According to IGN, director Will Gluck revealed that he "cut out a lot of nudity" from his new romantic comedy One Night Stand because he believed modern movie audiences now feel too uncomfortable seeing such scenes on the big screen.
In an interview with Variety magazine, Gluck admitted that research suggesting Gen Z (those born between 1995 and 2009) and Gen Alpha (those born after 2010) prefer less sexual content on screen was indeed a major concern for him while filming One Night Stand.
"The answer is a hundred percent yes," Guiler said. "I experienced this during the production of two films. I have several pages of empirical data on the matter. However, I believe it's not just an issue with Gen Z and Gen Alpha. I think it reflects a social shift. In the past, people would watch adult content with nudity on their phones at home, accessible to everyone. Now, it's more of a private matter, and people don't want to see it in shared experiences. Nowadays, whenever people see nudity or very adult situations in large theaters, they feel uncomfortable." Therefore, Guiler confirmed that "extensive nudity" in One Night Stand was ultimately cut after test screenings.
"I cut out a lot," he said. "The film originally had extensive nudity, all shot on location in the streets. I felt it was necessary to present the premise to the world in that way. But as we started showing it to audiences, we realized it pulled you out of the movie. You're immersed in the characters and the plot, then suddenly there's a shot of two naked people having sex, and you watch the audience... It triggers a physical reaction. They turn to the person next to them... The downsides far outweighed any benefits. So we kept editing until we found a balance, and the negative reactions disappeared."
One Night Stand stars Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner. The story is set in an alternate-timeline New York where premarital sex is completely banned, except for a specific 12-hour window each year.