Scarborough Sells Hot House, Retires
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – After a 27-year career in adult entertainment, Hot House Entertainment founder and owner Steven Scarborough has sold his company’s assets to AEBN division Falcon/Raging Stallion and retired. According to a statement released late last week, the deal created the world’s largest producer of gay erotica.
“We are excited to bring Hot House into the AEBN family of companies,” Falcon/Raging Stallion President Chris Ward said. “I started my own career at Hot House, so it is very significant for me to bring Steven’s company to Falcon/Raging Stallion.
“We plan to preserve and protect Steven’s outstanding legacy and continue filming in the Hot House tradition and style,” Ward continued. “Just as I worked hard to protect the Falcon legacy after the Falcon/Raging Stallion merger, I intend to make sure that Hot House fans keep getting exactly what they want.”
In announcing his retirement, Scarborough ended a career that began at Falcon in 1987. He served as the studio’s principle director and right-hand man to the late Chuck Holmes, who founded Falcon. Scarborough was instrumental in developing niche films for the studio, and his signature style in those niches became the hallmark of the Hot House brand after Scarborough left Falcon to found his own studio in 1993.
Ward began his adult career directing for the Hot House’s Club Inferno line before moving on to found Raging Stallion Studios with JD Slater in 1999. Charlotte, NC-based heterosexual video-on-demand provider AEBN acquired Raging Stallion in February 2009 and 35-year-old industry staple Falcon Studios in December 2010, and merged the two into a gay operating division under Ward’s command.
“Because I came from Falcon and because Chris came from Hot House, I feel this deal is a perfect fit,” Scarborough said. “I reached out to Chris because of our long history together. I am absolutely confident that he and his team will continue the Hot House tradition, which is something very, very important to me. I look forward to seeing Hot House remain an industry leader for years to come.”
Hot House’s Club Inferno remains one of the primary extreme fetish brands in gay adult entertainment. Hot House’s more “mainstream” products are available on the studio’s flagship website, HotHouse.com. All Hot House, Falcon and Raging Stallion membership sites are part of the Buddy Profits affiliate program. Films from all three studios are available in VOD format at AEBN.net.
Opportunities to expand the Hot House brand include making the 300-title catalog available on cable TV through AEBN’s Align Broadcast group, which has become a major player in the U.S. domestic cable marketplace.
Christian Owen, the current film director at Hot House, will continue with the new venture, assuring continuity of content. Director of Hot House Operations Rob LeVan also will remain as director of operations for the studio group.
[SIZE=1]Image: the Hot House “look.”[/SIZE]