Since 2002, Steven Shainberg’s “Secretary” has amassed a reputation as one of the hottest, funniest films of its time period, the story of a twisting BDSM relationship between a lawyer and his secretary that’s alternately weird, goofy, sensual, and, eventually, deeply romantic. And now, the crew of one of the hottest films of this year got to recreate the film’s sexy kinky fun, as the director and cast of “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” hosted a live read of the rom-com’s original script at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills on July 28.
Presented by Film Independent as part of its Live Read series of famous film scripts, the “Secretary” script reading was done in partnership with “Teenage Sex and Death” distributor MUBI, ahead of the film’s August release. Jane Schoenbrun, the filmmaker behind the meta erotic slasher, directed the read-through and served as the narrator of Erin Cressida Wilson’s original “Secretary” script, done with the cast and crew of their upcoming movie.
“Teenage Sex and Death” stars Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson stepped into the lead roles of Lee Holloway (played in the original film by Maggie Gyllenhaal) and Edward Grey (James Spader), giving the original film’s dom-sub dynamic a sapphic spin. Jack Haven and Jess McLeod, who appear in supporting parts in the upcoming film, played supporting parts Peter and Theresa as well as minor characters. Rounding out the cast was Schoenbrun’s personal assistant Sepi Mashiahof and assistant director Willy McGee as Lee’s mother and father. Introducing the two, Schoenbrun joked they were cast to test their “amazing chemistry” for the first time.
The event was introduced by Rachel Bleemer, Director of Programming and Events at Film Independent, who came on stage wearing the famous handcuff brace that Gyllenhaal wore in the original film, before introducing the movie as “every millennial’s favorite movie they first watched a little too young.” Bleemer also introduced Wilson, in attendance with the original film’s cinematographer Steven Fierberg, for a quick conversation about the making of the original film.
Reflecting on the original project, Fierberg told the audience that the original 1988 short story by Mary Gaitskill was popular in New York at the time, with many attempts to adapt it for film; he joked he saw many terrible screenplays taking a crack at it at the American Film Institute. Complimenting Wilson, he said he remembered thinking hers would work because it was funny, in contrast to the much bleaker original short story, and retold a cynical story as a romance. Wilson, meanwhile, said she loved the script — her first, which won her an Independent Spirit Award — because it was so blunt and innocent, and because it managed to make its seemingly taboo subject something even “ordinary people” could enjoy.
“Audiences are much more open than I think we give them credit for,” Wilson said. “So I’m very excited to be able to experience this story as performed by two women.”
Before the live read began, Schoenbrun admitted to the audience that they and the cast had about 20 minutes of rehearsal time beforehand. “It’ll be good, that looseness will add to the experience.” That ethos bled into the script read, which saw the crew assembled take swings with the material and inject a bit more comedy into the already funny original film. Haven, in particular, drew many laughs from the audience by playing Lee’s dull boyfriend Peter as a cartoonish surfer boy stereotype.
The leads played things a bit more straight, with Anderson delivering a stern, domineering Mr. Grey and Einbinder holding the live read together via her committed performance as the dreamy, naive Lee. And even in a script read, the two were able to generate real heat, recreating some of the most iconic racy scenes from the original, such as the famous sequence where Lee getting spanked by Edward as she reads out a letter she typed.
For the most part, the cast kept themselves composed, but occasionally, the explicit content described in the script elicited some nerves. During one scene, Einbinder — dressed in a replica of a black dress Gyllenhaal wore in the original film — acted out an explicit orgasm as described in the script, breaking character in the middle of the scene to double over laughing.
“My parents are here, but its fine!” Einbinder joked, to cheers from the audience, before she launched right back into the scene.
“Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” opens in theaters August 7.
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