LOS ANGELES — ITN Distribution released on DVD this month "A Porn Star Is Born," the long-delayed mainstream debut of resident West Coast Productions director Corey Bishop.
Shot in 2007 on a $150,000 budget, the indie drama tells the tale of a young and misguided Hollywood hopeful who turns to porn to find the fame and fortune that has eluded her and that she so desperately craves.
Ex-porn performer Aliana Love toplines the film as the story's budding starlet. Costars include Peter Green as adult film producer John Goldman and ex-porn star Mark Davis as Love's junkie boyfriend and adult icon Tom Powers.
Rounding out the cast are Herschel Savage, Jada Fire, Misty Stone, Nichole, Kylie Ireland, Aryana Star, Monique, Tyler Knight, Mr. Marcus, Manuel Ferrara and Ron Jeremy.
Click here to see the film's trailer.
Bishop, who is nominated for Director of the Year — Feature Release at the 2013 XBIZ Awards, spoke exclusively to XBIZ about the making of "A Porn Star Is Born" and the satisfaction of finally seeing its release on DVD.
You met your producer while making an appearance on a radio program to promote your West Coast Pictures' crime-drama "Ransom." How did he convince you to direct his project?
There was a segment on the radio show where people could call in to talk to the cast and crew of the movie. A guy calls in by the name of Will. It was kind of odd because he didn't have any adult related questions for the girls. All of his questions were for me. They were all movie-making questions.
A few weeks had passed and he sent me an e-mail with about 10 pages of the script he want to work on. He asked me if I could help him. I told him that his move was going to cost somewhere between $50-to-60 thousand, and that I would not want to be involved unless that kind of money was available because we would both be wasting our time. A week later he sent me a check for $20 thousand and a note saying, "Can we get started now?" That's when I said, "Okay, this guy really wants to make a movie."
How long did the process take and how did you decide on your lead actress?
We spent about a year writing and doing research. We were also very particular about casting. We tried a few different girls before we came to Aliana Love. Once we found her it was magic because she really fit the part well. We actually took a few pieces from her life story and wrote it into the script. It really worked out well. We ended up with a 105 page script.
How challenging was the shoot?
We had an aggressive 15 day shooting schedule. It was intense. At that point, it was the largest movie I had ever directed. The movie had a mainstream version and an adult version so the acting was very important, which made shooting tricky.
It took a long a time to find distribution for the film. Why do you think that was?
We were told to take it on the festival circuit, but we didn't. About two years went by and the movie just sat. For shits and giggles, the web guy put the movie’s trailer on YouTube and overnight we were getting more than a thousand hits a day. When we were at the 200,000 mark, we decided to do the festival route.
How did that go?
It did us well. It showed us that we had an audience; people really liked the film. We were winning awards everywhere — New York, San Diego, Los Angeles. We won 15 awards in all. It was the awards that got the buyers interested in buying the film. We ended up winning at ITN Distribution [Film Festival] and they ended up signing us to a full distribution deal.
What's next?
We are currently working on three more movies and looking for a distributer to distribute the adult version of “A Porn Star is Born.”
It's been a fun, long ride but we have finally arrived. We now have a mainstream movie on the market so, needless to say, I’m excited and even more excited that the movie is doing well, even selling out in places. What more can I say, grab a copy, please!
