LOS ANGELES – Sasha Grey, the adult-film star who headlined Steven Soderbergh’s “The Girlfriend Experience,” is in negotiations to join the cast of “I Melt With You,” a low-budget drama featuring Thomas Jane, Rob Lowe and Jeremy Piven.

The story follows a group of college buddies (Jane, Lowe and Piven) who, now as adults, look within themselves and find emptiness when they have their annual summer reunion. They resurrect a pact they vowed to live, die and kill by.

Grey will play a character named Raven, described as a free spirit who helps one of the men realise that nirvana can only be achieved by death.

Mark Pellington (“Arlington Road”) will direct from a script he wrote with Glen Porter. Shooting begins in northern California next month.

Also on board are Zander Eckhouse (“Huge”) as Grey’s idealistic writer boyfriend, Abhi Sinha as a medical student, and Areielle Kebbel as a young hostess.

For Grey, a major name in the adult film world, “Melt” continues her path towards the mainstream acting world. Soderbergh audaciously made her the centrepiece of his 2009 movie, and the actress received solid notices for her dramatic debut.