Vivid Entertainment Group today is shipping what may be one of its most talked-about movies in recent years, Emperor, starring Janine Lindemulder and Rocco Siffredi.
The filming in Budapest and Los Angeles during the fall of 2004 sparked controversy when a nasty dispute erupted between the principal stars who were working together for the first time in their illustrious careers.
Lindemulder accused Siffredi of cutting the tips off his condoms without her permission for their highly anticipated sex scene, and she also said the encounter was the roughest she had ever experienced. In response, Siffredi said that Lindemulder never explicitly said that he couldn’t cut the tips after they talked about it during the box cover shoot. And regarding unnecessary roughness, the Italian star claimed that Lindemulder just could not handle his size.
But despite the bickering that unfolded on the set, spilled into the following day and later was debated in the media, the two finished the scene the best way they could, and AVN Hall of Fame director Paul Thomas completed the film. Now nearly two years later, the public will finally get to judge for themselves.
“I think you will find that Janine got quite a workout from Rocco,” remarked Howard Levine, national sales manager for Vivid.
Not only did Siffredi face a challenge with Lindemulder in LA, he also had to weather a punch in the face from Tawny Roberts during their scene in Budapest.
“She basically was telling him he was being a little too rough, and she punched him in the eye and gave him a black eye,” Levine said. “He’s wearing sunglasses in the movie because she walloped him, but that’s not on film though.”
Levine said the movie, which is being released in a two-disc set, cost nearly $200,000 to make, and “you can tell.”
“We put a lot into it. It should be a great success for the retailers and the distributors,” he said.
The multi-national cast also includes Dasha, Veronica Carso, Tera Bond, Cristina Bella, Black Diamond, Victoria Swinger, Silvia, Mya Diamond, Manuel Ferrara, Leslie Taylor, Alberto Rey, Dominic Antonio Ross, Frank Gun, Lauro Giotto and Julian.
Vivid's movies are exclusively distributed by Pulse Distribution.
