The sex worker who acted as a consultant for the hit movie Anora has spoken out against the amount of violence in the Oscar-tipped film.
Former escort Andrea Werhun says she risked being ‘re-traumatized’ by the most brutal moments, including when Mikey Madison’s character ‘Ani’ is assaulted by a pair of hulking Russian mobsters.
She spoke to director Sean Baker about her concerns, but her advice ultimately fell on deaf ears as leading lady Mikey – who is up for a best actress award on Sunday – pushed for more fight scenes to be included.
Andrea, 36, said: ‘I would have preferred to see less violence against Ani.
‘As a sex worker, I feel like we’ve seen enough violence against sex workers on screen.
‘There are parts of the movie that feel very authentic, but when there is so much violence, it feels that a sex worker wouldn’t have made a film like this.
Former escort Andrea Werhun acted a consultant for the hit movie Anora says she risked being ‘re-traumatised’ by the violent scenes and feels like her experience and advice wasn’t taken into consideration
Mikey Madison’s character is in love with the son of a Russian oligarch, but her assault by a pair of hulking Russian mobsters was a particular scene that Werhun was against
Werhun spoke to director Sean Baker about her concern but was ignored as Mikey – who is up for a best actress award on Sunday – pushed for more fight scenes to be included
‘A sex worker telling their own story may not have gone down that path – it’s not something we want to see.
‘It might be something a civilian audience wants to see or expects, but a sex worker wouldn’t necessarily do that – it’s not fun for us to watch.’
Andrea was closely consulted on Anora’s script before last year’s critically acclaimed movie went into production.
Director Baker did his utmost to ensure the plot, about a Brooklyn stripper who falls for the playboy son of a wealthy Russian oligarch, was as realistic as possible.
He hired real life strippers to take part in the action shot at a fictional gentleman’s club in the Brighton Beach neighbourhood.
Toronto-based Andrea – who spent 15 years working as an escort and stripper – was asked to meet actress Mikey, 25, so she could educate her on every aspect of the job.
Toronto-based Andrea – who spent 15 years working as an escort and stripper – was asked to meet actress Mikey, 25, so she could educate her on every aspect of the job
The former escort told Bafta winner Mikey stories about key details in the industry such as how lap dancers will often be found eating lunch out of Tupperware in a club’s dressing room
Andrea eating out of a Tupperware in the strip club’s dressing room, a detail that made it into the final take of the film
Key details Andrea imparted – such as the fact that lap dancers will often be found eating lunch out of Tupperware in a club’s dressing room – were included in the final takes.
However, Baker was less receptive to concerns about gratuitous violence. A scene where Ani bites, kicks and hurls household objects at a pair of mobsters trying to restrain her before she is tied up and gagged with a scarf, remained central to the plot.
Andrea added: ‘I didn’t say that I didn’t want it included, but I did flag that there is a lot of violence.
‘I know he (Sean) talked to Mikey about some of those scenes and asked her what she wanted, and she said she wanted more fight scenes.
‘I understand that as they do demonstrate her character’s will to survive.
‘But, in a way, it was traumatising for me.
Baker was less receptive to her concerns about gratuitous violence such as a scene where Ani bites, kicks and hurls household objects at a pair of mobsters trying to restrain her before she is tied up and gagged with a scarf
Andrea likened some of those violent scenes to ‘trauma porn’ as she said she had experienced those instances in real life which doesn’t make it easy to watch on the big screen
‘It’s never easy to watch a sex worker on screen experience violence. I don’t want to tell you what violence I’ve experienced – that falls into the category of trauma porn and I don’t want to relive my trauma – but I’ve experienced violence in every single job I’ve done, both inside the sex industry and in other professions.’
Andrea, who this year is releasing a film about her life called ‘Modern Wh*re that is based on her 2018 book of the same title, has not been invited to the Oscars this weekend.
But she remains proud of the work she did on Anora and says: ‘I’m absolutely rooting for it and I hope it wins, I hope it sweeps.
‘It has all the potential to win Best Picture and I want Sean to get his flowers for all the work he’s put into this film.
‘I can’t say that as a consultant that I had any role in editing the script. My role was to review and critique.
‘Sean has the power to listen to me or to discard my ideas and that’s a very normal part of the process. I can only make suggestions.
The cast of Anora at the 30th annual critics choice awards in Santa Monica, California, on February 7 – they’re heading to the Oscars this Sunday to see if they can get another accolade
Andrea, who this year is releasing a film about her life called ‘Modern Wh*re that is based on her 2018 book of the same title, has not been invited to the Oscars this weekend.
Andrea’s 2018 book Modern Whore
‘But Sean really went back and forth with me on the script from an early stage and that dedication to getting the depiction of sex work right really shows in the film.
‘I think it’s a fantastic film and I really enjoyed working with Mikey.
‘She’s a big-time sweetie pie. She’s such a kind, curious, compassionate soul who like Sean was totally dedicated to getting her portrayal of sex work right.
‘I didn’t get an opportunity to work on set so my relationship with Mikey was to talk to her before filming about how to play a sex worker by tapping into her own qualities.
‘Her strength, her resilience and determination, her charisma and sense of humour.
‘I think that all of those things really went a long way to depicting a realistic sex worker.
Andrea in the smoking room between sets at the strip club. Although she had her criticism, she said Mikey ‘nailed it’ and showed her resiliency through her performance
‘She nailed it. She went all in and I have zero complaints about her performance.
‘Her resilience definitely came to the fore and especially during the violent scenes that – as a sex worker – is not the number one priority on my list to see, seeing another sex worker get assaulted on screen.
‘But what those scenes demonstrate is a sex worker’s fierce ability to survive situations like that and she does that really well.
‘In my movie, Modern Wh*re, there are two incidents of sexual assault that are depicted very tastefully.
‘I think they are important because it’s realistic, it’s true, it’s what happened.
‘But my director and I don’t see the value of traumatising an audience with violence or re traumatizing me with a re-enactment of it.’
