One can imagine there are nerves involved when deciding whether to commit to a horror movie about a group of filmmakers making an adult movie. But, not only does Ti West’s X use that premise in a way that enhances the themes of the film, but West also created an environment on set aimed to ensure his actors’ comfort and safety.
X takes place in 1979 when a group of filmmakers heads off to a remote farm in rural Texas to make their movie. Their elderly hosts are unaware of what they’re up to on their property and when they find out, it kicks off a mighty violent killing spree.
With X now playing in theaters nationwide, Brittany Snow join us for an episode of Collider Ladies Night to revisit the steps she’s taken over the years that ultimately led her to this new film. We covered a bit of everything including American Dreams and Pitch Perfect, but we also spent a good deal of time digging into X, particularly the biggest on-set challenges and also the thematic heft of the story.
When tackling more intimate scenes, it’s of the utmost importance the cast feel as though they’re working in a safe space. Snow insisted that West’s methodical approach to the material and the presence of an on-set intimacy coordinator created the environment she needed. Here’s how she put it:
“I think I felt safe because there was so much consideration and care about every single shot in that movie. Nothing was shown that wasn’t talked about at length beforehand. Nothing was off the cuff. Everything was very methodical in terms of why we were showing this, how we were going to film it. There was an intimacy coordinator on set, Tandi Wright, who we worked really closely with who was an angel and made sure that everything was based in character and not gratuitous sort of shock and awe. I think that was necessary for me to do the movie. And Ti was really at the forefront of making sure that everyone, the females and men in the movie felt comfortable.”
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In addition to West and Wright, Snow also praised her on-screen boyfriend and co-star in the movie within the movie, Scott Mescudi. She explained:
“I have to give a shout out to Scott for being the best on-screen boyfriend because those scenes were hard and we were in compromising situations and without him being so gracious and such a gentleman and making sure I was comfortable at every point, I couldn’t feel as confident as I could to be Bobby-Lynne. And we both just had fun. I mean, we were laughing the whole time. It’s absurd what we’re doing in this movie. We look absurd and so I think that having that person to kind of check ourselves, of not taking ourselves too seriously was really important for me.”
Looking for more from Snow? We’ve got you well covered in that department! You can watch her full episode of Collider Ladies Night at the top of this article or listen to the uncut version of the conversation in podcast form below:
