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'There isn't a man alive who wouldn't give his left nut to be Hugh Hefner.' - Gene Simmons

At Hugh Hefner's 80th birthday, Brigitte Bermen convinced him to divulge the ‘real deal' about the man behind the myth. What eventuated is this surprising documentary, featuring extensive interview footage with ‘Hef' himself, that profiles the lesser-known contributions that Hefner made towards the civil rights movement and progressive sex laws.

Peeling back the stereotypes of pipe, silk pajamas and bimbo entourage, Berman (Artie Shaw: Time Is All You've Got) portrays Hefner as a passionate humanitarian blatantly refusing to accept the status quo. A roll-call of icons - including Joan Baez, Jesse Jackson, Shannon Tweed, George Lucas, Tony Curtis and James Caan - help round out this three-dimensional perspective of a misunderstood man.

---D Brigitte Berman P Victor Solnicki, Brigitte Berman, Peter Raymont WS Arrow Entertainment TD HDCAM/2010