Intimacy on screen - 6 Minute English

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from

BBC Learning English. I'm Neil.

And I'm Georgina. When we think

about romantic Hollywood movies,

there have been some famous

examples over the years.

There are classic black-and-white

romance movies like 1951's,

A Streetcar Named Desire,

and the love affair between

Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid

Bergman in Casablanca, made in 1942.

You're really showing your age, Neil!

What about more recent movies like

When Harry met Sally or that famous

kiss between the characters

Jack and Rose in the film, Titanic.

In their time all these movies were

blockbusters - very popular and

successful films which sold millions

of cinema tickets. And this success

was often due to the on-screen

romance between

the leading actors.

In romantic movies, love is in

the air. Couples hold hands

and kiss, or in other words they

show intimacy - a close romantic,

or sexual relationship.

But while real couples kiss

and hold hands all the time,

actors in movies are just

pretending to be intimate,

and this can lead to problems.

Yes, whether it's a kiss or a

full-nudity sex scene, filming

intimate scenes for movies and

TV is a delicate business,

as we ll be finding out in

this programme.

But first, Georgina, I have a

quiz question for you.

Let me guess...

Another black-and-white

classic from the 1950s?

Yes - 1953 to be exact, which

was the year this movie won the

Oscar for Best Picture. The film

thrilled audiences with a famous

beach kiss between actors,

Burt Lancaster, and Deborah Kerr,

as they rolled around in the

waves - but what was the

movie? Was it:

a) West Side Story?, b) From

Here to Eternity?, or

c) Singin' in the Rain?

Well, 1953 was long before

I was born but I'll guess,

b) From Here to Eternity.

OK Georgina, we'll find out later

on if that s right. In 1953 an

on-screen kiss was still

considered a little naughty.

But by 2020 and the filming

of the BBC television dramas,

Normal People and I May

Destroy You, things had changed.

Nudity and sexual content had

become commonplace.

Ita O'Brien worked on both these

BBC dramas. She describes

herself as an 'intimacy coordinator' -

someone who helps actors and

directors plan and film

intimate scenes.

Listen as she gives her definition

of intimacy to BBC World Service

programme, The Conversation:

A hand hold, a stroke of the cheek,

you know, through to a hug, and

then obviously, right the way

through to intimate content -

it might be familial content of

an adult to a child; it could be

the content of perhaps a medical

procedure, someone having a

mammogram, or it could be

right the way through to intimacy,

simulated sexual content.

Ita's definition of intimacy is

very wide, including hugging

and stroking - gently touching

someone in a pleasurable way.

It also includes simulated sex.

Movie actors aren't really

having sex, they're simulating it -

pretending to do something so

that it looks real but is not.

Just like dance sequences in

musicals, intimate movie scenes

are planned and choreographed

beforehand so that the director,

film crew and, above all, the

actors are comfortable with

what's being filmed.

But recent scandals about the

on-set behaviour of some British

and American film stars have

highlighted how delicate

a balance this is.

Here's Ita O Brien again talking

to BBC World Service's, The

Conversation, about the different

ways that intimate scenes are

filmed on either side of the

Atlantic, in Britain and the US.

With actors from the US, what they

do have, what they put in

place is that with each and

every intimate scene we create

a nudity / simulated sex waiver,

for each and every scene and I

actually really like that way of

working. In the UK actors are

asked to sign a nudity clause

and generally that's an overall,

for the whole of a production.

British actors sign only one

document with a nudity clause

to cover the whole film. But in

the US, actors sign a waiver -

a legal document that allows or

prevents an action that is

different from how things

are usually done.

Ita thinks it's better if the actors

agree to each and every scene -

and she uses the phrase, 'each

and every' because it emphasises

that she means every single one.

In this way there is no confusion

about what should or shouldn't

happen on set, leaving the director

and actors free to make dramatic

and romantic blockbusters.

You mean like that famous

beach scene, kissing and

rolling in the waves, Neil?

Ah, you mean my quiz question

when I asked you: What was the

name of the 1953 movie

featuring a famous beach kiss

between movie stars Burt

Lancaster and Deborah Kerr?

What did you say, Georgina?

I said it was b) From Here to Eternity.

Which is the right answer! Well done,

Georgina - so you do like classic

black-and-white movies after all!

Not really, Neil, but I remember my

grandad watching it! OK, let's recap

the vocabulary from this

programme about intimacy -

a close romantic or

sexual relationship.

A blockbuster is a very popular

and successful movie or a

book that sells many copies.

If you stroke someone's face,

you touch it gently in

a pleasurable way.

To simulate means to do

or make something that

looks real but is not.

In the US, a waiver is a legal

document to either allow or

prevent something being done

in a different way from usual.

And you can use the phrase,

each and every to emphasise

that you mean every single

one of something.

That's all for this romantic

edition of 6 Minute English

but join us here again soon

for more topical chat

and useful vocabulary.

Bye for now!

Bye!