Skin: A History of Nudity in the Movies is out on VOD today.

We were big fans of director Danny Wolf‘s three-part documentary series which released earlier this year, Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films of All Time, so when we saw that he had turned his eye toward creating the first-ever film to trace the 100-year history of onscreen nudity, we knew we had to check it out. Skin: A History of Nudity in the Movies is a fascinating and illuminating look at how social mores have changed, as well as how the industry itself treats the subject. Therefore, it was really great to speak with director Wolf about his recent spate of work, and the art of presenting underrepresented topics onscreen.

This is your fourth documentary for the year, so good on you, sir.

Well, yes, technically though Time Warp is three volumes. It just came out so long. I mean, it was six and a half hours, so we had to turn it into three volumes. So, yes: technically four docs but genre-wise, two.

There is some overlap between some of the guests that are in Time Warp and some of the guests that are in Skin. Did you conduct some of these interviews simultaneously, where you covered a lot of ground?

No, not at all. When I was doing Time Warp – which took two years to shoot because there’s 115 interviews – we weren’t thinking about Skin. Skin came up towards the later end, so Amy Heckerling, I went back to interview again. Malcolm McDowell, I went back to interview again. Erica Gavin, I went back to interview again – and they were all cool. I mean, they’re all willing to do it. I think Martha Coolidge from Valley Girl was the only one I used a line from her Time Warp interview in this one.

You say that Skin came up towards the end of working on Time Warp. Did it come out naturally, given the sheer amount of skin on display in so many of those genre pictures?

No, actually the executive producer of Time Warp is Paul Fishbiin and he is friends with Jim McBride, who’s Mr. Skin, and some point when we were shooting or editing Time Warp, Jim and Paul said to me, “No one’s ever done a documentary on the history of nudity in the movies,” and I’m like, “No! You gotta be kidding – every documentary’s been done about everything.” No, believe it or not, no one’s ever done like a definitive, historical look at nudity. I’m like, “Well, we better jump on that, because someone’s going to do it.” That no one’s done it, I couldn’t believe it.

So, we kind of rushed to get it going and start our research and get the cards up on the wall as fast as we could before someone else did it. We’ve got a couple documentaries we’re going to do next. Same example: we can’t believe no one’s done two other topics. In the age of everyone making documentaries, it’s hard to believe not everything’s been done. I just looked the other day and there’s no documentary ever on Neil Diamond and there’s no documentary ever on Barry Manilow. That might be their decision, but sometimes you go, “How has no one done a documentary on Neil Diamond?”

In terms of the the tone of Skin, you walk this very fine line between acknowledging the purient nature inherent in talking about naked people on a gigantic 35-foot screen but also really humanizing the story of these these actors, as well. Was that a decision that you made going into this or did it sort of evolve over the course of speaking with everyone?

Absolutely. That was a decision. I asked the same questions, generally, to everybody and one was, “How did doing nudity impact your personal life and how did it impact your career?” That’s the question where you start getting the really personal, interesting stories, like Erica Gavin from Vixen talking about, “After I went to the premiere of Vixen and saw myself on the giant screen, I didn’t like the way I looked,” and she became anorexic because of it and almost died – went down to 70-something pounds.

You really get interesting answers just when you ask, “What did nudity do to your personal life or how did it, in fact, affect your career?” Those two questions, we got a ton from, but we really just wanted to lay out kind of a definitive historical, educational – but fun – story. You have to have the nudity from the beginning to the #MeToo today. The one thing we just said starting this was, “We can’t make something exploitative. This can’t be a breast fest. No one’s going to watch it if it’s exploitative.”

We made a very conscious effort all the way through to include all the history: to interview authors and critics and experts about the Hayes Code and the pre-Code movies and really make it thorough. It’s easy to do things chronologically. It was easy to go from the ’60s to the ’70s, because things were changing. Political and social changes obviously predicated a more liberal attitude to nudity so that, we wanted to cover. Really, all we set out to do was make something historical and definitive and not just a breast fest.

In terms of it not being a breast fest, the one thing the the one thing I noticed missing from this is what’s become a joking trope: for some reason, in ’80s and ’90s action films, it seemed like every male action star had written into their contract that there was supposed to be a butt shot.

That’s funny we didn’t. That’s not something I thought about putting in, but you are right.

You do tackle like male nudity and what’s intriguing about it is that the way that it is portrayed on screen is that frequently, male nudity is used in a comedic way as opposed to a salacious way. I’m curious as to what your view on that is. Is it just the male anatomy is inherently hilarious?

I think that nobody wanted to see male anatomy. Males and females go to movie theater. Male likes to look at female because it’s a beautiful body. Female likes to look at female. Then when you go and see a man, usually men don’t want to see men naked and women generally don’t want to see men naked. The ratio for the longest time was mostly all-female until really the late ’60s, when it opened up with Easy Rider and Midnight Cowboy.

Then John Voight’s doing nudity and Robert De Niro and then Bruce Davison, who we interviewed. It kind of became more acceptable, but I just think male nudity was just not something studios were interested in putting in their movies. That wasn’t something that was going to drive anyone to a movie — people would go see Sophia Loren and people would see Brigitte Bardot and people would see Marilyn Monroe or Jayne Mansfield.

The ’80s were known for the teen sex romps or just movies that were, essentially, as you you referred to earlier, “breast fests,” and really feature heavily in Skin, so was it important to you that you get someone like Mamie van Doren because she goes back so far? Was it difficult to find people who had a perspective on this beyond like within the last 30-35 years?

Yeah, it was. You cast a really wide net of who you’re trying to get and there were a lot of names we didn’t get that I would love to have interviewed like Kathy Bates, Kathleen Turner, and Julianne Moore, but you can’t get everyone. Brigitte Bardot, we were we were close to getting. With Mamie van Doren and Erica Gavin, the older you get, everyone has their own experiences.

When you talk about the teen sex comedies it’s all pretty much the same. The stories are kind of the same. For distribution, you have to have nudity in those movies. As Martha Coolidge said, “When I did Valley Girl, I had in the script three scenes of nudity and Atlantic Releasing said we’re not going to distribute your movie unless you have a fourth,” and she had to add at the last minute, a nude scene with E.G. Daily, which E.G. Daily didn’t sign up to do. That wasn’t in the script. They had to have a long conversation with the agents about adding it and making sure it looked good and it was artistic and everyone was happy and then it ended up in the movie.

Certain movies – like the teen sex comedies and the horror films of the early ’80s or the women in prison films – there was an expectation of nudity, because that was your distribution. Doing a women in prison movie, there’s of course going to be a shower scene. As Sybil Danning said, “You would not get foreign distribution without it,” so everyone knew what they were getting into in those days.

Given that Skin and Time Warp both look at under-explored aspects of cinema in a really deep way and you gather like all of these really intriguing people, is that why you’re already working on two new documentaries? Has each one fed the next?

No, but you hit on the head what I love doing in these things and that is I like the actor or actress you wouldn’t expect to see interviewed. If it was all Julianne Moore and and Jennifer Lawrence and Reese Witherspoon, where they have all these big names, it wouldn’t be as interesting. I think it’s cool to have Camille Keaton for I Spit on Your Grave – the people you would never expect to see and hear their stories. That’s what makes these cool. Who would expect Ken Davidian from Borat to pop up in a documentary about nudity in the movies?

But why wouldn’t you? Why shouldn’t we include him? Here’s one of the most famous, hysterical, comedic nude scenes in probably the last 30 years, so why shouldn’t Ken Davitian tell his story and talk about the nudity he did? I think the most fun I have is is that element of surprise. You never know who’s going to pop up next: “Oh, I can’t believe Mariel Hemingway is in this and she’s talking about Personal Best! I would have never thought of that.”

But, again: why shouldn’t it be in there? Yeah, I mean, if I had Sharon Stone, that would be cool. We had Gina Gershon in Time Warp, but I would have liked to have Gina Gershon talk more about Showgirls and the nudity in this, but it’s it’s hard to get everyone. You try, but you can only get who you can get. But, if you’re a film freak, to see Diane Franklin from Last American Virgin now, today talking about it? That’s cool to me. Kristine DeBell from Alice in Wonderland? Where else is she appearing or talking about her acting?

That was one of my favorites. I was going to remark on the fact that Diane Franklin speaks really frankly and openly and honestly about the whole thing. It seems like almost everyone you spoke with was very forthright and honest and I wonder if it’s that they’re at that point in their career now where they’re just like, “I’ve got nothing to lose, so I’m gonna lay it all out.”

Sean Young syndrome, basically: “It doesn’t matter what I say, so I’ll just say it.” That’s why I love interviewing Sean Young, because she has no filter and if she has a problem, she’ll say she has a problem. That’s the people you want to interview: the ones that are not going to edit themselves or hold back or not kind of tell it like it is.

Everyone we interviewed was great and had no issues with any of the questions asked and had no issues talking. I mean, they knew what our documentary was, so they knew the kinds of questions that they were going to be asked. Some asked for the questions in advance so they knew what they were going to be asked, but even when Bruce Davison does Last Summer in 1969 which is one of the first male frontal nudity films, he couldn’t have been happier to talk about it and his experiences. You wouldn’t expect to see Bruce Davison pop up in a documentary about nudity, but male nudity to us was important to talk about and that’s why Malcolm McDowell is so great – to have that male perspective.

After three weeks of the best and worst the independent film community has to offer, the 2016 Seattle International Film Festival comes to a close at last. For the fifth year in a row, Scene-Stealers has had the privilege of wading through a veritable ocean of cinema to pick through the vast ecosystem’s offerings, and has discovered no shortage of fare. And while the movies themselves have always been at the forefront of this coverage, SIFF’s special events, featuring luminaries of the film community in-person, consistently surprise and delight. Previous years have seen industry mainstays such as Sissy Spacek, Joss Whedon, and Kevin Bacon here in Seattle, and 2016 has been no different.

Although SIFF 2016 got off to a great start with an appearance by Molly Shannon, one of the final events enjoyed the company of one of Hollywood’s most elusive, talented, and thoughtful stars: Viggo Mortensen. He was in town this last weekend of the festival for a tribute event celebrating his career, which included a showing of Mr. Mortensen’s newest film, Captain Fantastic. And while the official closing night ceremony didn’t occur until the following night, Saturday’s tribute event for Mr. Mortensen acted as an unofficial high note for the festival’s conclusion.

And 2016 has been quite the festival! Although not stocked with as many jaw-dropping stand-outs as previous years, there have been several shockers. New documentaries like The Weekend Sailor and Bang! The Bert Berns Story told fascinating, original stories that weren’t weighed down by blind adoration, and features like Vanity and The Final Master surprised (both positively and negatively, respectfully). Others neither impressed nor disappointed, yet it all amounted to a varied, healthy film-going experience that spanned the expected gamut of quality (or lack thereof).

When Viggo Mortensen arrived at the Egyptian Theater in Seattle for Saturday’s event, the conversation turned to the actor’s selective nature when it comes to his projects. Although he’s been around Hollywood for a while, the guy broke out in a big way following the smashing success of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, yet has been seemingly reluctant to jump into other franchises or high-visibility roles.

Scene-Stealers: Professionally speaking, what excites you? When you’re sitting down to debate whether or not you’re going to be involved in a project or a role, what is it about that that excites you, or charges you, and gets you to commit?

Viggo Mortensen: Well, first of all, if it is a well-written story, if the characters are well developed, which is harder than it seems. You know, when a movie works, or when a screenplay works really well, it flows, and you’re interested in all the characters, it seems easy: it seems effortless. Just like good acting, or good directing, it just seems like realistic behavior. But it’s a lot harder than it seems. You don’t come across scripts as good as Captain Fantastic very often. I guess I’m looking, first of all, is it really well-written? Second of all, the part, if I’m being offered the part, do I personally think I am the right guy for the job? It’s silly if you really know in your heart that you can’t do it. Though sometimes you do have doubts, and the director can convince you to take a chance. And thirdly, and just as important, is it something I haven’t tried before, and is it something I can learn something from?

S.S.: With Captain Fantastic, was there something in particular that you felt was new for you? Was it part of the script, or…?

V.M.: I thought it was incredibly original as a story. And without in any way being ideological or political, it touched on many things that are going on in the country right now. I mean, dealing with three kinds of family models in the story…like, ours, the sort of extreme, off the grid, me with six kids in the middle of the forest with no electricity or running water. And kids who have never…the youngest of them has never seen anything different. And there’s my sister’s family, Katheryn Hahn, she’s more of a suburban mom. And then there’s the grandparents, who are more conservative, with different values. But it basically talks about the problem of communication. What happens when people don’t communicate. Which is obviously something that’s very actual right now.

S.S.: Yeah, I was just about to say…

V.M.: Yeah, with the presidential campaign, it is just an echo of the ridiculous, the absurd, the absurdly polarizing rhetoric of our current presidential campaign, which is probably only gonna get worse, unfortunately. It is just a symptom of a real problem. I don’t think it’s just invented by the politicians, or the media, we have a communication problem in this country. And it should be addressed. Because, you know, fierce arguments and yelling matches, you know, as unpleasant as they are, at least there’s a conversation happening. If there’s no engagement, and people are just in their camps saying nasty things about each other, then there’s no real progress in terms of getting along, or the country being run better. I think there are some politicians who have done a decent job, I suppose, over the last couple of years. But in recent years, there seems to be more discord than ever; very little collaboration, very little responsible governing going on. And people see that, and kids see that, and kids who grow up and this is the only political situation they know, they think, “oh, that’s what the country is about. That’s the way it is supposed to be.” And it doesn’t have to be that way. So this movie, inadvertently I guess, in some way touches on that, on the communication problem, and on the need for self-reflection. When the movie starts out, when I start reading the script, I see that this guy is kinda crazy, he loves his kids but he’s a bit extreme, he’s one of these sort of a left-wing crazy, alternative lifestyle guys against the world. That’s the story. That could be interesting. And I suppose if you were a conservative viewer, and somehow you accidentally walked into the movie theater, you might go, “oh, Jesus. We gotta watch this now?” And then it turns out that it’s not what it seems like it’s gonna be. Because they’re not…they’re flawed. There are problems. There’s extreme behavior, and in the end, what’s great about it is that all the characters, not just mine, as the father, but there are several characters who stop and think and realize, you know, maybe I’ve gone too far. Maybe I can take in a little bit of what the grandparents say, or the more conservative values, and maybe there’s a balance, a new balance. And that’s what the movie is about, finding a new balance. And I hope, in some way, I hope the same can happen in the country.

S.S.: Sure, yeah, absolutely. That’s magnificent! Well, I appreciate you taking some time to chat with me, and it was just wonderful talking with you. Thank you!

Next up was the director of Captain Fantastic, Matt Ross, whose acting credits include supporting roles in films like Face/Off, The Aviator, American Psycho, and as I reminded him when we began speaking, P.C.U. (a personal favorite).

Scene-Stealers: So, I’m gonna dork out real quick. One of my favorite movies of all time is P.C.U., so this is sort of a dream come true for me, speaking to Raji.

Matt Ross: Oh, you always wanted to meet Raji? Aw, dude: that’s sad. [Laughing]

S.S.: I’m sorry, it’s true! [Laughing]

M.R.: Naw, I mean, the truth is at that time in my life, I was right out of school, and I was super happy to get that part, and it was a lot of fun.

S.S.: No, no, that’s awesome! Now, can I ask you about the jump from going from acting? Because, I know, for a lot of the 90s, I’m thinking of, like, Face/Off, American Psycho, what is it that compelled you to want to get behind the camera?

M.R.: The truth is, I was doing theater as a child, and at the same time I was making films, so at least privately, I was always doing both of them at the same time. And then I went to theater school, and then afterwards I went to film school for, literally, like a heartbeat. The first money I made as an actor I made short films. I made like, eight to ten short films, and acting has been the way I’ve paid the bills, sort of, but I’ve also had writing jobs professionally, I’ve been paid to write. So this is my second film [as a director], so I guess the transition…there was not a transition insofar as I just woke up one day and thought, “I admire directors, I want to make films.” I had been doing that my whole life. And as a child, you didn’t think, like, “I need know what screenwriting is.” I just got together with my friends, and I had storyboards in my head, and said, “let’s do this.” So I think I have really been doing it the whole time. And if people like yourself were aware of me on any level, you just happened to see me as an actor. But short films certainly don’t get this kind of attention. And I’ve had short films as far back as the 90s, like at Sundance, it just wasn’t on peoples’ radar.

S.S: As far as this picture, with Captain Fantastic, what did you find was the biggest challenge of this production? I’m maybe assuming here, but was this the largest production that you’ve helmed as far as a director?

M.R.: Yeah, absolutely.

S.S.: So what challenges did you find with this?

M.R.: Well, the central challenge is having six kids in every scene. With child labor laws, and I’m not bemoaning child labor laws, we do need them, but it made it very difficult, obviously, to shoot regular days. You know, they were very truncated days, and we shot in two different states, in the states of Washington and New Mexico, so there was a lot of travel. A lot of the movie takes place in very rural areas in the middle of forests, in the middle of nowhere, and so getting to those locations was challenging. We have two action sequences that dealt with kids, we have two musical numbers that deal with kids, and we’re a road movie, so every single day you’re somewhere else. So if you’re asking me what the challenges were, they were logistical.

S.S.: Yeah, that makes sense. Well, I appreciate you chatting with me. And it was wonderful meeting you!

A more formal on-stage Q&A with Viggo Mortensen followed the red carpet interviews, as did a screening of Captain Fantastic (a movie that, sadly, has a review embargo at SIFF). The sold-out event saw Mr. Mortensen receive his SIFF career achievement award as well, and amounted to a brilliant send-off to a festival that clearly saved the best for last. For those in attendance, it was a magnificent chance to watch a brand new film with the director and star in the room, and was yet another opportunity for Seattle’s true cinephiles to engage with films and filmmakers in a manner only the Seattle International Film Festival can offer in this small but vibrant corner of the country.

Photos by Ashley Roden

We have passes to see A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST and we want you to have them!

The screening is Tuesday, May 27 at Screenland Armour at 7:30 PM.

All you have to do to enter is fill out the form below and a random drawing will determine the winners!

Website:  http://www.amillionways.com/

Opening Date: Friday, May 30, 2014

Facebook: www.facebook.com/AMillionWaysToDieInTheWest

Twitter: @AMillionWays  #AMillionWays

Rating: Rated R for strong crude and sexual content, language throughout, some violence and drug material.

Synopsis: After Albert backs out of a gunfight, his fickle girlfriend leaves him for another man.  When a mysterious and beautiful woman rides into town, she helps him find his courage and they begin to fall in love.  But when her husband, a notorious outlaw, arrives seeking revenge, the farmer must put his newfound courage to the test.

Good luck!