"Sasha Grey Stars in Steven Soderbergh Feature".
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Kyle Smith of the New York Post awarded the film 1 star out of 4, saying "Time for another of Steven Soderbergh's 'experimental,' i.e., half-assed, films." David Edelstein of New York Magazine complained that, "Most of the dialogue is listless, and no matter how much Soderbergh snips and stitches, the movie is a corpse with twitching limbs." Luke Davies, critic for The Monthly, wrote that the film is "disposable and pretentious" and "is shot sombrely and austerely, in a style that might be described as 'vacuous chic'" and concluded that "as a film in which a porn star's presence is a fundamental marketing hook, it is masturbation." Television series It is not universal, but within its particular focus, it is unrelenting." Roger Ebert rated the film four out of four stars, saying "This film is true about human nature. The website's critics consensus states: "Steven Soderbergh's latest lo-fi production is strikingly crafted but emotionally vague". “They range from musicians in major orchestras to PhD candidates in the sciences and often feel empowered by the control and economic freedom their work as GFE’s affords them.As of June 2020, the film has a 67% approval rating on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes based on 139 reviews with an average rating of 6.39/10. “Many of these women are extremely accomplished,” said Executive Producer Philip Fleishman.
“This series gives Starz an opportunity to work with some of the most talented independent filmmakers of today, and craft a cinematic exploration into the hearts of relationships – in line with the original film.”
We were captivated by Steven’s exploration of a story where emotional consequences arise, surprising and complicating the lives of both the clients and the professional ‘lovers,’” said Carmi Zlotnik, Managing Director of Starz. “We’re excited to work with Steven and Philip to develop this anthology series that takes viewers into a world where intimacy has a price. He responded without hesitation to both the idea of the show and the approach.” We went to Chris Albrecht because he and I have been trying to find something to do together since we did K Street 11 years ago. “When Philip floated the idea of a Girlfriend Experience-inspired television show, I thought: ‘let’s make it a different woman in a different city, let’s pair two independent writer/directors, one male and one female, and let them do the whole thing.’ I’ve known Lodge for 20 years and I became a fan of Amy’s when I saw her first feature last summer. “We’re in an exciting period of auteur-driven television right now,” said Executive Producer Steven Soderbergh. Fleishman, a writer, director and producer, and Soderbergh go even further back he produced Soderbergh’s Yes concert film in 1985. And Seimetz, director of Sun Don’t Shine, was one of four filmmakers cited by Soderbergh at his 2013 San Francisco Film Society keynote speech deserving of wider support. Soderbergh and Kerrigan have worked together before, with the former producing the latter’s Keane. The new series will consist of 13 half-hour scripted episodes.
In Soderbergh’s feature, Sasha Grey starred as a high-priced escort providing a “GFE” - emotional intimacy along with sex. The two also executive produce along with Soderbergh and Philip Fleishman. Independent filmmakers Lodge Kerrigan and Amy Seimetz will write and direct a Starz cable series, The Girlfriend Experience, based on Steven Soderbergh’s 2009 film. Amy Seimetz, Lodge Kerrigan, Sasha Grey, Steven Soderbergh, the girlfriend experience