©Photo by Beth Dubber/Netflix

 

Olivia Wilde will star in I Want Your Sex, an upcoming feature that Gregg Araki is directing for Black Bear Productions. Araki and Karley Sciortino collaborated on the script for the film, which will begin shooting in Los Angeles this summer.

Wilde will play the role of Erika Tracy, an artist who becomes a sexual muse to Elliot, a young man in her employ. Together, they explore what Black Bear describes as “desire, domination, and fantasy.”

Olivia Wilde starred in and directed Don’t Worry Darling, which grossed almost $100 million globally after its 2022 debut at the Venice Film Festival. Her other credits include roles in Her by Spike Jonze, Babylon by Damien Chazelle, Rush by Ron Howard, and Cowboys & Aliens by Jon Favreau. The 40-year-old actress has also appeared in the medical drama House, which won an Emmy award. Her upcoming directorial projects include Avengelyne, based on a comic book; and Naughty, a Christmas-themed comedy for Universal Pictures.

Gregg Araki, a 64-year-old Japanese American filmmaker, is considered a leading figure in the New Queer Cinema movement. His 2010 film Kaboom won the very first Queer Palm at the Cannes Film Festival. Araki emerged as a prominent figure in the Los Angeles indie underground in the 1980s with such low-budget titles as Three Bewildered People in the Night, The Long Weekend (O’Despair) and The Living End. His breakout film, Mysterious Skin, debuted in 2004.

Other of Araki’s films include the Teenage Apocalypse Trilogy, Splendor, Smiley Face, and White Bird in a Blizzard. He has also directed several television projects, including Now Apocalypse and an episode for American Gigolo.

I Want Your Sex is being produced by Seth Caplan together with Black Bear’s Teddy Schwarzman and Michael Heimler. Arlie Day and Mike Page are serving as casting directors for the film, which will be shopped around at next week’s Cannes market.

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