After a hiatus of over a decade, legendary indie filmmaker Gregg Araki is back in movie theaters with his latest piece of visual provocation, “I Want Your Sex.” The film made a splash at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, thanks to Araki’s trademark eye-tickling visuals and equally trademark envelope-pushing substance. Here, Gen Z is the target of Araki’s aim, with his film (and specifically Olivia Wilde’s sensational character, the avant-garde sex-obsessed artist Erika Tracy) skewering the prudishness of the latest batch of young adults. But as always with Araki, answers don’t come easy and messages aren’t neat and tidy.
One of the masters of queer indie filmmaking, Araki was kind enough to spend some time speaking with us about his latest film. In our conversation, he touched on what he thinks of Gen Z’s tendency toward sex negativity, how a film centering around a male-female pairing can still touch on queer themes, and what it was like to debut his film at the final Sundance Film Festival hosted in Park City, Utah.
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***Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.***
Hi, Gregg. How are you doing today?
Good, how are you doing?
Doing very well, happy to be talking with you!
Thanks.
Of course. I’m going to jump right in with your filmography. It looks, you know, you’ve been out of the cinemas for a little bit, you’ve been mostly working on television.
Uh huh.
Been almost…been over a decade since your last feature film. So, what brought you back to the cinema?
They keep bringing me back! I try to get away and I just can’t! I honestly don’t…everyone’s like, “You’ve been gone for so long, where have you been?” I’ve been, like, working the whole time, you know? I did that show, my show “Now Apocalypse” in like 2018, 2019. And that was for me, because I wrote and directed like all 10 episodes, It was literally like making three movies. So it sort of, it seems like I’ve been busy this whole time because I have been. But as far as, you know, this is, as you said, my first theatrical feature in a bit, but, indie filmmakers, you know, we always have a lot of kind of projects on the back burner. Like I always work on like three or four things at the same time. And this has been something that I’ve been working on, on and off since the spec script for this film was sent to me in, like, 2012 or 2013. And it was a completely different story in a way. It was a female sub and a male dom. And it was more, like, pitched like a comic “Fifty Shades of Grey.” So over the years, the script has been changing a lot, evolving, developing.
I feel like every movie has its time and this one, you know, took 12 years to make. I have another movie I’ve been working on for, like, 20 years. I just have a lot of projects that I’m working on trying to get the next one going. And this has just been one of them and it’s been around, it’s been here for a while, but now is the moment that it finally emerged. So it’s not like, “Oh yeah, I’m going to pick a movie and this is the movie and I’m going to make it right now.” They’re all, like, works in progress for a long time.
Well, the fact that it took so long to get to the screen from spec script and it got updated, I think it reflects really well on the current times because there’s so much about it, it’s been talked about a lot, but about Gen Z’s sex life, lack thereof. So I’d love to hear your thoughts on that read of the film, because I was really struck by…it’s interesting that the character most pushing against this, like, generational prudishness, Olivia Wilde’s character, is also a bit antagonistic in her actions. So I just kind of want to get your thoughts on that.
Yeah. I mean, honestly, in the evolution of the script, it was literally that article that they talk about in the movie. I read it, and my reaction was very much…because Olivia’s character in a way is kind of a mouthpiece for me. So my reaction was very much her reaction, which was, wait, your generation is all about FOMO, but you’re going to miss out on the sexual prime of your life and that’s okay? You know, what’s going on? And so that part of the script, which eventually to me is like the major theme of the movie, did not come about till literally probably a year or two before we made it like of the 11, 12 years I’ve been working on it.
So I feel like, as I said, every movie has its time. And the time for this movie is now. I mean, I think that there was a version of this movie that almost got made in like 2015, 2016, which would have been a completely different movie. And I don’t think as interesting a movie or as topical a movie, and this movie coming out right now, with what’s going on…I mean, there was just an op-ed in the New York Times last week talking about the Gen Z sex recession. You know, it’s something that is very, a phenomenon that’s very kind of on point right now. And also it’s really complicated. And I think the Cooper Hoffman character does a really great job of sort of voicing the concerns of his generation and where some of this sexual nervousness comes from, you know, like all the factors of technology, social media, fear of humiliation, fear of judgment, helicopter parents, COVID. Like, all of it has led to this stew of these young people that just feel so uncomfortable, you know, in their own skin, around other people, and just worried about doing the wrong thing.
When, as the Olivia Wilde character says, it’s like, being young is about making mistakes and doing the wrong thing all the time. You know, I mean, that’s what being young is, is like, you’re fucked up, and you’re confused. And you do these things that are like, what am I doing? And why? But figuring all that stuff out – that’s life. And that’s what the journey of life is, I feel like. And I, you know, it, as I said, became, like, a really big theme of the movie.
So in the rewrites and this reworking of the script over the years, was there ever any time where you thought about making it a same-sex coupling rather than a cis man-cis woman? Because, although there’s queer elements, this is kind of, you know, like you say in “The Doom Generation,” it’s a heterosexual movie.
Yeah, exactly. There’s definitely…I mean, I think of “I Want Your Sex” as a very queer movie.
Absolutely.
I think of it as a very queer, like, I think of it as being full of queer joy. I definitely don’t think a straight man could have made “I Want Your Sex” because its sensibility is so queer. And you know, Olivia’s character is queer. And everybody in the movie…I mean, even Cooper’s character at one point says, “I’m like, queer adjacent,” or something.
Yep!
And Mason’s character is like, “Have you ever sucked a dick?” And so he’s like, “Uh, no?” “Then you’re just straight.” So everyone in the movie has…that’s one of the things I love about the movie is it’s kind of across the spectrum. You know what I mean?
Like, there’s Olivia, who is queer, sex positive to almost like too extreme, and just very, you know, sure of herself in her sexual confidence. There’s Cooper’s character that’s just basically straight, but kind of figuring it out and is still confused. There’s Apple’s character who, God knows what Apple, like Apple’s really struggling with her identity, struggling to figure out who she is. And like, Mason’s character is super confident. He’s the full, gay…he says he’s gay, actually, not queer. He’s the most sexually confident character next to Olivia’s character. And it’s funny, the Daveed Diggs character, you don’t really see his sex life. It’s in the script that Victor, who is Erika’s [Olivia Wilde’s character] studio manager, handles the business side of the gallery. It’s written as he’s one of those straight guys who presents very gay. So that was literally in his sort of character description. So there’s kind of a broad spectrum. But long, long answer to a simple question is, it’s always been a man and a woman. And I kind of appreciated that dynamic.
You know, Mason’s line about having an orgy before clocking into work has been kind of rattling around my brain since Sundance. It really just stuck with me, that characterization.
When he’s like, oh yeah, “Have you ever been in an orgy?” “Oh, this morning.” And he’s so, like, nonchalant about it!
Yeah, good for you buddy. We talked a lot about Olivia. Olivia Wilde, who is obviously having a moment herself now as an accomplished director on her own. So what was it like working with her both as an actress and as somebody who has her own perspective as a filmmaker?
It’s just, I mean, amazing. She’s, like, such a great actor. And she’s such a movie star. You know what I mean? That’s why I was so excited to work with her, because Erika Tracy is a kind of larger than life iconic character. You know, I’ve always thought of her as like a cross between Madonna and Robert Mapplethorpe, like this art superstar, you know what I mean?
Yes!
And somebody that has this image and presents herself in a certain way where she’s almost more famous than her art, you know what I mean? Like, she’s this personality. And so it was a really juicy, really fun character for Olivia. And she was so excited to play it and just literally just jumped in the pool and went for it. And every day on set, it was just so exciting to see her and Cooper work and then bring these characters to life. And they just had such incredible chemistry, and it was amazing.
So looking at the film landscape as a whole right now…you’re genuinely a vanguard of a specific generation filmmakers. So looking at who’s up-and-coming right now, have any filmmakers or films caught your attention, similar to how you were regarded when you were on the up and up?
I’m not an expert at this stuff. I am just like any other moviegoer. I just sort of, you know, keep track of like, oh, this movie was in Cannes, or oh, this movie was happening, but I’m not an expert the way that people who are critics or programmers have to maintain a view of what the landscape is, what’s going on out there. I just kind of make my own movies and do my own thing. But I’m just thinking about Jane right now, because she’s next door doing her junket. Jane Schoenbrun has a new movie [“Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma”] coming out, like, a week after us. And I’m super excited to see it. She’s coming to our premiere tonight. I interviewed Jane for [“I Saw the TV Glow”] a couple years ago, so I met her then. And she did a Q&A for “The Doom Generation” a few years ago, so I kind of vaguely know her. And her new movie sounds fantastic.
I saw it at Cannes, it is. I think you’re gonna love it.
My friend saw it and loved it.
Well, as we wrap up here, we always like to ask our interview guests here at Next Best Picture, what is next on your watchlist? What are you hoping to see next?
What am I seeing next?
Yeah, what film do you want to occupy your time with next?
The film I’m seeing tomorrow is called “I Want Your Sex!“
Okay, yeah, I’ve heard of that one!
Tomorrow’s our premiere, and it’s going to be crazy. There’s so many people coming from literally, like, almost every movie, every TV show I’ve ever done. It’s going to be a really fun night, because a lot of my friends and people, collaborators, people I’ve worked with, actors I’ve worked with, they’re all going to be in the same room at the same time. It’s gonna be awesome.
Awesome. Well, real fast, before I let you go, you’re such a Sundance-based filmmaker, you know, so many of your films have premiered there, including this one at what was the final Park City festival.
The last hurrah of Park City!
It’s crazy! So you’ve had some career milestones at Park City. How do you feel about [Sundance] moving to Colorado now?
I’m actually really excited about it. I mean, I’ll miss Park City, it’ll always have a sort of nostalgic, warm place in my heart, because, you know, literally, I grew up there. But the sad part about Park City is that it’s become, like, not friendly to sort of young, up and coming, you know, a student filmmaker there with his first short. That’s what Sundance was like back in the 90s. Now, because it’s so small, and it’s so expensive…like in the old days, you know, young filmmakers would all chip in for a condo, and there’d be like 20 of them sleeping on couches. It’s really hard to do that in Park City now.
And so in Boulder, it’s much easier and more accessible to those people. Also, I haven’t been there yet, but apparently, the cinemas are fantastic. The facilities are fantastic. Boulder’s also a city in the sense that it can accommodate, it has restaurants and clubs and taxis. And, you know, it actually has an infrastructure to support that many people. Whereas Sundance wasn’t.
When I was at Sundance this year, because Charli XCX is in my movie, and she had her movie [“The Moment”] there as well. And I saw Charli and I was like, “How was your party last night?” And she’s all, “To be honest, it was a shit show.” It’s because there is no venue in Park City that you can have a Charli XCX afterparty at that works, you know, there’s no place there for a party of that scale. So in Boulder, I think there will be a place. So I think that’s going to be fun, though I will miss, obviously, Park City because it’s so much a part of my history.
Yeah, I’ll miss Park City, but not the, you know, $18 worst hamburger you’ve ever had in your life, so, looking forward.
Or Main Street, literally where I was this year on Main Street doing press or whatever, and we sat in traffic not moving for like 10-15 minutes. I literally had to get out of the car and walk. It’s not built for that many people and that much activity going on. It’s just not. So that I won’t miss.
Well, Gregg, congrats on your movie, so excited for more people to see it, it’s really excellent.
July 31st! Take all your friends to see it!
Awesome. Thanks, Gregg!
Thank you!
“I Want Your Sex” opens in US theaters on July 31st
You can follow Cody and hear more of his thoughts on the Oscars and Film on X @codymonster91
