OUTSIDE the film industry, in this case Hollywood, most are not aware that when it comes to filming intimate scenes, it is not just the film’s director going wild with their direction on what they want the actors and actresses to do.
There are protocols in place to protect the talents before and during filming so that things do not go overboard and infringe on their safety, and these are handled by so-called intimacy coordinators.
In a recent debacle involving Jenna Ortega over her role in Miller’s Girl, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) actors union has stepped in to make sure consent over the filming of intimate scenes extends long after actors have left the set.
The union has issued new standards and protocol guidelines for intimacy coordinators when discussing their on-set work with actors.
According to IndieWire, intimacy coordinators must now seek the permission of an actor to publicly share details of their intimate scenes.
If they discuss what happened on set without the required permission, they will be removed from the SAG-AFTRA registry of certified intimacy coordinators following an investigation.
The union made the move after intimacy coordinator Kristina Arjona made public statements with The Daily Mail about working with Ortega and Martin Freeman in the aforementioned film, which is an erotic thriller about a young student and middle-aged teacher getting into a controversial mentor-mentee relationship.
Miller’s Girl was released on streaming platforms and immediately generated controversy, particularly over an alleged X-rated scene where Ortega and Freeman’s characters act out an erotic fantasy sequence.
The updated SAG-AFTRA guidelines now state that intimacy coordinators “should maintain the confidentiality of an actor’s work and experience in performing highly sensitive scenes unless they have the actor’s permission to publicly share this information”.
Deadline further added in its report that Arjona had signed a confidentiality agreement with Lionsgate as an employee of the film and also signed a non-disclosure agreement.
