Daily Beast Interviews James Franco, Peter Acworth at Sundance

PARK CITY, Utah — Actor James Franco and Kink.com CEO Peter Acworth weighed in on the premiere of Franco’s documentary of the BDSM giant for The Daily Beast at the recent Sundance Film Festival.

The highly anticipated film was the center of a growing interest in porn from mainstream media at Sundance that also included a film about the life of British porn publisher Paul Raymond and another Franco BDSM-themed documentary — “Interior. Leather Bar” — a reimagining of a lost orgy scene from William Friedkin’s ‘80’s gay-bondage classic, “Cruising.”

And Franco also plays Hugh Hefner in "Lovelace," which premieres Tuesday at Sundance.

The Beast called the Kink documentary “a very positive portrait of Kink.com’s BDSM oeuvre,” noting that the models are always treated safely even in extreme scenes where they often experience a sense of euphoria because of large amounts of dopamine that are released.

“I am kinky,” Acworth told The Beast. “I’ve always had an intense desire to be tied up, since childhood, so when I discovered bondage pornography around 17, then I felt, I guess I’m kinky, and that’s OK. So I started a business to help people demystify it and help them find their sexuality.”

Although it took some convincing from Franco to convince the Kink brain trust that he’d make an objective film, the results have pleased both the actor and Kink chief.

“I was given a tour of the place, and then I got to watch a video being made,” Franco said. “It was very interesting because the dynamic in front of the camera was very different from what was happening off camera. It was a BDSM scene of a girl in a cage, and very intense, but off-screen it was surprisingly warm and cooperative, with everyone as a willing participant. I thought I’d like to explore this, and I’m sure a lot of other people would, too.”

Acworth was also candid about Kink’s future plans, noting that the company is planning an expansion to include more “live videos with social networking.”

Commenting on the challenges of running a porn empire, Acworth maintained that although the company is doing very well with more than 130 employees and millions of hits a day to its sites, it’s a challenge to secure capital.

“We have a very small loan against the Armory [Kink's San Francisco headquarters], because it’s tough to get a big loan, since the banks view it as a reputational risk. If we were to default on that loan, the banks would end up owning a BDSM pornography company, which they don’t want on their books. And it’s difficult to take a company like this public no matter how successful it got just because of the nature of the content. There’s no exit strategy, so I’ll probably be doing this for the rest of my life, really,” Acworth said.

Franco noted that as an artist he’s interested in how people define themselves and interact even if they aren’t involved in Kink’s type of activities. Commenting on the “Fifty Shades of Grey” phenomena he said, “While a lot of the readers haven’t had the experiences detailed in that book, there’s something that’s drawing them to it. I think that sex and sexuality are topics of endless exploration.”

Related:  

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Adult Time Wraps Production on Bree Mills' Feature 'Escape From Camp Conversion'

Adult Time has wrapped production on its latest feature, the Bree Mills-helmed "Escape From Camp Conversion," from its Girlcore studio brand.

Daisy Fox Makes Her TeamSkeet Debut

Daisy Fox makes her TeamSkeet debut in the latest episode of the studio series "She's New," titled "A Foxy Little Newcomer," with Nicky Rebel.

Elizabeth Skylar Performs Her 1st B/B/G in Latest From New Sensations

Elizabeth Skylar has performed her first B/B/G in the latest scene from New Sensations, with Codey Steele and Milan Ponjevic.

ImLive Launches Revamped Member Loyalty Program

Cam platform ImLive has revamped its member loyalty program.

Lynna Nilsson Fronts Latest From Immoral Productions

Lynna Nilsson performs her first DVP in a new trilogy from Immoral Productions, alongside Matt Bird and Brad Knight.

Anna Claire Clouds: From Nashville to XMA Gold

The photo shoot is going great. Anna Claire Clouds knows all her angles. The moment the cap comes off the camera lens, Clouds tilts her head just so and deploys her signature dreamy eyes with all controls set to “smoldering.” Girl knows what she’s doing.

Lilly Bell Takes the Spotlight in 2 New Adult Time Scenes

2025 XMAs Girl/Girl Performer of the Year Lilly Bell stars in two new scenes from Adult Time.

LorReign Makes Her WIFEY Debut

Content creator and former Colorado sheriff's deputy LorReign has made her debut for new Vixen Media Group (VMG) studio imprint WIFEY alongside her husband Anthony and Jax Slayher.

Angela White Stars in Latest From Brazzers

Angela White stars with Derek Savage in the latest release from Brazzers, titled “Boom Boom Angela.”

GoFundMe Set Up for Danny Ferretti's Medical Expenses

A GoFundMe campaign has been set up for Fangear founder Danny Ferretti, who requires extensive lung surgery.

Show More