The Italian director responds to the rape controversy by saying that he would like 'to clear up a ridiculous misunderstanding that continues to generate press reports' about his erotic film.
- Dec 6, 2016
AceShowbiz - Director Bernardo Bertolucci has responded to the backlash over the "non-concensual" rape of Maria Schneider on the set of his 1972 erotic film "Last Tango in Paris". The Oscar-winning helmer issued a statement on Monday, December 5, saying that the controversy was based on a "ridiculous misunderstanding."
"I would like, for the last time, to clear up a ridiculous misunderstanding that continues to generate press reports about 'Last Tango in Paris' around the world," Bertolucci began. "Several years ago at the Cinematheque Francaise someone asked me for details on the famous butter scene."
"I specified, but perhaps I was not clear, that I decided with Marlon Brando not to inform Maria that we would have used butter," the 76-year-old helmer continued, before adding, "We wanted her spontaneous reaction to that improper [butter] use. That is where the misunderstanding lies."
"Somebody thought, and thinks that Maria had not been informed about the violence on her. That is false!" Bertolucci said. He explained that "Maria knew everything because she had read the script, where it was all described. The only novelty was the idea of the butter."
"And that, as I learned many years later, offended Maria. Not the violence that she is subjected to in the scene, which was written in the screenplay," he added.
Bertolucci's original comments in a viral clip from his 2013 interview sparked fury from many actors, including Chris Evans and Jessica Chastain. The "Captain America" actor called it "beyond disgusting," while the Oscar-nominated actress took to Twitter to say that she felt "sick" after claiming "the director planned her attack."
