 Though there's never been a case of a porn star nabbing the lead in a major Hollywood production, Indian cinema may be changing the course of history.
Vivid contract performer and former Penthouse Pet of the Year (2003), Sunny Leone will be starring in the Bollywood film, Pirate's Blood (Siba Art Production and Distribution). This is the first time in history that an adult performer has been known to star in a mainstream Indian film.
Peter Warren at AVN writes of the film:
An English-language thriller, Pirate's Blood begins shooting in mid-February in Oman, and will also star veteran Bollywood actor, Salim Bahwan. Cinematography will be overseen by noted South Indian lensman, Ramachhandran Babuk.
The Arabic press has dubbed Ms. Leone as 'Indian-America's Marilyn Monroe.' And since the film will be done in English, meaning no poorly translated subtitles for English speakers, most likely Pirate's Blood will be made available to American audiences.
The staff writers at the Oman Tribune describe the film as "the story of a group of Asian-Americans, whose vacation is filled with thrills, when they get involved in a mystery surrounding the legend of pirate’s treasure." The budget is approximately US$ half a million. The film will also feature a guest appearance by Swedish actress MyAnna Buring (Grindhouse).
Vivid co-chairman, Steven Hirsch says of Sunny's breakthrough into mainstream Indian film:
The increasing popularity of Indian cinema has been referred to by the press as 'Bollywood Mania'. It is driving moviemakers to be more innovative, and casting Sunny as the female lead in Pirate's Blood is a step in that direction. She has an enormous fan base that is already pre-ordering Sunny Loves Matt, and we believe that as the first adult star to go Bollywood, she is marking another milestone in movie history.
Sunny Leone renewed her contract with Vivid in May of 2007 with the stipulation that she will begin shooting hardcore boy/girl scenes. Sunny Loves Matt, her first on-camera boy/girl scene (between her and ex-fiance, Matt Erickson) will go on sale March 5th. She is scheduled to shoot a total of six films under her new contract.
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