Bound was released in theaters on October 4, 1996. The movie starred Jennifer Tilly as Violet, who is married to a mafia money launderer, and Gina Gershon as Corky, who is renovating the apartment next door. Bound was written and directed by the Wachowskis.
When they shopped the movie, some of the studios told the Wachowskis that they would be interested in making the movie if they changed the Corky character to a man. The Wachowskis refused to do so, saying, “That movie’s been made a million times, so we’re really not interested in it.” Producer Dino De Laurentiis (grandfather of Food Network chef Giada De Laurentiis) financed the movie and gave them free rein over the story, but a very tight budget of only $6 million. The original director of photography resigned, claiming that he could not film with the limited budget available, nor did he know anyone else who would be willing to work so cheaply.
The Wachowskis asked feminist writer and sex educator Susie Bright, one of the first staff members at the feminist sex-positive store Good Vibrations and founder of On Our Backs, to read the script and be an extra in the movie. She offered to be a sex consultant for the film, choreographing the sex scenes and basically acting as what we now refer to as an intimacy coordinator.
If you’re in the United States, Bound is streaming for free on kanopy.
