From www.miamiherald.com- Sasha Grey is moving beyond the X rating.
The megapopular adult film star — who gets about 3.5 million hits on Google on any given day – is starring in Steven Soderbergh’s latest, The Girlfriend Experience.
OK, so the role isn’t such a stretch — a $2,000-an-hour Manhattan call-girl who offers actual friendship to her clients, much to the dismay of personal trainer boyfriend played by Chris Santos — but sex isn’t the plot. This is a Soderbergh affair, after all.
Starring in the Traffic and Ocean’s 11 director’s 20th feature film was ”amazing,” said Grey, from Exxxotica Miami Beach, last month.
”I’m a huge fan of his and being able to work with him was an incredible experience,” said Sacramento native, born Marina Ann Hantzis.
Often called the porn star with a brain, Grey is blazing her own trail, not afraid to make enemies along the way. Namely Howard Stern, whom she called “a closet racist.”
”It was a joke,” said Grey of the much publicized incident (she told Rolling Stone she was going to drape herself in a Palestinian flag before meeting the shock jock). Safe to say, she never made it to his show.
”Out of all the people,” she scoffed. “Sorry he couldn’t take a joke.”
The actress — who has 165 movies under her belt — has started her own production company, Grey Art. She makes her directorial debut in The *&^%[Fuck] Junkie, out this month. ”I’ve waited a long time for that,” she says.
Other projects include a coffee-table-like sex philosophy book, an adult novelty line and another movie from Grey Art, Smash Cut.
Not bad for someone who just turned legal in March. Seems the nickname fits.
”I got in this business to challenge it,” she says. “I saw a lack of creativity, speaking generally. It’s always a challenge to continue to do things differently and make each thing better than the last.”
Grey’s queue starts to grow and she suddenly shifts focus to the Exxxotica crowd waiting to chat, or just ogle.
”I have a really diverse fan base,” she says. “It’s not just a general porn consumer. I get great feedback face to face, you could say.”