Is Hollywood Saying ‘Goodbye’ To Kissing Scenes? The Future Of Movie, TV Love Scenes Examined

The coronavirus pandemic has caused the world to make major changes, and it appears Hollywood will have to follow suit. As productions begin to pick back up, members of the entertainment industry are now attempting to figure out how to adjust filming scenes that show physical intimacy in order to protect its stars and help stop the spread of COVID-19.

Whether it’s the release of a movie or the premiere of a new TV show episode, steamy love scenes are often trending topics discussed among fans on social media. However, when the rest of Hollywood reopens for production, viewers may have to settle for some movie magic when it comes to kissing scenes.

Dr. Daniel Uslan, who was a medical consultant on the COVID-19 production plan created by entertainment unions and Hollywood studios in June, told USA Today that it was necessary to recommend “amending scripts” to exclude love scenes for the safety of the actors.

“It’s common sense. Any scene that would require close prolonged contact is challenging, and intimate scenes are the most obvious example,” he said.

However, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the chief operating officer for SAG-AFTRA, told the outlet that the new recommendations don’t mean fans will never see another kissing scene between their favorite stars.

“We’re not saying goodbye to them," he explained. "The big message is not that entertainment production is now going to be sanitized of all emotion and romantic scenes, and it’s going to be boring. We’re just saying that producers need to be judicious and do these scenes as safely as possible.”

So, how will Hollywood adjust to the "new normal"? Based on an interview with Bradley Bell, the executive producer of “The Bold and the Beautiful,” it appears social distancing will be key.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Bell said that its soap stars will be kept at least 8-feet from one another during filming and editing and other tricks of the trade will be used to make the actors appear closer together in scenes.

“We’re also bringing in, in some cases, the husbands and wives of the actors as stand-ins for their [characters’] significant others,” he said. “So if you see hands touching faces in close proximity from a wide shot, instead of a stunt double we’ll have a love-scene double, where it will be the husband or the wife doing the actual touching.”