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Arts and Entertainment

2009: The Adult Industry in Photos

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2009 was the biggest thus far for mainstream crossover artist Sasha Grey (Taken @ Busbys East, 12/5/09)

With the ongoing recession and continued threat of piracy, 2009 may have been tough for the multi-billion dollar adult industry, but it was also Sasha Grey's most prominent thus far. With the leading role in Steven Soderbergh's The Girlfriend Experience, she caught the eye of revered film critic Roger Ebert, who admitted, "I haven't seen any of [her adult movies], but now I would like to see one, watching very carefully, to see if she suggests more than one level" (he's since included The Girlfriend Experience as one of the great movie posters of the decade and penned an article accompanying her Lolita-themed Playboy pictorial). She appeared in James Gunn's PG Porn ("Roadside Ass-istance"), the indie horror Smash Cut, and participated in a six-hour reading of William Gibson's Neuromancer in New York City. She released an EP from her industrial music project ATelecine, modeled for American Apparel, launched (NSFW) her production company Grey Art, and has a "sex philosophy" book set for release later this year. Media as diverse as Stereogum and Newsweek solicited her opinion. Rolling Stone labeled her "The Dirtiest Girl in the World" and Fleshbot included her in their Top Ten Crush Objects of 2009 (NSFW). So it's no surprise that she will be honored with The Jenna Jameson Crossover Star of the Year at the AVN Awards this Saturday at the Pearl Theater inside the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

And with that, enjoy this look at the adult industry last year, not only with photos of Sasha Grey, but Belladonna, Kimberly Kane, Stoya, Faye Reagan, and more.

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