When Steven Spielberg Recalled Being Afraid Of Shooting S*x Scenes In The Color Purple & Added: “Any Woman Director Would Have Done That Brilliantly”

Steven Spielberg needs no introduction. The Man – often regarded as one of the founding pioneers of the New Hollywood era, is the mind behind several much-loved films, including Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, Jaws, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Jurassic Park. While it may seem like he isn’t afraid of anything, the director in the past revealed being afraid while shooting one film.

Years ago, Spielberg, in multiple conversations, revealed that he was afraid of directing the s*xual scenes between Whoopi Goldberg’s Celie Harris Johnson and Margaret Avery’s Shug Avery in the 1985 coming-of-age period drama The Color Purple. Read on to know all he had to say and why he feared it.

During a past interaction with Entertainment Weekly, Steven Spielberg opened up about not being the perfect choice when directing the erotic portions of The Color Purple. He said, “Perhaps I was the wrong director to acquit some of the more s*xually honest encounters between Shug and Celie, because I did soften those. I basically took something that was extremely erotic and very intentional, and I reduced it to a simple kiss. I got a lot of criticism for that.”

In another interaction, Steven Spielberg told Los Angeles Times that he was afraid of doing the s*xual scenes and felt a female director would’ve been better at bringing those raw scenes to life. He said, “There were certain scenes I couldn’t bring myself to shoot. Some of the grittier ones because I didn’t grow up that way. Or, if I had been a woman, maybe I could have. But being a man, I didn’t know how. Any woman director would have done that brilliantly. And I was afraid of it. I didn’t know how to direct actors to do that.”

Despite Steven Spielberg’s fears, The Color Purple earned 11 Oscars nominations but failed to take home any wins. It, however, won Spielberg his first Directors Guild of America Award and the film’s leading lady Whoopi Goldberg a Golden Globe.

Did you ever think Steven Spielberg was afraid of anything? Let us know in the comments below.

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