Brat summer now dominating the big screen.
IndieWire can confirm that Charli xcx has joined Gregg Araki’s upcoming thriller “I Want Your Sex.” The feature stars Olivia Wilde and Cooper Hoffman in an exploration of “desire, domination, and fantasy,” and will be Charli’s second live-action role.
Black Bear announced the casting and billed “I Want Your Sex” as the latest “provocative film” from auteur Araki. Karley Sciortino and Araki co-wrote the script, with production set to begin in October 2024 in Los Angeles.
The official synopsis reads: “How far is too far? When fresh-faced Elliot (Hoffman) lands an exciting job for renowned artist, icon and provocateur Erika Tracy (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. Featuring outrageous characters and a playful sense of humor, ‘I Want Your Sex’ will upend expectations in a way that will both shock and delight!”
“I Want Your Sex” is being produced by Seth Caplan, a past winner of the John Cassavetes Award at the Film Independent Spirit Awards, along with Araki, Sciortino, and Black Bear’s Teddy Schwarzman and Michael Heimler. John Friedberg, Joanne Roberts Wiles, and Courtney L. Cunniff will serve as executive producers for Black Bear, which will also fully finance the picture and represent international rights.
CAA Media Finance is set to handle U.S. rights.
Arlie Day and Mike Page are associate producing and casting the picture.
Charli xcx will also be seen in Daniel Goldhaber’s remake of the 1978 cult classic “Faces of Death” from Legendary Entertainment. She will also co-executive produce the score for David Lowery’s A24 film “Mother Mary” with Jack Antonoff. “Mother Mary” stars Anne Hathaway as a pop singer who has a twisted romantic relationship with a fashion designer (Michaela Coel). Hunter Schafer, Kaia Gerber, and Jessica Brown-Findlay also star.
Charli contributed to the “Barbie” soundtrack along with “The Fault in Our Stars” and “Bodies Bodies Bodies.” Charli is represented by CAA, Good World, and Project Gold.
Araki recently told IndieWire that “I Want Your Sex” is “a comedy, but it’s still one of my movies,” referencing his signature darkness. The feature will be Araki’s answer to the decline of Gen Z’s sex drive.
“It’s about Gen Z, and it has a little bit of that old movie ‘Secretary,’ another ‘old indie movie’ from the ‘90s,” Araki said. “One thing that is striking about talking about the ‘90s and the current day is the current generation doesn’t have sex. I found that so shocking and strange. Looking back on my life, sex and sexuality and sexual identity have been key to my entire being and life and development as a person, and that’s why my films tend to always focus on those. Olivia plays an artist in the movie, and she says things in the movie that I have said in interviews about how sex and sexuality are kind of what make us human. They’re such an important part of growing up and figuring out who you are, so that’s part of the movie, the importance of sexuality, and Gen Z and how they’re not having sex.”
