# are some sex scenes in movies real **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 14, 2011, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-sex-scenes-in-movies-real/599680 "2011-10-14T22:18:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-sex-scenes-in-movies-real/599680/61 "2011-10-16T02:06:49Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > How about having an obvious erection around a hot girl who happens to be a respectable fellow member of your profession, during your workday, while you’re working closely with her? What is this “respectable fellow member of your profession” and how does it have anything to do with having an erection around a hot girl? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-sex-scenes-in-movies-real/599680/62 "2011-10-16T02:14:20Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Another one famous for “it really happened” was Kris Kristofferson and Sarah Miles in [_The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075161/). The story was reenforced by a somewhat more explicit pictorial in Playboy: > > [Vintage Erotica Forums](http://vintage-erotica-forum.com/showthread.php?t=57408) > > One odd counter-example was Steven Soderbergh’s film [_The Girlfriend Experience_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1103982/). Sasha Grey, was specifically forbidden in her contract to have actual sex, even though she usually makes very explicit porn. Was that something her camp required, or was it the producers’/studio decision? Also, cite. (I’m not calling you a liar, just asking for more info.) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-sex-scenes-in-movies-real/599680/63 "2011-10-16T03:20:28Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Was that something her camp required, or was it the producers’/studio decision? > > Also, cite. > > (I’m not calling you a liar, just asking for more info.) I’d be interested too. I’d guess that Grey wanted to establish the role as an actress, making her a cross-over star, and not seem like a type of sexual stuntgirl. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-sex-scenes-in-movies-real/599680/64 "2011-10-16T03:23:52Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I’d be interested too. I’d guess that Grey wanted to establish the role as an actress, making her a cross-over star, and not seem like a type of sexual stuntgirl. We have the DVD, and in the Special Features, Grey says Soderbergh approached her about making the movie, much to her surprise. He’d read a mainstream article about her somewhere and thought she’d be perfect for the story. I don’t think she’d had any notions of becoming a legitimate actress before that. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-sex-scenes-in-movies-real/599680/65 "2011-10-16T03:30:26Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I don’t think she’d had any notions of becoming a legitimate actress before that. I think it might have occured to her since cross-over star is a category in the AVN awards. But that doesn’t address why this was specified in her contract, or if it was. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-sex-scenes-in-movies-real/599680/66 "2011-10-16T03:49:47Z")
Opening scene of “Anti-Christ”… I’m pretty sure that’s Willem Dafoe’s penis going right into Charlotte Gainsborg’s vagina. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-sex-scenes-in-movies-real/599680/67 "2011-10-16T04:33:10Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > Opening scene of “Anti-Christ”.. I’m pretty sure that’s Willem Dafoe’s penis going right into Charlotte Gainsborg’s vagina. No way that those aren’t body doubles. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-sex-scenes-in-movies-real/599680/68 "2011-10-16T04:40:34Z")
[Yep.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antichrist_(film)) > [@Wikipedia](#): > > Body doubles for Dafoe and Gainsbourg were used in the most explicit scenes; the professional porn actors Horst Stramka and Mandy Starship were employed for that task. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-sex-scenes-in-movies-real/599680/69 "2011-10-16T05:23:34Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Was that something her camp required, or was it the producers’/studio decision? > > Also, cite. > > (I’m not calling you a liar, just asking for more info.) [Found it.](http://nymag.com/movies/filmfestivals/tribeca/55986/). From the cite: > [@](#): > > **You don’t actually have sex onscreen.** > When I had the first meeting I assumed I would be naked and do a sex scene. Did I think I would do five, like in my adult work? No, but even up to the point where we were shooting, I thought there was going to be at least one sex scene. > > **That’s usually the first thing actresses clear up in their contracts.** > The contract did say that I would be nude. But one of the clauses was [laughing] “You cannot have [real] sex.” To me, that was a pretty funny legality. My Google-Fu is STRONG! So, she was willing and assumed she would, and her contract said she couldn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-sex-scenes-in-movies-real/599680/70 "2011-10-16T06:03:13Z")
I’m guessing that’s a studio rule, to protect them from liability and also to set a certain level of behavioral standards, so as not to offend the type of people who might be offended if they found out that a major studio was letting actors have actual sex on set. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-sex-scenes-in-movies-real/599680/71 "2011-10-16T06:09:06Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > [Found it.](http://nymag.com/movies/filmfestivals/tribeca/55986/). From the cite: > > My Google-Fu is STRONG! > > So, she was willing and assumed she would, and her contract said she couldn’t. Man that Soderbergh is wierd (in the eyes of this wierd guy). I think this begins to explain why some of his movies suck so much. Maybe he thought it would affect the characters motivation or something. Or maybe somebody’s wife insisted that clause be in there. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-sex-scenes-in-movies-real/599680/72 "2011-10-16T06:21:49Z")
> **[Antichrist (film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antichrist_(film))** > > Antichrist (stylized as ANTICHRIS♀) is a 2009 art horror film written and directed by Lars von Trier. It stars Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg as a married couple who experience the accidental death of their infant son, after which they retreat to a cabin in the woods to grieve, where the man experiences strange visions and the woman manifests increasingly violent sexual behavior and sadomasochism. The narrative is divided into a prologue, four chapters, and an epilogue. > Written in 2006 ... > [@](#): > > Plaster casts were made of Willem Dafoe’s leg and the female “porno double’s” sexual organ. A plastic baby with authentic weight was made for the opening sequence. Pictures found using Google Image Search had to serve as models for the stillborn deer, and a nylon stocking was used as caul. The vagina prop was constructed with its inner parts detachable for easy preparation if several takes would be needed. I think I’ll pass on Antichrist. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-sex-scenes-in-movies-real/599680/73 "2011-10-16T12:16:23Z")
David Arquette talked about this topic on Howard Stern, who is endlessly fascinated by it. David said that most of the time, yeah, it’s unsexy, lots of teamsters in the room, blah blah blah. But occasionally you do get lost in the moment, though usually the actress won’t know because there’s a pillow between you. And in those cases you can always just “fuck the shit out of the pillow.” hehheh. > [@DigitalC](#): > > Wouldn’t it be as simple as popping a viagra now? I once saw a Jenna Jameson interview on E! where she talked about how easy it was for women in porn because you could always slap on some lube. A little while later in the interview she was talking about viagra, and how she hated it because it seemed like cheating to her. She never appeared to make the connection. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-sex-scenes-in-movies-real/599680/74 "2011-10-16T17:19:42Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I once saw a Jenna Jameson interview on E! where she talked about how easy it was for women in porn because you could always slap on some lube. A little while later in the interview she was talking about viagra, and how she hated it because it seemed like cheating to her. She never appeared to make the connection. Jenna is not renowned for the depth of her thought processes. And from what I’ve seen of her porn work, she’s always faking it. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-sex-scenes-in-movies-real/599680/75 "2011-10-16T22:03:53Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > No, **Evil Captor** has it right. That’s why vintage porn is so rare: The computers in the 30s and 40s were so slow that it took a really long time to make. And in the 1800s, it could only be rendered with a Viva la Difference Engine. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-sex-scenes-in-movies-real/599680/76 "2011-10-16T22:52:30Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > And in the 1800s, it could only be rendered with a Viva la Difference Engine. Very few people know that the Lovelace family connection with porn began with Linda’s great-great-great-grandmother Ada Lovelace, who programmed early 19th Century pornographic animations on a Babbage engine. Our forefathers knew that a Babbage/Lovelace production was going to be gooood… ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-sex-scenes-in-movies-real/599680/77 "2011-10-16T23:05:02Z")
n/m ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-sex-scenes-in-movies-real/599680/78 "2011-10-16T23:24:01Z")
After he murdered his wife’s lover, in the 1880s Muybridge made a lot of zoopraxiscope moving pictures of naked women, naked men, and naked animals (e.g. naked women dancing together, naked men wrestling together, and naked animals just being themselves). In 1893 he charged admission to audiences, making the worlds first cinema a nudie cinema. Yay Eadward! ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-sex-scenes-in-movies-real/599680/79 "2011-10-16T23:32:30Z")
My fav being the naked woman climing up a ladder to dump a bucket of water down on another naked women in a washtub. Those Victorians sure knew how to live. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-sex-scenes-in-movies-real/599680/80 "2011-10-17T00:16:28Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > And in the 1800s, it could only be rendered with a Viva la Difference Engine. I have created a monster! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-sex-scenes-in-movies-real/599680.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-sex-scenes-in-movies-real/599680.md?page=5)