The Projectionist was going to use Pearl to create adult films.
The Projectionist tried to exploit Pearl's stardom desires and convince her to start adult films once they arrived in Europe. It just feels random he would invite some girl to a trip like that out of nowhere. Also, I think he was sort of assessing how receptive she was to porn when he showed her that erotic film. In a way, this idea connects to the other movies in this universe.Pearl's descent into villainy will be used as foreshadowing for Maxine in the third film.
The synopsis of MaXXXine describes the titular character, having survived as the Final Girl of the first movie, trying to become a Hollywood actress in The '80s. Pearl is about the Big Bad of the first film trying and failing to fulfill her own dreams of becoming a star, only for her mental illness and the unfortunate reality of her life driving her to become a deranged killer.MaXXXine will most likely show Maxine, suffering from PTSD, will slowly be twisted by the harsh realities of her own desire to become famous (celebrity culture, drugs, STDs, etc.) until History Repeats and she will wind up just like Pearl. We might even get flashbacks to what her life was like at home, her Pastor father being physically and emotionally abusive to Maxine in a way that mirrors Pearl's relationship with her mother.
Pearl and Maxine look alike because they are related.
Basically, Pearl had a sibling who left the family home (which could serve as an additional reason for why Ruth was so hellbent on keeping Pearl at the farm) and had a kid who would later have Maxine, making Pearl Maxine's great-aunt.Pearl's father's illness was syphilis.
Pearl's mother's discussion of "city whores" and "the illness you may contract and spread" is directly tied to "what it does to your father" in "The Reason You Suck" Speech Ruth gives Pearl over dinner. The fear of illness and contagion throughout the film is mainly wrapped up in the flu pandemic, but given the added context in this particular moment— the condemnation of Pearl's "sinfulness", calling dancers whores— the conclusion, "look what it does to your father," could imply that the "it" is an STI that the father contracted, perhaps even from cheating on Ruth at some point in the past. And of course, in the days before penicillin, a disease like syphilis could progress to far more disabling levels than it typically does today. In the tertiary stages, there can be neurological components, such as paralysis, and some cases of neurosyphilis can lead to strokes, which can also cause paralysis.