Interview with Mark Elias from Golden Boy (2018)

Mark Elias is an actor, writer and director. His writing is inspired by his life and imagination. His work is out of the box and portrays a bold unfiltered image of life, sexuality and relationships. Being both an actor and a writer makes him a good collaborator. His story is inspiring as he successfully crowd funded two of his independent films. 

Mark Elias’s film Golden Boy is about so much more than sexuality, it is “intentionally slice of life” with brave and real characters. Unravelling many truths of the dark side of Hollywood such as drug abuse and addiction, it illustrates that sexuality is the least of their problems. In an interview with Tickle.Life, Elias talks about how there is so much sexual fluidity in the industry and no one is “crucified” for their label. In the process of making the film, they pulled out all labels from the script. No one needs to be labelled, no one is defined by who they choose at a certain moment. 

The actor tells Tickle.Life that the protagonist, James, new to the ways of the LA lifestyle and industry is lost. James manages to make a place for himself but continuously “gives away his soul to maintain that.”  He talks about a space where there are many who are willing to take advantage and “if you don’t make the choices in your life, other people can make them for you.” 

There is an autobiographical element in Elias’s writing. Being from Philadelphia, this world was completely new to him. Acceptance of sexual fluidity and drug exposure was all unrelatable but he learnt in the process. He says that “judgement is based out of fear, not being afraid changes you.” He met many people and realised that his life resonated with many others. It is all a shared social experience where one has to be open and accepting. 

Tickle.Life and Elias discuss how there is no limit to sexuality and it is an ever-expanding space. There are new ideas and concepts that one encounters with each passing day and no matter how unnatural they seem, with information and an open mind, they are acceptable. There are so many issues in the world, sexuality shouldn’t be one of them. 

Golden Boy

Golden Boy is the story of James, a young man who gambles on the dangers of being seen versus the quiet life of desperation and invisibility. Saved from doomed nonexistence by CQ, a wealthy debonair businessman with more going on than meets the eye, and introduced to a world he is not ready to navigate. We follow him as he chases his dreams -- while losing himself, one piece at a time. Golden Boy is a story with universal themes. Trust. Seduction. Betrayal. Redemption.

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