Skin & Bone (1996)

Interesting facts

Skin & Bone is a 1996 American crime drama film written and directed by Everett Lewis. It is the story of three Los Angeles-area hustlers, or male prostitutes, and their female pimp. The three men are at different stages of their hustling careers: Dean is just beginning; Billy is somewhat more experienced but still naive; and Harry actively wants to get out, and is looking to break into film acting. Ghislane, the pimp, sends each of the three young men into increasingly dangerous scenarios with clients, until both Billy and Harry are killed. The film stars B. Wyatt, Alan Boyce, Garret Scullin, and Nicole Dillenberg.

Production and style

Lewis became interested in making a film about hustlers because (despite there being films about hustlers dating back more than three decades) he had never seen such a film. In Lewis's own words, "When I started, there were no hustler movies and now there's a whole genre." His original concept for Skin & Bone was that it would be a series of 70 one-minute shots. Lewis changed his mind about the concept following some improvisation with actor B.

The film alternates between color and black and white sequences. Black and white usually denotes that the scene involves one or more of the hustlers engaged with a client, and indicates that one or more of the characters (not necessarily the client) is fantasizing.

The film features a number of songs by the queercore band Pansy Division. David Arquette has a cameo appearance as "Buzz Head", one of Ghislaine's regular clients. Arquette himself played a hustler in the film Johns, also released in 1996.

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