive “into a porn movie”? We put ourselves “in” the movie as we watch and jerk off to it, why not have the two guys actually drive into the film? That’s where the idea began and I thought I could expand on it.

I had the film all cast with some of our hottest exclusive at that time. As fate would have it the location fell though and the project was shelved. The idea was very strong so I knew it had potential to be made at some point. Every once and awhile I would bring it up as a concept to film but each time we could not find the locations to make it happen so we did not schedule to shoot it.

HUNT: So how did this exciting concept finally turn into a Route 69 reality?

Tony Dimarco: Fast forward five years later and after making some refinements, I pitched it to Falcon Studios Group President Tim Valenti as a vehicle for celebrating Falcon’s 45-year anniversary by finding ways to incorporate themes and scenes inspired by the Falcon classics, and he loved it.

I was still a little hesitant to commit to it, because I knew how hard it was to find the locations needed to do it right, especially the gas station. In the past that has been the big “roadblock” for this project (we actually built the gas station for this film). It is how the whole movie begins so I felt we could not cut it or change the setting. We put the movie on the schedule and hoped for the best. Tim and I discussed the movie and fleshed out the story line, how many scenes then and I went off and wrote the script.

In my original concept, I wanted to have flash backs of classic Falcon porn scenes. Flacon has such a rich history of scenes in its vaults it was easy to go back and find scenes that were similar to the scenes in my concept. It was a big part for me to show some of these classic movies, there were so many very hot scenes, I wanted to infuse the storied past of Falcon with the new and hopefully expose the newer audience to some great stuff.

That’s when it hit me…taking the idea of having them drive into the film and making it where they drive into the past and see these scenes inspired by the classics come to life or actually be part of the inspired action.

For the story to work the two guys either needed to witness the action or be involved in it. It was easy to write at that point. I knew I wanted to use places that would be along the road side a gas station a motel a diner and a rest stop. Then to figure out each scene and use the classics as inspiration.

As for the specific scenes in Route 69, there are some direct references and some more of just an overall “theme” that runs thought many classic movies, like roadside sex, rest stop action or pickup truck blow jobs. Overall, I think the “situations” just naturally played out and really came together as a perfect blend of the past and the present.

I hope the viewer enjoys the film as much as we did making it.”

• Tweet
• Pin It