Why the Director’s Cut of One Night Only Trimmed ‘So Much Nudity’ from the Film
It appears that Callum Turner and Monica Barbaro’s latest romantic comedy, One Night Only, underwent significant cuts – and understandably so.
“I have dealt with this on two films. I possess extensive empirical data regarding it. … I think there has been a societal change in how we view nudity in adult contexts, particularly with everyone having access to these visuals on their mobile devices,” director Will Gluck shared with Variety on Friday, August 7, discussing various intimate scenes in high-budget movies. “People seem to prefer keeping nudity and very mature scenes as private matters rather than experiencing them in communal settings. It makes audiences uncomfortable when they encounter nudity in a big theater.”
To adapt to modern viewing preferences, Gluck, 47, noted that he “removed a significant amount” of content during the editing process of One Night Only.
“We had a lot of nudity filmed in public. I felt it was important to showcase the world in that manner,” he explained to the publication about the original script. “However, as we began showing it to audiences, we realized it distracted from the film.”
The Easy A director added, “You get engrossed in the characters and the plot, and suddenly you see two naked individuals engaged in sexual activity, and you can observe the audience’s reactions … it’s palpable. They turn to their companions, and ultimately, the drawbacks far exceed any advantages. We kept refining until we achieved a balance, leading to those reactions disappearing.”
One Night Only unfolds on the one evening each year when premarital sex is permitted, enabling Allie (Barbaro) to meet Owen (Turner) amidst the frenzy of singles pairing up throughout New York City. As Allie and Owen’s relationship blossoms, they encounter numerous couples reveling in their so-called night of liberation.
“We cast actual couples from various relationship stages,” Gluck revealed to Variety about the film’s extras. “We didn’t just pick random extras and have them kiss. It was a delightful experience, featuring married couples, individuals who broke up during filming, and others who became a couple, allowing them to authentically interact.”
Prior to the launch of One Night Only, the film’s concept went viral for its parallels to The Purge—but focused on sexuality rather than crime. (For those unfamiliar, the dystopian Purge franchise revolves around a 12-hour window during which all criminal actions are allowed.)
“You can’t really encapsulate this movie. The cast spends a lot of time on talk shows explaining the rules of this world, which isn’t the film’s focus,” Gluck remarked about One Night Only’s premise. “We must let viewers experience it for themselves — that’s our most effective tool, especially given its unique nature.”
He elaborated, “The characters inhabit an alternative reality that could feasibly come to pass … but I wanted the world itself to take a backseat. The emphasis is on how our characters navigate life.”
One Night Only is currently playing in theaters.
