HOOKED: My first feature length movie
Hooked tells the story of Jack: a homeless teenage prostitute with a smart mouth and impulsive tendencies. He battles through a violent world of reckless johns between New York City and Miami, desperately seeking a better life with his boyfriend Tom.
The story depicts a harsh world where even good intentions can cause ruinous results. Without pointing fingers at any particular group, HOOKED shows how even the gay community is contributing to the perpetuation of the LGBT homeless youth problem. The allegory is not completely bleak, however; hope is found through the humanity in both the leading couple and (eventually) even the married closet case antagonist, Ken.
THE TRAILER:
WHY HOOKED?
You may be thinking…. Max, you’re a self-proclaimed international male underpants supermodel... why do you care about a bunch of homeless kids? Well here’s what happened:
About two years ago I published a novel called HOT SISSY about growing up closeted in redneck Florida. It seemed appropriate to make the e-book free for anyone currently still in school, or unable to afford a copy. Within just a few days, hundreds of kids reached out, and even shared THEIR stories.
Turns out I’ve had it pretty easy in comparison to what some of these kids are currently going through. It was shocking how some of these people are being treated just because of their sexual identity. I’m really grateful for the chance to have shared my story, but now I want to use my time to tell some of theirs, and hopefully make their lives better in the process.
REAL IMPACT:
The concept is simple: half of the profits from this film will go to benefit various charity organizations whose goal is to end LGBT youth homelessness and abuse.
- In the USA, LGBT youth are 8 times more likely to end up homeless as a direct result of homophobia. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, LGBT homeless youth are 7.4 Times more likely to experience acts of sexual violence than their heterosexual counterparts. Over 58% of these kids have been sexually victimized. Their suicide rate is more than two times higher as well. It’s even common for “normal” shelters to simply refuse to serve transgender kids.
- It’s apparent that LGBT kids need a place they can go to be safe... to find guidance from people who actually identify with the things they are going through. It’s not special treatment, it’s a necessity.
- The shelters that this project supports run on razor thin budgets. Any contribution to them will have a direct affect on the people who need their services. With your help, we can continue to fund these amazing organizations and hopefully even help them expand to ensure that nobody gets turned away.