ArtsHub – Rehearsing intimacy after #MeToo
Fight directors coordinate fight scenes in theatre, and choreographers assist with movement sequences. Why shouldn’t sex scenes also be carefully blocked and defined?
News & Press
Irish Examiner – Careful about sex scenes: Working as an ‘intimacy director’ in Ireland
MeToo is one of the reasons why the role of an ‘intimacy director’ has become more prominent on many sets, writes Marjorie Brennan.
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone magazine, writer David Simon spoke about his most recent television show, The Deuce, which explores the nascent porn industry in 1970s New York.
The Wire creator revealed the producers had hired an intimacy coordinator to facilitate the filming of simulated sex scenes…
Longreads – Let’s talk about sex scenes
Countless women have been mistreated ever since sex became common on our screens. Hollywood’s newfound awareness of intimacy choreography can help change things…
The Guardian – ‘Oral sex – and no scissoring!’ How the lesbian gaze changed cinema
Shot by straight male directors, lesbian sex scenes are all too often pornographic fantasy. But now film-makers are portraying a more realistic experience…
Evening Standard – Up close – but not too personal: The ‘intimacy workshops’ giving actors guidelines for sex scenes
It’s mid-afternoon at Camden’s New Diorama Theatre and two actresses are practising a sex scene — without touching.
Instead, they’re saying every action out loud: “I’m looking at you and smiling, I put my hand between your legs, I turn my body and lift my buttocks, I go down.” Across the room, a male and a female actor are rehearsing an on-stage kiss as a director watches on. They begin by establishing boundaries: “Can I touch the side of your neck?” “Yes.” “The back of your neck?” “Yes.” “The front of your neck?” “No.” She doesn’t give a reason. They carry on, discussing whether the kiss should portray love or lust.
It sounds remarkably scripted but that’s the point. This is one of a new set of “intimacy workshops” for actors, producers and directors by professional movement director Ita O’Brien…
Independent.ie – Meet Ita O’Brien – the world’s leading sex scene director
Filming sex scenes in front of a crew of sound technicians, gaffers, and cinematographers has never been easy. In fact, most actors seem to have numerous bad sex scene war stories. Or at the very least, can recall how uncomfortable they felt on set that day.
Jamie Dornan, who starred as Christian Grey in the 50 Shades franchise, said filming the BDSM scenes could be ‘heinous’.
In the wake of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, directors, actors, and producers are keen to find out what exactly the correct etiquette is when shooting risqué scenes.
Ita O’Brien, whose family are from Clonmel, is one of the UK’s leading Intimacy Directors…
BBC News – Sex scene rules would be ‘censorship’ star says
Hollywood star Andy Serkis says new rules surrounding the filming of sex scenes could amount to “censorship” and stifle creativity. Actors’ union Equity is considering bringing in guidance for intimate scenes on stage and screen in light of the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
Sky News – Sex on set: How I prepare for scenes as an actress
Actor Elle McAlpine says a Sex Scenes on Set workshop helped her develop confidence and vocabulary for intimate scenes.
Backstage – After Weinstein, a New Way to Approach On-Set Sex Scenes
For many actors, sex scenes can be fraught with embarrassment, uncertainty, and the downright unwanted, but intimacy director Ita O’Brien wants to change that. Before industry harassment scandals took hold of headlines everywhere, O’Brien had developed a way of empowering actors and directors to safely choreograph scenes involving nudity and simulated copulation on stage and screen; in the wake of Weinstein, she’s been in high demand. O’Brien and her agents, Samantha Dodd and Chris Carey, researched what often goes wrong in on-set sex scenes and are now campaigning with a set of guidelines that inform and protect actors. We caught up with them to discover how it works and what actors need to know to work well and stay safe…
BBC Radio 4 Front Row – Downsizing, filming sex scenes and a satire on ceramics
Matt Damon’s new film Downsizing reviewed, choreographing sex scenes in the #MeToo era. Plus a history of political and satirical prints transferred onto British ceramics.
The Times – The new rules of sex: how Hollywood is rethinking on-screen intimacy in the post-Weinstein era
In the wake of the #MeToo scandal, the movie business is reviewing how sex scenes are directed. Chrissy Iley joins an “intimacy workshop” where actors can master the new code of close contact…