Booksmart proves awkward queer intimacy doesn't need to be polished to be powerful. Two intimacy coordinators and author Brooke M. Haney break it down.

Full description:

This one's about awkward first times. Skinny jeans. Bad geometry. Zero game.

Ariel and Morgan sit down with intimacy coordinator and author Brooke M. Haney to break down the chaotic, vulnerable, and surprisingly tender hookup scenes from Booksmart — a film that proves intimacy on screen doesn't have to be polished to be powerful.

In this episode:

• Why awkward intimacy can still be choreographed and is not an excuse to skip process
• The storytelling power of wardrobe choices, body language, and the messy logistics of skinny jeans and Converses
• Why representation of imperfect queer intimacy matters when so many people learn about sex from movies
• The real production challenges of filming intimacy on beaches, in pools, and under rapidly disappearing sunlight

A storyteller's lens on queer intimacy

We get into shop talk: kit items, choreography language, and what it actually takes to make awkward intimacy read as tender rather than cringe.

Guest: Brooke M. Haney

• Buy her book: A History of Intimacy Professionals in Entertainment
• Buy her book: The Intimacy Coordinator's Guidebook
• Listen to us guest on the podcast Happier in Hollywood

Watch along timestamps:

• Pool sequence: 1:04:00
• Bathroom hookup scene: 1:14:42 – 1:18:00

Subscribe for bi-weekly behind the scenes breakdowns of film and TV's most iconic sex scenes.

Credits

Booksmart (2019) | Director: Olivia Wilde | Annapurna Pictures / Gloria Sanchez Productions

Hashtags

#Booksmart #IntimacyCoordinator #BrookeMHaney #QueerIntimacy #FilmBreakdown

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