LOS ANGELES — Wicked Pictures contract star and sexual health expert, jessica drake, will join adult star Casey Calvert and filmmaker Magnus Sullivan for a panel titled, “50 Shades of Erotica: The Blurring of the Line Between Hollywood and Adult Entertainment." The public discussion on the adult industry will take place at the University of Southern California on Wednesday.
Presented by the USC School of Cinematic Arts, the event will be held at 7 p.m. at the Ray Stark Family Theatre on USC’s campus in Los Angeles. Alex Ago, director of programming and special projects for USC's School of Cinematic Arts, will moderate.
The event is open to the general public. For more information and to RSVP, click here.
The panel aims to show how sex in Hollywood is about extremes — it is either objectified, fetishized, shown as part of an ogling community, a la “Fifty Shades of Grey,” or it’s shamed by showing characters that embrace what is deemed an overly sexual nature who must change, such as in this summer’s sex comedy “Trainwreck.” Characters who crave sex in a monogamous relationship are generally applauded, while those characters who enjoy an abundance of sex outside of monogamy are generally demonized or require some sort of redemption.
“There is a great need for an open and honest discussion when it comes to how sex is portrayed in film, so I’m very proud to be a part of this panel,” said drake, who is known as creator, director, producer, and host of the acclaimed sexual education video series “jessica drake’s Guide to Wicked Sex."
The newest volume, titled “Foreplay,” will release Oct. 21. “There are a lot of mixed messages Hollywood sends through its portrayal of sex on screen that reinforces a lot of the negative stigma attached to it. Discussions like this will hopefully help bring about a change in attitudes with a healthier view of sex onscreen.”
Wednesday night’s discussion will also focus on the similarities and differences between Hollywood and the adult film industry, as well as what each industry can learn from the other to provide a more accurate depiction of sex on screen.
Joining the discussion will be filmmaker Magnus Sullivan, whose recent groundbreaking independent film “Marriage 2.0” earned wide acclaim for mixing explicit sex scenes with a compelling tale of a modern marriage.
Also joining the panel is adult star Casey Calvert, who educates on the topics of BDSM and fetishes through live appearances around the country, as well as for the e-tail site GameLink.com.
The release of “jessica drake’s Guide to Wicked Sex: Foreplay” will mark the acclaimed line’s 12th installment. The sex education series takes viewers through a variety of topics including relationship communication tactics, trigger words, finding a partner’s hot spots, presenting explicit sexual position demonstrations, sexual techniques, and more.
For more information on the panel, click here.