Filmmaker Jane Campion knew how to put Meg Ryan at ease while shooting the erotic nude love scenes for the thriller, In The Cut. "At one point she threatened to take her own clothes off," chuckled Ryan at a press meet at the Toronto International Film Festival 2003, where the psychological thriller premiered.
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"I am not interested in cultivating or breaking images," retorted a testy Meg Ryan to reporters who wanted to know how the sweet and smiling star of You've Got Mail, When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless In Seattle felt about appearing nude in the movie.
Based on Susana Moore's international bestseller and directed by Jane Campion (The Piano, Holy Smoke), In The Cut revolves around a New York professor (Meg Ryan) who has a torrid affair with a police detective (Mark Ruffalo), who is investigating the murder of a beautiful woman in the neighbourhood.
Ryan said what interested her most about her part was that her character was able "to reach out to another soul despite going through heartbreaks and all kinds of grief."
Did it make a difference to her that the sex scenes (and the rest of the film) were directed by a woman? "It was never about gender," she answered sharply. "It was about working with Jane Campion."
The actress says she had explicit faith in Campion. Her faith was vindicated when she saw the final cut of the film.
Ryan adds the explicit scenes were shot with a handful of people in the room. Campion put the actors at ease by explaining in detail why the scenes were important to the film.
"The scenes are very honest. Jane didn't want them to be coy, so I don't think they are at all. And I love how much dialogue is in those scenes. That's what makes them really intimate," said Ryan.
"It was the right movie with the right director and the right character. I have seen her movies before. She is very trustworthy," she added.
Campion, who won an Oscar for writing The Piano, says she told the actors they would have the final say about the number of erotic scenes to be retained.
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In The Cut opens in New York and Los Angeles on October 22 and adds on more cities in subsequent weeks.
Campion reveals she has edited two versions of the film. Even so, the grapevine has it that the film could be the hottest R-rated film ever. It will be even more erotic than Campion's international hit, The Piano.
"I was scared when I read the book," said Campion. She took up the project because the book was at once complex and an intriguing study of the human condition. "It was like a container for meditation," she said, adding it was like a poem that invites you to meditate on it.
Photograph: Getty Images
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