The HBO Documentary that takes you behind the scenes of Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’s book “XXX: 30 Porn-Star Portraits”

Whereas X-rated actors once lived in the show-biz shadows, today’s porn stars are celebrities, their work and lives legitimized by an ever-increasing fan base. Produced and directed by portrait artist Sanders, this 43- minute film presents a behind-the-scenes look at the making of his bold new book of porn-star portraits. A diverse group of straight and gay triple-X stars, including Jenna Jameson, Tera Patrick, Jesse Jane, and others, provide candid insights while several esteemed author/artists (Gore Vidal and John Waters, among them) reflect on sexuality and the world of pornography. Porn Valley- While X-rated actors once lived in the show-biz shadows, today’s top porn stars have become celebrities in their own right, their work and lives followed by an ever-increasing fan base.

Acclaimed portrait photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders presents a behind-the-scenes look at the making of his new book of adult film star portraits, combining candid insights from a diverse collection of porn stars with reflections on sexuality from cultural observers, authors and artists.

In 2002, after 25 years photographing art-world personalities, celebrities and world leaders, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders tackled a new subject: adult film stars. The resulting Bulfinch Press book, “XXX: 30 Porn-Star Portraits,” features paired portraits, one clothed and one nude, of a cross-section of straight and gay actors, from porn legends to rising stars. These photos are interspersed with 15 essays on the intersection of pornography, sexuality and culture from a wide range of notable writers, who contribute to the ongoing dialogue about the “pornification” of modern culture.

THINKING XXX includes footage of the photographer using a large-format portrait camera to create the shots in his book, as well as conversations with the actors, who discuss how they began their careers, how being a porn star has changed their lives, and how they feel about sex and the industry. In addition, authors, artists and cultural observers – such as Karen Finley, Nancy Friday, Richard Johnson, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, Michael Musto, Whitley Strieber, Gore Vidal, John Waters and Faye Wattleton – offer far-ranging, provocative perspectives on porn today, yesterday and tomorrow.

Timothy Greenfield-Sanders is a contributing photographer for Index and Vanity Fair, and his photos also appear regularly in other publications worldwide. His subjects have included musicians, artists, writers, actors and politicians. Greenfield-Sanders won a Grammy Award for his 1998 film profile “Lou Reed: Rock & Roll Heart.”

THINKING XXX is produced and directed by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders; editor, Lukas Hauser; principal camera, Steven Seymour.