The 'Thor: Love and Thunder' actress emphasizes the importance of 'a very good, open communication' and 'intimacy coordinators' on set when filming racy scenes.
- Nov 20, 2023
AceShowbiz - Natalie Portman finds filming sex scenes awkward. The 42-year-old actress features in the sex scandal drama "May December" as the actress Elizabeth Berry, who is studying the real-life subject of her next movie; Julianne Moore's character Gracie Atherton-Yoo, who is caught having sex in a pet store stockroom with Joe, her co-worker, played by Charles Melton, when he was just 13.
The movie takes a dark turn when a creepy voice tells Elizabeth through the mirror, "You're … Gracie." And Natalie says there was "good, open communication" between the co-stars before they filmed the sex scene.
She told Radio Times magazine of filming intimate scenes, "It's never comfortable. And we just figured it out between ourselves. I think we all had a very good, open communication. But I think intimacy coordinators can be really wonderful, especially in environments that are uncomfortable or hostile. It can be helpful to have some sort of structure around it."
Natalie has been thrilled by the reaction to the movie. The "Thor: Love and Thunder" star formed her own production company, MountainA, with friend Sophie Mas, and their first movie, the Todd Haynes-directed melodrama sold to Netflix for $11 million after receiving rave reviews at Cannes.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Sophie said of "May December", "We loved how unexpected it was. A lot of the reception to the movie so far has described it as campy, and I don't know if we agree with that, but you really don't know if you're supposed to laugh, if it's ironic, and that feels unique."
"When you make a film, you're betting on the script, and we felt a conviction - but at Cannes, we were playing late at night, after 'Killers of the Flower Moon'. Julianne has an early line where she says, 'I don't think we have enough hot dogs,' and the audience knew to laugh - so we felt that they understood the tone. We knew that the market, especially with the strike, would be tight - we financed the movie independently, but the Netflix sale felt like a testament to the work."
