A story in last week’s USA Today gave an overview of the mainstreaming of porn, using film Wonderland, which features Val Kilmer as John Holmes and the new Fox series Skin as proof of the trend. Though far from comprehensive, the article was balanced.
Wonderland, the tale a drug related murder that allegedly involved XXX legend John Holmes, received a significant push from Lions Gate Film, pulling in reviews and articles nationally even though it only opened on five screens and expanded to just twelve the second week. Last week it had reached nearly thirty theaters.
Although the film has received negative reviews from the press, the film did well enough its first weekend that it’s the distribution was expanded, though the movie has only pulled in under $200 thousand in its first two weeks.
Besides Kilmer, Lisa Kudrow, Kate Bosworth, and Carrie Fisher are just a few of the big names that appear in Wonderland.
"There seems to be something, the zeitgeist, with Wonderland and some of the things going on," says Skin executive producer Jim Leonard in the article. "I think people are increasingly aware of (the porn business) because of the Internet and the universality of cable and satellite."
Skin, the first mainstream television series with the adult industry as a backdrop, has received positive reviews, and has AVN Hall of Famer Ginger Lynn in a prominent reoccurring role.
Here's a quick recap of the projects the article points to, some of them familiar to those in adult, some of them new:
HBO's six-part documentary Pornucopia: Going Down in the Valley. The series is scheduled to air next year.
The Showtime series Family Business, following the professional and personal life of porn star and single father Adam Glasser, begins its second season in early 2004.
The documentary Inside Deep Throat, being produced by Brian Grazer and World of Wonder's Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato (The Eyes of Tammy Faye), looks at the cultural influence of the theatrical porn blockbuster. Bailey and Barbato are also producing Porno Valley, a documentary/reality series about Vivid Entertainment.
The Girl Next Door, who has a surprise for the boy who falls for her — she's a former porn star — is a film due from Regency and 20th Century Fox in March.
A sex-advice book by the Vivid Girls, the company's stars, is due in January from ReganBooks, a HarperCollins imprint that has a history of spotting pop-culture waves. And Jenna Jameson has her own book, How to Make Love Like a Porn Star, due from ReganBooks in May.
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