“We are not there to be the sex police. We actually want it to look really good and we’re very highly trained in how to do that” –Rebecca Johannsen, on the role of an intimacy coordinator
As the film community continues to process the fallout of the #MeToo movement and keeps growing in its awareness of the trauma caused by the mishandling of actors on set, a critical new production role has emerged: the intimacy coordinator (Ic). But while the role has been largely welcomed by the industry since it started appearing on call sheets in 2017 the job is still widely misunderstood.
To teach our community more about the value a skilled Ic can bring to a project, Film Independent Education’s Filmmaker Tuesdays invited intimacy coordinator Rebecca Johannsen–of Intimacy Professionals Association (Ipa)–to hold a group workshop around the topic on April 23 at Film Independent’s Wilshire Boulevard HQ.
As the film community continues to process the fallout of the #MeToo movement and keeps growing in its awareness of the trauma caused by the mishandling of actors on set, a critical new production role has emerged: the intimacy coordinator (Ic). But while the role has been largely welcomed by the industry since it started appearing on call sheets in 2017 the job is still widely misunderstood.
To teach our community more about the value a skilled Ic can bring to a project, Film Independent Education’s Filmmaker Tuesdays invited intimacy coordinator Rebecca Johannsen–of Intimacy Professionals Association (Ipa)–to hold a group workshop around the topic on April 23 at Film Independent’s Wilshire Boulevard HQ.
- 4/29/2024
- by Kristopher Hewkin
- Film Independent News & More
Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos' 2023 film "Poor Things" has received a lot of critical acclaim, but it's also been the subject of a fair amount of backlash. The Golden Lion winner tells the story of Bella, a woman who dies only to be revived and have her brain replaced with that of an infant by a twisted scientist, in turn setting her on a journey of self-discovery (read: sexual exploration). Due to this complicated subject matter, "Poor Things" has been roped into a larger discourse about sex scenes in cinema.
More reactionary critics have been quick to slam the film's off-beat comedy and have taken serious issue with its subject matter. Other critics have slammed the film for being pedophilic since Bella is technically at the mental age of a child when she begins having sex. But one person who didn't criticize Lanthimos for including sex scenes in the movie was Emma Stone,...
More reactionary critics have been quick to slam the film's off-beat comedy and have taken serious issue with its subject matter. Other critics have slammed the film for being pedophilic since Bella is technically at the mental age of a child when she begins having sex. But one person who didn't criticize Lanthimos for including sex scenes in the movie was Emma Stone,...
- 2/1/2024
- by Shae Sennett
- Slash Film
Emma Stone is stepping out in London to promote her new movie.
The 35-year-old actress joined director Yorgos Lanthimos at a special screening of their new movie Poor Things on Wednesday (January 31) held at the BFI Southbank in London, England.
Photos: Check out the latest pics of Emma Stone
In a recent interview, Emma opened up about the importance of working with intimacy coordinator Elle McAlpine as she filmed the sex scenes for Poor Things.
Keep reading to find out more…
“I don’t think having an intimacy coordinator is even a choice anymore. I think in the past five years, the industry has changed a lot for the better,” Emma shared with NPR. “Having her there felt like having both a safety net and a choreographer and a handhold.”
Emma continued, “She and I would text after a day of doing some of these scenes and just sort of...
The 35-year-old actress joined director Yorgos Lanthimos at a special screening of their new movie Poor Things on Wednesday (January 31) held at the BFI Southbank in London, England.
Photos: Check out the latest pics of Emma Stone
In a recent interview, Emma opened up about the importance of working with intimacy coordinator Elle McAlpine as she filmed the sex scenes for Poor Things.
Keep reading to find out more…
“I don’t think having an intimacy coordinator is even a choice anymore. I think in the past five years, the industry has changed a lot for the better,” Emma shared with NPR. “Having her there felt like having both a safety net and a choreographer and a handhold.”
Emma continued, “She and I would text after a day of doing some of these scenes and just sort of...
- 1/31/2024
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
Safe sex scenes are now an essential part of post-#MeToo film-making – coordinator Elle McAlpine talks about the challenges of working on Yorgos Lanthimos’s fantasy drama – and being chucked off other sets
Three years ago, shortly before dawn, Elle McAlpine was catching the train home, having just orchestrated an orgy. She had left the set of sci-fi series Brave New World: a night-time shoot where more than 100 dancers descend into sexual revelry.
McAlpine laughs to remember her journey home, sitting on the tube alongside her fellow passengers, still processing the scene she’d just presided over. “I was like, ‘If people knew what I’ve just done …’...
Three years ago, shortly before dawn, Elle McAlpine was catching the train home, having just orchestrated an orgy. She had left the set of sci-fi series Brave New World: a night-time shoot where more than 100 dancers descend into sexual revelry.
McAlpine laughs to remember her journey home, sitting on the tube alongside her fellow passengers, still processing the scene she’d just presided over. “I was like, ‘If people knew what I’ve just done …’...
- 1/30/2024
- by Elle Hunt
- The Guardian - Film News
2023, the year of the Barbenheimer double bill, spoiler: neither of them feature in my top ten, but what a year for getting people excited about the cinema again. Films have always been such a huge, influential and guiding part of my life and I hope this epic mastermind of filmmaking and marketing will ensure more future film lovers. As always, I wish I had watched more films and deciding on my top ten always brings me a certain level of angst as I have long relied on the medium to take me away from real life, yet simultaneously allow me to reflect on the themes within and their relatability to my own existence and the world I live in. The films that have made my list are those that have sat with me in both my waking and sleeping moments. They come back to me when I am least expecting...
- 12/30/2023
- by Sarah Smith
- Directors Notes
Yorgos Lanthimos is baffled by the “prudishness” surrounding sex onscreen.
The “Poor Things” auteur said during a joint interview with actress-producer Emma Stone for The New York Times that it was “never an issue” to include the various intimate scenes in the film.
“Poor Things” is based on Alasdair Gray’s 1992 novel about a woman (Stone) who drowns herself to escape her abusive husband and is later resurrected with the brain of her unborn child, and renamed Bella Baxter. During the course of coming of age, Bella discovers her sexual freedom and at one point works as a Parisienne prostitute. The film won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival where IndieWire’s Ryan Lattanzio called the “brazenly weird sex comedy” an “instant classic” that was one of the “raunchiest” movies of the year.
“For me, that aspect was never an issue,” Lanthimos told The New York Times. “Sex in movies,...
The “Poor Things” auteur said during a joint interview with actress-producer Emma Stone for The New York Times that it was “never an issue” to include the various intimate scenes in the film.
“Poor Things” is based on Alasdair Gray’s 1992 novel about a woman (Stone) who drowns herself to escape her abusive husband and is later resurrected with the brain of her unborn child, and renamed Bella Baxter. During the course of coming of age, Bella discovers her sexual freedom and at one point works as a Parisienne prostitute. The film won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival where IndieWire’s Ryan Lattanzio called the “brazenly weird sex comedy” an “instant classic” that was one of the “raunchiest” movies of the year.
“For me, that aspect was never an issue,” Lanthimos told The New York Times. “Sex in movies,...
- 11/29/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Poor Things
With the London Film Festival’s upcoming screenings of Yorgos Lanthimos’ much heralded Poor Things, which sees Emma Stone embarking upon a fervent sexual awakening, taking place this weekend, we were able to speak to Intimacy Coordinator Elle McAlpine, co-founder of Ek Intimacy, whose work has been praised in the media by both Stone and Lantimos. Intimacy coordination is still a relatively recent aspect of both film and TV production, yet as we’ve seen highlighted on projects such as Normal People, the role is vital in not only harbouring a safe and open environment on set for actors but also bringing forth incredibly authentic and realistic fully simulated sex scenes through a myriad of techniques which in the past, have been either over glamorised or too reflective to those we see within the porn industry. Elle trained under one of the forefront leaders of the intimacy profession...
With the London Film Festival’s upcoming screenings of Yorgos Lanthimos’ much heralded Poor Things, which sees Emma Stone embarking upon a fervent sexual awakening, taking place this weekend, we were able to speak to Intimacy Coordinator Elle McAlpine, co-founder of Ek Intimacy, whose work has been praised in the media by both Stone and Lantimos. Intimacy coordination is still a relatively recent aspect of both film and TV production, yet as we’ve seen highlighted on projects such as Normal People, the role is vital in not only harbouring a safe and open environment on set for actors but also bringing forth incredibly authentic and realistic fully simulated sex scenes through a myriad of techniques which in the past, have been either over glamorised or too reflective to those we see within the porn industry. Elle trained under one of the forefront leaders of the intimacy profession...
- 10/12/2023
- by Sarah Smith
- Directors Notes
Killers of the Flower Moon (Martin Scorsese. 2023)
London Film Festival returns for its 67th outing this year from the 4th – 15th October and, much like the last couple of years of the festival, the main bulk of the screenings will take place in venues across London with a selection of the programme dubbed Lff on Tour screening in partner venues country-wide. In addition to these in-venue screenings, a collection of featured films will also be available for free during the festival’s scheduled dates, with the festival’s nominated short film competition titles also available online on the BFI Player, which means that even if you’re unable to get down to any of the in-person screenings you can still get a taster of what’s on offer.
In terms of the work we’re keen to see, the lineup of feature films this year is impressively stacked with swathes...
London Film Festival returns for its 67th outing this year from the 4th – 15th October and, much like the last couple of years of the festival, the main bulk of the screenings will take place in venues across London with a selection of the programme dubbed Lff on Tour screening in partner venues country-wide. In addition to these in-venue screenings, a collection of featured films will also be available for free during the festival’s scheduled dates, with the festival’s nominated short film competition titles also available online on the BFI Player, which means that even if you’re unable to get down to any of the in-person screenings you can still get a taster of what’s on offer.
In terms of the work we’re keen to see, the lineup of feature films this year is impressively stacked with swathes...
- 10/2/2023
- by James Maitre
- Directors Notes
Actress Emma Stone felt “no shame” filming raunchy scenes in ‘Poor Things’. The actress takes on the lead role of Yorgos Lanthimos’ surreal new movie and the filmmaker was grateful for the effort she put into her alter ego Bella Baxter’s intimate sequences in the adaptation of Alasdair Grey’s novel, reports aceshowbiz.com.
“It’s a shame that Emma could not be here to speak more about it, because it will all be coming from me. First of all sex is an intrinsic part of the novel itself, her freedom about everything including sexuality,” Yorgos said at the Venice Film Festival, where ‘Poor Things’ premiered with none of the cast in attendance due the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.
The 49-year-old director continued: “Secondly, it was very important for me to not make a film that would be prudish, because that would be like completely betraying the main character.
“It’s a shame that Emma could not be here to speak more about it, because it will all be coming from me. First of all sex is an intrinsic part of the novel itself, her freedom about everything including sexuality,” Yorgos said at the Venice Film Festival, where ‘Poor Things’ premiered with none of the cast in attendance due the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.
The 49-year-old director continued: “Secondly, it was very important for me to not make a film that would be prudish, because that would be like completely betraying the main character.
- 9/4/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
Emma Stone had "no shame" filming raunchy scenes in 'Poor Things'.The 34-year-old actress stars in the lead role of Yorgos Lanthimos's surreal new movie and the filmmaker was grateful for the effort she put into her alter ego Bella Baxter's intimate sequences in the adaptation of Alasdair Grey's novel.Speaking at the Venice Film Festival, where 'Poor Things' premiered on Friday (01.09.23) with none of the cast in attendance due the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, Yorgos said: "It's a shame that Emma could not be here to speak more about it, because it will all be coming from me."First of all sex is an intrinsic part of the novel itself, her freedom about everything including sexuality."The 49-year-old director continued: "Secondly, it was very important for me to not make a film that would be prudish, because that would be like completely betraying the main character. We had...
- 9/2/2023
- by Joe Graber
- Bang Showbiz
If you're lucky enough to have missed the Movie Sex Discourse until now, allow me to fill you in. Every full moon or so, the question is posed on social media: "Are sex scenes necessary in movies?" The answer, of course, is yes, as /Film writers Witney Seibold and Bj Colangelo have eloquently argued in the past. Now, obviously, not all sex scenes are equal in terms of how they're shot and the way they treat actors. Heck, some of the more infamous ones in film history were even downright unethical in the way they were made. But there's a world of difference between saying sex scenes should be done responsibly and implying that consensual sex (a perfectly healthy thing people do every day) has no place in cinema.
This brings us to Yorgos Lathimos, the director of critical darlings like "The Lobster" and the Oscar-winning "The Favourite," and his new period film "Poor Things.
This brings us to Yorgos Lathimos, the director of critical darlings like "The Lobster" and the Oscar-winning "The Favourite," and his new period film "Poor Things.
- 9/1/2023
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
Dynamic Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos’ anticipated latest, Poor Things, got a rapturous reception at after it world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Friday, with an ovation timed at 10 minutes and 37 seconds.
It was one of the most enthusiastic responses to a film some Venice festgoers have ever seen. At different points during the post-screening ovation, the audience was chanting “Yorgos, Yorgos.”
Stars Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe and Mark Ruffalo were not in attendance for the debut of the Searchlight pic, owing to the SAG-AFTRA strike, but that didn’t stop the crowd inside the Sala Grande from honoring the director of a “glorious paean to freedom,” as Stephanie Bunbury called it in her Deadline review.
(Watch) Director Yorgos Lanthimos receives a standing ovation for his new film, Poor Things #Venezia80 pic.twitter.com/q97zqa3vNb
— Deadline Hollywood (@Deadline) September 1, 2023
(Watch) Director Yorgos Lanthimos greets a young fan...
It was one of the most enthusiastic responses to a film some Venice festgoers have ever seen. At different points during the post-screening ovation, the audience was chanting “Yorgos, Yorgos.”
Stars Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe and Mark Ruffalo were not in attendance for the debut of the Searchlight pic, owing to the SAG-AFTRA strike, but that didn’t stop the crowd inside the Sala Grande from honoring the director of a “glorious paean to freedom,” as Stephanie Bunbury called it in her Deadline review.
(Watch) Director Yorgos Lanthimos receives a standing ovation for his new film, Poor Things #Venezia80 pic.twitter.com/q97zqa3vNb
— Deadline Hollywood (@Deadline) September 1, 2023
(Watch) Director Yorgos Lanthimos greets a young fan...
- 9/1/2023
- by Joe Utichi and Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Yorgos Lanthimos’ whimsical, adult-themed gothic fable Poor Things, starring Emma Stone in a potentially career-defining performance, appears to be the big, early favorite at the 2023 Venice Film Festival. The film brought the house down at its first two press screenings ahead of its world premiere in Italy Friday night, with several moments of dark comedy becoming huge applause lines inside Venice’s Sala Darsena cinema.
Poor Things is Lanthimos’ first film since The Favourite, also starring Stone, which premiered to raves at the 2019 Venice Film Festival and went on to receive Oscar nominations for best picture and best director. Judging by the early reception in Venice, Poor Things looks certain to launch Lanthimos and Stone back into the middle of this year’s awards season conversation.
An adaptation of a novel of the same name by Scottish author Alasdair Gray, Poor Things follows Bella Baxter (Stone), a young Victorian woman...
Poor Things is Lanthimos’ first film since The Favourite, also starring Stone, which premiered to raves at the 2019 Venice Film Festival and went on to receive Oscar nominations for best picture and best director. Judging by the early reception in Venice, Poor Things looks certain to launch Lanthimos and Stone back into the middle of this year’s awards season conversation.
An adaptation of a novel of the same name by Scottish author Alasdair Gray, Poor Things follows Bella Baxter (Stone), a young Victorian woman...
- 9/1/2023
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
At the Venice Film Festival press conference for his hotly anticipated “Poor Things,” director Yorgos Lanthimos said he really wished Emma Stone could be on the Lido to talk about, among other things, the fact that Bella Baxter, the character she plays, has plenty of sex scenes in the film.
“It’s a shame that Emma could not be here to speak more about it, because it will be coming all from me,” the director said. “First of all sex is an intrinsic part of the novel itself, her freedom about everything including sexuality.”
“Secondly, it was very important for me to not make a film that would be prudish, because that would be like completely betraying the main character,” he continued. “We had to be confident Emma had to have no shame about her body, nudity, engaging in those scenes and she understood that right away.”
“The great thing...
“It’s a shame that Emma could not be here to speak more about it, because it will be coming all from me,” the director said. “First of all sex is an intrinsic part of the novel itself, her freedom about everything including sexuality.”
“Secondly, it was very important for me to not make a film that would be prudish, because that would be like completely betraying the main character,” he continued. “We had to be confident Emma had to have no shame about her body, nudity, engaging in those scenes and she understood that right away.”
“The great thing...
- 9/1/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The most talked-about film thus far at the 2023 Venice Film Festival is Poor Things, the third collaboration between director Yorgos Lanthimos and star Emma Stone (The Favourite). A magical mélange of sci-fi, Gothic fiction, Lovecraftian horror, and Frankenstein tale, it follows Bella Baxter (Stone), a young woman with child who flings herself from a bridge. Her barely-living body is recovered by a mad scientist (Willem Dafoe), who experiments on her — keeping her alive by transplanting the brain of her infant child into her, giving Bella the body of a woman...
- 9/1/2023
- by Marlow Stern
- Rollingstone.com
Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things” features more raunchy sex and frank nudity than you’ve probably seen in a studio-backed feature in a very long time.
In the film, which premieres September 1 in competition at Venice, Emma Stone plays Bella Baxter, a reanimated, brought-back-from-the-dead Frankenstein’s monster creation of her guardian, Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). As she’s an adult woman with a transplanted baby’s brain, Bella is a woman who gets to start from scratch, learning to walk and speak and comport herself in the world. That also means discovering — or rediscovering — sex for the first time.
Adapted from a 1992 novel by Alasdair Gray, the nearly two-and-a-half-hour running time of “Poor Things” features a ton of sex scenes involving Stone and Mark Ruffalo as decadent lawyer Duncan Weddenburn, masturbation (at one point involving a piece of fruit), and full-frontal nudity (including from Stone). Bella’s erotic journey in...
In the film, which premieres September 1 in competition at Venice, Emma Stone plays Bella Baxter, a reanimated, brought-back-from-the-dead Frankenstein’s monster creation of her guardian, Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). As she’s an adult woman with a transplanted baby’s brain, Bella is a woman who gets to start from scratch, learning to walk and speak and comport herself in the world. That also means discovering — or rediscovering — sex for the first time.
Adapted from a 1992 novel by Alasdair Gray, the nearly two-and-a-half-hour running time of “Poor Things” features a ton of sex scenes involving Stone and Mark Ruffalo as decadent lawyer Duncan Weddenburn, masturbation (at one point involving a piece of fruit), and full-frontal nudity (including from Stone). Bella’s erotic journey in...
- 9/1/2023
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Yorgos Lanthimos passed through the Lido this morning with Poor Things, starring Emma Stone, his first feature film since 2017’s The Favourite.
Based on Alasdair Gray’s 1992 novel of the same name, Poor Things follows Stone as Bella Baxter, a creation of the brilliant and unorthodox scientist played by Willem Dafoe in an echo of Mary Shelley’s classic horror novel Frankenstein. Mark Ruffalo plays a slick and debauched lawyer in the pic, which also stars Ramy Youssef, Jerrod Carmichael, and Christopher Abbott.
At the film’s official presser this afternoon, one topic continually raised by journalists in the room was sex, particularly how Lanthimos approached the film’s many sex scenes with his lead, Emma Stone. Throughout the film, Stone’s character features in multiple sex scenes and appears fully nude.
“I have to credit Elle McAlpine, our intimacy coordinator,” Lanthimos said. “At the beginning, this profession felt a little threatening to most filmmakers,...
Based on Alasdair Gray’s 1992 novel of the same name, Poor Things follows Stone as Bella Baxter, a creation of the brilliant and unorthodox scientist played by Willem Dafoe in an echo of Mary Shelley’s classic horror novel Frankenstein. Mark Ruffalo plays a slick and debauched lawyer in the pic, which also stars Ramy Youssef, Jerrod Carmichael, and Christopher Abbott.
At the film’s official presser this afternoon, one topic continually raised by journalists in the room was sex, particularly how Lanthimos approached the film’s many sex scenes with his lead, Emma Stone. Throughout the film, Stone’s character features in multiple sex scenes and appears fully nude.
“I have to credit Elle McAlpine, our intimacy coordinator,” Lanthimos said. “At the beginning, this profession felt a little threatening to most filmmakers,...
- 9/1/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
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