Opening in theaters on July 31st is the new comedy ‘I want Your Sex’, which was co-written and directed by Gregg Araki (‘White Bird in a Blizzard’).

The film stars Olivia Wilde (‘The Invite’), Cooper Hoffman (‘The Long Walk’), Mason Gooding (‘Scream 7’), Chase Sui Wonders (‘The Studio’), Daveed Diggs (‘The Little Mermaid’), Charli xcx (‘The Moment’), Margaret Cho (‘Face/Off’), and Johnny Knoxville (‘Jackass: Best and Last’).

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Cooper Hoffman, Chase Sui Wonders, Mason Gooding, and director Gregg Araki about their work on ‘I Want Your Sex’, developing the screenplay, the actor’s approach to their characters, navigating relationships, and collaborating together on set.

Related Article: Cooper Hoffman will be Olivia Wilde’s Sexual Muse in New Movie ‘I Want Your Sex’

Moviefone: To begin with, Greg, can you talk about developing the screenplay, the themes you wanted to explore, and striking the right tone for the film?

Gregg Araki: It has been a long road for this movie. I first read the spec script of this movie back in 2012 or 2013, and it was a very different story. It was a female intern and a male boss. It didn’t have any of the film noir, like ‘Sunset Boulevard’, the body in the pool, the mansion, that whole framework was not there. The sex roles got flopped right around Me Too, where I really wasn’t comfortable with a woman getting dragged around by the hair. So, it became a male submissive and a female dominant, and that led to Erika Tracy (Olivia Wilde) being born. They talk in the film about the article about Gen Z not having sex anymore and Erica’s reaction to that is very much my reaction to it, which was that this generation’s all about FOMO, but you’re not concerned about missing out on the sexual prime of your life. So, it had always been a very sex positive movie and about how sex is such an important part of life, but specifically related to that debate about that the film brings up between the two generations and how sex for an older generation, like my generation, is very different than it is for Gen Z. That did not come into the script until almost the last draft or the last couple of drafts. So, it was a very gradual evolution, but I feel like the movie, had it been made 10 years ago or something, would’ve been a very different movie and I don’t think as interesting. I think that it’s really the moment for this movie is 2026 and I’m just glad it all worked out that way.

MF: Cooper, can you talk about your first reaction to the screenplay and did you understand and maybe relate to Elliot right away?

Cooper Hoffman: I definitely felt close to Elliot in the sense of heartbreak, and getting wrapped up in something. The thing that I related most to Elliot I think was this feeling of wanting someone to take care of my life. I think I was at a point in time where I was not wanting to be an adult even though I was transferring into being a young adult and I was feeling an immense amount of pressure also just in my career to even keep working. It felt like there was all these anxieties that I was having growing up. Even to the point of literally going to buy groceries felt like too much. It was just like, I don’t know how to be an adult in this world and I want someone to take care of me and take care of my life. So, I remember reading it and this kind of dominant aspect of it really just feels like he’s letting go of control and letting someone take care of him, even if it’s in a dominating way. That to me felt so real for my life and where I was at that time. Then also on top of it, heartbreak and all of that, I feel like it’s everyone’s bread and butter. I just love it. It’s what makes you and breaks you and all the other things.

MF: Chase, can you talk about Apple and Elliot’s friendship, how that is tested in the movie, and what it was like developing that on screen with Cooper?

Chase Sui Wonders: I feel like that is such a heartbreaking dynamic. I feel like Apple and Elliot are old friends and they know everything about each other, but then the moment that they’re thrown into that dynamic, it’s like I could be friends with you for my whole life but once I see you in this dynamic, all bets are off. It’s a whole different side of the coin and it’s the most vulnerable, the most exposed and the most naked, literally, and figuratively that you feel around someone. It’s the ultimate test of a friendship and I think she’s going into it feeling really confused about her own sexuality and then how she feels about Elliot. Is she in love with him? Is she gay? Is she all these things? There are so many questions that we all talked about, but I think it followed the way of Cooper and I’s relationship. That was our first scene. So all bets are off in the sense that we couldn’t beat around the bush. It’s like we’re going straight in there, trust has to be built immediately and then actually we became friends in reverse order because we had already been in the most vulnerable circumstance and then it was really easy to become buds after that. I think that’s one of the most relatable pieces of the entire movie and why it feels like we’re calling it a dom-com, instead of a rom-com. It is an epic love story because Cooper’s character, Elliot, feels like my life is destroyed. It’s that feeling of being heartbroken and you feel like you’re the only person in the world who has ever experienced this amount of agony. But why it’s such a perfect movie is everyone can relate to that feeling of getting totally wrapped up in something, losing yourself, and then feeling like your sense of identity is totally stripped away.

MF: Finally, Mason, what was it like collaborating with Greg Araki and was there any direction that he gave you that was really helpful on set?

Mason Gooding: Yeah, “Louder, faster.” No. I feel like that speaks to Greg knowing what he wants and a lot of decisions that would be made on set in terms of character are decided in casting. I don’t know if Greg was so controlling as to the intonation and delivery of a lot of Zap’s lines as much as it felt more like he was creating an environment for me to actualize Zap’s identity in a way that I found incredibly freeing. I think the most stringent direction I got was how high to hold my waist when I was doing the planks on the side. It felt truly like I got to just embrace and pay attention to Cooper’s performance because most of my scenes were with Cooper. In a way that let me appreciate a lot of what I’m assuming was Greg’s influence over Elliot and the performance there that served as runoff into our dynamic. Cooper is nothing if not a conduit of brilliance in a lot of ways where his ability to build off of each scene felt like Zap and Elliot had a relationship. Since they just met for the first time, it was actually growing scene to scene in a way that was emblematic of Cooper and I’s relationship. I felt like the longer we were around each other, the more I learned, the more I appreciated Cooper and the more generally the characters and us as actors got closer.

What is the plot of ‘I Want Your Sex’?

When fresh-faced Elliot (Cooper Hoffman) lands an exciting job for renowned artist, icon and provocateur Erika Tracy (Olivia Wilde), his fantasies come true as Erika taps him to become her sexual muse. But Elliot soon finds himself out of his depth as Erika takes him on a journey more profound than he ever could have imagined, into a world of sex, obsession, power, betrayal and murder.

Who is in the cast of ‘I Want Your Sex’?

• Olivia Wilde as Erika Tracy
• Cooper Hoffman as Elliot
• Mason Gooding as Zap
• Chase Sui Wonders as Apple
• Daveed Diggs as Vikktor
• Charli XCX as Minerva
• Johnny Knoxville as Detective Zem
• Margaret Cho as Detective Zola
• Roxane Mesquida as Yvet

List of Olivia Wilde Movies and TV Shows:

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