The Girlfriend Experience

Steven Soderbergh did a lot of unpredictable things with his new film "The Girlfriend Experience." At the January Sundance sneak preview of the film he projected a 1080p reduction of the file, then a "work in progress." This week he released it on Amazon as a video on demand rental before it hits theaters on May 22. Soderbergh shot it with a 4K-Red digital camera (a camera so light and light-sensitive that only two scenes in the film required more illumination than was already in the room), he made the film in 16 days for a budget of $1.7 million, it was largely improvised, and he cast non-professional actors. He said he "hired real people and turned them loose" including journalist Mark Jacobsen cast as a journalist and movie reviewer Glenn Kenny playing an escort reviewer. That he cast Sasha Grey as the high-end Manhattan sex worker was exciting but not entirely unpredictable; Grey herself is as complex and layered and mesmerizing as a Soderbergh film itself -- that's why Grey's fans cross all kinds of cultural and moral divides.

"...Steven wanted a very natural feel to the film and have me bring in my personality -- I had to find a way to do that while also creating a character...."

Read the full interview here