Imagine getting – or making – this call: “Mom, Dad – great news! I’m going to be in a movie and make lots of money. But there’s one catch…”
An Australian filmmaker reportedly is recruiting men and women to auction their virginity online so he can make a documentary about their efforts.
Justin Sisely is pledging to give his two stars – one male, one female – $20,000 Australian (that’s 13,236 in U.S. dollars) each and 90 percent of the take from the auctions.
His sleazy plan came to light after he posted “Virgins Wanted” posters at a university in Victoria, sparking outrage. He also has a website, cynically named fameandfortune.com.au.
Sisely was quoted by the Herald Sun as saying that he’s merely an artist "exploring the idea of virginity as a commodity.”
It wasn’t clear whether Sisely was inspired by the case of Natalie Dylan, a young San Diego woman whose online auction of her virginity reportedly has drawn bids in the millions.
Sisely contends he’s received about 100 inquiries so far and plans to start “auditions” March 21. "It's a one-time thing, it's not like they're continually going to be a prostitute," he was quoted as saying.
U.S. & World
Sisely reportedly hasn’t found a distributor for his movie, whose premise -- presumably -- wouldn’t even pass muster on the bottom-feeding reality TV circuit.
It's silly to call the planned film a documentary and an even bigger stretch to call Sisely a serious filmmaker – a better word might be “pimp.”
Hester is founding director of the award-winning, multi-media NYCity News Service at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He is the former City Editor of the New York Daily News, where he started as a reporter in 1992.
