Re: Lawsuits and Nudity (NSFW?)

DISCLAIMER - THERE ARE PICTURES OF NAKED ACTORS IN THIS POST.

DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE SAID ACTORS

IN VARIOUS STATES OF UNDRESS.

You may not know this, but there's a battle being waged right now between an actress named Anne Green and the producers of a show called Femme Fatales that, somewhere along the line, was meant for Cinemax (aka worldwide as "Skin-emax")... 

The crux of the suit is this: Ms. Green alleges that she was coerced ("bullied" or forced) into simulated sex scenes and nudity during the production of the show. Incredibly, or perhaps not so incredibly depending on your stance, the companies named in the suit are counter suing for breach of contract. 

I recently blogged on this murky topic for the site Stage32, which is a sort of Facebook for film creatives, and what follows is a (slightly modified) version of that blog. It's murky because I've been on a set or two (not mine) in which I could see how an actor might be pressured into going a bit further than he or she otherwise might be comfortable. I also know all too well, what it's like to be a producer as the minutes tick away (along with the money) while a director creates new blocking on the fly to accommodate an actor who is... less than agreeable about all those little deal points he or she initially agreed to.

So, here's my take on the dueling "Nudity Rider" lawsuits: 

I have produced a number of projects featuring nudity - everything from shorts to features to music videos. It should first be said that the shooting of any scene in which any actor needs to be nude (or simulate sexual situations) is a very strategic process, and the filmmakers (and crew) must all take into account the uncomfortable nature of such scenes - it is, therefore, the job of the filmmakers to make the set as comfortable as possible for those performers during the shoot. 

Actors and actresses are, particularly in this day and age, used to the process - the cast members of Game of Thrones or True Blood, for example, are damn near experts by now - but the parameters by which any scene is put on film (or digital) is very specific, and no two sex scenes are exactly alike in the handling. 

Game of Thrones (HBO)

True Blood (HBO)

Nudity Riders are brought up, by honest filmmakers, at the beginning of any initial conversations with cast. Like, in the meeting phase. I actually point out sex scenes or nude scenes in a script when I first talk to reps. Conversely, reps tend to know which of the actors (male or female) at their agency are amenable to scenes like this, which makes the process mercifully easier in the negotiation phase. 

Nonetheless, one must always be aware that, in the internet age, whatever these young men or women do onscreen, will live forever on the web... and that's a hard pill to swallow... especially for young actresses who are asked (far more than their male counterparts) to lose their clothes in a scene. This is also why you see, more often than not these days, sex scenes in which nobody actually gets naked. Still, there are actors of every age, weight, race... whatever... who have no qualms about nudity (Kate Winslet, Michael Fassbender and Marisa Tomei come to mind) and there are those who will just never do it. 

Black Swan (Fox Searchlight/Cross Creek)

I've had negotiations so detailed that deal points come down to not only which body part/s will be shown but, literally, the amount of frames in any one shot that will be shown in the Final Cut of the film. Frames! [Note: One frame is 1/24 of a second.] Of course, I don't begrudge any actor (or their teams) for this kind of specificity. I completely understand why they'd want to know what's going in the picture and for how long.

Where things get tricky (and I assume this happens more in indie film), is when an actor shows up on the day, having signed the Nudity Rider weeks or even months earlier, knowing full-well the content of the screenplay, only to have second thoughts or... to protest in some fashion as to force the filmmaker to re-conceive the scene. This, too, has happened to me as well as a number of directors and producers I know.

9 1/2 Weeks (MGM)

So, wait... Why couldn't you just show the actor the contract they signed and compel him or her to do the scene as written? Well, this is littered with complication: How many shooting days are left? Does this actor or actress work the majority of the remaining days? Will there be animosity between the talent and the director? How much of a delay will fighting over this issue cause? Is this a situation where we'll have to call their reps?

     Last Tango in Paris (UA)

So, what do you do? The truth of the matter is this: On an indie film, you generally don't have time to waste trying to get agents or managers on the phone. You also can't afford to have your actors working against your director for the rest of the shoot, not to mention that, if scheduled later in the shoot, it'll be too late to "make a change" in cast and consequently, the scenes usually get rewritten or reimagined. 

Here's where you're thinking, "but it's a contract, right? Why would it be tricky?" Well. It's tricky because actors KNOW that you most likely have limited time and probably no money... They know that if you're further into your shoot schedule, you'll be locked in and so, (perhaps not so surprisingly) an unscrupulous actor will agree to everything in advance, knowing full-well that when it comes to the shoot day, he or she can find any number of reasons to explain why the nudity no longer works in the context of the scene for him or her... or any other myriad excuses... and so: OMIT.

Blue Is The Warmest Color (Wild Bunch)

In the past, I'd always tried to be a nice person and have asked my AD's to schedule nudity or simulated sex scenes for later in the schedule so that the actors have time to become comfortable - not only with one another, but also with the crew - but I've been burnt... so now, I ask my AD's to front-load those scenes if possible - even on Day One... this way, if the actor has agreed and the Rider has been signed (and provided the director isn't trying to add shots which weren't agreed upon per the contract), on the day, if the actor resists, you still have a shot at re-casting if the director feels compromised... the flip side is that, if the filmmaker determines they can live without the nudity, you move on accordingly.

Ultimately, there are ways to avoid this issue prior to your standing on the set and preparing the shot, and again, the goal is to make everyone feel comfortable "on the day." 

For me, personally, I wouldn't want to hire a woman to play a stripper in a film who wasn't willing to be nude. I also hate the 'L' shaped covers in a film. I mean, really, who does this?

(This, of course, is a joke... right?)

Obviously, I don't have the full details of this particular case, but in my mind, when you sign a contract, you've made a deal, and as a producer in the indie spectrum, I'll be very curious to see how this plays out.

My advice to actors..? If you don't want to be naked in a film, you PrObAbLy shouldn't take a role which requires nudity. And filmmakers? Be honest. Be upfront. Then stick to the terms of the Rider. Whatever is agreed upon in advance, is what will be: 4 frames of full frontal nudity? Fine. Side-boob (with visible nipple)? That's it. That's all you get. No inventing stuff on set.

If you want to have a look at the article about the case, you can find it here: The Hollywood Reporter

Oh, and those stories of Paul Verhoeven sneaking the shot of Sharon Stone's... nether region... into BASIC INSTINCT? Don't believe it for a second.

S