Pictures from the set

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!

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

Some random but insightful comments from Skinbook

Thank God (or Buddha) for social networking. I asked fellow naturists if implied nudity would be a dealbreaker when watching a naturist film. Especially when average older folk are nude in full frontal shots but many of the young people are not.

Here is what they said:

Your movie sounds really interesting though. I'd love to see it whenever it is done.

Dario Western "You could have gone to some of the family nudist places and asked if there were any teens who were willing to be featured in the film instead of getting textile actors. They would have probably been more than happy to feature in the movie.

Nude children and teens have been featured in some films like "The Blue Lagoon", "The Boys Of St. Vincents", "Educating Julie", "Puberty Blues"."

Tony Young Comment by Tony Young on June 8, 2010 at 2:26pm
Unfortunately in this country, soliciting teen talent for a nudist film is out of the question. Those films you mentioned were done decades ago, and even Brooke Shields said on the Blue Lagoon commentary that they could not have made that movie nowadays.

When I asked for talent on the nudist resort.org site, they freaked when they assumed I wanted to hire teenagers. They had no idea that movies and tv shows (other than Disney) hire 18 year old actors to play younger for movies of this genre. And when I said my lead character had a "gift," I can only guess what they thought I meant.

Also, there are no scenes featuring teenage characters nude. It's a directorial choice. Films need conflict and what is more obvious a conflict than having a clothed teenager in a nudist setting. At this writing, we've edited the first 20 minutes and it does feel like a "behind the scenes" of a nudist resort type of film. We can definitely use more nudity.


Comment by Matthew Kerwin on May 14, 2010 at 1:48am
Is there some legal consideration about nudity for films representing someone to be under the age of 18 even thought the actor were 18 or older? I've seen children filmed nude in major films - not often, but it happens.

Yes, being coy about nudity detracts from the wholesomeness of nudity. It makes it seem "naughty" and usually actually makes the situation somewhat salacious.

I suppose that big name filmmakers can get more cooperation from the cast. I've often thought that, when filming nude scenes, the director and crew - at least the director - could be nude too - and in a naturist film - the director should make sure that he is in the film too - a la Hitchcock - fully nude.

Comment by Tony Young on May 14, 2010 at 2:06am
Actually, there is no law about depicting teens nude if the actors are 18. It was a directorial choice, as well as a socio/political statement.

Comment by Fatnudist on May 13, 2010 at 2:36pm
"It seems to me that if your making a naturist film with no/limited nudity, you're implying that there is something wrong/bad about nudity. If everyone is over 18 actually, I don't see what the problem is in them all being nude, Did they not know what the film was about? "

Comment by Tony Young on May 13, 2010 at 9:02pm
Yes, but she claimed that she didn't know which roles would be full frontal, which ones would be topless only, and which would be implied. In this town, nudity can hurt an actresses career. And they are all paranoid.

I write great roles and many actresses are attracted to the roles and will try to scam you into giving it to them, and allowing them to film it with implied nudity.

The Opening Scene

"Baby, Baby, I love the way you love me.
Your tongue on my skin drives me insane.
How I long for your candy kisses in the summer rain.
Your lips so tender, with me you lie.
The day you leave me is the day I die."

This poem opens my film, "The Screening Room." My first feature under my own direction and my own script, untouched by other producers.

The significance of this poem is that I blatantly ripped it off, okay -- freely adapted it from a girl who stood me up on Valentine's Day. Does she deserve this immortality. Of course not.

But those four days, prior to that loss, and it's my loss, not hers . . . get to that in a minute.

Those four days were filled with hope and excitement, such feelings I have never experienced before and haven't since. Sure, I've had love affairs since, but unheard melodies are sweeter and the possibility of what might have been, had I not f*cked it all up, is so much more exciting. After all, her POETRY OPENS THE FRICKIN' MOVIE.

How's that for impact! This "poet" (and I use the term loosely, she wasn't THAT good) didn't give two sh*ts about me, and probably has forgotten all about me by now, left me a poem that OPENS MY FRICKIN' MOVIE!!!

Still it is my adaptation and my own work based on hers. And I do feel loss on my part. After all, she inspired me with all of her stories of the club scene in Seattle and minor hints of love affairs too racy to include here. She is by definition my muse, or was my muse. And no one, not your muse, no one has the right to deny you the feelings you first felt upon meeting her.

And when it comes down to it. I didn't know this girl, this amateur poet. I fell in love with my image of who I believed she was. So in a very real sense, it's more my work than hers. I'm sure she'll never see it. Too bad. I feel too that this will be my loss. She was there at the beginning, the turning point of my professional career, and she will not be there to share in its rewards.

My loss.

Implied nudity in a nudist film

Some characters in the screening room are not seen fully nude, but with implied nudity.

This comment came from my Skinbook blog.

I think it says it all.

" It seems to me that if your making a naturist film with no/limited nudity, you're implying that there is something wrong/bad about nudity. If everyone is over 18 actually, I don't see what the problem is in them all being nude, Did they not know what the film was about? "

The Pageant Scene is Coming Soon

Casting has begun for the Pageant Scene in the Screening Room. As some of you actors reading this may know, for some odd reason our IMDB listing has been removed.

Needless to say, our people are looking into this.

Now you naturists following this blog are wondering, "What's a beauty pageant doing in a nudist movie?" Nudism is about body acceptance. We should accept all body types.

Trust me, that's exactly what the scene is about . . . sort of.

My beliefs in nudism is more old school, common to Germany in the turn of the century. They believed in Lebensreform or Life Reform, which called for a change in just about everything from religion to marriange to social mores. Can we honestly say that modern day naturists feel the same way?

More to come.