DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley

Documentarian Tomer Heymann & His Subject Jonathan Agassi ("Jonathan Agassi Saved My Life"): "I Don't Mind Being An Old Gay Man"


Listen Later

Dennis connects via Zoom with Toren Heymann and Jonathan Agassi, the Tel Aviv, Israel-based filmmaker and subject of the new documentary Jonathan Agassi Saved My Life. The film documents about the rags-to-riches-to rags odyssey of Israeli porn performer Jonathan Agassi who rose to prominence in  films like Men Of Israel, Trapped In The Game and Jonathan Agassi Goes Raw, all from director Michael Lucas. Jonathan talks about how he got into porn, the power that came with changing his name and the parts of the business that he loved the most, from having sex with beautiful men to buying lots of shoes. He also talks about his descent into drug use, the first time he tried crystal, how he'd disappear for weeks at a time, and his decision to to let Tomer film him using drugs on camera. He also recalls showing up to early Q & As of the documentary high on drugs and how watching the film and seeing himself use drugs on camera inspired him to get sober. Tomer talks about what drew him to Jonathan as a subject, the moments in the process where he knew he was making a much more serious and intense film than the porn romp he started making and the challenge of getting mainstream audiences to treat this as they would any other acclaimed, award-winning documentary. Other topics include: the deeo relationship Jonathan has with his mother that's at the heart of the film, the Pride Festival where Jonathan first realized the power of his sex appeal, why he loved attending the Hustlaball in Berlin, taking inspiration from Madonna's Sex book, Jonathan's current job working in a supermarket where he often gets recognized by fans of his porn and the warning from Oprah that went unheeded. www.heymannfilms.com

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis HensleyBy Dennis Hensley

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

96 ratings


More shows like DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley

View all
The Book Review by The New York Times

The Book Review

3,880 Listeners

Fresh Air by NPR

Fresh Air

37,872 Listeners

Pop Culture Happy Hour by NPR

Pop Culture Happy Hour

10,972 Listeners

Scriptnotes Podcast by John August and Craig Mazin

Scriptnotes Podcast

2,419 Listeners

The New Yorker Radio Hour by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

The New Yorker Radio Hour

6,679 Listeners

Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang by Big Money Players Network and iHeartPodcasts

Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang

8,710 Listeners

The Focus Group by The Focus Group, Tim Bennett, John Nash, Bleav

The Focus Group

187 Listeners

Talk About Gay Sex TAGSPODCAST by Steve V. Rodriguez

Talk About Gay Sex TAGSPODCAST

296 Listeners

Race Chaser with Alaska & Willam by Moguls of Media

Race Chaser with Alaska & Willam

9,745 Listeners

The Bald and the Beautiful with Trixie and Katya by Studio71 & Confetti Cannon

The Bald and the Beautiful with Trixie and Katya

11,144 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

15,481 Listeners

That's A Gay Ass Podcast by Eric Williams

That's A Gay Ass Podcast

330 Listeners

The Town with Matthew Belloni by The Ringer

The Town with Matthew Belloni

1,049 Listeners

Dads And Daddies by Brian Rubin-Sowers and Judson Morrow

Dads And Daddies

153 Listeners

Monét Talks with Monét X Change by Monét X Change & Studio71 & Confetti Cannon

Monét Talks with Monét X Change

347 Listeners