"Last Tango in Paris" has recently surfaced to media platforms due to an outrageous admittance by its director Bernardo Bertolucci. During the interview, Bertolucci admitted to having planned a sexual scene between the leads, Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider, without the actress' consent.
The 1972 French-Italian erotic drama has sparked indignant reactions from Hollywood such as Anna Kendrick and Chris Evans due to the director's recently surfaced interview, which reveals actor Brando and director Bertolucci planned a forced intimate act during a scene that involves using butter as a lubricant. Then 19-year-old actress Schneider was left in the dark regarding the change in detail to capture "her reaction as a girl and not as an actress," according to Bertolucci.
Wow. I will never look at this film, Bertolucci or Brando the same way again. This is beyond disgusting. I feel rage https://t.co/uvaLogvv7I
— Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) December 3, 2016
@colliderfrosty @ChrisEvans Ms Schneider stated this several years ago. I used to get eye-rolls when I brought it up to people (aka dudes).
— Anna Kendrick (@AnnaKendrick47) December 3, 2016
Reports from News.com.au stated that during a 2013 event at La Cinémathèque Française in Paris, "The Dreamers" director admitted that he wanted to induce a realistic reaction of rage and humiliation from the 19-year-old Schneider, that is why he decided not to tell her about the crucial detail of the scene. Admittedly, the director knew that Maria Schneider despised her and even Brando for the scene, but he maintained that it was for the sake of authenticity.
According to ABC News, then newcomer Maria Schneider felt sexually assaulted but did not call her agent nor sought legal advice because she did not know it was unacceptable. The French actress who had a very turbulent life in the 70's unraveled to drug addiction and even attempted suicide after "The Last Tango in Paris". She attributed it to the instant fame after the film, but she didn't specify this incident in her earlier interviews.
Even with his reputation of making movies that have controversial and heavy sexual component, Bertolucci's admission on this matter has incurred several angry reactions from celebrities who took it to Twitter to rant. The director was slammed and condemned for the unacceptable nature of the story behind the sexual scene and has been called "disgusting" at one point. Many rallies behind Schneider to show their support, and since both actors involved have passed on with Brando dying at the age of 80 and Schneider who succumbed to cancer at 58, Bertolucci gets the entire backfire. Though admitting to feeling horrible about the scene and what it took to shoot it, the Oscar-nominated director maintains stand by the decision he made.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
