Hello everyone. This is not a question I would post to Facebook so I'm excited this forum is available. I write both books and screenplays. I'm writing 'The Lightning Dance' which only has the sex scene left. Obviously in a book I can go all out with every detail. I'd like to know opinions on when to draw the line on a screenplay. Point being...I know I can take up 10 pages with descriptions but should I? If I were the director (and I'd love to assist whoever picks this up) then I know how I would shoot it. A series of different shots, not just one steady take (otherwise I doubt I'd get an R rating). I can write that fact down in half a page but if I'm trying to pitch a project that seems weak. Any feedback would be helpful. Thanks ;)
Screenwriting : How much sex is too much for a screenplay? by Renee Lear
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Unless the specific acts are important to the story, a general description of the feeling of the sex scene is all you need. Same idea as a fight scene. If there's key dialogue or specific things that need to happen, write it in... But if it's just like a "they have sex" type of montage, the filmmakers will want to shoot it how they want it anyway. You're not going to gain much by writing in specific anatomical detail.
Thank you all for your comments. Writing it in the morning.
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I'd consider who I'm selling it to. If I want the broadest audience, I'd tone it down. But i'm sure others will disagree with me.
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Will I be reading this screenplay in public or the privacy of my own home? A sex scene is just like any other scene: it's about the information. Here's a Script Tip I did on sex in the cinema (ouch, the cupholder is scraping my butt!) http://www.scriptsecrets.net/tips/tip138.htm
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The truly sexiest (actually sensual) scene I've ever watched was the tiny bed ballet in Turning Point. Having dancers used to telling an entire story with their bodies was necessary for that scene, but it worked like none other that I can recall.
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That depends!! The main theme of the movie Shame was sex, or rather sexual addiction, so it's going to have a lot more sex scenes than say a movie about cannibals (you'd hope anyway!) That being said, the function of those sex scenes was quite a bit different. Some were meant to be hot, some were meant to be frustrating, some were meant to be difficult and some were meant to be sad. I would say that if you have a lot of sex scenes where the point is just sex, you have a porno. However, if there are different meanings behind the sex, and it's integral to the main theme and the plot, have as much as you think is appropriate to tell the story you are telling. http://www.cinecoup.com/theories/