“King Cobra” Director: Actors Took Gay Sex Further Than In Script

"We wanted to make it as unapologetic as possible."
From: NewNowNext

We’ve been closely following James Franco’s new film King Cobra, which tells the story of the murder of gay porn producer Bryan Kocis, and a new interview with the director now has us even more excited.

Justin Kelly spoke with The Wrap about his new movie, and touched on how dedicated the actors were to their craft — specifically, the sex scenes.

“A few times, the actors took things further than the script,” Kelly said, before referencing a scene between Christian Slater and Garrett Clayton.

The script’s version of the two men getting to know each other “was far more mild, just kissing on the couch,” Kelly said. “But they decided it had to go further. Christian takes him up against the closet. That is [sic] would have happened.”

Kelly also discussed that many of the most explicit sex scenes come from the actual relationships between the characters, not just the adult films they make within the movie.

“We wanted to make it as unapologetic as possible,” Kelly shared. “I didn’t have a desire to shock — it’s a part of the story. Myself and the actors discussed from day one that you can’t shy away.”

Kelly also touched on Hollywood’s homophobia issue, including a double standard in the industry when it comes to male nudity in a gay film.

“It’s a complete fact that graphic gay male sex will get you an NC-17 rating,” Kelly said. “Straight men can [appear] completely naked and be choking a woman, and that’s PG-13. There are crazy rape scenes that get by, it’s mind-blowing.”

King Cobra premieres this weekend at the Tribeca Film Festival.