Black Bear announced today that director Gregg Araki (Mysterious Skin, White Bird in a Blizzard) is set to direct Olivia Wilde (Don’t Worry Darling, Her) in his next feature, I Want Your Sex. The provocative thriller is an original script penned by Karley Sciortino (“Slutever,” “Now Apocalypse”) & Araki which blithely explores desire, domination and fantasy. Arlie Day (To Leslie) and Mike Page (The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry) are casting the picture. The film will be produced by Seth Caplan, a past winner of the John Cassavetes Award at the Film Independent Spirit Awards, alongside Black Bear’s Teddy Schwarzman and Michael Heimler. Executive Producers include John Friedberg and Courtney L. Cunniff. Black Bear will also fully finance the picture and introduce the film to international buyers in Cannes next week. CAA Media Finance will be handling U.S. rights and production is set to begin this summer in Los Angeles.
How far is too far? When fresh-faced Elliot 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!
Award-winning director Araki is best known for the acclaimed picture Mysterious Skin, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Elisabeth Shue, which earned him a nomination for Best Director at the Film Independent Spirit Awards. The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, where it was nominated for Best Film, and went on to play at the Toronto and Sundance Film Festivals, among others. Araki’s film Kaboom with Thomas Dekker, Haley Bennett and Juno Temple was also critically acclaimed, receiving a nomination for the Cannes C.I.C.A.E Award and winning Best Narrative Feature at the San Francisco Independent Film Festival, as well as the first ever Cannes Film Festival Queer Palm. He also directed The Living End, which was nominated for the Dramatic Section Grand Jury Prize of the Sundance Film Festival; the comedy Smiley Face with Anna Faris and John Krasinski; and the distinguished cast of Shailene Woodley, Eva Green, Gabourey Sidibe and Angela Bassett in White Bird in a Blizzard. Araki previously served as a Jury Member at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.
Wilde most recently starred in and directed Don’t Worry Darling which debuted at the Venice Film Festival in 2022 and grossed nearly $100 million at the worldwide box office. Her award-winning directorial debut Booksmart, starring Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein, became a generational anthem and continues to be praised as one of the most beloved films of its decade. As an actor she has starred in Spike Jonze’s Her; Damien Chazelle’s Babylon; Ron Howard’s Rush, Jon Favreau’s Cowboys & Aliens; Tron: Legacy for Disney; A Vigilante; Meadowland; The Incredible Burt Wonderstone; Drinking Buddies; “1984” on Broadway; and the Emmy award winning series “House.” Upcoming, Wilde is attached to direct Avengelyne, a film adaptation of the ’90s titular comic book character and Naughty, a Christmas comedy for Universal Pictures, both of which will be produced by Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap.
Sciortino is a writer, producer, and host of numerous podcasts, including iHeart Media’s podcast, Sanctum Unmasked. Karley authored the book Slutever: Dispatches from a Sexually Autonomous Woman in a Post Shame World which was turned into a documentary television series on Viceland which she co-created and hosted. Karley debuted her first scripted series, Starz’s “Now Apocalypse,” which she co-created and produced alongside Gregg Araki and Steven Soderbergh and recently developed an adaptation of her book at Amazon and co-wrote series adaptation, “Slag,” with Jaclyn Moore.
