The Fluffer

Wash Westmoreland (born March 4, 1966) is an independent film director who has worked in television, documentaries, independent films. Westmoreland’s began directing in the adult film world of the late-nineties making deliberately ironic post-modern porn. His 2006 release, “Quinceañera”, had a double Sundance win (Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize), and also picked up the Humanitas Prize, and the John Cassavetes Spirit Award. In 2008 Westmoreland produced an MTV film “Pedro” about AIDS activist Pedro Zamora that was introduced on MTV by U.S. President Bill Clinton. Working with his partner Richard Glatzer, he is slated to direct “Hello Darkness,” a vampire movie set in the North of England and “Sensational,” a feature for HBO.

After working as a camera assistant on Bruce LaBruce’s movie Hustler White, Westmoreland decided to enter the Adult Entertainment world to make what he described as “post-modern pornography” and research material for a feature film project The Fluffer. He managed to land a job directing for BIG Video, a minor label and directed under the name Wash West. Toolbox and Dr Jerkoff and Mr Hard were his first significant films.

In 1997 he wrote and directed Naked Highway for BIG Video. This film starred Jim Buck and received high praise from many critics and was filled with daring music, deep saturated color alternating with washed out sections and black and white sequences. It was also released in a softcore edit and made available in more mainstream outlets. The movie swept both the 1997 Adult Erotic Gay Video Awards and the 1998 AVN Awards.

It was also during this time that Westmoreland started to make his presence in mainstream films felt. He appeared briefly in Velvet Goldmine by director Todd Haynes. Haynes would go on to work with Westmoreland as a producer on Quinceañera.

Westmoreland went on to direct the cat-and-mouse thriller Animus for All Worlds Video, which channelled the millennium fears of the time (1999) and featured performances from Blake Harper and Thomas Lloyd, who both won GayVN Awards for their work.

Taking a different direction, he began to produce a series of comic videos for All Worlds Video under the name of Bud Light. Of these, The Devil is a Bottom won the 2001 GayVN Award as Best Sex Comedy and was surprisingly listed as one of the LA Weekly Critic’s Top Ten Movies of the year.²

His work in the adult industry culminated in 2001 independent film The Fluffer which was loosely based on many real events and characters. Around this time he gave a candid interview to Terri Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air. After this he only made two more adult movies; Seven Deadly Sins Gluttony for All Worlds Video, based on Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray and a parody of the horror film The Ring called The Hole for Jet Set Productions which dealt with a videotape that would turn those who watched it gay in seven days. Westmoreland picked up many GayVN Awards for both titles. The Hole was also released in a softcore edit for more mainstream outlets. —Wikipedia