Don’t watch the show “The Girlfriend Experience”
expecting a Sasha Grey cameo or other crossover moments with the 2009 film
directed by Steven Soderbergh. The upcoming Starz series will be very much its
own thing according to the creative team, who spoke to press at the TCAs this
morning about the tale of a young law student who enters the surprisingly sexy
world of “transactional relationships.”
According to co-showrunner Lodge Kerrigan, it is a
completely original show “inspired by the film.” Or, in Soderbergh’s words:
“The mandate was, ‘Take the title and start over.’“ Here’s what else we learned
about the upcoming series, which will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival as
a Special Events selection in January.
What Auteur-Led TV Looks
Like
Co-showrunner Amy Seimetz and Kerrigan came to “GFE,”
following established work in the independent film world, because Soderbergh
(who serves as executive producer on the series) wanted to take “a sort of
independent, auteur, director-driven approach to this show.” (When Seimetz
joked that no one had seen her films, Soderbergh quickly jumped in to correct
her on that score — “I did!”)
Kerrigan laid out their visual approach to the show
as one of naturalism, though different from Soderbergh’s approach with the
original film because “we’re different people — when I’m on set I tend to trust
my own instincts.”
Those instincts included shooting everything on
location with a lot of natural lighting: “We followed the sun.” It all created
“a sense of naturalism and realism. The photography really helped that.”
“The important part of it was that the filmmaking
reflected the content,” he added.
It’s an approach that will likely play well at
Sundance later this month, where “GFE” will be making its world premiere. “It
certainly seems, given the pedigree of [Kerrigan and Seimetz], why [Sundance]
is a good spot for this show to be screened,” Soderbergh said. “The people who
are going to appreciate the filmmaking approach are all going to be there.”
On Finding Christine
The first question asked of Soderbergh was how Riley Keough
came to be cast as the central character, Christine, which he revealed came
about after working with her — just a little bit. “I worked with her on ‘Magic
Mike’ for a few days, and I had this sense that I was kind of scratching the
surface of her capabilities,” he said. “She went onto a list in my mind of
people to return to.”
However, he left the actual casting decision to
Kerrigan and Seimetz, just suggesting that they sit down with her because
“she’s got a lot in the tank.”
Keough used words like “controlling,” “manipulative”
and “selfish” to describe the role, things that “are not really seen in a lead
character on a TV show. She’s not extremely likable or morally correct... more
of a character you’d see as a man, which is what drew me to this.”
“What this show portrays is a woman who likes sex
without guilt and without shame. I don’t think that’s anything to be ashamed
of.” - Lodge Kerrigan
“What this show portrays is a woman who likes sex
without guilt and without shame,” Kerrigan said. “I don’t think that’s anything
to be ashamed of.”
“The one thing I was having a hard time understanding
was having sex with no emotional connection,” Keough mentioned; a problem that
she had less difficulty with the more sex scenes that they filmed.
“I don’t think this is a job that every woman can
do,” Seimetz said. “You have to have a certain personality to meet strangers in
hotel rooms.”
That being said, don’t expect “GFE” to make a case
for or against the concept of having sex for money. “This show isn’t interested
in the question of should this activity be permissible,” Soderbergh said. “None
of us had any interest in editorializing whether or not this is appropriate
behavior. We’re just saying this is what’s happening.”
“This is Really Fun.”
Kerrigan, in discussing the emergence of auteur-led
television, mentioned “The Girlfriend Experience” in the same breath as the
Soderbergh-directed “The Knick” and “True Detective” (presumably Season 1),
with the connecting factor being a “united vision” for each series.
Soderbergh, meanwhile, was a little less formal about
his enthusiasm for television. “I like the long form... In the case of this,
Riley playing a character over the course of six-and-a-half hours, it’s fun to
play on a canvas with that kind of shape. We’re able to let things breathe and
develop. There’s no urgency to jam the narrative into a two-hour slot.”
The medium, he added, is “one of real excitement and
enthusiasm and fearlessness. Right now, if you’re just interested in telling
stories it’s a really good space to be working in. I’m just following the fun.
Because this is really fun.”
“The Girlfriend Experience” premieres Sunday, April
10 on Starz, with all 13 half-hour episodes available for viewing via VOD or
Starz Play.
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