LOS ANGELES, CA — Note to porn stars: Don’t give up your day job. As it turns out, working in the adult entertainment industry actually could pave your way to Hollywood.Once considered a “nod, nod; wink, wink” dream, contemporary porn stars are showing up more frequently in mainstream motion pictures and having an overt influence on pop culture. Sasha Grey, for instance, recently was cast in Steven Soderbergh’s The Girlfriend Experience. The movie wrapped last week, and 20-year-old Grey received high praise from the Oscar-winning director of Traffic and Erin Brockovich for her portrayal of a high-dollar call girl.
Katie Morgan, another young pornstress with dozens of adult films under her belt, appeared not only in an episode of HBO’s “Entourage,” but also in Kevin Smith’s new cult hit, Zack and Miri Make a Porno.
Both women’s roles may seem akin to typecasting, but at least they got the girls’ feet in the door.
Of more significance, perhaps is the reverence with which popular culture is dealing with the memories of stars from porn’s underground days. A rock opera about the life of Deep Throat star Linda Lovelace currently is playing in Los Angeles. John Holmes remains iconic; a collection of his classic works recently was re-released. Deep Throat director Gerard Damiano was eulogized in flattering terms by Time magazine.
Even living porn legends are seeing a renewed interest in their lives and work among younger generations no longer willing to consider sex a dirty word. Earlier this year, a documentary about gay pioneer Jack Wrangler, Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon, played at festivals nationwide to enthusiastic reviews. And, of course, Ron Jeremy continues to represent the industry admirably in debates with religious fundamentalists on college campuses nationwide.
Fashion, too, is taking cues from porn. Even staid Fox News presented a segment in which its resident “sexpert” discussed the importance of genital grooming for chic individuals of both genders.
Soderbergh gives credit for porn’s new acceptance to the proliferation of adult content on the internet and — oddly enough — to Paris Hilton. Initially, Hollywood insiders believed the infamous Hilton sex tape that started the celebrity sex tape craze would ruin the socialite’s standing in her well-heeled circles. In fact, it boosted Hilton’s profile and led to the creation of a new term: “celebutante,” meaning someone who is famous simply for being famous.
As mainstream as porn has become, however, society remains a long way from blurring the lines between adult and Hollywood content. Despite hits like Zack and Miri, which push the envelope until it screams, “adult’s never going to be mainstream in the true sense of the word,” according to AVN founder and President Paul Fishbein. “I don’t think you’re going to see hardcore sex scenes in movies that Paramount and 20th Century Fox are releasing.”
