Christian Slater and James Franco got ‘competitive’ over gay sex scenes
Christian Slater has admitted that he “got competitive” with co-star James Franco when it came to filming the sex scenes in new film King Cobra.
Slater even began improvising during his same-sex encounters to make sure that he wasn’t upstaged by Franco in the final film.
The 47-year-old actor revealed his competitive side during a Q&A after the film’s recent premiere.
He said: “James was going to be doing the lion’s share of the sexual aspects and then I got competitive… We even improv’d some stuff.
“OK, I’ll stop – but yeah, great direction!”
King Cobra is based on the true story of porn producer Bryan Kocis, who was murdered in 2007.
Slater plays the film’s fictional equivalent to Kocis, while Franco plays a rival producer, and former Disney star Garrett Clayton is the young star whose career aspirations trigger the violence.
Director Justin Kelly expanded a little on exactly when Slater took the chance to improvise during the film.
“[Christian] pushes him up against the closet door… That was not written or planned. That [was] Christian saying, ‘Where’s my gay sex scene?’ ”
Slater added: “Garrett was damn cute. Let’s get honest about it here.”
Franco revealed another of the film’s secrets recently, claiming that fellow star Keegan Allen was stuffing his Speedos.
He said: “Look at the movie, he’s got the biggest bulge and I know for a fact he stuffed it.”
Director Kelly has defended Franco against accusations that he’s “gay-baiting” by taking on parts like this one and his upcoming ‘lesbian vampire movie’.
The actor is also the target of a lawsuit from a photographer who alleges that Franco head-butted him at a Lana Del Rey concert.
King Cobra is out now in the US, and had its UK premiere at the BFI London Film Festival earlier this month.
