Kate chats with New Queer Cinema legend Gregg Araki about his new film, I WANT YOUR SEX, which arrives in theaters today!
It’s so great to have you directing sex comedies again. The world is in such desperate need of your wit and insight.
The world needs sex comedies, goddammit. [laughs]
Obviously, as you’re hitting upon, we’re in a desperately undersexed moment in cinema, which I WANT YOUR SEX very much engages with across the generational divide, especially when it comes to, most crucially, authentic vulnerability and real intimacy. As you’ve been sharing this film with audiences since Sundance across the age, cultural and sexual spectrums, what has surprised you most about conversations regarding the film?
We just had a screening in San Francisco at The Castro Theater, and it made me realize how happy I am that the movie’s being released theatrically on 700 screens this Friday. The audience in San Francisco was crazy! They were so loud — laughing and screaming and yelling like it was a rock concert. This movie, of all my movies, is the most kind of pop fun movie that I’ve ever made, and that’s very intentional. I wanted to put something into the world that was positive and kind of full of queer joy because I feel like the times we’re living in right now are so dark and nightmarish — the world is just such a shit-show.
I know as a moviegoer, I personally am not really seeing stuff that’s too dark or too dystopian because I kind of just can’t deal with it right now — I want to go to the movies and be sort of healed a little bit. And that’s why watching I WANT YOUR SEX with a fun audience is really kind of therapeutic, it was so cool to be in a room with that kind of energy.
You’ve never been afraid of exploring taboo subjects in your work, but as you said, we’re in a very strange time both culturally and socially. I’m wondering what still shocks you about the state of sex and romance at the movies in 2026?
You know, there was that article that is talked about in the movie that discusses how Gen Z doesn’t have sex anymore, then there was another article about how Gen Z doesn’t even wanna see sex in movies anymore. But then there was a little bit of a swing the other way with PILLION and BABYGIRL and this idea that “Oh, sex is back.“ And then with HEATED RIVALRY, it was like “Sex is REALLY back,” you know? So it is kind of an interesting time in that way.
The film is coming out kind of at the exact right moment because it’s super topical. It was just literally in the New York Times op-ed section last week — this whole piece about the Gen Z sex recession and what is it, where is it coming from, what it’s all about. The movie is not meant to be a lecture — it’s not me telling people what to do. I just want to open up the conversation — I want people to think about it and get into arguments about it. “Why should I be having sex? Why shouldn’t I be having sex?”— those are the kinds of conversations I hope people have after the movie. Go out to a bar with your friends and really get into it!
You collaborated with the great Karley Sciortino on the script for I WANT YOUR SEX. I’ve been a fan of hers since SLUTEVER on VICE, and you guys have been working together since NOW APOCALYPSE. What was it like developing I WANT YOUR SEX with Karley, especially because as I understand it, the project began its life as a spec script (featuring a female protagonist) from Karley over a decade ago?
It was Karley’s spec that she had written, around the time that I was working on WHITE BIRD IN A BLIZZARD. At that time, it was pitched to me as a sort of comic FIFTY SHADES OF GREY — that was how I sort of first met Karley, on the basis of that script. And then through the years, it changed a lot. It was originally a female intern and a male boss and this was around the time of Me Too. There was a version of it that was supposed to happen around 2015, 2016 that would have featured a female intern and a male boss, and that kind of fell apart, as indie movies do.
And then around 2016, 2017, I started to kind of feel uncomfortable with the image of a woman getting dragged around by the hair. I don’t really wanna kink-shame anybody if that’s what you’re into, but that was not an image as a man that I wanted to put out into the world, especially as misogynistic and patriarchal attitudes have gotten worse and worse and worse in the past ten years. So I decided to switch the sex roles, and have a male sub and a female dom.
With the script itself, it’s been a long, long, long process and a lot of stuff changed — the whole mansion thing, the body in the pool, the SUNSET BOULEVARD thing. It was all this very organic evolution, in which a lot of themes and ideas developed and crystallized. And this was while I was making NOW APOCALYPSE — I usually work on my films over time so this was kind of on the back-burner for a while, and then it came back out after NOW APOCALYPSE.
The way the movie is now? It’s the right time for it. I think if I had done it back in 2015 or 2016, it would’ve been a very different movie. And for me personally as a filmmaker, maybe a less interesting movie. I feel like every film has its moment, and this version of the film is the correct one.
Your films possess such a mastery of tone — they go to some very dark places, but I WANT YOUR SEX in particular has such a lightness and sense of fun. But the film also pushes the audiences’ boundaries, even within some of those lighter moments. Where do you find those boundaries for yourself? Do they even exist? Have you ever thought “Maybe I stepped over the line, I need to pull back a bit?”
I don’t really recall ever feeling “Oh, I’ve crossed a line I don’t wanna cross,” it’s always just a juggling of tone. For this movie, there was a very specific feeling and tone I wanted to convey, which was this pop, fun, positive energy, even despite the dark edges to the story or certain moments in the film. With the way the political climate is right now and the culture the way it is, I knew that I wanted to put something out there that was encouraging and sex-positive and FUN. I really feel like need people need to have fun right now. I know I need to have fun. [laughs] That was very much my intent when making this movie.
You’re such a master of the ensemble as well — your films always have such fantastic casts, and that’s certainly true of I WANT YOUR SEX. But I have to ask about the casting of Cooper Hoffman and Olivia Wilde, who are absolutely fantastic as Elliot and Erika. How did you know that Cooper and Olivia were right for such challenging roles?
Olivia was sent the script first — my manager had slipped it to her agent without telling me, behind my back. [laughs] And then she was like “Olivia Wilde read it and wants to meet.” And I was like, “Olivia Wilde? That’s such an amazing idea!” We hadn’t even gotten to the point where you make a [casting] list of actors, when you start trying to figure out who you want in the movie. But the idea of casting Olivia was so inspiring — I’ve been a fan of hers for forever, since she was the bisexual star on THE O.C. She’s always been super interesting to me, she’s such a movie star — and this part requires that kind of real, movie-star presence. So I met with Olivia and she was super cool, super smart and got exactly what I was doing and why I was so passionate about the project. So I said to her, “Whoever plays this part is going to need to be completely fearless and just not give a fuck what anybody says.” And she says “That’s totally what I want to do right now.” She became attached and we got financed literally 48 hours later.
And then from there, we were finding the Elliot to go with her Erika and we went through a million people. When Cooper was brought up to me, I kind of said “Cooper Hoffman? The kid from LICORICE PIZZA? He’s WAY too young and too nerdy for this…” But then Cooper put himself on tape and he was very, very good — and he flew himself out here for a chemistry read with Olivia. Cooper, for somebody so young, has a lot of gravitas and a lot of presence, especially in-person. And I needed somebody that could sort of be Olivia’s sparring partner — because she has so much presence, I wanted to make sure that they could be equals.
When I saw them in the room together it was instant — they had this incredible chemistry and this great dynamic, and I just knew that was the movie. It was pretty old-fashioned: audition, callback, then do the chemistry read and nail it, as Cooper did. They’re both super juicy parts for the right actor, and they both kinda just sunk their teeth in and really went for it — that’s what the parts required.
I WANT YOUR SEX is set in Los Angeles, and you’ve made all of your films here. But obviously it’s been a very tough couple of years for LA —
THE INVITE was also shot in Los Angeles — me and Olivia, keeping LA alive!
As a filmmaker and as an Angeleno, what still excites you about making movies in Los Angeles after three decades doing so?
I mean, I love LA. It’s my city. I think the crews are better here. It’s my home base — I’ve gone out of town to make other people’s TV shows, but when I’m making a movie, this is my home base. It keeps me grounded. The thing about LA is that it’s everywhere, you know? There’s so many different looks and different places — you can find almost anything you want. We shot MYSTERIOUS SKIN here and it was set in Kansas and New York. You can do anything you want here — it’s my city and the place I like to work. I’m an LA boy!
I WANT YOUR SEX arrives in theaters today. Cheers to Gregg and the entire cast and crew!
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
If you’re not already a member of the Black List website, here you go:
Writers: Create a free Writer Profile and whenever you’re ready (and only then) upload your project, order professional feedback, and explore the various opportunities we have from time to time.
Industry Professionals Register for an Industry Membership to discover new material before everyone else.
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.