Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson are currently in Cannes promoting their new film, Die, My Love. And while the movie has brought up some heavy topics—postpartum psychosis, marriage troubles, etc.—it's also given us a rare BTS look at how Jennifer and Robert prepared for their sex scenes.
Neither Jennifer nor Robert are strangers to sex scenes (hello, have you seen The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn?), but the preparation for Die, My Love, directed by Lynne Ramsay, was unlike any other. “She had us do dance lessons before we started shooting,” Jennifer said in an interview with Brut, calling the experience “so humiliating and embarrassing.” Robert agreed, adding, “You can't get more embarrassed.”
The dance lessons—which included instructions such as “move like molasses”—did come in handy, though, especially since they began production with an entire day of sex scenes. “It's kind of a good idea actually, 'cause like if we didn't like each other, it becomes increasingly more awkward,” Robert said of the decision to start with intimate scenes. “On our first day of shooting, we were naked, attacking each other like tigers,” Jennifer said. “You think it can't get more embarrassing, and they're like, ‘Now, do it naked!’” Robert added.
It may have been embarrassing, but both Robert and Jennifer agreed that they became more comfortable as the day of sex scenes went on. “Eventually you get used to it and you're like talking, getting notes, having a snack—naked!” Jennifer said.
Another helpful tool they had on set was the intimacy coordinator. “I felt safe the whole time,” Jennifer said. “Rob was very appropriate.” But the intimacy coordinator didn't just help everyone feel safe and comfortable on set, they also helped give direction to guide the scene, which Robert found valuable. “Sometimes directors are scared to say, ‘Your body looks weird in this angle!’ But if it's someone else whose specific job is [to say], ‘You just move it a little bit, you're going to like it more,’ it's nice to have.’”
Die, My Love was bought by Mubi for distribution after its Cannes Film Festival premiere, where it reportedly earned a six minute standing ovation.
