Congratulations! HBO wants you to be an extra on its upcoming version of the sci-fi western Westworld! All you have to do is sign this consent form, which means you that you are okay with “genital-to-genital touching” and contorting “to form a table-like shape while being fully nude, pose on all fours while others who are fully nude ride on your back, [and] ride on someone’s back while you are both fully nude” and we’ll get the shoot started!
Wait… what?
That’s what SAG-AFTRA is asking since Westworld‘s consent form for background actors goes into detail about what sexual escapades extras might be asked to perform, as well as the standard “other assorted acts the project may require.” The real question is with all that listed what lengths do the “other assorted acts” cover? Because if those acts require significant physical effort — and the possibilities for that here seem endless — they might fall under the union’s rules covering stunt work, which requires residuals and higher pay.
SAG-AFTRA has alerted its members that they have the right to pull out (no pun intended) of filming the scenes in question at any point during the shoot, but cannot give up consent on footage that is already shot. In other words, once you’re naked during shooting scenes for Westworld, you’re going to be naked on HBO when the episode airs. In fact, that’s precisely why Westworld has such an oddly specific consent form — so actors will be well aware that the scenes will involve extremely sexual content.
The Westworld movie that was released in 1973 contained no such nudity, so exactly what will be transpiring on the series starring Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Evan Rachel Wood, James Marsden, Thandie Newton and Jeffrey Wright is anyone’s guess right now. The only thing for sure is that there will be some creative use of nudity.
