Pop Culture | Movies | 80s
10 Things You Didn't Know About The Movie That Was Basically The '80s Version Of '50 Shades Of Grey'
Released in 1986, 9 1/2 Weeks was basically the 80s' equivalent of 50 Shades of Gray. It was an erotic thriller where Mickey Rourke plays a wealthy Wall Street banker who starts a relationship with a divorced art gallery employee played by Kim Basinger. He soon reveals his tendency towards domination, and sets the tone for the strange and sensual relationship they're about to embark on.
The movie was ultimately a critical and financial flop, but has since developed a cult fan-base thanks to its release to home video. Even if you've seen 9 1/2 Weeks, we're willing to bet you might not know these 10 things about it.
Director Adrian Lyne manipulated Kim Basinger in a number of ways to affect her performance
This included isolating her from the rest of the cast, offering notes to the other actors but not her, and lying to her about Mickey Rourke's attitude towards her.
Basinger had multiple body doubles for the explicit scenes, but Mickey Rourke did not
It's her favorite movie she's starred in. Apparently she didn't feel like a "real" actress until she made it
At the demand of the studio, Mickey Rourke had to lose thirty pounds for the role
The facts get crazier from here...
Several scenes were removed by MGM for being "psychologically damaging." Basinger owns them and they have never been shown to the public.
At the director's request, Rourke actually slapped Basinger to get her in the right mind for one scene.
The shoot was so draining on Basinger it caused real-life marital problems for her
She and her then-husband, Ron Snyder, fought quite a bit during the filming of the movie, but apparently were able to patch things up afterwards.