Pornhub is releasing its first non-adult movie
The documentary takes a serious look at strip club culture.
It's not just the usual internet services expanding their original video lineups. Pornhub is releasing its first non-porn movie, Shakedown. The feature-length documentary from artist Leilah Weinraub takes a more serious look at sex, following the LGBTQ women and men from Los Angeles' lesbian strip club scene in the early 2000s. You've had chances to see it at MoMA and the Whitney Museum over the past three years, but it hasn't been available in an on-demand format until now.
There's even a dedicated "home" section for the project where people can watch the movie and chat about it. Weinraub will make weekly appearances, Pornhub said. The virtual space is meant to both appeal more to women and let people be "alone, together," as Weinraub noted.
Shakedown will be free to watch throughout March, and will then head to TV through the Criterion Channel. If you want a copy for posterity, it'll reach the iTunes Store in the summer.
It may seem odd for Pornhub to host a high-brow documentary, but the site sees Weinraub's title as part of a larger strategy. Artists are already uploading videos with nudity that wouldn't be allowed on services like YouTube and Vimeo, Pornhub's Alex Klein told Variety -- this gives them a "platform" they can use. Rather than try to compete with the likes of Amazon or Netflix, it's hoping to both carve out a niche for itself and attract viewers who might not even care for porn in the first place.
