LOS ANGELES — Next year will mark a new beginning for former Penthouse Pet of the Year and current Vivid Girl Sunny Leone. The exotic Leone exclusively told XBIZ that she’s formed her own production company, SunLust Pictures, with its debut release slated for early 2009.

Leone will continue to remain a Vivid contract star and indicated that her relationship with the company was stronger than ever. Leone will finance and film all SunLust movies with Vivid serving as the company’s distributor.

Leone said she planned to incorporate Vivid’s reputation for glamorous, glossy productions into her own line of movies — while introducing her own personal touch.

“We definitely want to create movies that will appeal to many different niches,” Leone said. “We are releasing Vivid type quality films, so everyone who is watching will get something that is high quality but created by myself and my partner. I plan to direct, create, write and produce all the movies we make. I love the idea of owning my content and making all the money from my content.”

Before SunLust Pictures’ DVDs hit the marketplace next year, Leone has three Vivid movies forthcoming, two that were directed by B. Skow and one from Paul Thomas. Since signing with Vivid in 2005, Leone exclusively performed in girl/girl scenes until she made her highly anticipated boy/girl debut in March in the B. Skow directed “Sunny Loves Matt,” with then-fiancé Matt Erickson.

Leone did one more movie with Erickson, the yet-to-be-released “The Other Side of Sunny.” The couple has since split up and Leone has worked with other male performers, most notably Tommy Gunn, Charles Dera and James Deen.

Leone’s ambitions reach further than moviemaking; she plans to delve into the world of apparel and lingerie with her own Sunny-branded lines.

“Right now everything is so new, but we are embarking on a possible apparel and lingerie line, which I have some great ideas for,” Leone said. “I’m also planning my favorite diamond jewelry line that I will be designing with one of the top diamond companies in the world.”

Leone said that she formed SunLust with the full support of Vivid CEO Steve Hirsch and plans to model her company after Vivid’s reputation for quality and consistency.

“Vivid is one of the largest companies in the industry,” Leone said. “If anything, I would want my product to be half as great as theirs. What we are creating is still in essence going to be a Vivid product. The difference is I am paying for all production, postproduction and advertising in alliance with Vivid. I love being a Vivid Girl and we are joining forces so that I can secure my future. Steve [Hirsch] is all about making sure we are OK and respects the fact that I want to move in this direction.”