When it comes to sex in films, there is a morbid curiosity among cinemagoers as to how they achieve it.
Do they use some sort of curtain to hide things?
A prosthetic?
Are faces CGIed on?
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On very rare occasions the answer given is none of the above, and the actors in question just actually had sex.
While it is rare, some massive Hollywood names have actually done this, ranging from Robert Pattinson to Aubrey Plaza to Chloë Sevigny.
Whilst some, such as Pattinson and Plaza, involve some self-pleasure being captured on screen, Chloë Sevigny’s involves full on oral sex.
Regardless, the films will all have broken a specific rule according to a Hollywood intimacy co-ordinator.
In an exclusive chat with LADbible earlier this year, Brooke Haney, an intimacy co-ordinator, told us the rule that applies to all American films.
When asked about unsimulated sex scenes, they stated that if they’re happening in America, they’re breaking SAG-AFTRA’s (which stands for Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) rules.
They said: “So in the States, you can't, under SAG-AFTRA rules. That's literally the difference in a film that's under SAG-AFTRA or porn.
“That's just the delineation. Legally everything that is film or TV under SAG-AFTRA has to be simulated.”
READ MORE: Letterboxd has list of bizarre movies where actors have actual unsimulated sex in them
On SAG-AFTRA’s website, they state: “SAG-AFTRA contracts explicitly prohibit actual sex acts, meaning that at no time should a performer auditioning or working under a SAG-AFTRA contract engage in, or be asked to engage in, actual sex acts.
“Actual sex includes genital contact without a physical barrier, regardless of whether the performer is clothed or unclothed.”
This means that according to SAG-AFTRA rules, any films that involve genuine sexual acts are breaking the rules.
Whilst SAG-AFTRA isn’t a necessity to film in the United States, this leaves mostly small indie films that do not hire union staff.
The limitations on what are considered to be ‘sexual acts’ is quite extreme according to Brooke, who said in our interview: “I worked on a project where there was peeing.
"Because the project was so sexual in nature, even for that, the actor was like, ‘I think I could just pee’, and I was like, ‘Nope, we're gonna use a pee rig’.”
While films outside the US have certain laws depending on the country, this is how many get around stringent rules in the United States, where the majority of western films are produced.
Topics: TV and Film, Sex and Relationships
Michael Slavin