Anatomy of a Scene's Anatomy: Julianne Moore Proves She's a Real Redhead in 'Short Cuts'

<< Blog | Editorial Features Tuesday, August 27, 4:00 PMTue, 27 Aug 2019 @ 4:00 PM by Thrustin' Hoffman

In our weekly seriesAnatomy of a Scene's Anatomy, we're going to be taking a look at (in)famous sexscenes and nude scenes throughout cinema history and examining their construction, their relationship to the film around them, and their legacy. This week, we're looking at Julianne Moore's Hall of Fame bottomless scene from Robert Altman's Short Cuts, and how she couldn't escape a cheeky comment made to the director before production even began.

In 1993, Julianne Moore wasn't exactly a household name, but she had turned up in a number of high profile recent films like The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Body of Evidence,Benny Joon, and most notably in Best Picture nominee The Fugitive. She didn't catch Robert Altman's eye via any of those films, however, but through a New York City production of Chekov's Uncle Vanya directed by Andre Gregory of My Dinner with Andrefame. In the book "Robert Altman: The Oral Biography" by Mitchell Zuckoff, Moore recounts the story of receiving an offer directly from Altman to play a role in Short Cuts...

Julianne Moore: And he said, "Well I have this movie and I have this part I want you to do."

And I said, "Yes. Yes."

He said, "No, no, no. You really—you have to read it first." He said, "Because there's something—there's some nudity and it's not negotiable."

And I said, "Yes, yes. I don't care. I'll do whatever you want me to do."

And he said, "Well, sweetheart, really, just think about it. But I'm glad that you're enthusiastic." So he said the nudity, you know, the part, it's bottomless.

And I said, "That's fine. I'll do it."

If the story ends there, it shows how fearless Julianne Moore was as an actress to make herself both emotionally and physically vulnerable in a sprawling epic by a great director. However, the story doesn't end there.

Julianne Moore: Bob claims that after this—I don't remember saying this; this is the unfortunate part—I may have said, in my excitement, "Guess what, I'm a real redhead."

I don't remember saying that. But Bob never forgot it. And then the story got bigger. It morphed into—"And then she said, 'I have a bonus for you, I'm a real redhead!'" This is at the very, very beginning of my film career when I'm desperate to be taken seriously.

So basically I would do a movie and they would call people you worked with and the first person they would call would be Bob. And Bob would say, "Listen to this story... She said, 'I have a bonus for you...'"

And I'd be like, "Oh, my God!" So this story was in The New York Times, The L.A. Times, Rolling Stone, Premiere Magazine. Basically anybody who'd talk to Bob, he'd tell that story.

The story became a consuming part of the narrative around Moore's experience making the film. Like any number of actors, it has to be frustrating when you're trying to promote a film and all anyone wants to talk about is literally three minutes of screen time in a three hour film. That shows just how radical the scene was, especially for 26 years ago, and also adds to Altman's persona of raconteur cum director. He wants to be a great storyteller first, a great filmmaker coming in a close second.

Eventually, Moore mustered the strength to confront Altman about the situation...

Julianne Moore: And I called Bob. And I felt like such an ass. And I said, "You know, Bob, about that thing that you always say about my being a real red—"

He said, "Oh, yeah, about how you said, 'I have a bonus for you,'"

I said, "Well, Bob, I know it's funny. But I'm kinda sensitive about it, and maybe—maybe you could stop talking to the press about it."

And he said—and in the most gentle, humane, you know, way possible—he said, "Of course, honey, whatever you want."

It was so moving because that's who Bob was. You know, whatever you wanted was great. Whoever you were was great. You never made a mistake with Bob...

You know, all this talk about Bob being this kind of irascible, difficult kind of person? Well, he was never that way with an actor or with a creative person that I saw. Never, never, never. He saved all that for the money people.

None of this is to talk about the scene itself as it exists in the film. As much as there can be an emotional climax in the film, due to the consistently escalating personal and professional problems of the characters, this scene is the closest the film gets to a crescendo. Early in the film, Julianne Moore's artist Marian and her doctor husband Ralph (Matthew Modine) meet another couple played by Anne Archer and Fred Ward, making plans to have dinner at Marian and Ralph's place on Sunday. A little over two hours later, we meet back up with Marian and Ralph preparing for the arrival of their dinner guests when Marian accidentally spills wine on the skirt portion of her outfit.

Stripping off the skirt to use a blowdryer on the wet spot, she reveals to Ralph—and the audience—that she's not wearing panties. As Ralph angrily points this out to her, the scene turns vicious with Ralph demanding answers from Marian about an alleged extramarital dalliance she had several years back with a doctor colleague of his...

Moore plays the scene beautifully, in every sense of the word, as an actress. She's doing her best to maintain a sense of normalcy in her marriage while also attempting to get her dress dry before company shows up and they have to put on a show. Throw alcohol into the mix and the scene pulsates with energy. It's an emotionally draining scene, but bravo to Moore for doing it bottomless, having to expose herself in multiple ways. It's the actor's job to fully inhabit a character, and in this particular instance, Marian wouldn't think there's anything odd about walking around bottomless in front of her husband in their otherwise empty house. It's another touch that Altman brings to his films that makes them achingly honest evenwhen they lunge further from reality.

To cap things off, the scene needed to be shot twice due to lighting issues. When Moore and Modine reached the end of shooting on the first day, they were informed by Altman that they'd lost the light, but that the scene would be reshot tomorrow. Moore recalls his confidence and calmness over the matter,and how that helped her to dig deep and do the whole scene over again the next day.

The payoff to the "real redhead" story comes several pages later in Zuckoff's book, when Moore recounts a story about having dinner with Altman, his wife Kathryn, and another couple near the end of Altman's life...

Julianne Moore: And somebody was asking me how Bob and I had met, and how I had ended up in Short Cuts and what had happened.

And then Kathryn said—I will never believe what she said—"And I have a bonus for ya!"

And Bob said, "Kathryn, we're not supposed to talk about her pussy anymore."

But you know what? I'm really glad he did. I loved him.

Catch up with our other editions of Anatomy of a Scene's Anatomy...

—The "Real Sex" ofDon't Look Now

—Scarlett Johansson's Nude Debut inUnder the Skin

—The 2 Very Different Sex ScenesofBasic Instinct

—How Halle Berry's Nude Debut Led Her toMonster's Ball

—HowMulholland Dr.'s Legendary Lesbian Scenes Deepen the Film's Mystery

—Showgirlsand the Dangers of High Camp

—Rosario Dawson Laid Bare for Danny Boyle'sTrance

—Katie Holmes MakesThe GiftWorth Remembering

—Jennifer Connelly Comes of Age inThe Hot Spot

—Lisa Bonet's Bloody Nude Debut inAngel Heart

—Monica Bellucci Gets Brutalized in Gaspar Noé'sIrréversible