Thursday, August 5, 2010

One more time

Why do I make nudist films? Here are the many reasons why. This has been my career in a nutshell and nothing has really changed. The Screening Room is my last nudist film and I'll be moving on to more sci-fi and dark comedy. The Screening Room was a great springboard for these types of films. Anyway, onward . . .

I love being a nudist filmmaker, that is, writing screenplays set in nudist resorts with a naturist theme because I love being ostracized by my colleagues on every professional level and being considered a freak by every self-respecting actress who auditions for me.

I love being a nudist filmmaker because I love calling Nikki Craft a paranoid, fearmongering bitch and expect no repercusssions because of the obscurity of my work.

I love being a nudist filmmaker because I love communicating with nudist resort owners who think an active nudist will portray his own community as though they were a bunch of tree hugging hippies with no grip on reality.

I love being a nudist filmmaker because I love to delude myself into believing that naturism will change the world because so many cases of civil rights were won by middle-aged and elderly white guys sitting around in their lawn chairs.

I love being a nudist because I love having every career path cut short because the market for such photographic images, videos and film is considered the domain of sex offenders.

I love being a nudist filmmaker because I get to present censored images of nudists in order to make the point that the human body is beautiful. I love to feature teenage characters fully clothed and have them talk about getting naked because I can then deny that the perverts in the audience are getting a major boner from hearing this "naughty talk".

I love being a nudist filmmaker because I love getting banned from Hawaii nudist clubs for calling their teenage member a skanky little slutbag, and then being accused of being jealous of that skanky little slutbag.

I love being a nudist filmmaker because I love promoting a philosophy that no one can remember who founded, and no one can name a famous member of.

I love being a nudist filmmaker because it's so exciting to be involved in something that fundamentalist Christians are offended by, but the Nazis fully approved of (up to a certain point, anyway - and they only shut them down for political reasons.)

And most of all, I love being a nudist filmmaker because I love to make the same pro-nudism argument about the positive benefits of nudism EVERY SINGLE TIME FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS TO FELLOW WRITERS who think nudism went out with the hippies.

Stay NAKED!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

The Real Joy Sarkin

Joy Sarkin, the lead female character in the Screening Room, is obviously an offshoot of Kelly Deerdale (short film: Kelly Deerdale, Naturist.) She is the club resort owner's daughter and admittedly I have never met nudist club owner's children.

Until today.

Olive Dell Ranch is run by second generation naturists, and I only spent a few seconds talking to her during a pool volleyball game. In those few seconds, I suddenly felt like apologizing to her for the way I portray Joy in my film.

This was a girl with a lot of self confidence, a good head on her shoulders and very mature. I could tell that just from a strong first impression.

In contrast, the local nudist girl who became the basis of Kelly Deerdale was arrogant, selfish and sexually irresponsible. She was flaunting herself while at nudist functions and generally belittling her peers, despite only being a year older than they were.

I used to blame it on her parents. Certainly the short film showed that, though I liked her dad, and respected his nudist philosophy. I personally never blamed him.

Since today, I now understand that she has to be held accountable for her behavior. Children know what it right and what is wrong. There is no excuse for the things rumored of her, all of which were true. My cousin is no liar, and I trust what he said.

Kelly (not her real name) should be ashamed of herself. I only wish she had the Olive Dell girls to hang with. They would have set her straight. But even then, she still has to think for herself and make better decisions. Her behavior was unbecoming of a nudist, and as a nudist she should have known better. You can't claim she simply didn't know what a nudist was about. The information was out there.

Nudists are supposed to be examples, innovators, free thinkers and influential ones at that. And it all starts when you're young. Some young nudists grow up to run nudist resorts. Others do not. Very few are really messed up.

Kelly wasn't the child of a resort owner or even a non-landed club owner.

Joy Sarkin is, and at this writing, it may be hard for a nudist to believe that a resort owner's daughter would behave the way she would. But I think it's credible. And the story is written and now must be told.

Tony Young