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!