Let's talk about sex with John Cameron Mitchell. Famous for his directorial debut "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," Mitchell is an outspoken advocate of portraying honest sexuality in film. Although his works frequently test the viewer's comfort zone, he is trying to save us from ourselves. Mitchell professes that American film is taking a prudish turn for the worst and he will do all in his power to stop it.
"This fear of sex is so irrational. People give sex so much power, more than it probably deserves," Mitchell said.
John's latest film "Shortbus," now playing in theaters, is his graphic response and potential remedy to this fear.
"I've seen a lot of films in this overtly sexual form, but they were all rather bleak. I wanted to think about how I could create a film that specifically addressed the language of sex," Mitchell said.
The film chronicles an ensemble of sexual outcasts in New York who find solace in a Brooklyn salon called "Shortbus."
"The idea of [a] salon is beautiful to me. It touches more parts of your life than a singular one. It just seems so much more organic than gathering at a bar or a church or an AA meeting," Mitchell said.
One of the most unique aspects of "Shortbus" is its production. Three years ago Mitchell issued an open casting call in independent newspapers in major U.S. cities, asking applicants to explain an emotional sexual encounter.
"By doing this, I already took the film out of the realm of porn and those looking for a sexual thrill were quickly weeded out. The audition tapes put all the cast at ease; it was kind of like group therapy," Mitchell said.
After adapting his off-Broadway rock opera "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" to the screen, Mitchell was ready to try his hand at writing an original screenplay - this time, completely from scratch. But instead of simply writing the screenplay, Mitchell hosted meetings with the cast to discuss what they wanted the film to be.
"In the actors' workshops, the actors chose who their characters were and what their goals were. I just started to guide them and tell them what I thought worked and what I thought didn't. It seemed, though, all the characters were all answering the question, 'Do I want to be alone?'" Mitchell said. "If you're not going to be alone, what are the compromises? Why does it seem easier to be alone, yet just as impossible? We argued that maybe it was impossible and perhaps that's what would save us. Essentially, all the characters are trying to connect with somebody else to save themselves."
Mitchell explained that he isn't surprised by America's tolerance of violence and fear of sex in film.
"It's what our nation is based on. We were founded by puritans and missionaries who rampaged the landscape with swords and guns to grab land. Violence is as American as it has ever been," Mitchell said.
"I am very moved by the traditional American idea of us being a land of outcasts. I just see the extreme right wing equating the face of a terrorist with that of an illegal immigrant and the sexual outlaws. They're viewed as dangers because they're purely outcasts - they're 'the other,'" he said. "These people are essentially the cast of 'Shortbus.'"
When asked if he thought that the sexual content in "Shortbus" was ever excessive, Mitchell said, "I really had to throw it out there right in the viewer's face, so that by the end, sex would've become an interwoven theme as it should be. It's like the S&M sex scene when the sperm hit the painting. It became a part of the big picture. That's how I wanted to present sex. It's a little scary, sure, but it's just one brush stroke."
"Shortbus" opens Friday at the E Street Cinema.
