Quick Links Intimacy Coordinators Will Only Improve Intimate Scenes in Movies Mikey Madison Shouldn't Be Criticized For Her Choice How Can Hollywood Better Use Intimacy Coordinators?
Sean Baker's Anora is the main film in the awards conversation that deals with the topics of sex and sex work in such a graphic way, as is the case with most of his movies. But Anora has sparked another conversation entirely, one that's tangential but still wholly necessary. Star Mikey Madison appeared on Variety's Actors on Actors opposite Pamela Anderson. This is a very interesting pairing. One woman was viewed as the sex symbol decades ago, and the other is just now earning that title in a contemporary context.
When asked about the subject of intimacy coordinators, Madison said that while she was offered one, she chose not to use one. She said that she felt comfortable enough on set to perform the scenes, and like with most things, the internet has taken its jackhammer to the moment. Madison has caught some backlash for this opinion, but what she's saying isn't a slight on her or her denouncing the need for intimacy coordinators. They are a good thing that will hopefully become more common in the industry in the future, but we are in a strange transition phase right now where some actors still don't see the point.
Madison is well within her right to turn down an intimacy coordinator, and it speaks to a broader topic of authenticity when filming intimate scenes, something which doesn't hold much weight but shows we still have a way to go in how we treat sex on film. What can an intimacy coordinator add to a scene? Why are people wrong to be angry at Madison? What progress in on-set safety do we still need to make? Here's what you need to know.
Intimacy Coordinators Will Only Improve Intimate Scenes in Movies
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5 /5 Anora
Release Date October 18, 2024 Runtime 139 Minutes Cast Mikey Madison , Mark Eydelshteyn , Karren Karagulian , Yuriy Borisov , Vache Tovmasyan , Ivy Wolk , Luna Sofía Miranda , Ross Brodar , Lindsey Normington , Darya Ekamasova , Emily Weider , Alena Gurevich , Masha Zhak , Paul Weissman , Charlton Lamar , Aleksey Serebryakov , Ella Rubin , Vincent Radwinsky , Michael Sergio , Brittney Rodriguez , Sophia Carnabuci , Anton Bitter , Zoë Vnak Main Genre Comedy Expand
Aside from the obvious improvements in safety and comfort on sets, intimacy coordinators will improve the content we get as well, even though that's hardly the top priority. Audiences don't see the process behind filming these types of scenes, and some actors of an older generation have the view that they get in the way. The choice to have an intimacy coordinator should lie with the actor, but they can have so many benefits. If an actor feels safer when performing, it can greatly enhance the sense of connection that lots of sex scenes seem to want these days.
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In the case of Anora, the vulgar nature of the plot can demand an uninterrupted space, but the truth is, if you aren't in front of the camera, you don't understand what that filming process is like. Mikey Madison is unfairly coming under criticism for her decision as a performer, which doesn't undermine the work she does in the movie, nor does it necessarily improve it. There has to be some line between the performer and the audience in these instances.
Mikey Madison Shouldn't Be Criticized For Her Choice Close
The relationship between director and actor is as idiosyncratic as the movie they are making together. Sean Baker has built a career on humanizing the lives of sex workers but still keeping them at a distance far enough to examine the hedonistic lifestyles they can lead. Anora is a vulnerable film that thrives on its opening act and all the graphic scenes that comes with it. The concept of authenticity doesn't become compromised in the presence of an intimacy coordinator, but we can't speak to the dynamic between creatives. Madison isn't condeming intimacy coordinators or making fun of actresses that use them, she's just saying what worked for her. That's not a bad thing.
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The unfortunate reality is that abuses of power are so frequent it's hard to tell when they are or aren't happening. To call Baker a creep is to grossly simplify a situation that must be a very delicate one already. Madison is within her right to use an intimacy coordinator, and they have their advantages. But the role is too in its infancy for Hollywood to know how to use them best, and we still have an active generation who have never been offered them at all. Anora is not the movie to hang this argument on, and the idea of "scandalous" or "provocative" movies shouldn't disappear only in the name of offending people online. The actor's safety is the main concern.
How Can Hollywood Better Use Intimacy Coordinators? Close
There isn't an easy answer to Hollywood becoming better at detecting abuses of power on sets. Intimacy coordinators should be mandatory on film sets, even if they are not used. In the same way, actors have stunt coordinators. Filming sex scenes with them doesn't mean that they will become less emotionally revealing or important to a movie. Instead, intimacy coordinators can provide an extra bridge between the audience and the screen. The topic is multi-layered and distinct for each movie, so to lay down a blanket statement attacking Mikey Madison or Anora is not the right move.
There is no doubt that intimacy coordinators should become standard for movie sets, but how they are utilized cannot be as easily explained. It's a touchy subject, and, as mentioned, actresses have been forced into awful conditions by powerful male directors in the past, or they felt they weren't able to voice their concerns.
Having intimacy coordinators there should become the standard, and hopefully, it will be, but for Anora to be as risky as it is and explore its themes in the way it does, boundaries have to be pushed. This should never compromise a person's safety, and people are right to be concerned, but Anora is not the right target for this discourse, and neither is Mikey Madison. Anora is now available to buy on Prime Video and AppleTV.