"respectable pornography"
There's a misnomer if ever I saw one. The only way those 2 words go side by side is the day a porno wins "Best Picture" at the Academy Awards.
I don't disrespect people who work in the porn industry. However, naivety aside, unless you are lucky enough not to have to deal with Protestant America, your'e better off not going down that road.
Midnight Cowboy received Best Picture in 1970 according to imdb. This movie can hardly be considered pornography by today's standards, but it was about a male prostitute and rated X.
The only difference between porn and art is the lighting :)
And the models' hourly rate.
And the plot.
And the quality of the plastic surgery.
And the quality of the set.
And the hirsuteness of the male "models" (ugh).
Anatomie L'Enfer is a good mix between both.
Meanwhile, while it may not fit the quick-buck model implied here, I suspect there are many untapped opportunities in classy or mainstream pornography or erotica.
Having just read the long and rewarding Playboy interview of Steve Jobs from the mid-80s (currently on the HN homepage), I'm reminded that the world is waiting for a new generations of what might be called respectable pornography.