stars, sex and nudity buzz : 02/19/2013

from the anonymous ‘contributor’:
Hey, thanks for the post and reply...but to clear one thing up, I'm not a woman. I'm a guy who's just seen a lot of stuff...I've written and directed some low budget films and had my work widely distributed. And I've even shot a few nude scenes for the films. But I was pretty careful not to take advantage of people too.

But I still have issues with nudity dodger...it's like the wrong actresses (and actors) are always cast in movies, and given roles for their name value, with nudity or not. Look at Will Smith ruining Wild Wild West, or Keanu in most movies, or Keanu and Winona Ryder in Dracula. That's Hollywood. And if some actress likes a script with nudity and doesn't want to do it, and they decide to accommodate her..then they're at fault as much as anyone. I'd have serious problems with an actress who agreed to do the movie and then knew they shot enough that she was golden, and then refused the nudity when it came time. That's bullcrap. Anything before a contract is signed is fair game. Tom Cruise makes them rewrite scripts based on what he wants to do, it's the power of having name value. And if an actress doesn't feel like doing nudity, and she doesn't have to, why should she if she has the power to change it?

I have a friend I cast in a role that needed nudity, and she did want me to work it out with her. I said I couldn't because it really was essential to my themes and I wasn't just flashing some boobs so reviews would say there was nudity in the flick, so I tried to talk her out of doing the movie. In the end she saw the value and did it. But if she didn't, I wouldn't have thought less of her, not everyone wants to reveal themselves. She was really scared about it too. Did she feel liberated afterward? Not really, but luckily she's a good enough actress that she was able to just do the scene and not think about it, and then she sort of didn't think about it again.

I'd also say the modeling world is different than the acting world...if you're a model, you are selling your look and your body, straight up. I don't know many models who don't have bikini pictures or body pictures, that's part of the gig. So getting naked is a little different in that profession than someone who trained to act well and be a character, and is amazing at their craft, and then have to always get pushed to do nude scenes. I tend to work mostly in genre films now, mostly horror, and some of these casting notices have nothing for my friends who don't want to take their tops off. Hey, that's part of the game and perfectly fair though, I'm not saying it's wrong.

But it's just interesting that you have a director like the dude who made The Sessions and he absolutely needed Helen Hunt full frontal, but said there was no reason to shoot any male nudity. Because he has that usual bullshit double standard. Like we wouldn't have gotten the point if we only saw her topless. So actresses should watch out for themselves, no one else is going to.

I guess to me with your blog entry I saw is, I was getting more of a pushy vibe...not that it matters in the real world, but it just irked me for whatever reason. While a site such as Mr. Skin is sort of the same thing, but it's more playful and doesn't come off as judgmental. I guess that's all, a difference of opinion. But it's the internet where we're all a bunch of blowhards anyway.

Sorry. My presumptuousness got the better of me again. Your prose is very concise, non-aggressive and with touch of femme soft style (that’s a compliment from a crappy writer like myself). I also believed you were an actress based on your very personal response. For a moment there I actually thought you were a Canadian too. LOL.

My blog is just that. An opinion-based, semi-speculative and articles filched related to nudity and film news. Yes..I want nudity to be part of the acting culture in Hollywood. It’s crude and almost naïve way of thinking but I don’t see anything wrong with getting naked if the part calls for it. Seeing you pics posted on the net is of small consequential in long run if you want a proper career in the biz. Thick skin is name of the game.

I’m curious with your choice of words: “Always get pushed to do nude scenes”

Who is the one doing the pushing (don’t tell me it’s her agent. Here I thought all of them has mellowed from the ones that strutted around like king shit ages ago) and why she is putting herself in that position in first place?

From my own experience and (perhaps pretentious) observation, there are six types of actresses (with exception of former child actors, foreign talents and hard grinders of TV-land) in L.A:

[1] Talented and works hard to ace the auditions and always with laser focus to making it to the top in all aspects of performing arts. Meryl Streep and to a lesser extent very underrated Renee Zellwager. And then we have Anne Hathaway’s and Michelle Williams of the world.

[2] Talented but plain lazy. Too laid-back and frustrates the crap out of her agent. Auditions is seen as bothersome for someone like her. Roles with nudity are something she favors because of the exclusiveness of it among American performers.

[3] Hard worker but just can’t act to save her own life. Always the first to answer any casting auditions and avoids roles with nudity as long as possible. Also see ‘lower rung stage actors’.

[4] Wants to be in performing arts to avoid being a nine-to-fiver. Will do anything to stay in the biz. You can catch morsels of acting chops coming through but usually buried deep under all the gratuitous sex scenes and nudity. Also see cock-filler ’,‘ mattresses ‘from modeling background’.

[5] Talented but just too sensitive. Non-aggressive in pursuing auditions and happy with the status quo of doing non-speaking and inconsequential parts. Typically quit the biz after few years. The ones that stick around usually panic when they’re in late twenties and have nothing to show for it. Panic leads to dumb choices.

[6] And finally we have the 'celebrity’ actress. More famous for looking pretty, diva-like behavior. For their exploits off the cam or red-carpets events than for their ability on-cam. Hired just to boost the box-office appeal of the movie. Notorious nudity dodgers until no one give a fuck anymore or facing career and financial problems.

Like you I’m aware and wary about exploitative side of it too. I’m not referring to B-grade flicks or cable shows where your character is just a nudity gimmick or appearing nude for one episode. Nothing more nothing less. These actresses know where they’re getting into and many of them will never graduate from the stagnation as a fringe performer into mainstream recognition.

So doing nudity is seen as diversifying the resume as one non-nude model once told me “You need those edgy pictorials in the portfolio”. Most of the time you gain nothing (Sarah Power of Californication achieved cultish nudity status but did it help her in the long run? Rebecca Luddington? It appears Meghan Falcone is having buyer’s remorse and she is far more talented than many of the topless chicks that was on the show including I’m-too-good-to-show-my-breasts Maggie Grace) and in some cases the age factor comes into equation.

The difference is – how can I put it – the level of knowledge…nous actresses nowadays possess in abundance compared to say 20-years ago. I have been in e-mail contact with couple of aspiring actress in their twenties. One is slowly moving into speaking roles and other still doing background appearance (non-speaking roles). The duo has appeared in indie and regional efforts. Both from conservative background (Texas and Georgia) trying their luck in L.A.
Understandably haven’t informed them about the blog. Just someone who got in touch with them through their website. When I queried about possibility of doing nude scenes, their answers surprised me with the commonness of it. They are not interested in showing their tits just for the sake of it. They will do it if it advances the plot or their character. But before agreeing or signing on the dotted line, they will talk it over with parents and partner to receive their approval. That’s important for them.
In next few weeks, I’m going to ask the girls about the aftermath of onscreen nudity (e.g pics plastered all over the net) and what are the future plans if they are still in career doldrums well into late twenties.
I’m personally collecting all the feed-backs over the last few years for my personal booklet on film nudity and the effects it has on American conservative and still puritan culture. You can provide your own valuable view on it as well.

My friend, I’m not being pushy. Just urging, goading. I’m not a big-time player for any actress to notice or take offend. In fact and in many ways I’m promoting their career by providing the human face to the actresses on verge of performing first nude scene. Posted about their background and how far they have come in the biz. Humanizing them if possible to the point they are more than just a nude figure head. Yes....I tend to mock them too but I can’t help it. I’m a mocker in the gentlest and playful meaning of the word.

So if it’s possible and I’m not pressuring you in any way – please contribute (in your spare time of course) your thoughts on nudity and the impact it has on actresses you came across over the years. All the tales and news relating to nudity and the consequence.

More significantly if an actress was forced to do something she didn’t want to do in first place by unscrupulous individuals. I won’t have that. Don’t want to blow my own horns but I’m in touch with a well-known filmmaker. I’m proud of that fact and still couldn’t believe he actually replies to my e-mail inquiries. He is gruff and can be rude but basically a super decent guy. If you can provide the name of the agent or the individuals who are treating certain actress badly, I’ll pass it to him. He was raised by a strong-willed woman and has zero tolerance for folks who treat them badly. And no, he doesn’t know I’m running this blog. I’m royally screwed if he ever gets a wind of it.

By the way, I don’t think the Sessions director had any choice. MPAA is the stone wedged between female nudity (depending on the ‘graphic’ level) and male full frontal. You can’t have both. Even if he was allowed to show a limp cock, how realistic it will be if it remains soft in presence of an attractive naked woman? Okay. Let say MPAA is flexible enough to allow erect cock in mainstream flicks. How do you think the actresses will react getting into bed with that ‘thing’ inches away from her body? And the actor? If he achieves unlikely erection in such an environment, is he attracted to the actress to the point there will be some friction between the leads. I’m curious about it all. In your experience did any of the actresses told you anything about getting it on for real with the actor off the set after a simulated sex scene in a flick?

Wondering if Allison was really bottomless in this scene? Can’t wait for the Blu-Ray but they’ll likely blurred it. If I was Allison boyfriend, I be slightly perturbed to see my girl in bed with two totally naked guys. One actually rubbed himself on her ass and back in belly down position and another flaunted his jewels and the crown for her to gaze upon……remember this is her first major role. Do you think she will be tempted to play the field soon?

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March issue cover story: Mia Wasikowska

With lead roles in three of this year’s biggest films, the bewitching Miss Wasikowska, in addition to appearing in our exclusive film, tells us why she yearns to be a badass

Full interview taken from the March Issue of Dazed and Confused:

With wide-set eyes and a blond bob clipped to one side with a barrette, Mia Wasikowska resembles a teenage Margot Tenenbaum: intelligent and eccentric, perching awkwardly on the edge of a couch with her hands on her lap like she’s patiently waiting for... something. When Tim Burton picked her to be his Alice in Alice in Wonderland, he exposed the former ballerina to her widest audience thus far. But by the time it was released in July 2010 the Australian actress had already worked with the world’s coolest contemporary filmmakers, playing the daughter of lesbians in Lisa Cholodenko’s Academy Award-nominated The Kids Are All Right, starring in Cary Fukunaga’s adaptation of Jane Eyre and shearing her long hair for Gus Van Sant’s Restless. “I love it short,” she says, running her fingers through her current schoolgirlish do. “I’m never going to grow my hair again.”

Maybe it’s the sporty haircut, but no one here at the Casa del Mar hotel restaurant in Santa Monica seems to recognise Wasikowska, even though she’s one of the highest-grossing actresses in the world (in 2010, her films made $1.03 billion, tying with Johnny Depp and outgrossed only by Leonardo DiCaprio at $1.1 billion). Perhaps the 23-year-old’s quiet demeanour also helps her slip by unnoticed, or maybe it’s her casual attire – sensible black flats, black tights, a flowery knee-length skirt and a simple pink t-shirt. “I think it’s because I live in Australia and I don’t get too much into the Hollywood scene,” she says, explaining her relative anonymity. “Living far away from LA has been the best way for me to exist within this industry. It’s good to be able to step away from here and into my personal life, and keep the two separate.” She pauses.

“You know, before you arrived, the weirdest thing happened,” she says, her smile warm. Turns out a journalist from a different publication had sat with Wasikowska for a full five minutes, having mistaken her for someone else. And she had played along, not realising. “We were chatting for a while,” she confesses, “then she looked confused and asked me my name. I said, ‘I’m Mia,’ and she was like, ‘Oh. Whoops.’” It’s hard to imagine anyone making that mistake with DiCaprio or Depp, but then Wasikowska really isn’t bothered by her inconspicuousness. Rather, she’s enjoying it while she can.

Wasikowska – pronounced “vassikofska” – still lives where she was born and raised, in Canberra, the small, unglamorous capital of Australia. She grew up the middle child of three, with fine-art photographer parents. “There are a lot of public servants, artists and college students in Canberra,” she says. “Basically, it’s a small city in the middle of the bush.” Canberra’s most famous daughter trained as a prima ballerina until she was 14, when a small but painful bone mass on her heel forced her to swap the 35 hours a week she spent in the dance studio for Hollywood. Less than ten years later, the American dream is hers. Now she’s learning how to live it right. “I’m learning my own limits: how much to work each year, how much to put into establishing a home and friends,” she says. “I’m learning not to get carried away, to keep a life outside of films. Because this is a wobbly thing to pin everything on.”

I guess knitting doesn’t do much for my badass image though, does it?

She recently started knitting to help her detach from the ups and downs of movie life. “I guess knitting doesn’t do much for my badass image though, does it?” she sighs. Is the demure Wasikowska, with her flat shoes and sensible hair, really trying to cultivate a “badass” image? Apparently so. “But it’s not working, is it? Almost everything new I pick up – knitting, crotcheting – seems to work against me... Oh well.”

There’s no time for knitting on this trip – she’s about to head to Sundance with her new movie, the modern gothic thriller Stoker. The first English-language film from acclaimed Korean director Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, Thirst), Stoker is visually lush and verbally sparse, an ultraviolent, hyperreal Hitchcock homage. Wasikowska plays the enigmatic India, a glum teenager blossoming into a ruthless killer – think Wednesday Addams meets Aileen Wuornos. She stars alongside a perfectly neurotic Nicole Kidman as her mother and Matthew Goode as the deranged but dashing Uncle Charlie. (Harmony Korine, who lives in Nashville close to where the movie was shot, makes a brief appearance as an art teacher.)
There are certain moments in cinema that are unforgettable by virtue of the emotional response they spark, the kind that linger in the viewer’s subconscious long after they leave the movie theatre. The shower scene in Psycho, for instance; Tim Roth yelling “everybody be cool, this is a robbery” in Pulp Fiction; or Jack Nicholson’s “here’s Johnny” grimace in The Shining. Well, there is a scene in Stoker that possesses that mesmerising power: India’s devastatingly erotic piano duet with Uncle Charlie. Wasikowska studied piano for months to play the complex duet by famed minimalist composer Philip Glass, who specifically intended the piece to be played by a husband and wife. At one point, the music demands that the male pianist reach his arm around the female while continuing to play. The incestuous sexual tension escalates with the music, India and Charlie dripping with tragic Nabokovian desire as their fingers do the talking. “It’s a very sensual moment,” says Wasikowska, adding, “That was my favourite day of filming.”

Then there is Stoker’s own shower scene, an unsettling masturbatory moment, with India naked and washing away the memory of what she just witnessed – the murder of a boy she once kissed. What’s odd is that she becomes increasingly aroused as she flashes back to the moment of her lover’s death, her body shuddering in climax as she relives the sound of his neck snapping. Fun stuff. “It’s a crazy scene,” Wasikowska says. “The kind of scene that when you get the shooting schedule, you’re checking to see when it is so you can mentally prepare.”

The film is littered with metaphor and symbolism, including a recurring egg motif — early on, India is seen rolling hardboiled eggs along a table and cracking the shells; later, you catch a glimpse of white plates arranged in a circle on a wall, a yellow plate in the middle like a yolk. This, says Wasikowska, stemmed from Chan-wook feeling that her character was like “a little chicken in an egg, pecking her way out and breaking the shell.” Does Wasikowska ever feel that she is “only an egg”, to quote Robert A Heinlein’s 60s SF classic Stranger in a Strange Land? Or is she a chick? Where exactly is she on her personal egg-to-chick trajectory, or has she already hatched into the actress she always wanted to be?

Okay, maybe we weren’t entirely normal, but I honestly don’t even know what normal is.

“Well, most young girls identify with this feeling of breaking out of their shell,” she says, picking at her bowl of wild mushroom pasta. “But that’s the beginning, then you have to find your feet and see how you fit in the world. There’s a constant readjustment, a feeling of always changing and being influenced by things and working really hard to keep a core sense of who you are, so that the outside world doesn’t erode that layer of yourself.” So what exactly is the core of Mia Wasikowska? What is she guarding? Whatever it is, she’s not giving it up on the first date. “I can’t explain it in words,” she says, “but I know how to protect it.” Her family, of course, help keep her grounded, and her mother in particular has helped develop her uncanny knack for picking the right projects. “Marzena, my mom, was really into independent, experimental and art-house films when I was growing up, so she has often been my reference, introducing me to good directors.”

Marzena Wasikowska (Mia and her two siblings took their mother’s name) and John Reid met at art school in Canberra, where they were both studying photography. Reid is a lecturer at the ANU School of Art, directing a programme encouraging students to produce environmentally conscious work, while Marzena continues to shoot portraiture and documentary photography. Marzena and John only married a year ago, to the surprise of their children. Wasikowska had just returned from America: “Mom said, ‘We’d like to invite you to our wedding at 3pm.’ So we had a wedding in our garden. Me and my sister ran out and got a plant from a nursery. My mom had a cake, a pie actually. Or maybe it was a pastry?”
Impromptu weddings, kids taking their mother’s surname, art school – the signs point towards Mia Wasikowska having grown up in a wonderfully bohemian household. Eccentric, even? “I don’t know... Okay, maybe we weren’t entirely normal, but I honestly don’t even know what normal is.”

Her parents have always been supportive of her career choices, although were initially surprised when she quit dancing and decided to get into acting. “They were a little worried at the beginning because it seems so out of reach, being in Australia and trying to make it as an actress,” Wasikowska says. “But I really didn’t like the dance industry. It’s kind of brutal.” She still dances every now and then, although it’s mainly in her bedroom, to favourite bands like First Aid Kit (she also digs Bob Dylan and Nina Simone). “I feel a bit stifled when it comes to crazy dancing in a club. Maybe I should try it though,” she ponders. “Maybe that would help me be more badass...” She is also a gifted photographer, shooting photos, often onset, using one of her Rolleiflex, Holga or Leica cameras. In 2010 she was shortlisted for the Australian National Photographic Portrait Prize for an onset photo of Fukunaga and Jamie Bell, her Jane Eyre co-star. Photography, piano, ballet, acting – the list of Wasikowska’s talents grows ever longer with time.

Other exciting projects she’s got coming out in 2013 include Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive with Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston, about a longstanding romance between reclusive vampires who are thrown off when Wasikowska’s character comes in and disturbs the peace. “I’m a little bit of a trashy socialite in it,” says Wasikowska. Like a bloodsucking Kim Kardashian? “If you like,” she laughs. “She is quite different to the characters I have played before in that she’s a lot sillier. Polyester, Gucci and revealing, colourful plastic clothes. It’s fun.” She’s also co-starring in Submarine director Richard Ayoade’s The Double, a comedy about a man (played by The Social Network’s Jesse Eisenberg), whose life is taken over by his doppelganger. “Richard Ayoade is amazing, a wunderkind person,” she says. “Also, he has possibly seen every single movie under the sun. I’m in awe.”

I would never want to do something that I felt I had done before, and it’s not fun to just play a victim or a sexy, proppy girlfriend. Give me a character that has their own drive, something to say... That’s badass

In the next few years there are a few things on Wasikowska’s to-do list: she would love to work with Jane Campion, shoot films in Europe and Australia and play “louder” characters. She’s not putting any pressure on herself to cross over to the mainstream and sign up for the big-paying blockbusters that might increase her chances of being recognised by strangers in hotel lobbies. “I very specifically know what I like and what I don’t like when it comes to film, and I don’t know how much ‘business’ there needs to be in my decisions right now. I’ve made mostly creative choices in my career, which is really fun, so I guess I’ll just carry on, see how it goes and do what I want to do. To me there’s no point making a film unless it is challenging and different. I would never want to do something that I felt I had done before, and it’s not fun to just play a victim or a sexy, proppy girlfriend. Give me a character that has their own drive, something to say... That’s badass.”

Stoker is out on March 1.

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Elisabet Garcia : François Berthier for Ever Magazine

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Nymphomaniac star Stacy Martin talks sex, nudity and porn doubles

Newcomer Stacy Martin, star of the maverick director Lars von Trier's new film, talks sex, nudity and porn doubles with Charlotte Cripps

The unknown actress Stacy Martin, 22, is Danish film director Lars von Trier's latest muse. The former model with Premier Model Management, who was too short for the runway and looks like Jane Birkin, stars in his new movie, Nymphomaniac, which follows the erotic life of a woman from birth to the age of 50.

The provocative film in two parts, which features real sex scenes with porn doubles in softcore and hardcore versions, will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

Starring alongside Shia LaBeouf as his girlfriend, Martin is the younger version of Joe aged 15 to 31, a nymphomaniac, played later in life by Charlotte Gainsbourg – so its handy Martin looks like Gainsbourg's mother Birkin.

"What scared me wasn't the nakedness but it was interacting naked. Shia was very professional but we didn't actually do anything sexual," says Martin meekly, who is sitting in a café in London's Covent Garden. "That was left to the porn doubles. It's a totally different industry. The porn stars finish the job off for you. I never thought I'd meet my porn double," she laughs.

Martin remembers when she met von Trier in Copenhagen last year. She had always admired his films including Dogville starring Nicole Kidman, Melancholia starring Kirsten Dunst and Antichrist, starring Willem Dafoe and Gainsbourg.

"I'd only had three hours sleep because I was so nervous. I decided to stay awake on the plane so my eyes weren't puffy. Suddenly he was there in front of me, I was speechless. We just stood there starring at each other for a very long time," she says.

Von Trier and Martin talked a lot about what she could bring to the table as far as the character was concerned. "We were clear this film wasn't about nakedness, but that it was part of the story. So I was comfortable with it. Lars wanted to celebrate the female desire and show we have flaws, we are human beings and not perfect," she says. "There was a lot of pressure on me as the vehicle of his vision. He said to me, 'Just take it day by day, scene by scene. It will all come together.' There is an element of trust. I had to keep remembering that he chose me, or else I wouldn't be there if I wasn't capable. Sometimes I was rubbish and he allowed me to get that out of the way."

But it was challenging for Martin, who had no acting experience, to be thrust in front of the camera as LaBeouf's assertive girlfriend, with more naked scenes than most actresses have in a lifetime. It was filmed over 55 days in and around Cologne.

The first part of the film is about Joe's younger life, the second part is when Gainsbourg takes over. The two parts of the film do not follow on from one another but are interwined.
"As the younger Joe, she is aware she is a sex addict but not to the point that it is a disease. At 15, she's just discovering men and friendships in the 1960s," says Martin. "It is a very interesting relationship she has with her boyfriend.

Martin, who is "itching" for her next role, joined an A-list cast including Uma Thurman, who plays one of her lover's wives, Christian Slater who plays her father, and Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard, as an older bachelor, who listens to the nymphomaniac's life story told through Gainsbourg.

"In one scene I wear disgusting tight red high-waisted spandex pants which were absolutely vile with a zip and slutty tights and a tiny top like a handkerchief for a night out on the pull," she says in horror. "I looked in the mirror and kept telling myself, 'You can do this'. But the film is about a lot more than sex. There is a lot of humour which I hope people will understand. It is a story – it's not a porn movie."

The half-French Martin, who goes out with Daniel Blumberg, the singer of indie band Yuck, grew up in Paris. She lived in Japan from the age of seven to 13 with her dad, Rene, a hair stylist and her mum Annette – then she returned to Paris until she moved to London aged 18 hoping to make it as an actress. Modelling was just a side job to fund her life in London – she saved up to do private acting classes, studied the Meisner technique of acting at the Actors' Temple, and studied Media and Cultural Studies at the London College of Communications.

She had two auditions in London and one audition in Copenhagen for von Trier's film. "When a few weeks later I heard I got the part, it was like, 'OK, don't freak out'."

She says von Trier is "extremely quiet" on set and "gives a lot of freedom". "He doesn't give you tons of instructions, just lets you improvise. He will sit and see what you come up with. To work in that way is fabulous." A lot of the film was shot on a handheld camera. "Whatever happens, he gives a lot of power to the actors he works with. You are not like a puppet. He moulds the work rather than makes it concrete."
She says she never sat down with her older self, played by Gainsbourg to discuss the character but the two performances were allowed to merge naturally. "I haven't seen Charlotte's scenes but I've heard we match pretty well. Originally Lars didn't want to cast me so the fact I look like her mother Jane Birkin was not the reason why I got the part. I got it because I did a good screen test," she says.

Peter Aalbaek Jensen, von Trier's producing partner, claimed the director "wanted to see the sexual arousement of a girl" on screen. Skarsgard told The Hollywood Reporter the film is "sexually explicit but, believe me, it will be a very bad wanking movie". LaBeouf said: "I know he's a very dangerous director; I know we are trying to do something different."

The film goes back and forth over the years looking at Joe's life and her background – often scenes were filmed spontaneously. Martin says: "What was challenging to play was her determination. I'm the kind of person who will make sure everybody is OK. She is the opposite – she is very focused on what she wants and very mathematical. It was also challenging because it was my first film and it was with Lars and other big actors and I thought, 'This is a big shoe to step into'. But I just had to jump in there."

She is already excited about attending the premiere in a few months, but also wary. "I'm quite nervous about my parents seeing the film. My mum is naturally feeling quite protective. It's quite embarrassing for me to see myself have sex. I might be hiding my eyes."

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Karlie Kloss 11.01.13 // MUSE Magazine

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Amanda Seyfried: Sex is no big deal

Amanda Seyfried doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about when it comes to sex scenes

Amanda Seyfried has criticised the ‘prim’ attitude towards sex scenes in films, insisting filmmakers shouldn’t shy away from raunchy moments on camera because ‘everybody does it’.
Declaring that guns feature hugely in American films, the Mamma Mia actress confessed she doesn’t understand the taboo surrounding sex scenes.

But she did admit, after starring as seventies porn actress Linda Lovelace in a new film, she thinks the world is in the midst of a ‘sexual revolution’ – and it can’t come soon enough.

The film entitled Lovelace, in which she co-stars alongside Sharon Stone, Peter Sarsgaard and Juno Temple, depicts the porn star’s tragic life after she became a huge star after appearing in the notorious porn film 1972 Deep Throat.

Amanda stars alongside Juno Temple in the film

The film focuses on Linda’s relationship with her husband and manager Chuck Traynor – played by Sarsgaard – who controlled her life and forced her into a career in porn.

And given that the film is about a porn star, it’s understandable to predict it will feature dozens of sex scenes.

But Amanda, aware of the taboo scenes between-the-sheets create, doesn’t understand what the problem is.

‘Sex in movies shouldn’t be as big a deal as it is,’ she told The Sun. ‘Everybody does it. Who doesn’t do it?

So why are we shying away from it so much?

‘I mean I’m not flashing my everything for gratuitous reasons, I’m just exploring that on camera.

‘Guns are huge in American cinema but with sex everybody is so prim about it here. Something is changing in American cinema.’

But Amanda, 27, who starred in blockbuster Les Miserables, added: ‘We’re going through some kind of sexual revolution right now, I’d like to think.’

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South African model Lauren Marshall

More here

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'Nurse Jackie' Star Teases Very Different Season 5

It's always thrilling when a deserving actor has their work acknowledged with an Emmy nomination, but when Merritt Wever's name was announced as one of 2012's five Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy nominees, I felt Zoey-levels of frenetic jubilation because she's long been one of the most underrated actors on television and that kind of uniquely exhilarating talent tends to be celebrated by online devotees (like me!) but ignored by organizations like The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

But, in the end, there was no denying the hilarious, intimate and sterling performance Wever has been serving on Showtime's Nurse Jackie. Emmy night was doubly sweet for Wever as her good friend (and Tiny Furniture boss), Lena Dunham, also scored several nominations for Girls.

I recently caught up with Wever to talk about the sensational season four (now on DVD), what fans can expect from season five and how she learned to stop letting Girls criticism get her down.

ETonline: What else can you say about season five?
Wever: We return a couple of months later, there are a few new doctors on the floor and Dr. O'Hara decides she needs to live in London to be with her family, so right away Jackie loses her best friend and biggest ally in the hospital. There's a lot of transitions right in the beginning of the season -- especially for Jackie.

ETonline: What about for Zoey -- where do we find her in season five?
Wever: It's a much different season and I'm worried people may not like Zoey this year. I don't know, I don't think she's all that different, but I'm not sure how people are going to respond. Zoey is recommitted to her career this year, although after four years, it's not so much about her finding her way in the hospital any more. She's no longer a newbie, which is hard for me because I had trouble progressing the character when so much of her identity has been about being the fresh-faced new person. That was something I contended with this year. Zoey doesn't date, but she does have a casual encounter, which is very un-Zoey, but something that would happen to a girl in NYC.

More here

Nurse Jackie: The Complete Fourth Season is now available on DVD, and season five premieres April 14 at 9 p.m. on Showtime.

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In bed with Cara - A Valentine's Day Treat

from LOVE

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Hofmann Hots Hottie, Megan Lucas, Stars in This NSFW Video

by Carol Shih

I don’t know where or how Tim found this video of Megan Lucas, the woman entangled in the Phil Romano-Frank Zaccanelli lawsuit, but here it is. Warning: this has nothing to do with food. There aren’t any hot dogs in this video, but there is a hottie (you know, objectively speaking).


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Isn't something missing? Pam Hogg attracts a celebrity packed front row but forgets to bring the CLOTHES!

By Bianca London

Although veteran designer Pam Hogg chose to stage her show to the electro beats of Carter Tutti, she might have done better to have played tunes by Bare Naked Ladies.
After all, given the number of naked models strutting their stuff on the catwalk, it would certainly have been appropriate.
Never one to shy away from a carefully orchestrated shocker, Hogg sent models down the catwalk in their birthday suits, accessorised with barely there capes that left nothing to the imagination, or, in one instance, a hat alone. 
But putting on a performance rather than a straight forward catwalk show has always been part of the Pam Hogg routine and her latest collection didn't surprise - in that respect at least.
As the electro beats of Carter Tutti filled Freemason’s Hall, dancers from the National Ballet pirouetted down the catwalk decked out in Pam’s trademark catsuits with some seriously show-off paneling.
The front row, which included Jefferson Hack, Duran Duran’s Nick Rhodes, Jaime Winstone and Zoe Hardman, watched in awe as the statement catsuits and naked ladies made their way down the runway.
Hogg, whose work unsurprisingly finds a ready market among attention grabbing celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Kate Moss and Jessie J, updated her iconic jumpsuits with oversized, eye-catching cuboid headpieces that served to gag the model’s mouths.

On-trend PVC and sequins made their mark and there was plenty of flesh on show as daring metallic macs were worn completely unbuttoned with less definitely being more.

More pics here and here 

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Eleanor Tomlinson: not your average princess in 'Jack the Giant Slayer'

Young British actress Eleanor Tomlinson (“Alice in Wonderland”) plays Isabelle, the feisty princess yearning for adventure, in New Line Cinema's 3D action fantasy “Jack the Giant Slayer.”

If it was adventure the princess craved, she certainly finds it the night she sneaks out of the castle and rides as far as Jack’s (Nicholas Hoult) hovel before seeking shelter from a growing storm. She arrives just in time to see one of the special beans Jack brought back from the marketplace sprout into a gargantuan vine. Its writhing tendrils drive the tiny dwelling straight up into the sky, and her along with it, prompting an urgent rescue mission.

“She's not your average princess,” offers Eleanor Tomlinson, as the royal rebel. “She’s strong-willed and nonconformist. She doesn’t want the pomp and protocol and all that comes along with being the daughter of a king, and only experiencing life from behind stone walls, which is why she runs away from the palace every chance she gets. She’d rather be a normal girl.”

Tomlinson and director Bryan Singer balanced Isabelle’s liberated aspirations and outward edge with a natural tenderness and compassion, making her all the more a fitting match for her yet-unspoken suitor. Tomlinson explains, “She loves her father and understands how he feels, having lost her mother years ago. That’s one of the things I liked about the script. With all this madness going on—the action and effects and the giants—it’s still about people and relationships, and there’s more than one emotional story at its core.”

“Eleanor brought all these qualities to the fore with consummate grace: the tomboy who lives to take chances and yet never forgets her dignity and true calling. She looked great disguised in squires’ clothes or utterly glamorous as a princess,” says Singer.

“Jack and Isabelle are people who are meant to be together,” he concludes. “They’re two adventurous souls on the cusp of adulthood, who share a yearning to be free, and their paths are about to cross.”

Tomlinson previously appeared as Fiona Chattaway in Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland,” starring an ensemble cast, and as Eve in the “Dr. Who” spin-off, “The Sarah Jane Adventures.” Leading roles in two thriller/horror movies followed, TV’s “The Village” and the feature “Styria.” She also appeared in the television movie “The Lost Future,” alongside Sean Bean and Sam Claflin.

She will soon be seen in the feature drama “Siberian Education,” alongside John Malkovich and Peter Stormare, and recently wrapped the BBC drama “The White Queen,” to air in the U.S. on Starz.

In 2009, Tomlinson had the great honor of becoming teenage ambassador for World Vision and made a life-changing trip to Jaipur, India, to help highlight the problems experienced by teenage girls being forced into the sex trade. She is also patron of the local charity Wheelchairs for Kids in her home town of East Yorkshire, England.

A New Line Cinema presentation, in association with Legendary Pictures, “Jack the Giant Slayer” opens in the Philippines in IMAX 3D, Digital 3D and regular theaters on Feb. 28 and is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

* STARZ' White Queen is stacked with beauties and 20-years old Eleanor Tomlinson is one of the babes to look out for. Unlike the novel it was based on, the series will ramp it up on the sex but don't get your hopes high with the anti-nudity Brits probably trimming out all the juice during editing stage. STARZ always demanded nudity from at least three female leads in their show for a season.
Eleanor plays the sister of one of those main characters Faye Marsay. It's going to be clash of the giants if STARZ feels hard done by lack of gratuitous sex and nude scenes. Loyal STARZ subscribers in US needs their regular dosage of T-and-A. It's now a waiting game.

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Ellen Hollman in Spartacus War of the Damned

from sosyalmedyaturkiye

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Janet Montgomery (T-and-A) Dancing on the Edge: E4

via OtherCrap.com

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C'est la vie

from Simone Rovellini

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BTS: iDo Magazine - Natalie Glebova (Miss Universe 2005)

from eddiefoto 

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Adulterers anonymous

Boutique hotels are steaming up the city with new hourly rates for romantic afternoon romps — no questions asked

By JANE RIDLEY and JENNIFER WRIGHT [February 19, 2013]

Standing at the corner of Madison Avenue and 27th Street, the petite brunette in the Michael Kors pantsuit discreetly checks whether she has enough bills to pay for “lunch” in cash.

Her paramour arrives, and they dart into MAve, a chic boutique hotel that, together with the trendy Flatiron, Verite and Tribeca Blu, is fast becoming the go-to spot for clandestine sex in Manhattan.

“It’s stylish, cute and clean,” says Lauren, the married pantsuit wearer, who asked The Post to use her “alias dating name” (so we don’t blow her cover). “There’s no paper trail, and it’s affordable.”

Frisky business: Couples can check into the Flatiron District’s chic MAve hotel for a few hours via the new reservation site DayUse — at least until the end of February.

The 33-year-old advertising account executive, a member of cheaters’ introduction agency Ashley Madison who has had two short-term affairs since joining nine months ago, booked the room for some afternoon delight through the controversial online reservations site, dayuse-hotels.com.

Launched in the US last fall, it’s officially promoted as a convenient service for red-eye passengers, weary shoppers and, according to Yannis Moati, its regional manager, business-people who “need to relax between meetings.”

Yeah, right! Only your maiden aunt wouldn’t get that it’s a more upscale (and much more profitable) version of that seedy rent-by-the-hour no-tell-motel near the West Side Highway.

DayUse has negotiated discounts on daytime-only rooms, mostly available between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., at more than a dozen Manhattan hotels with three or more stars. Customers pay between 30 and 70 percent of the regular overnight rate to have the place at their disposal.

For instance, you can rent a double at the MAve from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for just $99, compared to the usual overnight rate of $269 when check-in is after 3 p.m. and check-out is before noon. There’s complimentary Wi-Fi, H2O Aquatics toiletries and his-’n’-hers velour bathrobes in the closets.

But you need to get in quick. Citing “bad publicity,” the MAve’s director of sales, Jim Mohan, told The Post that parent company Trust Hospitality is pulling the plug on its contract with DayUse at the end of February.

Other hotels, however, are sticking with the program. A 5 1/2 hour, ahem, “layover” at the Tribeca Blu — in a deluxe room with a flatscreen TV and an iPod dock — will set you back $139 instead of $299.

Such wallet-friendly deals are clearly designed to appeal to people like Lauren — the DayUse Web site purrs that they are “for work, rest and rendezvous” and “inject an element of fun to seduce and excite without the restriction of the overnight hotel stay.”

As Benjamin Kaller, director of revenue at the Flatiron Hotel, says: “The difference between DayUse and hourly rate is that the DayUse client who comes in is usually a higher-end client who is willing to pay a nice amount for a few hours.”

No surprise then that DayUse, based in (where else?) Paris, recently met with Ashley Madison about a possible partnership.

“Their whole challenge is lining up these hotels under some kind of politically correct paradigm, but this is all about fulfilling afternoon delights for people,” says Noel Biderman, CEO of Ashley Madison. 

“There might be the atypical individual who just needs a shower and a shave, but there is no industry there. The economics sit squarely in extramarital rendezvous.”

The key attraction for philanderers is that, unlike mainstream bookings sites such as Priceline.com and Hotels.com, the online reservations — “discretion is core to the [our] values,” says another DayUse blurb — do not require credit card details. Clients book via e-mail, obviously a private one to which their spouse or employer has no access, and pay cash at check-in. No questions asked.

“You give them [the front desk] a pin number, which is sent via text message,” explains Lauren.

“There’s no fuss, no raised eyebrows, and you just hand over the money.”

She tells how her recent tryst stemmed from an in-joke between her and her latest hook-up, a 28-year-old financier whom she calls Matt.

“He was telling me about DayUse, and I thought it was hilarious that you could go somewhere like that for a couple hours,” recalls Lauren, who admits to having a “flexible” work schedule in that old-fashioned Madison Avenue “ ‘Mad Men’ kind of way.”

“I was teasing him about it,” she says.

The pair had previously patronized the Hyatt chain (Lauren is tight-lipped about which branch), where they’d forked out $350 to do the deed and bolt.

“Matt always paid for those rooms in the past, so I decided to surprise him this time around by booking through DayUse,” continues Lauren.

“I told him to meet me at the corner of the block [near the MAve] and we popped inside.

“Let’s just say we enjoyed each other’s company.”

Father of one, Bob, 43, another satisfied DayUse customer, who also spoke anonymously, often meets his girlfriend, Kelly, 37, a single mother of a young daughter, for hanky panky at the Flatiron Hotel.

“We both have shared custody of our girls so we have no access to peace and quiet,” says the French-born divorcee, who works in finance and paid $150 for the venue for their get-together.

“I found it [DayUse] on Google and thought it was phenomenal idea.

“The first time, I booked on the spur of the moment, and it turned into a lot of fun. You leave early from work, you take a room, it’s like being teenagers again.”

Indeed, as Bob enthusiastically points out, you don’t have to be an adulterer or a player to benefit from DayUse-hotels.com, whose competitors in New York include Dayguest.com and between9and5.com.

Respected sexperts, including Ronald Katz, a New York-based couples therapist, are giving the concept a thumbs-up.

“Renting a hotel room does not have to [be related to] cheating,” he insists. “Sometimes married couples will rent one for a day or a few hours to put zest back into their relationship.

“They tell me this is very helpful in [spicing up] their marriage.”

Single man about town, Antonio Gabriel, a 41-year-old photographer from Manhattan who books DayUse hotels as “a place to go between appointments” to “lay down, take a shower, refresh and have something to eat,” has spotted the potential for more hedonistic activities.

“I’ve thought about using it for romantic reasons,” he says.

“It’s a brilliant idea if you have a date a little earlier in the day, go for lunch and have some time to kill.”

Not only that, as Gabriel declares: “It’s cheap, and you’re not thinking about spending two or three hundred dollars.

But therein lies a problem. What kind of girl wants a cut-price date?

Lauren, who earns a six-figure salary in her advertising job, admits to having mixed feelings about booking through DayUse. It might be OK as a one-off or as a joke, but it’s a bit like your dinner companion calling for the check and handing over a coupon.

“I was a little taken aback when Matt first suggested the idea because it’s like, you know, a ‘discount affair,’ ” says Lauren, who, for her own self-respect, now insists they pay top dollar at the Hyatt.

“As a woman, you really want the guy to go all out.”

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DIALECT AND DESPAIR | Low Pro

from Daniel Principe 

The official music clip for the track LOW PRO featuring MELANIE RUTHERFORD from DIALECT and DESPAIR'S sophamore album SELF EVIDENT.

Cast - Amy Knowles, Bethany Cook, Jodie Bellon, Amanda Carbone, Kayla Trussell.


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Beautiful Sex - Erotic ART

from ARTCOOK

Nina

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Asia’s Next Top Model winner wants to make it in Hollywood

By Shah Salimat | Singapore Showbiz – Mon, Feb 18, 2013

Thai Jessica Amornkuldilok bested 12 other models to clinch the winning title (Star World)

Although her accent hinders her command of English, Thailand model Jessica Amornkuldilok has big dreams to make it big as a top model and pursue a career in Hollywood.

Her prospects have certainly turned brighter as she just won the first-ever Asia’s Next Top Model, a television modeling competition that was franchised from its famed American version.

The 26-year-old winner was revealed in a private preview at Stage 28 in Universal Studios Singapore on Friday night. Amornkuldilok received a $100,000 cash prize, a modeling contract with top agency Storm Model Management and a slew of other prizes including a Subaru XV car. She beat 13 other contestants from Asia, including former The New Paper Face contestant Kyla Tan who was representing Singapore.

Not one to be outdone, the go-getter nabbed four “Best Photo” honours in 12 photo-shoot challenges. Having her sights set on the future, she enthused to Yahoo! Singapore, “I really want to work so bad and be on magazines and the runways. My biggest dream is to be in Hollywood and to be a top model, so that everyone in the world knows me.”

Amornkuldilok also won the chance to be the face of the Canon IXUS campaign for this year. While shooting the camera commercial in the show’s final episode, problems with her speech surfaced in her stilted pronunciation. In her interview, she acknowledged her shortcomings and endeavoured to work on improving her command of English.

“I feel uncomfortable being on the camera while I talk because my accent is not good and I feel nervous every time I speak out. I have to think positive: nobody is good at it the first time, so (it’s all about) practice. I learnt English from watching movies and listening to music. I communicate a lot with people now and it’s made me improve,” said Jessica.

Jessica's powerful pose won her "Best photo" title last month at the Resorts World Sentosa photo shoot

Starting later but smarter 

Although she admits to cringing whenever she sees herself on television, she says she is a much more mature person than before. At 18, she dropped out of her Elite Models contract to focus on supporting herself and studying after one of her family members passed on. She is worried to start her career at such a late age as models typically peak as early as 18 years old.

“I think I’m smarter now because I went through with my studies and now have life experience. Agents can no longer control me in a bad way because I now ask for things like my salary,” said Amornkuldilok.

With Amornkuldilok’s sights set for Hollywood, she is definitely open to acting gigs. She was also candid about posing nude. “Nudity is art. I only will do nudity that is artful and not do anything that is too sexy. I want the nudity to look fashionable like what (top model) Kate Moss does,” said Jessica.

When asked if her pan-Asian looks may mean that others would think she is not fully representative of Asia, Jessica shoots that view down. The half-German, half-Thai model is proud of her Asian roots and upbringing and said she wants to “represent Asia and its models” following her win.

The show trended worldwide on Twitter following the final episode that aired last Sunday.

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Marbers - effective complex of sexual excitement

from Vanya Volkov

cast: Kristina Gitler, Aleksey Laptev


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Sulem Calderon

from kojostudio 
Video we made during our photo shoot with model Sulem Calderon of TWO Management [rough cut not final]

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Lavish Boudoir - Create Your Fantasy

from Leslie Cersovski

A portrait session with Lavish Boudoir can seem scary. You may think that you're not brave enough, or sexy enough, or anything. I hope this video shows you that it's all about stepping into a fantasy of glamorous hair and makeup, easy posing and feeling like a supermodel for a day. Contact me to discuss creating your fantasy. Thank you to Tommy Davis, Amanda Tran, Krystle Farlow and Adeana Dillon. I couldn't do it without you.

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"SNEP" SEXY NIKOLETT EVE //HD// driected by marco rothenburger

from H-and-R STUDIOS

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Sorority Party Massacre Redband Trailer

from Highland Film Group

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Kristen Stewart lacks sex appeal - poll

Source: BANG Showbiz

Kristen Stewart has been named the least sexy actress in Hollywood.

The Twilight Saga actress - who was embroiled in a scandal last year when she cheated on her co-star and boyfriend Robert Pattinson with Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders - earned the dubious distinction in a poll of British men ahead of the Academy Awards, beating the likes of Sarah Jessica Parker and Lindsay Lohan.

A spokesperson for Men's gadget website Menkind.co.uk, which conducted the poll, said: "Our Oscars poll has been a fascinating insight into the minds of British men. It's shown that sexiness is far more than appearance.

"They were turned off by volatile and moody actresses as well as ice queens. And they don't want to see unhealthily skinny starlets on the big screen."

Kristen, 22, eclipsed Sex and the City star Sarah, 47, who ranked second, while troubled redhead Lindsay, 26, came third.

Elsewhere, while they may be Oscar winners, Hilary Swank and Tilda Swinton received less esteemed honours this awards season, came seventh and ninth in the poll respectively.

Other actresses to receive mentions include Denise Richards, former The O.C. star Mischa Barton and Uma Thurman.

The 10 least sexy Hollywood actresses:

• Kristen Stewart
• Sarah Jessica Parker
• Lindsay Lohan
• Denise Richards
• Kirsten Dunst
• Mischa Barton
• Hilary Swank
• Lucy Liu
• Tilda Swinton
• Uma Thurman

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Dakota Fanning in Atlanta filming "Robin Hood"

Dakota Fanning is in Atlanta filming a role in "The Last of Robin Hood” about the late, legendary Hollywood actor Errol Flynn.

The project stars Kevin Kline in the lead role. Conyers' own Fanning  plays Beverly Aadland, Flynn’s youthful paramour at the end of his life, and Susan Sarandon plays Beverly’s mother, Florence Aadland.(By the way have Sarandon and Grant Henry had their big ping-pong match yet?)

Sarandaon's been spotted walking her dog in the Virginia Highland area. Fanning was out for dinner last night at Midtown's favorite celeb magnet: STK. She showed up in a chic all-black ensemble with silver shoes, her hair tucked into a loose braid. She also had some birthday cake. She turns 19 on Saturday!

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FASHION RIO SS 2013 - BLUE MAN

from FRUITS DE MER

CIA.MARITIMA 2013

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Pilot Season: Networks Dial Up Pilot Volume After Lackluster Season For New Series

After the current broadcast season has failed to produce runaway hits, the networks are going back to the drawing board, with several increasing the number of pilots for next season. The five broadcast networks have ordered a total of 98 pilots (including straight-to-series orders in lieu of pilots) this season, up 14% from last year and close to the highs of just more than 100 pilots in the early 2000s, when we had six broadcast networks. This year’s tally extends an upward trend — 79 pilots in 2011, 86 in 2011 and 98 now. The volume increase this year is driven primarily by NBC and CBS, whose orders went up by double digits vs. last year, while ABC and the CW kept the overall number of pilots the same and Fox picked up only one more. Here is a rundown on the networks needs and picks for next season.

Related: Full Primetime Pilot Panic Listings


CBS is sending confusing signals this pilot season. The company has ordered 23 pilots (12 comedies and 11 dramas) vs. 15 (8 comedies and 7 dramas) last season, a whopping 53% increase. But then CBS Corp chief Les Moonves last week, while noting that the network “ordered a couple of more pilots than in previous years,” suggested that “there aren’t going to be a lot of new shows” on CBS’ schedule for next season. His remarks sent chills up the spines of producers who have pilots at the network. As the most stable broadcast network, CBS is traditionally among the hardest to land a new series on. But this year, with so many pilots for what appear to be very few slots, the odds are even slimmer. Competition is especially fierce on the comedy side, where two spots are likely already penciled in for Chuck Lorre’s Mom and one of Greg Garcia’s two pilots. After flirting with the idea of expanding the Thursday comedy block to two hours last season, CBS ultimately stuck to its current configuration of four comedies on Monday and two on Thursday. But with 12 comedy pilots, the network may add more half-hours to the schedule, on Thursday or another night as four of its existing series — The Big Bang Theory, 2 Broke Girls, How I Met Your Mother and Mike and Molly — are assured to return and CBS also is working on a Two And A Half Men renewal. With so many single-camera comedy pilots, CBS is certain to pick up at least one single-camera comedy series. The question is whether the network will go for a single-camera block or mix a single-camera show with its lineup of multi-camera sitcoms. CBS’ drama needs are limited too. With only a couple of shows facing possible cancellation — CSI: NY, whose end appears very likely, freshman Vegas and maybe The Mentalist — there won’t be many hour holes on CBS’ schedule next fall. Its drama choices are a mix of legal (The Advocates), cop (Beverly Hills Cop, Backstrom) and medical (The Surgeon General) procedurals and a couple of serialized thrillers (Hostages, The Ordained).

What a difference a couple of months make. Had NBC been making its pilot orders in the fall when the network was the reigning demo ratings winner week after week, it may have not been as aggressive. But after it plunged from first to fourth place last month, the network is stepping up its development efforts with 26 pilots (15 comedies, 11 dramas) along with the straight-to-series Michael J Fox comedy — up 17% from last year when the network greenlighted 23 pilots (14 comedy, 9 dramas). With Go On and The New Normal fading fast without The Voice lead-in and sophomore Smash and newbie Do No Harm crashing in their recent openers, NBC’s scripted keepers for next season are few and far between: freshman Chicago Fire, Parks And Recreation, Grimm, Parenthood and of course Revolution if it doesn’t take a dive after a long hiatus. With the threshold for renewal relatively low, cult favorite Community may squeak in, with Go On and New Normal also possibilities, mostly based on their auspices. But with The Office going away, NBC is losing its only established half-hour launching pad, meaning it will have to rely more heavily on self-starters. (Let’s not forget that ABC’s Modern Family launched as the 9 PM anchor of a two-hour block consisting of four new comedies.) And as he has proven time and time again, Dick Wolf is a great negotiator, so, with his new series Chicago Fire as one of very few bright spots on NBC at the moment, he may squeeze out another season for his veteran Law and Order: SVU. As a whole, there are a lot of holes on NBC’s schedule, with Wednesday and Thursday due for a complete overhaul. The network’s pilot choices run the gamut of genres, from family (untitled Sean Hayes), relationship (Joe, Joe and Jane) and workplace (Assistance, The Gates) on the comedy side to procedurals (Ironside, I Am Victor), high-concept (Believe, Bloodline) and genre (The Sixth Gun) in drama.

While keeping the overall number of pilots (16) in line with last year (15), Fox is shifting focus away from comedies. Last year, the network ordered 10 half-hour pilots and 5 hourlongs; this time it is going for an equal mix of 8 comedies to 8 dramas, including the Seth MacFarlane multi-camera comedy Dads, which bypassed pilot stage with a six-episode straight-to-series pickup. Building a two-hour comedy block on Tuesday was Fox’s biggest priority for this season. It has been a mixed bag, with returning comedies New Girl and Raising Hope doing decent business but newbies Ben and Kate, which has been cancelled, and The Mindy Project struggling, leading to Fox’s decision to scale back the block to one hour in the spring. While not giving up on comedies, with Dads already on the schedule for next season, Fox also is stepping up its drama efforts after picking up only two new drama series for this season, the short-lived Mob Doctor and midseason entry The Following. With Fringe gone and Touch DOA in Season 2, Fox’s drama bench is pretty depleted, with recently renewed veteran Bones as the only sure thing for next season, to be likely joined by The Following. After largely striking out with female comedies, Fox is shifting toward more male-oriented half-hours (Dads, untitled Dan Goor/Mike Schur, Enlisted, I Suck At Girls), while also trying out family fare (The Gabriels, Friends And Family, 2 Wrongs). The network’s hourlong choices range from legal dramedy Rake to gritty cop drama Gang Related to supernatural Sleepy Hollow to high-concept Delirium and the futuristic J.H. Wyman/JJ Abrams project.

ABC is staying the course, with 24 pilots (12 comedy, 12 drama) matching exactly its order configuration from last year. The network doesn’t have a lot to crow about with its freshman class so far this season (soapy drama Nashville seems the most likely to return) but ABC scored an elusive sophomore hit with Scandal. No major surprises in ABC’s pilot choices. A lot of family comedies (How The Hell Am I Normal?, untitled Cullen brothers, Trophy Wife, Keep Calm, untitled John Leguizamo) are looking to join veterans Modern Family and The Middle, with most of the rest of ABC’s half-hour picks also unapologetically female (Pulling, Middle Age Rage, Bad Management, Super Fun Night). Soaps continue to be ABC’s bread and butter, with Betrayal, high-concept Gothica, Reckless and Venice among the new hopefuls. One of Disney’s most prized possessions, Marvel, is represented with Joss Whedon’s S.H.I.E.L.D., which is headed to the schedule to try and succeed where recent male-oriented ABC dramas including Last Resort and Zero Hour failed. And the annual Disney tie-in pilot slot went to Big Thunder, based on the Big Thunder Railroad roller coaster, following last year’s Beauty And The Beast and Once Upon A Time the year before.

The CW also kept its orders in line with last year’s — eight pilots this year, including planted The Vampire Diaries spinoff The Originals, vs. six pilots and two presentations for 8 total last year. But the shift from contemporary soapy fare to more male/genre programming under the CW’s new president Mark Pedowitz continued, with not a single soap about privileged kids a la Gossip Girl and 90210 in sight. The influx of genre fare (The Originals, The Hundred, The Tomorrow People) is understandable as Vampire Diaries, Arrow and Supernatural are the CW’s three top-rated shows while 90210 is flat-lining — most recently drawing 500,000 viewers last night. Even the CW’s more romantic fare is high-concept: The Selection and the Mary Queen of Scots drama Reign. With The Originals likely to land on the schedule and TVD, Arrow and Supernatural already renewed, the network has solid building blocks for next season’s schedule. Of the rest, Hart Of Dixie‘s recent season high may have clinched it a renewal, with Beauty And The Beast also looking hopeful. The Carrie Diaries, whose most recent episode tied the series finale of cancelled Emily Owens MD, and Nikita, which recently perked up with a season high, are a toss-up.

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The Rise of Web TV: Producer Tucky Williams on Sex Scenes

Jincey Lumpkin

Netflix is jumping into the ring with a $100-million show to rival heavyweight champs HBO and Showtime, but who will become the prize fighters in the gay division?
Well, if you love The L Word (the original, not the reality version), then you will definitely dig Girl/Girl Scene. Inspired by Queer as Folk, creator Tucky Williams set out to construct a fictional world of suburban lesbians where the characters seem like friends from down the block. The women in Girl/Girl Scene screw hard, laugh a lot and down 40s while playing video games. These gals aren't glamazons, but they are flawed in ways that make them interesting.

Full disclosure: My primary motivation for doing this interview was that I wanted to find out what it's like to write the sex scenes that you know you have to perform later. I knew we'd discuss her co-star, porn superpower Kayden Kross, but what I didn't expect was that Tucky would be such a delight; she's so smart and spirited.

Jincey Lumpkin: First things first: sex! Do you write your own sexual fantasies into the scripts?
Tucky Williams: I'm so glad we are talking about sex! I always want to talk about sex in interviews, but everyone's afraid to. There's a lot of sex in the show, so it's actually important to me. When I write, I write what the 18-year-old-who's-never-had-sex version of myself would want to see. Now I have a fantastic love life, but when I was younger, I watched a lot of porn, and I wanted to see more sex in TV shows. It's about building relationships between characters. I know what's hot and what works, so I write that into the show. I get off knowing that people are getting off while watching me pretend to get off.

Lumpkin: That's so interesting. I have to admit that when I'm directing, sometimes I do feel uncomfortable telling women how to have sex. I mean, it's necessary, of course, but it can be strange. What's it like for you to direct actors during a sex scene? 

Williams: It's very awkward. I find it hard to even write those scenes, because I don't want to pressure the actors. When it comes to the writing, I take a less-is-more approach. When we film the scenes, I'll usually demonstrate the top's moves, so that she knows what to do. 

Lumpkin: Kayden Kross plays a big role in Girl/Girl Scene. How did you happen to hire a porn star as one of your leading ladies? Were you just excited to sample what you'd seen in the XXX movies? Williams: Not at all! I didn't even know who she was when I hired her! I knew her for a long time before I ever even realized she was a porn star. We met on the red carpet at Dinah Shore a few years ago. I saw her doing interviews, and I thought she was so beautiful. When I got to her, I said, "You're the ugliest girl I've ever seen. Why are you on TV?" She just leaned over and kissed me. I found out who she was much later, after I'd already asked her to be part of the show. I googled her one day, and I was so surprised. She just doesn't seem like a porn star at all. If I had known she was so famous, I probably would have been too embarrassed to ask her to be on my show.

Lumpkin: Give me the goods! What was it like to have a sex scene with Kayden?
Williams: Such a pleasure! I won't name names, but it's a horrible experience when you have a co-star that goes "starfish" on you and just lays there. I think, "Can you engage a little?!" Kayden gives back everything I give. She's so enthusiastic. In one scene I was pretending to finger her, and I accidentally grazed her privates. She wasn't bothered. We just kept shooting through the scene. It's so comfortable to work with her; she's not afraid. One day we just got naked on set and walked around the whole day like that.

Lumpkin: Well, I talked to Kayden, and she had quite a lot to say about you. She called you a "wizard," because you run your set so smoothly and with such ease. How did you get so good at producing? Did you study film? 

Williams: I have an unusual story, because I finished high school at 15 and started going to college at the University of Kentucky. I was a college graduate by 20. I studied journalism and creative writing, and, funny enough, I also got a B.S. in meteorology. I was the weather girl for a local news station for a while. 

Lumpkin: Really? That's hilarious! So how did you transition into creating Girl/Girl Scene? Williams: I started making horror films. I did some zombie movies. I was always trying to turn those films into softcore porn! I watched a lot of porn when I was 16 and 17. I learned about sex from watching Janine Lindemulder. I was always interested in sex. I was also really influenced by Queer as Folk, especially by how unapologetically gay the characters were. They weren't watered down to make them more straight. They felt so real. I wanted to create a show about lesbians, so I wrote a pilot. I write every episode, and I feel very connected to the characters.

Lumpkin: Kayden also said something really interesting. She said, "Sex in porn is getting more unrealistic, while sex shot in mainstream productions is becoming more realistic. Mainstream scenes are becoming more racy, and porn seems to be running out of ideas." So why is there so much sex in your show? 

Williams: There's not more sex in my show, really. I think what stands out about Girl/Girl Scene is that the portrayal of sex is very positive. It's about women who enjoy sex. That level of enthusiasm makes it more intense, I think. It's just sexier the way we do it!
* * * * *New episodes of Girl/Girl Scene are released every month. The season 2 finale premieres in March. Watch episodes online at girlgirlscene.com and here


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