The Hollywoodization Of Sasha Grey

"Neu Sex," Sasha Grey's manifesto/photo book, comes out tomorrow. We were supposed to have an interview with Sasha to publicize the book's launch, but we do not. This is the story behind that.

A little over a month ago, I received my review copies of the book from Vice—which were quickly followed up by a phone call from Rory Ahearn at Vice (who, you may recall, published the book). [As an aside: I adore Vice and think that they are wonderful people—and, in fact, they've been great to me throughout this whole ordeal. None of what follows is intended as a condemnation of Vice in any way.]

In my conversation with Rory, I was repeatedly told that—as an obvious fit for "Neu Sex," and a generally cool publication—Fleshbot would receive special access in our "Neu Sex" coverage, and that Rory would work to get me pretty much anything I wanted. As it happens, I didn't really want much: just an interview with Sasha and some exclusive images.

True to his word, Rory sent off an email immediately after our phone conversation, asking Kristin Loretta—Sasha's publicist—to set up an interview with me:

From: Rory @ VICE Media
Date: March 3, 2011 12:32:31 PM EST
To: Kristin Loretta
Cc: Lux Alptraum
Subject: Fleshbot + Sasha Grey

Hi Kristin!

Lux from the Fleshbot got her book and was looking to lock in an interview with Sasha about NEU SEX as well as discuss a couple of exclusive images we can use. Thought it was best to rope you in at this point and start discussing timing with Sasha's insane schedule.

Though I've done many interviews with Sasha, this was the first time I had worked with her current publicist—all prior interviews had been conducted while she was still working with Brian Gross, a dedicated (and very responsive) PR person. Having been spoiled by the time and attention Brian had always given me, it was a bit of a shock to realize, five days after Rory's email, that I still hadn't heard a peep from Kristin. But I figured she was probably just busy, and decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.

From: Lux Alptraum
Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2011 8:08 AM
To: Rory @ VICE Media
Cc: Kristin Loretta
Subject: Re: Fleshbot + Sasha Grey

Hi Kristin,

Just following up on this—haven't heard back from you, and I would really like to do an interview with Sasha about the book.

~Lux

This time, I got a pretty quick response:

From: "Kristin Loretta"
Date: March 8, 2011 2:12:03 PM EST
To: "'Lux Alptraum'", "'Rory @ VICE Media'"
Subject: RE: Fleshbot + Sasha Grey

Hi Lux,

Sasha is currently on her way back from Turkey. Any way we can do this interview via email?

Thanks!

Kristin

Now, normally I'd be happy to do an email interview, but this was a bit of a special case. To be quite frank: over the past year, Sasha has made quite a turnaround, abandoning any conceit of being tied to both the porn and mainstream worlds, and pursuing a purely mainstream career. That's quite a change from the manifesto of the girl I met back in Vegas in January '09, and I wanted to ask her about that transition in a more intimate setting than what's offered in an email exchange, where the limited back and forth would allow her to evade uncomfortable questions and hew closely to her bullet points.

So over the next few weeks, I played email tag with Kristin, trying to set up an interview. And by "email tag" I mean: I would email Kristin, who would get back to me with promises of setting up an email interview "next week," and would then wait for a full week without hearing anything from Kristin—at least, not until I emailed again. At one point, I was actually offered a potential time for a phoner—one which, conveniently, happened to be right during the time when I specifically said I was going to be out of town and unavailable for an interview.

By March 22, I was worried. It was a week until the book launch, and almost a month after I'd first received my review copies of the book. And yet I still didn't have a firm appointment date for an interview. So look, I'll admit it. I was pissed:

From: Lux Alptraum
Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2011 12:18 PM
To: Kristin Loretta
Cc: 'Rory @ VICE Media'
Subject: Re: Fleshbot + Sasha Grey

Still waiting on a date that would be good for Sasha. Are you going to set this up or not?

But now there was a whole new excuse:

From: "Kristin Loretta"
Date: March 22, 2011 3:20:25 PM EDT
To: "'Lux Alptraum'"
Cc: "'Rory @ VICE Media'"
Subject: RE: Fleshbot + Sasha Grey

Hi Lux,

We will have to set this up when Sasha gets back from NYC next week, after her book launch. We knocked out all of the other phoners last Friday. Stay tuned!

It seemed sort of strange that—when promising that we'd reschedule the interview for that week—Kristin had somehow neglected to mention this trip to NYC. And why on earth should I care that she'd done the other interviews on the one day that I'd specifically said I was unavailable?

From: Lux Alptraum
Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2011 12:23 PM
To: Kristin Loretta
Cc: 'Rory @ VICE Media'
Subject: Re: Fleshbot + Sasha Grey

Or, alternately, you could just set up an in person interview, as I'm in NYC.

I'm really disappointed with how long this has taken to set up—Rory promised me exclusives, and at this point we're not even getting the first interview.

And this is what I heard back:

From: "Kristin Loretta"
Date: March 22, 2011 3:27:52 PM EDT
To: "'Lux Alptraum'"
Cc: "'Rory @ VICE Media'"
Subject: RE: Fleshbot + Sasha Grey

Due to Sasha's hectic schedule in NYC, she will not be available for an in person interview.

The only time I had was Friday when you were unable to make the call. I am sorry, her schedule is just too hectic right now. If you need this story ASAP, maybe send over questions through e-mail and I can have her answer on set. If that doesn't work, we will have time when she is back from NYC. Let me know!

At that point I gave up.

Now, I am well aware that, in the grand scheme of media outlets, Fleshbot isn't exactly The New York Times, and I certainly understand that there are other journalists whose attention might be more desirable than my own. But at the same time, as someone who supported Sasha long before she began to cross over into mainstream—before she was Shot by Kern, before "The Girlfriend Experience," and long, long before "Entourage"—as someone who, back then, was more than good enough for any manner of exclusives, it is a huge slap in the face to see that, now that Sasha's gone Hollywood, my coverage (which, for the record, is something her book could sorely benefit from) suddenly isn't good enough for her.

Despite her pretensions towards mainstream success, it is undeniable that Sasha's fame and stardom are built on the backs of those who fell in love with her as an adult star. And if Sasha wants to continue to grow as a mainstream star, she can't afford to alienate the very people who encouraged her and supported her on her rise to fame. And yet, drunk on her own success, she seems to believe that she can do this all by herself, that she doesn't need us, that—worst of all—she can completely betray every promise she made to her porn fans, and that we will still love and support her.

Unfortunately, that's where she's wrong. It's a genuine pity that Sasha did not set up an interview with me—in all honesty, a candid, honest interview about her success and transition towards the mainstream would have been far better promo for the book than any review I could write; particularly since the book, on its own, is not that compelling a work. But, regrettably, I didn't get that interview. And since an indepth review runs the risk of seeming tainted by my frustration with Sasha's PR team, I'll just say this: if getting a chance to flip through a bunch of unlabeled snapshots from Sasha Grey's porno days sounds appealing, then this is the book for you. Not intrigued? Give it a pass.