David Moye writes on www.aolnews.com – It’s been nearly 18 years since Amy Fisher became infamous as the “Long Island Lolita” for having an affair with Joey Buttafuoco and shooting his then wife, Mary Jo, in the head.

Fisher, who was 17 at the time of the shooting, served seven years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of assault and was freed in 2004. Since then, she has worked as a columnist, book author and exotic dancer.

It’s been a hard road to hoe, but now, at the age of 36, she says she’s finally coming to terms with people’s perceptions of who she is — but it took making a porn film to do it.

Back in 2007, her husband, Lou Bellera, sold a sex tape of the couple to Red Light District Video of Los Angeles. She says the video sold phenomenally well.

“When that DVD came out, I thought that my life was over,” she told AOL News. “I mean, people look at me badly all the time. But a friend in the adult industry pointed out, ‘They say horrible things about you already.’ ”

That comment made Fisher see things in a new light. Now, her first hard-core film, “Deep Inside Amy Fisher,” is set for release today.

The film features Fisher in four scenes opposite three adult actors, Dale DaBone, Tommy Gunn and Marcus London, and one actress, Lisa Ann, who is best known for spoofing Sarah Palin in the 2008 porn parody “Nailin’ Paylin.”

Fisher is quick to say that the main reason for doing the film is financial, not sexual.

“This has nothing to do with sex. I don’t have to share that with the world,” she said. “The impression that many people have of adult performers is that they are sex addicts, but they don’t do it for free.”

Neither does Fisher, who seems resigned to the fact that the film is not a vehicle to reinvent her persona like, say, “Pulp Fiction” did for John Travolta.

“This is acting,” she said. “I play the Amy Fisher they expect to see. People call me a whore or a slut. That used to hurt, but you know what? The people who buy porn love whores and sluts. If you like me, but don’t like porn, you’re not going to buy this movie anyway.”

She quickly adds that the fact that she has the chance to star in a movie is a compliment of sorts.

“You never see fat people with sex tapes,” she said. “You never see ugly celebrities doing them. I’m happy to say, I’m very attractive today.”

Because Fisher’s first fling into the porn biz was a homemade tape, she assumed that making the movie would be easy.

“I really thought that I’d just lie on a couch, have sex and then they’d box it and sell it,” she said. “But the distributor wanted me to see what really goes on — the lighting, the posing, the cameras — so I’d be prepared.”

Fisher prepared herself in other ways as well, by getting to know her actors before the scenes and following a little method acting in order to get in the mood.

“You know how actors will cry in a movie and they say they thought of something sad?” she said. “Well, this wasn’t about sex, but I did try and do something like that before immersing myself in a scene.”

At least one time, the “immersion” was literal. The opening scene takes place near a Japanese waterfall.

“It was 110 degrees and, in order to cool off, I stepped into the pool thinking that it was, at most, 3 feet deep,” she said with a laugh. “It was 8 feet deep and I literally went underwater, so my hair and makeup were destroyed and we lost half the day.”

Fisher picked the actors personally and was especially happy to work with Ann, whom she knew before her move to the porn industry.

“She owned part of an agency that I worked for when I was an exotic dancer,” Fisher said. “I was a fan of hers so it was really nice.”

But while Fisher admires Ann, she admits their scene together was harder to film than the ones with the male actors.

“It was easier with the male stars,” she said. “I’m heterosexual. I love looking at beautiful women, but I’m not bisexual. That said, when I saw the scene, I was proud because I did a great acting job during that scene.”

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Her husband, Bellera, was also proud.

“He’s an editor and knows when I’m acting and when I’m not, and he was impressed,” she said.

Fisher is under no illusion that this film will make her America’s sweetheart — or that she ever was that. But she believes that after 18 years of having no control of her image, she has taken it back a little.

“For 20 years, people have been thinking of me as this crazy, wild 16-year-old who had no control of what was said about her,” she said. “Now at least they can say that she looks good and pays her taxes.”