LOS ANGELES – While most reality television is anything but real, Vivid Entertainment executive Steven Hirsch experienced more than one genuinely uncomfortable moment in "Deeper Throat".
Produced by World of Wonder and premiering on Showtime Feb. 14, "Deeper Throat" follows Hirsch and company through the making of Throat: A Cautionary Tale, director Paul Thomas' reinvention of the '70s Linda Lovelace classic.
Vivid's biggest hurdle in this process was securing permission to exploit the legendary porn title from rights owner Ray Pistol, the old-school head honcho of Las Vegas-based Arrow Productions.
The first installment of the six-episode series captures Hirsch's discomfort during his initial meeting with Pistol at the Arrow chief's Sin City strip club, Talk of the Town.
"I've got nothing against strip clubs, but I like mine upscale," Hirsch said. "In the first episode of the series, Ray asked me to meet him in a really seedy strip joint in Vegas and the place made me feel uncomfortable. Then he had one of his dancers try to give me a lap dance and I was thinking, well, you gotta do what you gotta do to make this happen...but I just hope it's worth it!"
The Arrow camp told AVN of some even more "uncomfortable" incidents - including one in which Arrow marketing director Robert Interlandi claims he challenged Hirsch to a physical fight.
But the hairy behind-the-scenes hassles have already paid off for Vivid in at least one way. Thanks to P.T.'s radical reinterpretation of the premise and a volcanic performance from Sasha Grey, Throat: A Cautionary Tale scored AVN's highest rating.
To read the exclusive, advance review by veteran adult film critic Jared Rutter, visit this AVN.com link.
Vivid is offering screener copies of Throat to adult media in advance of the film's release on March 18. The studio also plans to release sneak peeks at the movie on a special website.
For screener copies of Throat, e-mail [email protected]. For "Deeper Throat" air times, visit sho.com.
