[A scene from LaBruce's 1996 flick, Hustler White.]
AB: Back to what you were saying about the Bruce LaBruce persona. I'm curious to know, do your close friends – are you called by your birth name, Justin Stewart on a regular basis?

Blab: My old – really old – friends and family call me by real name. But the thing with me is – actually, in the 90s, when my films started to be shown more internationally, I had this bizarre thing where I did sort of become this Jekyll and Hyde thing. I became disassociated from my persona. It was sort of schizo: I was one person at home and then another person when I was out in public, which most people do anyway. I mean, it's just more exaggerated, I guess, but it's also the way I was representing myself in interviews. But then at a certain point, I sort of managed to reconcile or merge the two identities, but I'm pretty much Bruce to almost everyone.

AB: In your 1997 memoir, The Reluctant Pornographer, you say that pornography is an excellent way to express yourself, because you can't really be criticized for what happens. You write, "I choose to work in pornography because it is one of the few remaining places where homosexuals can express themselves freely and radically without fear of censure.” With regard bareback pornography, which has been very controversial, is there room for criticism?

Blab: Actually, during an Otto Q&A, someone was concerned I was promoting unsafe sex because of the blood and everything, which points to the difference between reality and fantasy. There's a difference between having people actually have unsafe sex in videos and merely suggesting it. I think, yeah, you can totally critique bareback videos. I personally would never make a porn movie or a movie where people are having unsafe sex in my movie. For me, personally, condoms would be necessary. My producer has a porn company and I think they make some bareback movies. For that, it's up to the individual actor. I sort of can understand that, as well, if the people involved in making the film are quite aware of what they're doing, that's their personal choice.

AB: Have you thought about your next project?

Blab: I'm thinking about it now and I really want to – I started working in 8mm, then 16mm, and digital and this movie was shot on HD, so on my next project I want to do something a bit bigger, shoot on 35 and up the budget, but it's difficult. I don't know if you heard about it in the States, but we had this bill, C-10 that they're trying to pass in Canada that would effectively deny tax credits to independent Canadian features based on what the government deems appropriate. So, if they think you film is morally questionable or too violent or whatever, then they can deny you tax credits and that's how $5 million films are financed, through tax credits. It's not getting easier to make edgy or darker work. The higher budget you get into, the more people you have trying to influence what you're doing or tone it down.