The 2023 movie schedule has been blessed with new films from Oscar-winning powerhouses Jennifer Lawrence and Emma Stone. Earlier in the year, Lawrence starred in the R-rated comedy No Hard Feelings, and this winter, Stone is set to star in Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things. Both women have received rave reviews for their performances, and both films show just how confident and comfortable they are in their bodies. Now, it seems like the La La Land star has taken a page out of The Hunger Games alum’s playbook when it comes to filming nude scenes as Poor Things’ director spoke highly of how she handled the intimate moments in the movie.
Poor Things had its international premiere at the Venice Film Festival, and while there, its director Yorgos Lanthimos spoke about how Emma Stone had “no shame” about her body while they filmed the sex scenes in the movie. In the film, the actress’s character, Bella Baxter, has a lot of sex, and the filmmaker explained that it’s an “intrinsic part” of the book his film is based on. He opened up about her performance during the press conference for the film, and said (via Variety):
Secondly, it was very important for me to not make a film that would be prudish, because that would be like completely betraying the main character. We had to be confident Emma had to have no shame about her body, nudity, engaging in those scenes and she understood that right away.
Lanthimos noted that he wished Stone could have been there to speak about her role, however because of the SAG-AFTRA strike, she is not able to promote the movie. However, he continued to gush about the star of his film, and her ability to take on scenes that include nudity and sex with confidence. He continued, noting that he and the actress have a great history, and that helped them trust each other and communicate while making Poor Things. He said:
The great thing about me and Emma is that we have made four films together; there is a shorthand and we can communicate without having to explain or talk to much about things. As soon as I started saying something about sex, she would say: ‘yes,’ of course, it’s Bella. We will do what we need to do.
Along the same lines, Jennifer Lawrence approached her role in No Hard Feelings without shame and with conviction. The comedy features a sequence where the actress is fully nude while fighting some people at the beach. While they filmed it she was apparently super cool about it, and she was just eating grilled cheese between takes and hanging out with the cast and crew.
Lawrence has also been open about her mentality surrounding nude scenes. She opened up about whether she used a body double on No Hard Feelings, and she said she didn’t. In fact, she didn’t even give the scenes “a second thought,” because she thought it was all hilarious. Her commitment to the bit really paid off, and critics, including our own Eric Eisenberg, noted in their No Hard Feelings reviews that Lawrence’s performance was the true highlight of the movie.
Based on early reviews of Poor Things, it seems like Emma Stone is the highlight of her movie too. Her commitment to telling Lanthimos’ adaptation of the story inspired by Frankenstein and her performance are being cited as "stupendous" as the THR review states.
I always find it incredible and empowering to see actors perform with complete confidence and no shame. I loved Lawrence in No Hard Feelings, and Stone’s similar mentality when it comes to nude scenes in Poor Things makes me think that she’ll also give a fantastic performance as Bella Baxter.
Poor Things will open in theaters on December 8, and you can rent No Hard Feelings on Amazon.
