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Adult actress and director Casey Calvert said authenticity is not something sex workers expect from Hollywood

For a film about sex work to win an Oscar is rare. For it to win the respect of sex workers is even rarer.

If Sean Baker’s “Anora” triumphs at the Academy Awards next Sunday, as predicted by most pundits, it will have achieved both.

“Sean gets sex work. He just does,” porn actress and director Casey Calvert tells AFP, as she prepares to film an explicit lesbian scene on a set in the San Fernando Valley.

“Sean is the only working mainstream filmmaker who has the ability to get it right. He’s also the only one who cares about getting it right,” adds adult film veteran Eli Cross, who is the cinematographer for the day.

Adult movie director Casey Calvert (seated) and Eli Cross (L) rehearse for a scene with pornographic actress Lilly Bell (C) in Northridge, California

Baker’s journey to the Oscars began in this valley next to Los Angeles, infamously and accurately dubbed the capital of the US porn industry.

It was here that he shot “Starlet,” a micro-budget film about a young adult actress who forms an unlikely friendship with an elderly widow.

Baker’s candid portrayal of an industry used to being maligned and sensationalized by Hollywood earned him the friendship of porn workers like Calvert, who later worked as a paid consultant on his film “Red Rocket.”

Porn actress Scarlett Alexis (R) signs consent forms before filming an explicit lesbian sex scene

She will be among the many pornographers and sex workers cheering on “Anora” as it competes for best picture, best director, best actress for Mikey Madison, and much more on March 2.

“It’s so exciting to me that I can’t even think about it,” says Calvert.

“It would feel like this industry that I love being recognized on a stage it’s never been recognized before on.”

– ‘Really skeptical’ –

“Anora” follows Ani, a New York stripper and escort, as she embarks on an ill-fated, whirlwind romance with a bratty young Russian customer who turns out to be the son of an oligarch.

Porn industry veteran director Eli Cross said ‘Anora’ director Sean Baker is ‘the only working mainstream filmmaker who has the ability’ to accurately depict sex work in Hollywood

Typical of Baker’s movies, it is stuffed with details that “civilian” viewers might miss.

These range from the pole-dancing bruises on Ani’s legs, to the way she licks her fingers before instigating a sex act.

“It’s just such a sex worker thing to do. It’s so in character,” explains Calvert.

Authenticity is not something sex workers expect from Hollywood.

Most famously, “Pretty Woman” served up a sanitized fairy tale about a prostitute and her wealthy savior.

“The sex work industry as a whole is really skeptical of any film having to do with sex work,” says Calvert.

‘Anora’ — from director Sean Baker (L) and starring Mikey Madison (R) — has already won multiple awards, from the Cannes festival’s Palme d’Or to prizes from Hollywood’s directors, producers, writers and critics

“Hollywood, historically speaking, has made a lot of movies about prostitution and escorting that are not particularly positive.”

Following the world premiere of “Anora,” Baker told AFP he had deliberately avoided the “hooker with a heart of gold” cliches.

For Calvert, Baker’s films stand out because they are not really about sex work — they are about the struggles, emotions and humanity of people who happen to do sex work for a living.

“It’s not about the taboo of sex. It’s just about a marginalized community of people who he finds really interesting and wants to explore,” she says.

– ‘Consensual’ –

“Anora” has already won multiple awards, from the Cannes festival’s Palme d’Or to prizes from Hollywood’s directors, producers, writers and critics.

On the day AFP visited her set, Casey Calvert (R) — known for directing relatively “big budget cinematic features” in adult film — was shooting in a large but outwardly nondescript house on a suburban cul-de-sac

Baker has repeatedly dedicated his success to sex workers, and Madison used her BAFTA acceptance speech to pledge to be “an ally.”

That such remarks caused zero controversy arguably represents a sea change in Hollywood.

A decade ago, industry heavyweights like Meryl Streep joined a campaign to oppose the decriminalization of sex work.

It is part of a wider, age-old debate about the profession.

Opponents warn that criminal gangs exploit and traffic vulnerable women. Proponents of a regulated industry say it would better protect sex workers, who have the right to do as they wish with their bodies.

Pornographer Siouxsie Q said it was “amazing” to see a film portraying “consensual adult sex work” receiving mainstream accolades.

“We’ve come a long way, baby — we really have,” she told AFP.

– ‘Stigma’ –

Still, Calvert says the “stigma” surrounding pornography remains fierce, with highly experienced and talented adult filmmakers rarely able to cross over into Hollywood work.

Pornographer Siouxsie Q said it was ‘amazing’ to see a film portraying ‘consensual adult sex work’ like ‘Anora’ receiving mainstream accolades

On the day AFP visited her set, Calvert — known for directing what she calls “big budget cinematic features” in adult film — was shooting in a large but outwardly nondescript house on a suburban cul-de-sac.

Neighbors chased away reporters carrying camera gear to the home, wary of what was taking place inside.

Baker is an unusual mainstream director who casts real porn actors in his films, and is genuinely friends with many in both businesses.

Calvert says that fact was “a huge reason why I think that the critical success of ‘Anora’ is so important.”

Baker’s work “helps a ton to break down those barriers,” she said.

US First Lady Melania Trump has shined a spotlight on a bill seeking to combat deepfake pornography online

US First Lady Melania Trump on Monday threw her support behind a bill aimed at protecting Americans from deepfake revenge pornography, in her first solo public engagement since her husband returned to the White House.

Appearing in a roundtable discussion on Capitol Hill, she sought to shine a spotlight on the Take It Down Act, which criminalizes the online publication of non-consensual sexual imagery that is often created using cheap and widely available artificial intelligence tools.

“In today’s AI-driven world, the threat of privacy breaches is alarming and high,” the first lady told the panel, sitting next to two teenage female victims of deepfake porn.

“It’s heartbreaking to witness young teens, especially girls, grappling with the overwhelming challenges posed by malicious online content,” she added.

The bill, introduced by Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, would require social media platforms and websites to have procedures in place to swiftly remove non-consensual intimate imagery, including AI-generated pornography, upon notification from a victim.

Though it has passed a vote in the US Senate, the bill has yet to clear the House of Representatives.

While urging bipartisan support for the bill, Melania took a dig at Democrats for not prioritizing its passage.

“I expected to see more Democrat leaders with us here today to address this serious issue,” she said.

“Surely as adults, we can prioritize American children ahead of partisan politics.”

An online boom in non-consensual deepfakes is currently outpacing efforts to regulate the technology around the world due to a proliferation of AI tools, including photo apps digitally undressing women.

A handful of US states including California and Florida have passed laws making sexually explicit deepfakes a punishable offense, and campaigners are calling on Congress to urgently pass a host of bills to regulate their creation and dissemination, including the Take It Down Act.

While high-profile politicians and celebrities, including singer Taylor Swift, sex have been victims of deepfake porn, experts say women not in the public eye are equally vulnerable.

A wave of AI porn scandals have been reported at schools across US states — from California to New Jersey — with hundreds of teenagers often targeted by their own classmates.

Such non-consensual imagery can lead to harassment, bullying or blackmail, sometimes causing devastating mental health consequences, experts warn.

The scandals led to a warning from the FBI last year that such child sexual abuse material, including realistic AI-generated images, was illegal.

“In an era where digital interactions are integral to daily life, it is imperative that we safeguard children from mean-spirited and hurtful online behavior,” the first lady said.

The roundtable marked Melania’s first solo public engagement since Donald Trump began his second White House term.

The first lady has largely been an elusive figure at the White House, spending only limited time in Washington since her husband took the oath of office on January 20.