For the most part, movies just don't have the same shelf life that they did a generation ago.
Blockbusters get released into theaters; they're on streaming a few weeks later, and then they're quickly forgotten as the public eagerly awaits the next big thing.
But there's one indie flick that's still widely discussed in the mainstream media almost 15 years after its release.
We're talking, of course, about the Kim Kardashian sex tape.
Yes, Kim would probably prefer to forget about the footage that made her a household name, but the public has other ideas.
In fact, Kim Kardashian Superstar has made headlines for multiple reasons in recent weeks.
First, a guy got out of jury duty by claiming he was traumatized by the video.
Then, Ray J claimed there was a second sex tape that had yet to be released.
In response to that claim, Kanye retrieved a laptop from Ray J and had a real knight in shining armor moment when he returned it to Kim.
The moment was even featured on The Kardashians, although it turned out that there was no explicit footage on the computer.
Now, the tape is making headlines once again, thanks to claims from Ray J that it was Kim who released the original tape for the purpose of boosting her public profile.
“I’ve sat in the shadows for over 14 years allowing the Kardashians to use my name, to abuse my name, make billions of dollars over a decade and a half talking about a topic I’ve never really spoken about,” Ray recently told The Daily Mail.
"I’ve never leaked anything. She’s always had all the tapes in a Nike shoe box under her bed,” he continued.
“That’s how it all came about. Once I pitched the idea to her, just playing around a little bit, that’s when she jumped on the idea, talked to her mom and it was out of my hands from there.”
Now, a new report from TMZ is calling at least one of Ray J's claims into question.
Insiders tell the site that Kris Jenner was not involved in the negotiations for the initial release of the sex tape.
They add that Kim and Ray J are both lying when they say they had nothing to with the release, as they signed lucrative contacts with Vivid Entertainment, the company that made the footage public.
Kim and Ray split a $1 million advance, and together they got 49% of the profits from the tape.
That translates to about $49 million for the former couple, with the tape raking in an astonishing $100 million.
Without those contracts, the insiders say, Kim and Ray J would have had a slam dunk lawsuit against Vivid that would have immediately halted the release of the tape.
Kris has remarked that as Kim's mom she was furious when she learned about the tape, but as her manager, she recognized how it might be a lucrative business decision.
Little did she know that it would serve as the cornerstone for one of the most successful media franchises of the 21st century!