James Franco Speaks Out Against Banning Of Sexually Explicit Gay Film [Video]

by UInterviewMarch 5, 2013, 12:00 amNews >

James Franco believes I Want Your Love, a film that includes a 6-minute sex scene between two men, should not be banned by the Australian Classification Board from being screened at film festivals within the country.

I Want Your Love centers on the story of a gay man’s last uninhibited night in San Francisco before he’s set to relocate to the Midwest. It’s directed by Travis Mathews, who collaborated on the Sundance project Interior. Leather Bar with Franco. The Australian Classification Board objects to the film on the grounds that it features a prolonged un-simulated sex scene.

Franco took to YouTube on Monday to defend Mathews and his movie’s right to be shown at film festivals. "The reason that I approached Travis to make a film that eventually was called Interior. Leather Bar. was because of the work he did on I Want Your Love. He was using sex in a very sophisticated way. Sex is such a big part of our lives, and even if it isn't a part of your life, that's a conscious choice to keep it out.

"I don't think we'd be having this conversation if he had made a very violent film."

The Oz: The Great and Powerful star goes on to argue that adults should be able to make the decision whether or not to see a film that incorporates sex into the narrative. He concluded by saying, “I don’t know why, in this day and age, a film that is using sex not for titillation but to talk about being human is being banned. It’s just embarrassing. “

Check out James Franco’s full YouTube video below: