I was about 23 years old and the norms and values of Canada’s society was certainly changing. The CRTC had recently allowed Canada’s first LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender) channel to broadcast, PrideVision. My production company Hiltz Squared Media, had an inkling of an idea for an LGBT dating show which was in the same vein of the handful of straight dating shows that were dominating the airwaves in the early part of the 2000’s. We met with PrideVision’s head of programming, an amazing lady, Wendy Donnan. She loved the concept for the show and quickly ordered a pilot.
Keeping in mind, myself and my two business associates at the time were not and are not gay. I was forced to do a deep dive into LGBT culture. In other words, I was hanging out on Toronto’s Church Street (gay district) many nights talking to people at the different clubs and coffee shops, attempting to understand what they’d like to see in a dating show. Remember this was almost a decade before LOGO and HERE TV, PrideVision was the only LGBT channel on the block.
QUEER AS FOLK
It may sound ridiculous but most of the gay programming before PrideVision was primarily pornographic content. However there was some game-changing content in the late 90’s and early 2000’s which would influence LGBT television for decades to come which includes: Ellen, The L Word and Queer as Folk which was filmed on Toronto’s Church Street. In fact, Queer as Folk was the first show to ever televise two gay men having sex. (simulated sex)
FAIRY TALE
Eventually our company shot a pilot which included a main guest who had three potential dates to choose from. At the start of the program the main character picks a date and off they go on an adventure. Dates included everything from horseback riding to bathhouses. In retrospect filming at the bathhouse was probably a bad idea. Once the date ended, our host asked if our contestants were a match.
We were lucky enough to shoot three seasons and over 50 shows focusing on our main guests who had some fascinating stories. One main contestant was HIV Positive, another was transexual and in later seasons we added bisexual dates (who do you like better, the boy or girl?) and a variety of other different combinations. The most challenging aspect of the production was when contestants didn’t show up. Since we usually filmed around 8 PM, it meant I was forced to try to find talent in one of the LGBT bars on Church Street. On many occasions men thought I was trying to pick them up, while women weren’t sure of my intentions and the trans community actually believed me and was excited to appear on the program. Nevertheless, I became very popular in the LGBT community.
The show received a lot of press including articles in the LA TIMES. After three years of shooting FAIRY TALE we wanted a different challenge. Same Sex Marriage had recently become legal in Canada and was slowly being legalized in different parts of the world.
I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU….
One year later we launched a new series, “I Now Pronounce You…” hosted by Winnipeg Comedian and current Big Brother producer, Trevor Boris. Trevor was the right kind of edgy and off-kilter host we needed to pull off our idea. The show involved giving couples cameras to film each other, interviewing them in a studio setting, then flying around the world to film their weddings and after-parties. We flew to London, England, Vegas, NY, Israel, Boston, LA, and the Netherlands.
LONNY & MICHELE
One of the first shows we shot was in Las Vegas. Lonny, who was formerly a US marine (he fought in Iraq), decided he liked himself better as Laura. Our cameras followed Laura and her wife-to-be, Michelle living it up on the Vegas Strip. They were married by an Elvis impersonator after Laura showed us her collection of hand-guns, bullets and sex-changing hormones. The couple explained that their children (around 5-7 years of age) were slowly becoming used to the concept of their dad transforming into a second mum whom they lovingly called Monny. I think I gained ten pounds on that trip eating the Heart Attack breakfast every morning at Denny’s.
ENGLAND
Another wedding found us heading to London, England to film the first ever same-sex wedding in Europe. The couple’s marriage actually made the front page of the Evening Standard newspaper alongside Elton John and his partner David Furnish. Our couple’s wedding actually took place at the seaside resort of Brighton. The men were married at a fabulous ceremony inside city hall followed by a raucous after-party. One of their friends informed us at an early age he took a hot poker to his penis because he wanted to be a girl.
WINNIPEG & FOSTER KIDS: GLEN & GERALD
Perhaps the most interesting wedding our team filmed took place in my hometown of Winnipeg. Glen and Gerald were foster parents to eight children all of who had various disabilities from Fetal Alcohol and Tourette Syndromes. These two gentlemen were two of the kindest, most patient men in the world. Unfortunately, Gerald died two years following the wedding when a routine surgery accidentally killed him.
KANAKO
We followed the show up with a documentary called KANAKO: Challenging The System, about the first lesbian running for congress in Japan. My wife and I flew to Tokyo for her campaign and met our crew there. (She directed while I produced) We didn’t understand the language and I was probably the tallest person in the country. For the most part, we hung out in the gay district known as Shinjuku Ni-chome where you could literally buy women’s underwear in a vending machine. Political candidates weren’t allowed to advertise on television; rather they drove around the country in mini-buses, shouting at people via microphones to vote for them. Kanako lost in a landslide but her effort generated worldwide press and paved the way for gay women all over Japan to compete in national politics.
LUKA MAGNOTTA
A few years later we were asked to produce The Out Tv (PrideVision changed its name) program Cover Guy which is where we met the notorious killer Luka Magnotta, who is bisexual, happened to be auditioning to become Canada’s top male model.
SEX, FAME & MURDER
Inevitably, all of those years creating and producing LGBT content led to producing and writing the definitive documentary on Luka Magnotta for A&E, “Sex, Fame & Murder: The Luka Magnotta Story.” Luka eventually married a man in prison.