Then I remembered Bertolucci. He is a very minor character in this book, but his history is relevant to the point at hand. When Last Tango in Paris came out, a lot of people freaked out, especially over the butter scene. The film was censored in more than a few countries, and Bertolucci faced legal problems in Italy. People argued and debated the graphic nature of the film. Even today, there are segments of the internet that still think the sex in that scene was real, though it looks less graphic thanks to HBO.
Maria Schneider had a lot to say about it after the fact. I can see her point of view, but I think she used public ignorance to her advantage. She knew that all of the sex was simulated, of course, but she hated the butter scene. By insinuating that it was unsimulated, she could get people to accuse Brando, and mostly Bertolucci, of horrible crimes. And that's not right. Bertolucci humiliated her, on purpose, but Brando's penis never went anywhere it should not be.
I suppose it's good that people think sex scenes are real. That means the filmmakers are doing a good job. If the audience knew just how unerotic shooting a sex scene was, they would never get excited about what the characters are doing.
But then you have to wonder, do people think fight scenes are real? When Sean Bean dies onscreen, he does not really die. He is very much alive.
Hi I have purchased all of your book and enjoyed your blog for years but miss the day to day narration of your life. While I am sure ykur next novel will be wonderful I wonder what ever happened between you and your housemates after you became single and if she still crushes on you.
ReplyDeleteThank you for buying the books. It's always nice to hear from people who have read them. I'm assuming you read them and didn't just buy them for kindling.
ReplyDeleteWhen I started the current novel, I thought it might be interesting to document the writing process. I doubt I'll ever do it again, but for now, jotting down a few notes about what I just wrote today is taking up pretty much all of the time I would have otherwise used for this blog. I don't know if that's a bad thing.
When I started this blog, I was about to move to Hong Kong and start a big adventure. Now that I've lived here for a while, it's really not all that interesting to talk about. It's not new to me anymore and everything I did today, I've already done a million times.
I still have the same roommates I've had for the last 5 years. I don't think either of them ever had a crush on me. They're a couple, so that would be awkward.
I think my favourite was our French adventures as you moved through your comfort levels. Given you have kissed with her and both of them propositioned you in their underwear in your bedroom I think they do sort of have a crush on you lol
DeleteIt sounds like you might be confusing this blog with a different blog.
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