Sarah Michelle Gellar ’felt degraded’ After Sex Scenes

POSTED BY: Angeldove
UPDATED: Tuesday, May 24, 2005 13:25
VIEWED: 45612
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MAUGWAI

Sunday, May 9, 2004 1:28 PM

That's so disappointing that she feels that way. I always respected her so much as an actress, I wouldn't have thought she'd complain so much about the job that made her career and allowed to her to practice her craft so well.

In the commentary for season 2, Joss talks about the first sex scene between Buffy and Angel, and he says he was worried about how comfortable they'd feel with the scene, but "They are both such professionals" that they did the job with dedication and no complaints.

He has spoken of her with nothing but respect and admiration. (ok, maybe not that line in the Serenity commentary about the seven-year-TV star)

"Dear diary, today I was pompous and my sister was crazy."

DELIA

Sunday, May 9, 2004 7:23 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by maugwai:

He has spoken of her with nothing but respect and admiration. (ok, maybe not that line in the Serenity commentary about the seven-year-TV star)

I guess I didn't take that real seriously, since that's the same commentary in which Morena and Gina are described as homely and Summer is descibed as having an offputting smell. Although I did wonder if David Boreanaz really is afraid of chickens.

ANGELDOVE

Tuesday, May 11, 2004 4:20 AM

Yes DB is very afraid of chickens, and strangely enough it is a real phobia, Alektorophobia. I think he said that he sees them as very dirty animals.

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the road less traveled by and they CANCELLED MY FRIKKIN' SHOW. I totally shoulda took the road that had all those people on it. Damn." --Joss

SASJA

Tuesday, May 11, 2004 11:09 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Succatash:
Quote:
"It became very S&M and I felt degraded as an actress,"

Scooby Doo seems more degrading, if you ask me.

Couldn't have said it better.

LIZ

Tuesday, May 11, 2004 2:39 PM

I am withholding my final judgement until i read the entire article, BUT i think i understand how she could feel this way. I was once asked to appear onstage wearing only underwear, and quite frankly i didn't think i could say no, even though when i took the role it specifically said the character would be wearing a bathrobe. Looking back on that, i'm more upset about it than i was when i was originally asked to do it because i was put on the spot when i was asked. If Joss and the crew have always been so careful about how she feels and making sure she was comfortable then she might have felt even more pressure to do the scene as it was. Also, just because she was the agressor and was usually clothed doesn't mean she couldn't feel degraded. She also had a scene where she was nearly raped... and that happened after she had been doing the role for years so we can only imagine how connected she felt to the character. (Any gamers out there who want to imagine how they'd feel if their character was assaulted?)

As far as the "she should have known" bit, here's my take -- yes she should have known about the fights, but she had no way of knowing about the sex scenes. When the show started Buffy was supposed to be 16! Who could have expected Buffy to run so long ang grow so much? The scenes made sense in context and were necessary to further the plot, however no one can say that they saw that coming after watching season 1.

...But that's just my take.

HELLSANGEL

Friday, June 18, 2004 9:31 PM

THIS IS COMING FROM THE GIRL WHO WILLINGLY DID CRUEL INTENTIONS??????????????

ZORIAH

Monday, June 21, 2004 12:15 AM

From the dailies of Smashed and Wrecked, Sarah and James seem to be having a fun old time with the sex scenes. They're joking and smiling between takes and at one point Sarah gets so distracted at the kissing that she forgets her lines and they giggle about it.

I guess her perspective changed in hindsight? Or because she wants a different image now? Who knows.

JAPPAR2001

Monday, June 21, 2004 12:36 AM

Well i just think shes a BITCH anyway. And i'd like her to explain why she thinks she isn't. Fans of buffy (those that don't suspect shes a bitch)would love to meet her at conventions. Now i'm sure shes busy wih her projects and all. But put yourself in her position. If you were aware that your co-stars were travelling the world to conventions to visit fans young and old, wouldn't you especially want to go. I realise she wants to work in movies, but shes not exactly desperate for the money. I think people need to sort out their priorities. If she was poor i could understand. I just can't imagine being her and making the decisions she does. It would be a first for an actress as established as her to make a convention appearence sure, but who made that rule? If i had the power she had i would be holding parties for my fans and say hi to them every time i was on tv. She could at least suprise us. She only ahs one shot at life liek evryone else. She would be nothing without us and thats a fact Also, it's ridiculous she doesn't do dvd extras and sorts things like that and attend wrap parties. And tell her co stars when she plans on putting them out of their jobs. Thats such a tacky thing to get paid from a magazine to give that info. Very typical hollywood bitch. I'm sure she can be nice to be around once in a while. I wish i was wrong, but in all essence she just does come across as an actor i would strive not to be if i was her. Also David boreanaz needs a good lecture on not to charge UK fans £300 for a convention ticket. Is it that painful for him to meet us. If so then he should just stay at home. If anything he should be holding the party for us and paying expenses. If you were SMG you'd do that wouldn't you. Even if you couldn't attend you'd record a vid. You wouldn't charge for a ticket. I wouldn't anyway. I don't know how these people sleep at night. sorry about the rant

PELICANJAKE

Monday, June 21, 2004 3:06 AM

before I post my (long and convoluted) comments I want to say that I just registered to this site to reply to this topic, I come here a lot and have always enjoyed reading what everyone has to say, the one time I don't...
I have to say I'm pretty shocked at how mean so many "fans" are to Sarah Michelle Gellar, and I thought you all would be different. I have very strong opinions about actors and filmakers that I think a lot of people would disagree with, for one I don't think actors have the *right* to say whether or not they think a movie they did was bad, they only have power over their performance and even then they might be asked to do something they disagree with, the movie belongs to the director (and possibly the writer although I think Joss fans see that's not always true) and in tv the episode belongs to the writer so it doesn't matter to me that SMG thinks that she was a part of one of the greatest shows of all time and that she's said that many times, recently even, but it does matter to me what she thinks of her performance and what she was asked to do, so she did some sex scenes and she felt degraded doing them, this makes her a horrible person? James Marsters talked about how much he hated doing the attempted rape scene he even says he avoided talking to SMG even though he felt she wanted to talk, I don't think this makes him a horrible person though I am surprised when the fans feel bad for him but they don't feel bad for her the one that he was (acting, obviously) attempting to rape.
And of course you can joke, she was in Scooby Doo, that's degrading. So it's not a good movie, she's said that it doesn't exactly force her to stretch her acting chops, this was just a chance for her to have some fun. Light hearted fun at work, how degrading.
To jappar2001 you say you would like SMG to explain to you why she thinks she's not a bitch, well I'd like you to explain to me why you think you're not a moron, I'm sorry, that was rude and hateful and I apologize I'm sure your a nice person and not a moron at all, odd how I can think you might be a nice person after you posted such a hateful rant and you can think SMG's a bitch because she ummm, I guess because she felt degraded, I actually don't see how that makes sense. And I don't want to continue replying to your post but she actually is doing a convention, for The Grudge, I guess that makes her a bitch because she's not doing it for Buffy or maybe that just makes her a professional who does what she's contractually obligated to do? Bitch.
So obviously I've come here and posted for the first time because I enjoy being an arrogant asshole, not really the case, I understand people are entitled to their own opinion and blah blah blah I'm just really surprised that SMG can be hated so much even though she did what she was asked and did it well for so many years, the only time I know of that she complained about a scene (because of her performance it seems) was the ending of "Beneath You" which as written pales in comparison to the brilliant one that Joss Whedon eventually wrote and directed. She became very famous very quick because of this show and when negotiating her contract she never asked for a producers credit, which could have gotten her more money and more say-so. She's never badmouthed any of the writers or the actors and still to this day she says what a great show it was but she's a bitch because she didn't like doing what she was ultimately asked and paid to do a few times in one season, the character was supposed to feel degraded, the audience was even supposed to feel degraded but when the actor feels... ahh, forget it, I'm just going in circles, I'm sorry this post was such a pain for any of you that chose to read it all. And here's something for those of you that did read it all I just realised my post can be summed up in four words: cut her some slack.

SASJA

Monday, June 21, 2004 10:46 AM

Hey PelicanJake, and welcome out of lurk

I'm not a SMG fan, though I do appreciate all her hard work on Buffy. I'm more of a writers/directors fan, as - just like you say - they're really the ones creating the film (or tv). Of course, they can't do it without the actors - acting talent is obviously important. So I'm grateful for the talent SMG has and that she has committed it to Buffy for all those years.

As a non-SMG fan, I don't really care much whether she's on the extras on the dvds. But as a Joss fan, I know how much I look forward to the commentaries and interviews, and I understand that a SMG fan may feel cheated over and over, because she never decides to do those things. I don't know why she doesn't, but I can understand a certain frustration over it in her fan base. Contrast this for instance with Joss, who openly says thank you to the fans for making the Serenity movie a reality, and with our BDH who not only frequently visit the OB but even post here on our own little board. So, cut the frustrated fan some slack, too

On the degrading issue. Well, what struck me as weird in the SMG quote is that she "felt degraded as an actress". That it's a mean experience to be a rape victim, even a fake one, seems obvious to me. But actors in interesting roles usually have to portray less than happy circumstances - think about war movies, kz movies, etc. It's not degrading to them as actors - on the contrary! It's the chance for their acting skills to really shine! That you need a tough psyche and emotional support to do it is beyond doubt. But degrading to her as an actress would be a role that doesn't give her any use for her acting skills - more the Scoobydoo role than Buffy.

I hope that explains some of the issues. I would never consider attacking people I don't even know on a personal level, and I think the alienated SMG fans should be more level-headed about it, though I do understand their frustration. SMG's a person and entitled to make her own choices. What you see is just her media face which she may not nurture in the best way, but don't confuse that with what she's like as a person.

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