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#Robbie taylor hunt
pippin-katz · 8 months
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Alright, I have mostly restrained myself, but I cannot stay quiet any longer. There is a question that has been eating at me...
Whose fucking idea was it to have Henry (Nicholas) constantly grabbing Alex's (Taylor's) hair?!
Note: I'm adding this in after finishing writing this because this was supposed to be a relatively short post, and then it spiraled out of control, so if you want to listen to me gradually lose my sanity over this question, feel free to keep reading, cause it is admittedly funny lmfao
Another Note: This is me being overly sarcastic and hyper cause it’s funny for me to think about that situation. This is supposed to be a funny post. I said that at the end, but I’m adding it here too.
Listen, remember what they said about the intimate scenes: they were planned down to every detail. Remember what Nicholas said about having conversations with Taylor, Matthew, and Robbie about boundaries, what was okay, and not okay. Remember that they have A LINE IN THE FILM ABOUT HENRY GRABBING HIS HAIR (iconic).
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Do you see it? Do you see where this is going?
The hair pulling/grabbing is not random. It doesn't happen in just the New Year's kiss to set up a funny line later.
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It happens all the time.
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Even in soft moments, Henry has a hand in his hair.
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The hair grabbing gets its own shot in their love-making scene.
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Consistent small actions (twisting a ring, biting nails, drumming with fingers, etc.) are character habits. They're things that they do all the time, subconsciously or for a decisive reason, usually if you know that action causes a specific response that you want for any reason.
There's a coworker that drives you crazy, so you purposefully hum really loudly whenever they're in the room to piss them off. Your friend has a sensitivity to the color red, so on days you know you're going to see them, you avoid wearing it. Your partner has muscle cramps, so you massage their shoulders whenever you're standing behind them.
These habits usually start as conscious decisions, then gradually become subconscious, hence the term "habit". You've been doing something for so long or for frequently enough that you do it while on "autopilot".
I think it's pretty obvious why this action happens. It's because A: Henry likes feeling of his hair, and/or B: Alex likes when someone touches his hair. Note: This could be in any context, not just sexual; running fingers through it, washing it, styling it, etc.
Either you figured out what I am going to say, and you're wondering why I'm blabbering on so much, or you're just confused about where I'm going with this at all, so here's where it all clicks together.
When you have a character, habits are something you give them to give them more personality, more insight into their mentality through subtle things they do. It's something the director/writer/actor chooses to give to the character.
BUT - nothing in the intimacy scenes happen without being discussed and agreed upon.
This isn't like Nicholas fidgeting with the signet ring to show Henry's nerves. This isn't like Taylor frequently making little hand gestures (peace signs, finger guns, tapping the side of his glass, etc.) because Alex has undiagnosed ADHD and that's one way to physically imply it.
They can do those things without being told or given "permission" because it's their portrayal of the character, it doesn't effect anyone else, and small details like that are typically up to the actors, unless the director is incredibly strict.
BUT - AGAIN WITH FEELING - NOTHING IN THE INTIMACY SCENES HAPPEN WITHOUT BEING DISCUSSED AND AGREED UPON.
That means that someone, one of the four of them, brought up grabbing his hair as a suggestion, and further more, Taylor (and Nick, but obviously Taylor's consent is more important in this specific case) was fine with it.
Think about it. Think about them sitting around a table discussing the kinds of stuff that Matthew and Robbie would want to see, and what Nick and Taylor would be okay with. Think about the fact that one of them was sitting there, and looked at the other three, and said: "What if Henry grabs Alex's hair a lot?"
And then the four of them had to sit there, and talk, in depth, about what that would mean.
*inhale*
Who... the fuck... said it?
WHO SAID IT?!
Did Matthew and Robbie present it as part of the initial planning?? Or did one of them look Taylor and Nick in the eye and say it?? Did Nick throw it out there as something he thought Henry would do?? Was it Taylor??? Since it's his hair???
Cause it's not just like, running Nick running his fingers through it, combing it during some tender moment, like when Alex talks about his father being an immigrant.
HE FUCKING GRABS IT.
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What the fuck were these conversations like?! I cannot think of a single way to have that conversation where someone wouldn't have to say something that would make me make me go UHHH-
What? So - Matthew's like "how do you guys feel about touching each other's hair?" -and they're like "what, you mean like running our fingers through it?" -and he's like "nah yanking it while you're making out"
Like... what do you say to that?! - "oh which one of us would do it to the other?" -and what, did Taylor fucking volunteer?? Just like - "he can pull my hair, it's chill" - WTF?!
Or did he suggest it in the first place, like they were discussing things that would that could be part of Alex and Henry's dynamic and he's just like - "he could pull my hair?" -and the other three just stared at him for a second, because wtf that's a intensely intimate action to suggest?!
Hair touching in general is really intimate, in like, every context, at least I think to most people, and definitely to me. Most people wouldn't just let someone, even someone they were friends with, start playing with their hair or touching their head. I wouldn't even let my best friend randomly touch my head; I would instinctually try to bite their hand off (not a joke). Maybe I'm a slight bit more touch-repulsed than most, but I feel like it's safe to say that the majority of people don't want their hair and head being touched, grabbed, or played with unless they say so.
And again, they do it CONSISTENTLY. It's not a one and done scene. It is an actual dynamic between Alex and Henry they chose to establish.
SO I ASK AGAIN: WHOSE IDEA WAS IT?!
I'm looking at you four, Matthew, Robbie, Taylor, and Nicholas. I know it was one of you cheeky bastards that suggested it. One of you brought it up, and the rest of you were like "sure".
I will be forever haunted by this mystery, as I doubt I will ever get an answer.
Note: Please don't take this super seriously. I'm not trying to imply anything; I'm literally just joking around cause the concept of having that conversation boggles my mind lol
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rwrbmovie · 7 months
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BTS of #RWRBMovie: making love – part 3: safe sex
ML via Variety:
Working with intimacy coordinator Robbie Taylor Hunt, López thought through every possible detail about how two men have sex — and what about that process needed to make it into the scene: “We talked about, ‘Does the prince douche before they go in? Do we need to tell the audience that? Does the audience just assume that that’s going on?’” A great deal of time was spent on whether Prince Henry would be on PrEP, a medication taken to prevent HIV infection during sex. “Robbie and I decided together that the prince is probably not on PrEP, because it would be too dangerous for him to ask for prescription,” López says. “So the prince absolutely uses condoms. And because we couldn’t really effectively answer the PrEP question narratively, we wanted to also just tell the story that the prince engages in safe sex practices and takes his sexual health seriously.” Eagle-eyed viewers have indeed caught sight of condom wrappers near Henry and Alex’s bed during a couple of points in the film — alongside a bottle of lube. “Once we had passed a certain part in the story, I was like, OK, let’s empty out some of the lube,’” López says. “Robbie and I were looking at it, like, ‘How much would they use? Like, well, let’s take it down about this much. OK, that makes sense to me.’”
>> bts posts on the paris sex scene
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RWRB this❤/
'this is exactly the kind of thing i've spent 15 years going 'i wish this scene existed' and being so frustrated that it didn't(..)watching Brokeback Mountain and being like 'okay sure but like Why is this all I'm getting over and over again?' in terms of what I'm seeing on screen'
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Robbie talks about RWRB, and also about Mary & George, and about his work, it's definitely worth a watch/a listen!!
FEEL FREE TO CHECK ALSO:
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so much RWRB content in this post/many many links!!
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meraki-yao · 3 months
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I listened to the podcast with Robbie on being RWRB's intimacy coordinate during drawing class today, and two main thoughts:
1, I almost want a full breakdown of the Paris scene with Robbie and Matthew and the boys, or at the very least with Robbie, because to this day, I can't freaking see how it's a performance. It's just too fucking good. But I wonder if fulfilling my curiosity and knowing the secrets behind will ruin the magic? I don't know
2, Are there Paris scene bloopers? I mean that bloody key must have hit Nick in the face at least once right? (lmao that visual just imagine it, please can we see it? (Nick babygirl I love you I promise)
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stagefoureddiediaz · 9 months
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Here’s a couple of really great articles/interviews with Robbie Taylor Hunt talking about intimacy coordination more widely, but specifically on rwrb. He’s so knowledgeable and they’re really interesting and amazing reads and really showcase both his talent and why intimacy coordination is so important.
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sincenewyorks · 9 months
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im sorry i can’t stop imagining that taylor and nick walked in on set one day and robbie and matthew were like ‘we figured it out guys, here’s videos and a ppt presentation! make sure to take notes’
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biggayenergypod · 4 months
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Check out our new interview with Robbie Taylor Hunt! We finally got to ask him all about the movie Red, White, and Royal Blue and it does not disappoint! You can watch the interview on YouTube or listen on all audio platforms now!
Video:
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Audio:
Please do us a favor and download the episode, follow the podcast, and leave a review wherever possible so we can keep making queer content!
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fromkenari · 8 months
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Listerine Strips, Respect, and RWRB
I obsessively read and watch Behind The Scenes Interviews, which I really shouldn't because famous people are jerks, especially to each other, especially in romantic comedies. There's no respect because of egos. Because romantic comedies have always been about the names they cast, not necessarily the content. Most casts come out of romantic comedies hating everything about it and knowing they were there because of their name and face. Some of them, that's fine. Others... You should watch Hugh Grant's interviews about Love Actually if you haven't. Hugh Grant's interviews in general are top-notch.
Anyway, suppose you've seen a lot of cast interviews for romance movies or even just characters with intimate relations. In that case, there is an alarming amount of disrespect and borderline abusive behavior that used to happen on sets before intimacy coordinators got involved. It often gets panned as "pranks" or "just things that happen on set" because of coworkers trying to get each other to break character and ruin a shot. Sometimes, yes it can be "harmless" fun if the cast has been working together for a long time. But that's not typically the case with romantic comedies. The halitosis "prank" is one of the more common ones. They have a kiss scene, and one of the parties eats something that will cause their breath and mouth to be absolutely abhorrent to the scene partner, who has to believably kiss this person on camera repeatedly, and they don't know until they go in for the kiss.
So the first time I heard about this being inappropriate was at a time in my life when I was so pressed for cash that I got into these sites that had movies that would pay you for views, which, yes, was literally a thing before social media and even YouTube. It's now a defunct avenue, obviously, and I was a member of so many of these sites that I couldn't tell you which one had me watch media for America's Sweethearts (2001), but it was never a studio or distributor directly, of course, it was funneled through these view for pay sites. Anyway.
I'm watching an interview with Julia Roberts, and she's talking about a kiss scene with John Cusak. It's meant to be a Morning After scene, and they're supposed to kiss before getting out of bed. Well, they broke for lunch right before filming this scene, and Julia ate her typical lunch, not thinking much about it, but her lunch had a lot of garlic. So when they went back to set, they got ready to shoot the first take, and at that moment, Julia realized her breath was going to be awful, and she didn't want to do that to John, so she pulled the sheet up over her mouth out of instinct. Then John, staying in character, does the same, and they perform the scene with their mouths covered even though John drops it at one point and Julia immediately lifts it back over his mouth. Her thinking is, "Who really kisses on the morning after their first time with a person they really like? You want to gargle or something first." (This is not a direct quote because it's been decades.) So in the scene, she ad-libs asking if can use his toothbrush to brush her teeth, and when he says yes, they share a chaste kiss with their mouths covered. The director liked it so much they kept it for the following takes.
Final Cut of that scene
This actually really struck me because out of all these damn interviews I had to watch for all these different movies with people describing all of the self-labeled "horrible" things they did to each other on set, this one interview with Julia Roberts about a kiss scene with John Cusak is refreshingly honest and kind of funny in a good way, and I have forgotten all those other interviews, but not this one.
Fast forward to Red, White, and Royal Blue interviews, and this quote from Taylor Zakhar Perez about his and Nicholas Galitzine's intimacy coordinator Robbie Taylor Hunt:
“He was incredible,” Zakhar Perez says of working with Taylor Hunt. “In London there are these brand of mints called Smints, and we called him the Smint Lord because we would always come up to him and ask for a mint or Listerine strip. I didn’t want my breath to be offensive to Nick as soon as we get on set and have to be intimate with each other…”
Source
Literally shattered me a bit when I read that and immediately thought back on the interview from almost 23 years ago. The morals of this story are: respect your coworkers and don't trust actors who say they don't need intimacy coordinators.
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lily-s-world · 9 months
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The intimacy coordinator probably saw the power that hands touching holds in longing and romantic scenes from period dramas, and said "that, I want that"
And he did it perfectly for the Paris scene. He understood the assignment.
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elatedandexasperated · 8 months
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So there's been some discussion on RWRB actually being a "gay movie"
Most posts I've seen have more or less summarized that the movie is effectively a "straight romance" featuring a mlm coupling, which annoys me a bit. I can't say that this take is entirely wrong per say - I mean, I've called it basically a Hallmark movie, which I still think is true - but it's not devoid of queer experience like a lot of people seem to think it is...
and that "Hallmark" comparison, which I still stand behind, I feel comes more from structure than content.
You can take the film at face value or read deeper into it and still find a case for this argument. Most of this pertains to the movie alone, I'm personally in the camp that if you're going to analyze a piece of media, it should stand on its own. So while the book may have different expressions and levels of inclusion, remember, it's a book, not a 2-hour time boxed movie
Production
Right off the bat we have the movie's production. I'm not going into speculation on TZP or NG's sexuality out of respect, neither have confirmed or denied being part of the community and that's frankly their business and privacy. In a bit I will go into the text of the film regarding the characters, but I don't want to drag the actors into this any further than saying they did an excellent job portraying the characters.
Lopez, though, who is publicly out as gay, as well as McQuistion who is NB, have both put their messaging and perspectives on queer experience into the book and by extension the film and that much is very clear through things like the inclusion of Intimacy Coordinator Robbie Taylor Hunt (another Gay man) as a way of trying to keep the intimate scenes grounded and realistic. So in the production alone there were clear attempts to visually represent authentic queer experiences. I think this is honestly the main reason why the main relationship is so compelling: the actors vibed well with each other (to the point that it was the initial feud that seemed contrived and unrealistic, which is just hilarious to me) and the coordinator worked with everyone collaboratively to keep things grounded, realistic, and to prevent it from going too far into the realm of fetishization from a visual standpoint.
As for the writing, we obviously are going to see most of the relatable queer experiences pop up in the lead roles:
Henry
Henry's character is arguably where the representation of queer experience is most explicit - at least from a level that regular (read straight) viewers would get without a lot of hand holding. At a surface level there's the classic "what will my family think?" questioning and general anxiety of being outed. Most of us in the community can relate to that, but in all honesty this is pretty standard fare and not the meat and potatoes of why I wanted to write this, what I am now realizing, unreasonably long rant breakdown *inhales*
ANYWAY.
At a deeper level though, Henry's struggle isn't so much internal as it is external. Yes there's internal angst still about being able to love openly, but in the film it's pretty clear that a good chunk of his family is aware of his sexuality (the statement that the king had a conversation with him when he was 18, him being open with Bea, etc.); He's also pretty confident in his sexuality already (he fairly easily explains his sexuality to Alex, and has confidence in his sexual experience). I'll go into this when we talk about Alex more, but I think this stems from the characters being aged up, but what this also does is shifts the narrative from simply "coming out" to dealing with abusive relatives and power systems after you've come to terms with who you are as a person, and then finding the strength to actually fight them once you've built up your support network.
And progress isn't linear for anyone on this - we relapse, mourn old relationships with people and family we thought would support us, and sometimes silence ourselves because "it's easier"; we see this happen with Henry pretty explicitly when he runs from the lake house. The reconciliation with Alex isn't flawless either: Henry requests time and patience with things so he can slowly begin his process of actually tackling the issue of how his sexuality and relationship with Alex relates to and impacts his professional duties. Alex, in true found-family style, gives him the support that he both wants and needs at that point in the story.
Alex
Alex's portrayal in the film I think has been the more controversial of the two (Not in terms of actor choice, TZP is a fantastic actor... Also fine as hell but that's beside the point). Most people who read the book criticize his relatively short "Bi-panic" period and how they felt it was more fleshed out in the book. Again, we're dealing with a time boxed movie here, so obviously the book will have more details. That being said, I don't think it was as unrealistic as people make it out to be if you dig a bit. This part gets a bit speculative, but stick with me here.
While I can't relate to a Bi coming out being a gay man and all, I think people should look at some context regarding the character's background: Alex is an incredibly flirtatious, personable, and media-savvy character who is also steeped in left-leaning politics. He knows what bisexuality is and given that he had a few same-sex experiences, has probably come to terms with that before his conversation with Nora in her office. In that scene he even stated that being into guys was something he understood for himself, his main source of "panic" was more the realization that he was specifically into Henry, someone he was actually angry and antagonistic with for several years.
As for why he seemed trepid first telling Henry he was Bi, and this is speaking from experience, there's a huge difference between coming to terms with who you're attracted to and putting a label on it for the first time, even to yourself. I think TZP acted that awkwardness well, especially in the Paris scene where, to shift gears a bit, the driving queer experience is Alex's inexperience with going that far with other guys, something most of us go through at some point. And again, in good, supportive fashion, Henry guides Alex through the process without judgement.
Alex and Henry
Both Alex and Henry are older in the movie than they are in the book, a fact that Lopez confirmed via interview. Even though it's only a few years, there's a huge difference in understanding your identity between your late-teens/early 20s and your mid 20s (generally speaking, people can come out at any age and that's completely fine. Everyone deserves to come out at their own pace and in their own way). With this, I think they did a good Job shifting the narrative from the more internal conflict of "who am I", which is very common in teen-centered dramas, to the more nuanced experience of figuring out how "Who I am" is going to impact your relationships and professional life, which I think is more befitting older characters. With Alex, it's how it will look to voters/impact on his mother's reelection AND how it impacts Henry's professional responsibilities; with Henry, it's his duties to the royal family and appearances.
*PHEW*
There's a lot more too when you dig. A personal... Um, well "favorite" isn't a great word, but you get my point - is how some members of the community will actively sabotage others for personal gain: Miguel outing them for the sake of professional ambitions (and maybe some light petty retribution for Alex dumping him, wherein Alex was justified) is unfortunately a pretty common experience.
I'm sure that there will be more to add for this if there's a sequel, which I hope there is and that they bring McQuiston in for (talk about marketing: she writes the outline based on the movie and the novel based on the first book which releases at the same time as the second movie. People would go nuts I'm sure).
Asides
We as a community spent years reading into media to find scraps of representation because that's all we could get, but I think we're not great at reading into it with more explicit movies that, while maybe building themselves off of "traditional" genre frameworks, still have those queer experiences. I think we set our standards too high sometimes because we are so starved for representation. What we got in this movie is, at least in my opinion, decent representation and authentic experiences for many people in our community, it's just subtle and maybe requires a deeper read of a character or scene. I picked up on some of these points and I hope other people can see some of the arguments I'm making here.
As a complete aside, I think we've been brainwashed a bit to think that "queer experiences = struggle" automatically and we're too quick to disregard queer media as "not gay enough" if there's not a suitable amount of angst or a particular identity isn't represented (This is NOT me minimizing the struggles of the LGBT+ community, just making a statement that maybe we shouldn't hinge our identities and portrayals in media on such negative experiences). Gay stories don't have to be tragic or full of existential crisis as it pertains to our identity. And while maybe unrealistic, some good fluff is healthy to see alongside the angst. As we progress as a culture and we become more accepted, struggle hopefully becomes less and less a unifying aspect of queer identity and we'll be able to see that reflected in our media.
tl;dr
I think the movie has more going for it in terms of queer experience than people give it credit for, it's just not what's typically seen in visual media and is buried in there a bit deeper. Just because it's a "Hallmark movie" structurally and plays into tropes doesn't mean it's not gay.
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bigassbowlingballhead · 4 months
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Okay but Robbie is a smokeshow 😳🫣😶‍🌫️
FUCK YEAH HE IS
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pippin-katz · 8 months
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“We knew that if Taylor and Nick didn’t feel safe, we would never have gotten that scene out of them.”
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I've reread this interview a couple times, and the last sentence hit me differently. My entire chest expanded. I’ve been blabbering on and on about Taylor and Nicholas having to do intimate choreography, and it still blows me away that they did, but that comment is so sweet.
They felt safe. They felt safe with each other. They felt safe with Matthew and Robbie. They were able to perform the most beautiful and romantic sex scene I’ve ever witnessed because they felt safe.
I can't stress the use of the word "safe" enough.
It's impossible to know what they were thinking while filming, but I can imagine that they occasionally got those instinctive nerves, but they were able to keep filming because they trusted each other that much. They could think to themselves: "he's got me".
That is the sweetest, most wholesome thing ever.
Nicholas and Taylor are such close friends and care so much about each other that they're able to do this kind of scene. They know the other would never do anything to make them uncomfortable. They have to be completely vulnerable, but they're okay with that because they trust each other that much. That is such an incredible friendship, and a truly special bond.
It also occurred to me that that trust and safety they felt is probably part of why it feels as intimate as it does. The point of the scene is to show how far Alex and Henry have come in their relationship that they trust each other to do that.
Henry’s unable to “belong to someone else” except for a moment, and he has fallen so in love and trusts Alex so much to give himself to him in literally the most intimate way possible, even if it’s temporary. Alex has never done any of this before, considering he hadn’t truly considered his bisexuality before Henry, and obviously hasn’t had this kind of sex, but he feels comfortable enough with Henry to tell him that he’s nervous and trusts Henry will make sure everything goes right. I mean Henry literally says “trust me, you’re in good hands”, and Alex does.
Trust and safety is literally part of the characters' journeys in that scene. Nick and Taylor's real life trust in each other can provide a genuine base to build off of for Alex and Henry's.
God I wish they could do interviews, I want to hear them talk about it more (if they’re willing). They talked about it somewhat in the pre-conducted interviews, but not to the extent Matthew is in this. Obviously they don’t have to if they’re not comfortable sharing though.
I think this makes me feel so much because I'm personally demisexual and demiromantic, so emotional bonds are very important to me, in general. It's my heart's desire to find someone to love and trust that much, platonically and/or romantically.
PS: Just to be absolutely clear, this is not about shipping Nick and Taylor!! I'm just gushing about their bond with each other! I'm not trying to imply they are romantically involved in any way!
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rwrbmovie · 4 months
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PODCAST: Robbie Taylor Hunt (Intimacy Coordinator) | Big Gay Energy
Our favorite intimacy coordinator is back! Robbie shares his experience working on the Red, White and Royal Blue movie by breaking down his process for select scenes. He answers our Patreon member's and listeners' burning questions about RWRB. Plus Robbie gives us a teaser about his latest project Mary and George!
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meraki-yao · 5 months
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Hi correct me if I’m wrong but I thought I saw you mention that the same intimacy coordinator who worked on rwrb also worked on m&g, if that’s so, why was the intimacy approached differently, it seems rwrb was really toned down and alex and henry are a very passionate couple in the books and nich and taylor can definitely deliver passion and intimacy and it was rated-r so why do you think rwrb was approached differently and rather toned down, I mean what we got was great I’m still so attached to this movie 3 months later and that doesn’t happen often unless I absolutely love the movie or show but I feel like they were holding back and it becomes the question of why, was it n&t choice or matthew and intimacy coordinator or everything was done in how they wanted to tell the story, idk to me you can’t help but notice after the release of the trailer/teaser for m&g, I know it’s a different story and it’s more a drama based on a true story but very different in how they approached intimacy and affection
Okay so this turned into an essay.
I’m gonna dissect your ask into two parts, feel free to send me another ask if I missed something
Q1: Why was the intimacy in RWRB approached differently and less intense than M&G
Q2: Why was the intimacy in RWRB toned down from the book even with an R rating and with Taylor & Nick clearly capable of delivering passion and intimacy, and who was responsible for that
Firstly, yes, Robbie Taylor Hunt was the intimacy coordinator for both RWRB and M&G
Secondly, a little bit of background for M&G to aid my explanation later: While M&G isn’t out yet, I did read George Villiers’ Wikipedia page (Thanks Henry), listen to Nick talk a bit about him from a podcast episode, and watch the trailer. To summarize quickly, King James I has a list of male lovers, Mary Villiers realized her son had potential, so she more or less moulded him into a figure that the King would immensely like. Sex with the King was all for political power: George has sex with the King, and the King enjoys the pleasure he brings and lavishes him with treasures and political power in return. Historical records seem to indicate that the King really did love George as a partner, as odd (and in our modern times, toxic and maybe even “grooming”, George was 21 and the King was 48 when they met) as their relationship was. But the truth is George gained a lot from the King: he ended up one of the highest-ranking members of the court, and the only duke who wasn’t from the royal family.
So to answer your questions:
A1:
It’s mainly because since these are two different stories, the meaning of intimacy is different in each context.
RWRB is a love story. It is about the growth of the romantic relationship between Alex and Henry. Granted, they started with a friends-with-benefits arrangement but from the moment Henry kissed Alex on New Year's they both held mutual, genuine affection towards each other which later grew into love and devotion. This affection doesn’t have an underlying hidden purpose. Their intimacy is a reflection of their genuine feelings towards each other, which is why Paris is so gentle, quiet and soft. That’s the slow comfort of falling in love. Note that in the Paris scene, while it is clear what they’re physically doing, the focus is on their faces. You don’t see much below their waist. Matthew made that choice deliberately: this was an emotional experience for them as much as it was a physical experience. The sex in RWRB shows growing love.
Sex means something entirely different in M&G. To put it in a crude way, George Villiers, under his mother’s order/guidance/manipulation, fucked his way to power. Is there real affection and love between him and any or all of his partners, the King included? We honestly can’t know, because history only records what Geroge wanted to show, but it is incredibly unlikely that he did. Remember how I said there isn't an underlying hidden purpose in Alex and Henry’s affection? That’s not true for George: the hidden purpose is that he wants political power. Sex isn’t love in M&G, it’s entirely power play. And power play is violent and rough and messy, so the sex, as a reflection of that, is portrayed as such as well. Note that in the trailer, we see a lot of the body, but if you look at their faces, which isn’t the focus, he… kinda looks in pain?
A way I see it is in RWRB, Alex and Henry are both giving each other pleasure, as well as their heart. It’s slow, it’s gentle, and it’s respectful: Henry guides Alex in, Alex pays attention to each change on Henry’s face, and only moves when Henry consents, and even then, he moves slowly and the speed later builds up
Now look at the M&G trailer, it’s more like George’s partners are taking pleasure from him. It, at the very least, looks far less mutual than what Alex and Henry have. Geroge gives others pleasure, and in return, he gets political power.
TLDR: RWRB’s intimacy was less intense than that of M&G because intimacy has a different meaning/ symbolism in each story.
A2:
Part of this is because of the limitations of movie storytelling.
A book doesn’t have time limits, a movie does.
If you look at the book, at the beginning of Alex and Henry’s relationship, a lot of the sex was kind of repetitive in a way. Paris and MET for Alex’s birthday were covered in three pages. And both of those Alex compartmentalized as “friendship with benefits”. Aside from the internal monologue of him observing Henry sleeping which can’t be delivered on screen effectively, it’s mostly reiterating the same sentiment from the polo match: they use their international events as escapades to have sex with each other. But put that in the movie and it would take up the limited movie time, time that needs to be used for effective storytelling. The time used for Alex and Henry’s walk in the Paris garden could be used for a montage of all of their kinky sexual shenanigans instead, but if the polo hook-up can establish the intensity of their hooks up in the same way, then that time is better used exploring Henry’s baggage. TLDR: not enough time in regard to the number of times they have sex compared to the book.
The other part is by Matthew’s design.
I don’t remember where I saw/heard it from, either a podcast or an article, where Matthew half-jokingly said people will get bored if it’s just smut all the time. Yes, Alex and Henry are a very passionate couple, as shown by their first hook-up in the movie and the polo scene, but because gay sex in media is mostly portrayed as this wild, sexy frenzy, Matthew also wanted to show that gay sex can be emotionally vulnerable, which is why Paris was so focused on their faces, ergo, their emotions. Matthew wanted it to be something gentle and emotion-focused, so that was his priority in designing the scene.
Also there’s the fact that they’re older in the movie, thus more mature and a little less… hormonal. I think they get to the emotional connection a little earlier than their book counterparts.
A thing to note is that the movie wasn’t aiming for an R rating. In a really good podcast episode with Matthew and Tommy Didario, he even expressed disappointment in MAP for rating the movie R, saying that if it was a straight couple, it most likely wouldn’t have gotten an R rating, and even if we ignore latent homophobia, there’s are films much more violent than RWRB is sexually explicit, yet those films are PG 13.
I agree that if needed, Nick and Taylor can deliver something more intense. They’re clearly comfortable with each other, as seen from the bloopers of Paris morning and the fact that Robbie wasn’t there when they shot the lake scene, yet they were comfortable enough with touching each other and gentle kisses. They’ve also both done more explicit things: Taylor with Minx, Nick with M&G (granted that came later).
But the thing is, the RWRB movie doesn’t exactly… need more, from the storytelling perspective. I might say putting a sexy montage in between Polo and Paris might clarify the timeline a little, but that would still just be little clips of what we’ve already seen in the previous two scenes. And just from what I’ve seen, people who have read the book (myself included) would think it’s toned down, but some YouTube reaction videos from people who haven’t read the book find it really spicy. We book readers just have a comparison.
TLDR: In the movie's story, we didn't really need more sex scenes
Wow, I didn’t intend this to be so long, but I haven’t written a RWRB essay in a hot minute. This was a lot of fun, so thank you for the ask, and I hope I could answer you!
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pinaybelieber · 9 months
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Okay, let's talk about the sex scene. This is going to be a quite lengthy post but bear with me. I've been keeping this in for the past 2 days.
1. In the beginning of the Paris hotel scene, Henry did say that they should make love. Keyword: "make love". There's a difference between fucking and making love.
2. Alex was a bit nervous because it was his first time to do this. In the book, they just do blowjobs during their first few encounters and it's also the same in the movie. Alex hasn't tried any sex with penetration, especially with a man. But Henry was so understanding, he guided Alex physically and emotionally how to exactly make love.
3. The sigh that Henry let out after guiding Alex with his hand to push down deeper... that was so fucking cinematic and perfect! He literally was teaching Alex to learn his body, when to move, and what pleasures him. Also, that little nod he did once Alex was inside him, that's consent!
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4. Matthew Lopez (director) and Robbie Taylor Hunt (intimacy coordinator) did a great job in showing Alex and Henry's vulnerability. They focused more on their emotions instead of using a wide shot from one side. Mind you, this is not porn. This is a romance film! If you want to see two hot men fuck, then I suggest you fire up your incognito browser and load those porn vids. Again, go back to my point on #1 just in case you're forgetting something.
5. The point of the sex scene is to show the building mutual trust and affection between Henry and Alex. I can't emphasize this enough that we don't get a lot of queer media with this kind of intimate scene. Most (not all) of queer sex scenes (that I have seen) are always heated and rushed. I don't mind those actually but if you're gonna let me choose which one I'd prefer, I'd choose this one.
6. Taylor and Nick did a great job in portraying the blooming love between A&H. The early stages of love is always delicate. So it's given that they'd be more gentle towards each other.
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Thanks for coming to my TED talk. Now stream the movie again on Prime Video!
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captain-hen · 9 months
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every single bit of trivia i learn about the rwrb movie is fucking insane. what do you mean matthew lopez and robbie taylor hunt got into the bed together to figure out how the paris sex scene would work. what do you mean nicholas galitzine is descended from royalty. what do you mean it's among prime video's top three romantic comedies of all time. what do you mean it surpassed both barbie and oppenheimer to become the most popular movie on letterboxd.
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