CHATSWORTH, Calif.—AVN readers can be forgiven if they don't know who Danielle Staub is, but if they've watched TV at all—notably the Bravo TV network—they probably saw her getting a large restaurant table overturned into her lap by fellow Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Guidice last season.
But every porn fan is about to get much better acquainted with the 47-year-old mother of two when her DVD, Danielle Staub Raw, is released tomorrow by copyright owners Scott Esposito and Brett Reisner of Tru Filth, who recently closed a distribution deal with Larry Flynt's LFP Video.
But it seems that hardcore footage of celebrities is getting to be a cutthroat business—and perhaps especially so in the case of the Staub tape, which is among the best homemade "amateur" hardcore we've yet seen. No barely visible night-vision or grainy third-generation footage here; everything's clear and well-lit, with a good 45 or so minutes of hot tease, nudity and "explicit sexual conduct" starring a gal who obviously likes to get fucked—even if there are a couple of momentary breaks in the action where viewers will be treated to Danielle's muff-munched moans while watching close-ups of her bedspread or bedroom cupboard. (See, her boyfriend, who shot the footage, really didn't want his face shown on camera...)
But while pre-orders for the DVD have been better than expected, Esposito, Reisner and Esposito's dad, industry veteran Mike Esposito, have been hearing troubling rumors.
"I'm not gonna say who's spreading all this," Mike Esposito told AVN, "but from what I've heard, I think there are a few companies out there, including some that approached us to get the rights to this video, who are now telling distributors not to buy it; that there's something wrong with it."
One such company that Esposito is sure isn't involved, however, is Vivid.
"Steve Hirsch is one of the most upstanding guys I know in this business," Esposito assured. "I've known him since he was 15, and even though we weren't able to come to a deal to release the DVD, I know Stevie would never be part of a rumor campaign like this."
Of course, that isn't to say Tru Filth is happy with everything that's been written in the press about the Staub disc, notably an article that appeared on the Fox News website.
"When we saw the Kendra Wilkinson footage for the first time, we knew immediately that with her looks and personality, our audience would love it. Over a period of several months we were offered two different Danielle Staub tapes by different third parties," Hirsch reportedly told Fox. "But we didn't have the same 'feeling' about the Staub footage and so we decided to pass."
"I don't know why Stevie said that," Mike Esposito told AVN. "I mean, sure, we took it to Vivid, but they didn't turn us down; we turned them down. I mean, their contract would have given them all rights 'forever' and 'in perpetuity' to the footage, and we would have been fools to sign a contract like that. With Hustler, sure, there was a little give and take, some horse-trading over the terms, but we're pretty happy with the deal we made with them."
Danielle Staub Raw marks Hustler's first foray into the field of celebrity hardcore, and Reisner's sure they won't be sorry.
"Getting it out there in clips in mainstream and adult media has really helped the presale," Reisner said, "but I think also that Mr. Flynt—and I can't quote him, but I think the people he employs were more than ecstatic because they knew no other company has ever done anything like this. You're not going to be disappointed; if you're looking for a celebrity and you're looking for a sex tape, you're going to get literally plenty of bang for your buck. There's hardcore sex for more than 40 minutes."
Footage from the disk is currently available online from Hustler's DanielleStaubRaw.com website, and VOD site HotMovies.com is also offering the full movie, either in its entirety as a weekly or yearly rental for streamed viewing, as a download, or as a per-minute purchase—plus the site features several hot streamed scenes free!
But Scott Esposito believes that the Staub disk will have real staying power, at least in part because of the continued popularity of Bravo's Real Housewives series.
"We really strategized our release with the broadcasts of the Real Housewives show," Esposito said, "because now I think we're got six or seven weeks left until the finale."
"We're thinking about the momentum it carries," Reisner added. "You know, from what I've heard, if the preorders are good, the reorders are going to be better. I mean, Danielle is not only hot, she's a hot MILF, and we think everybody from teenagers to middle age is going to want to see her having sex."
"Bravo's got to be liking what we're doing for them, I'm sure," he continued. "I think it's working both ways: They're seeing what we're going to do next, and we're looking forward to what their next episode is going to contain, which is great because Danielle had a previous tape that there was an injunction on, which can never be released, and that's the one that they're talking about on the show now, and we don't know what's going to come next. Maybe after the season ends, there may be a wrap-up or one-on-one—after the show airs, I know they do like a roundtable, with two of the girls, one from Jersey and one from New York, and last week it was Dina and another girl. Dina is the one who left the show because of Danielle, and this week will be Danielle, which will be shown on the 21st, which is the day before we ship, so it's perfect timing for us."
Tru Filth is definitely counting on the staying power of the Bravo series to keep Staub's name in the mainstream press—and as far as they're concerned, every mention of her means more potential sales of the DVD and more VOD views.
"We're not sure when the show will go into reruns," Scott Esposito said, "but our video is going to go to broadcast in August on the Hustler Channel, which is worldwide and it's in hotels as well, so we think there's going to be a long shelf life for this footage; not just the actual DVD but in broadcast and on the web as well."
One thing is clear, though: Anyone who sees how much this woman enjoys getting fucked will want to see more of this bad girl—so here's hoping this frisky brunette will consider getting it on again for her newest legion of fans.
