Photo:20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection; Dominik Bindl/GettyAngela Bassettis looking back at her 1998 movieHow Stella Got Her Groove Back.At a special 25th anniversary screening of the movie at the 2023Tribeca Festivalon Saturday, Bassett, 64, reunited with director Kevin Rodney Sullivan for a panel on the film’s production.During a Q&A, Sullivan, 64, said he remembered feeling nervous about making sure he directed the movie’s sex scenes between Bassett and costar Taye Diggs “from a woman’s point of view.““It’s my fantasy, he has to be naked not me,” the actress noted of the movie, as Sullivan said he and Bassett worked collaboratively as he storyboarded the scenes with her input. “Our fantasy.““Yeah, it was very, very comfortable experience,” Bassett continued. “I had a couple other [experiences filming sex scenes], like you say it, from the male point of view, whether it wasWhat’s Loveor whether it wasCity of Hope, where you have these love scenes and men are directing it and it’s their fantasy.““Sometimes as an actor, as a woman, you feel a little uncomfortable. You don’t know how it’s gonna go,” she said of those instances, before repeating that her experience onHow Stella Got Her Groove Back"was just very comfortable.“Dominik Bindl/GettyHow Stella Got Her Groove Backfollows Stella (Bassett) and her friend Delilah (Whoopi Goldberg), who convinces Stella to join her for a vacation to Jamiaca, where she meets a younger man named Winston (Diggs) and falls in love.The movie was filmed before film and television productions began utilizingintimacy coordinatorson set to ensure actors' comfort during sex scenes, which Bassett noted.“Yeah, we didn’t have that, now,” she said after Sullivan noted that modern-day productions commonly hire intimacy coordinators. “‘Can I put my arm here? Can I put my hand there?’ You know, I guess that’s how we go.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett CollectionSullivan, whose work in recent years includes directing episodes of television series likeRiverdale,This Is UsandChilling Adventures of Sabrina,among others, added during the panel that he feels “very comfortable with” working with intimacy coordinators now.“I’m comfortable with it because it makes the actors more comfortable. That’s my priority,” he said. “I’m not trying to impose my will. I’m trying to encourage a great performance. So if an intimacy coordinator helps, I’m all in.“20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett CollectionElsewhere during the panel, Bassett and Sullivan recalled casting Diggs, 52, as the movie’s co-lead Winston Shakespeare, with the actress noting Diggs was one of three actors whom she filmed screen tests with.“The whole experience was new for me because you know, [you are] just used to being the actor,” she explained. “You go and audition for your little thing. But to be on the other side where you get a vote about who that was? That was, you know, quite a responsibility.”
Photo:20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection; Dominik Bindl/Getty
20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection; Dominik Bindl/Getty
Angela Bassettis looking back at her 1998 movieHow Stella Got Her Groove Back.At a special 25th anniversary screening of the movie at the 2023Tribeca Festivalon Saturday, Bassett, 64, reunited with director Kevin Rodney Sullivan for a panel on the film’s production.During a Q&A, Sullivan, 64, said he remembered feeling nervous about making sure he directed the movie’s sex scenes between Bassett and costar Taye Diggs “from a woman’s point of view.““It’s my fantasy, he has to be naked not me,” the actress noted of the movie, as Sullivan said he and Bassett worked collaboratively as he storyboarded the scenes with her input. “Our fantasy.““Yeah, it was very, very comfortable experience,” Bassett continued. “I had a couple other [experiences filming sex scenes], like you say it, from the male point of view, whether it wasWhat’s Loveor whether it wasCity of Hope, where you have these love scenes and men are directing it and it’s their fantasy.““Sometimes as an actor, as a woman, you feel a little uncomfortable. You don’t know how it’s gonna go,” she said of those instances, before repeating that her experience onHow Stella Got Her Groove Back"was just very comfortable.“Dominik Bindl/GettyHow Stella Got Her Groove Backfollows Stella (Bassett) and her friend Delilah (Whoopi Goldberg), who convinces Stella to join her for a vacation to Jamiaca, where she meets a younger man named Winston (Diggs) and falls in love.The movie was filmed before film and television productions began utilizingintimacy coordinatorson set to ensure actors' comfort during sex scenes, which Bassett noted.“Yeah, we didn’t have that, now,” she said after Sullivan noted that modern-day productions commonly hire intimacy coordinators. “‘Can I put my arm here? Can I put my hand there?’ You know, I guess that’s how we go.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett CollectionSullivan, whose work in recent years includes directing episodes of television series likeRiverdale,This Is UsandChilling Adventures of Sabrina,among others, added during the panel that he feels “very comfortable with” working with intimacy coordinators now.“I’m comfortable with it because it makes the actors more comfortable. That’s my priority,” he said. “I’m not trying to impose my will. I’m trying to encourage a great performance. So if an intimacy coordinator helps, I’m all in.“20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett CollectionElsewhere during the panel, Bassett and Sullivan recalled casting Diggs, 52, as the movie’s co-lead Winston Shakespeare, with the actress noting Diggs was one of three actors whom she filmed screen tests with.“The whole experience was new for me because you know, [you are] just used to being the actor,” she explained. “You go and audition for your little thing. But to be on the other side where you get a vote about who that was? That was, you know, quite a responsibility.”
Angela Bassettis looking back at her 1998 movieHow Stella Got Her Groove Back.
At a special 25th anniversary screening of the movie at the 2023Tribeca Festivalon Saturday, Bassett, 64, reunited with director Kevin Rodney Sullivan for a panel on the film’s production.
During a Q&A, Sullivan, 64, said he remembered feeling nervous about making sure he directed the movie’s sex scenes between Bassett and costar Taye Diggs “from a woman’s point of view.”
“It’s my fantasy, he has to be naked not me,” the actress noted of the movie, as Sullivan said he and Bassett worked collaboratively as he storyboarded the scenes with her input. “Our fantasy.”
“Yeah, it was very, very comfortable experience,” Bassett continued. “I had a couple other [experiences filming sex scenes], like you say it, from the male point of view, whether it wasWhat’s Loveor whether it wasCity of Hope, where you have these love scenes and men are directing it and it’s their fantasy.”
“Sometimes as an actor, as a woman, you feel a little uncomfortable. You don’t know how it’s gonna go,” she said of those instances, before repeating that her experience onHow Stella Got Her Groove Back"was just very comfortable.”
Dominik Bindl/Getty
How Stella Got Her Groove Backfollows Stella (Bassett) and her friend Delilah (Whoopi Goldberg), who convinces Stella to join her for a vacation to Jamiaca, where she meets a younger man named Winston (Diggs) and falls in love.
The movie was filmed before film and television productions began utilizingintimacy coordinatorson set to ensure actors' comfort during sex scenes, which Bassett noted.
“Yeah, we didn’t have that, now,” she said after Sullivan noted that modern-day productions commonly hire intimacy coordinators. “‘Can I put my arm here? Can I put my hand there?’ You know, I guess that’s how we go.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
Sullivan, whose work in recent years includes directing episodes of television series likeRiverdale,This Is UsandChilling Adventures of Sabrina,among others, added during the panel that he feels “very comfortable with” working with intimacy coordinators now.
“I’m comfortable with it because it makes the actors more comfortable. That’s my priority,” he said. “I’m not trying to impose my will. I’m trying to encourage a great performance. So if an intimacy coordinator helps, I’m all in.”
Elsewhere during the panel, Bassett and Sullivan recalled casting Diggs, 52, as the movie’s co-lead Winston Shakespeare, with the actress noting Diggs was one of three actors whom she filmed screen tests with.
“The whole experience was new for me because you know, [you are] just used to being the actor,” she explained. “You go and audition for your little thing. But to be on the other side where you get a vote about who that was? That was, you know, quite a responsibility.”
source: people.com
