Nobody will deny that Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke raised temperatures working their way through that fridge in 9 1/2 Weeks, but there’s only so many times someone can lasciviously lick a spoon. Nor will anyone deny that the current global crisis has radically hit the way everyone approaches intimate contact. But will audiences buy the new guidelines from Directors UK which lay out a return to the Golden Age of Hollywood where the guide insists, “The build up to an intimate scene can sometimes be more exciting than the scene itself”?
Directors UK, the professional association of screen directors with more than 7,000 members, has published Intimacy in the Time of COVID-19.
It lays down guidelines toward shooting sex scenes during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The document assumes all sets have already followed COVID-19 safety measures but adds new information regarding adult intimate scenes.
As well as comments like “Emotional intimacy can be as engaging as physical intimacy,” it includes practical guidelines if things do get physical.
Intimacy coordinators are now regularly used on sets for films and TV shows like Netflix’ Sex Education.
It is a natural progression from the MeToo movement where decades of abuse on set and behind the scenes emerged across the industry.
This applies to nudity as much as sex scenes.
Emilia Clarke revealed how uncomfortable and powerless she had felt shooting early nude scenes on Game of Thrones.
Susanna White, the chair of the Directors UK film committee said: “It’s not hampering anyone in any way. We want to be able to tell powerful and explicit stories but we want it to be responsible.”