SAG-AFTRA creates guidelines for film, TV ‘intimacy coordinators’

You know those simulated sex scenes in movies? They’ve have had some terrible fallout for the actors involved. Saying “yes” to nudity doesn’t mean the scene about to be shot is going to be done professionally or considerately. In Sarah Silverman’s case, she felt the sex simulated by an extra on one movie set was “brutal.” “It hurt to walk for days ...” she said. “[I expected] someone would have thought beforehand and protected me in some way.”

In Rosie Perez’s experience filming Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing,” “the atmosphere wasn’t correct. …” she said, “the reason you don’t see my head is because I’m crying,”

“It happens to everyone,” Loan Dang, a partner at the Los Angeles-based entertainment law firm Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein & Lezcano, told The Washington Post in 2018. “The actor gets pressured into doing something they don’t feel comfortable with. Everyone says, ‘You’re holding stuff up, can you make a decision?’ You’re with these people on-set, you work with them, so then you think, ‘Oh God, how do I say no?’”

At least now, as of January 29, there is a code of conduct set in writing for how simulated sex scenes in movies and TV should be conducted. SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents actors, has released guidelines for the use of “intimacy coordinators”—people who liaise between actors and production when there are sex scenes being filmed; the union describes them as advocates and coaches/choreographers for “hyper-exposed” scenes. The new rules are “designed to protect performers and facilitate exchange and collaboration with the least disruption to the production,” SAG-AFTRA said.

“These guidelines directly address the problem of sexual harassment on sets,” David White, the union’s national executive director, told Deadline. “This is a home run for our members and the entire industry.

SAG-AFTRA’s code requires intimacy coordinators to be sensitive to gender and sexual diversity as well as possess a knowledge of “power dynamics,” “on-set culture and understanding of on-set etiquette,” and consent, among other things. The code of conduct also insists that all intimacy coordinators undergo state and federal background checks.

Beyond what happens during performances, the coordinators are instructed to review “nudity riders, scene content, modesty garments and barriers with performers, directors and assistant directors.” After ensuring “continued consent throughout the filming of scene (both consent to what their likeness is seen performing, and how the action is achieved) while minimizing interference in production flow,” the coordinators are also meant to be involved in post-production, verifying that “a final cut is consistent with contractual obligations and riders.”

White told the Los Angeles Times the union consulted about 45 intimacy coordinators and producers who wanted to have these professionals on set. The overall goal, he said, was to create a safety net.