Queen of the Intimate Sex Scene: Gina Prince-Bythewood with Sasheer Zamata
Release Date: 10/18/2020
Strength in Sisterhood with Triple Charm
CherryPop
On this special episode of CherryPop, multi-hyphenate dancing/singing trio Triple Charm joins Meg to talk all about sisterhood. The real-life sisters shed light on their love and appreciation for each other’s strengths and individualities and share how their strong bond helps them creatively collaborate. We also dive into holiday traditions, swapping clothes, and Barbie. “I would say I've learned so much about them. And in a strange way that I don't think I ever would have had the opportunity to if we weren't working together. And in a creative sense, I don't think I would have seen...
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In Her Shoes with La Rhonza
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This episode of CherryPop is proudly sponsored by our friends at . We’re going all in for fall! From the perfect or for the office or back-to-school to your new , DSW has a shoe for every occasion! Shop their latest fall looks at ! On this episode of CherryPop, we’re highlighting rising stars in the music industry with special guest La Rhonza. La Rhonza, known as on screen, talks about her recent journey to becoming a singer and songwriter. She shares the inspiration behind her latest and first bilingual single, honoring and exploring her Hispanic heritage. La Rhonza and CherryPop host...
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Getting "Smarter in Seconds" with Blair Imani
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On this episode of CherryPop, Meg welcomes educator, advocate, and author Blair Imani. “If you're a lonely kid who has to eat lunch at the library, like I did, it just feels like that's gonna be your life forever. So, if someone can tell you a real-life story of somebody who was in that situation and overcame it, it can help you be like, ‘Okay, right now, I'm in my cocoon phase and, one day, I'm gonna bloom and become this beautiful butterfly’.” -Blair Imani The creator shares the value of boundaries, personal space, and implanting strategic vulnerability. She also talks...
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In Her Shoes with Gia Kim
CherryPop
This episode of CherryPop is presented by DSW. DSW is your one-stop shop for all the need-right-now shoes from all your favorite brands. Visit to find a shoe that’s right for you! Actor candidly shares her empowering personal growth journey playing Yuri in XO, Kitty, explains the show’s celebration of South Korean culture, and speaks about her positive and productive experience working with a predominantly female-led team behind the camera. “Yuri commands the space that she's in. That's something that, even up until recently, I always had to consciously work out. It's like,...
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In Her Shoes with Nicole Maines
CherryPop
This episode of CherryPop is presented by DSW. This Pride Month, join us and our partners at DSW as we celebrate putting our best foot forward and unapologetically living in full color! Actor, activist, and writer shares the powerful impact dreaming big had on her as a young trans woman, the joys and challenges of writing a graphic novel for the DC Universe, and what it’s like tackling the complexities of mental health on screen as Lisa in Season 2. “If we're not hoping, or if we're not dreaming, what are we doing? It's important for us to have ambition, goals, and...
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Unfinished Business: Women in Film and the Quest for Equality
CherryPop
This episode is sponsored by Buffalo 8 Distribution: A Bondit Company. is a full-service film and media company focused on production, post-production, distribution, design, and finance. CherryPop host Meg McCarthy and Head of Buffalo 8 Distribution Nikki Stier Justice discuss the future of women in film, spotlighting Marcella Cytrynowicz’s gripping thriller romance, , and Em Johnson’s coming-of-age story, . producer Taryn Sims and writer/director Em Johnson join the conversation to grapple with gender disparity in front of and behind the camera while shedding light on how to...
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Founder's Special: Thanksgiving Is for the Birds
CherryPop
This special episode is brought to you by CherryPicks' founder, . Known for producing indie films, Bailey’s work as a filmmaker has helped shape the cultural landscape of the independent films we know today. Founder’s Special is a limited editorial and digital series in which Miranda talks directly to you, sharing deeply personal stories of paving her own path to Hollywood and how she’s now built a new road for women’s voices to be heard: CherryPicks. For more visit CherryPicks is the best place to see what women think about movies, tv, and more. CherryPicks highlights...
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The Doctor Is In: A Conversation with Grey's Anatomy Star Kelly McCreary
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Indie Filmmaking With the Cast & Crew of "Never Forgotten"
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This episode is sponsored by Wooden Finger Studios. Check out their mobile game Ethereal Run, available now on IOS and google play! On this episode of CherryPop, our host Meg McCarthy is joined by director, writer, and star Ty Gordon, star Christy St. John, and producer Rodes Phire. Together they discuss the film's important commentary on mental health awareness and toxic masculinity, and exchange stories and advice about the joys and hurdles of indie filmmaking. CherryPicks is the best place to see what women think about movies, tv, and more. CherryPicks highlights reviews and original...
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Celebrating Our True Selves in "Mack & Rita"
CherryPop
This episode of CherryPop is presented by Gravitas Premiere's sparkling comedy with a magical twist, Mack & Rita. A 30-year-old writer played by spends a wild weekend in Palm Springs and wakes up to find she has magically transformed into her 70-year-old self in this delightful comedy starring Oscar-winner . On this week of CherryPop, Meg is joined by director and star Elizabeth Lail. Meg and Katie discuss how the film deconstructs preconceived notions and societal stereotypes about age, and Katie shares her personal and professional journey toward embracing her...
info_outlineCrowning the Queen of the Intimate Sex Scene: Gina Prince-Bythewood featuring Sasheer Zamata
Show notes - https://bit.ly/2FIgSdC
This week, Meg guides us through some of her favorite sex scenes from the last 20 years and shouts-out the filmmakers behind them. Even though the characters and stories are diverse in these flicks, we end up realizing they have much more in common than we initially noticed. The common denominator among the filmmakers: taking the time to research and rewrite when putting together a movie that features real intimacy and onscreen character development.
The Movies
Love and Basketball (2000)
At the top of the list is writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood, whom we crown “Queen of the Intimate Sex Scene.” We dig into the groundbreaking, boundary-pushing bedroom scenes in her films Love and Basketball and Beyond the Lights. Love and Basketball follows Monica (Sanaa Lathan) and Quincy (Omar Epps), childhood besties whose undying love for basketball causes their own love to bloom.
Beyond the Lights (2014)
In Beyond the Lights, Gugu Mbatha-Raw plays Noni, a Rihanna-adjacent pop star who is saved by Kaz (pre-#MeToo Nate Parker), an earnest cop who couldn’t be farther from her world and, of course, they fall in love.
If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)
Then Meg and Beandrea take a closer look at the sex scenes in If Beale Street Could Talk from Academy Award-winner Barry Jenkins, who directed and wrote the pic. Here’s another set of childhood friends whose love matures as they get older. Fonny (Stephan James) and Tish (Kiki Layne) are goals!
Lingua Franca (2020)
Then we take up the auteur film Lingua Franca from indie writer-director-star Isabel Sandoval. Sandoval plays an undocumented trans woman who works as a live-in caretaker for an elderly woman (Lynn Cohen - RIP legend!) and gets involved with her grandson. We love that this movie is about a character who is a trans woman (and is played by a trans woman who also made the movie) and, most importantly, that the story isn’t about gender transition. Trans folks contain multitudes, people!
Atonement (2008)
And last, but definitely not least: the BAFTA and Golden Globe-winning film Atonement, directed by Joe Wright with a screenplay from Christopher Hampton. Meg swoons over the subtleties of the acting performances, the direction, and of course, that stunning green gown. (Also: Beandrea realizes that Saoirse Ronan has been acting since she was a wee little one. Check out CherryPicks’ tribute to Saoirse here!)
The Interview
Sasheer Zamata in WOKE. Courtesy of Hulu.
For our interview this week, we chat with the delightful Sasheer Zamata who appears in the Hulu series Woke. We dig into what it was like playing a leading lady for the first time in the Stella Meghie indie film The Weekend (2018), what it was like doing bedroom scenes, and just how amazing “WAP” (and Cardi B’s insta) are. She also reminds us that the 1995 film Waiting To Exhale is one to keep coming back to again and again.
Credits
CherryPop is presented by CherryPicks.
Our hosts are Beandrea July (Twitter @beandreadotcom) and Meg McCarthy (IG megjomccarthy).
The show is recorded, produced and mixed by Beandrea July.
Our executive producers are Miranda Bailey and Rebecca Odes.
Our music is by Jordan Balagot. (Soundcloud jordanbla)
Special thanks to the whole team at CherryPicks.
https://bit.ly/2FIgSdC
CherryPicks presents CherryPop: a podcast about women and sex onscreen. Tune in each week for our deep dives into some of the most compelling portrayals of female pleasure in film and television. Hosts Beandrea July and Meg McCarthy take listeners on a journey to celebrate feminine pleasure across a diverse and wide-ranging collection of films. Together we’ll look at how a great sex scene can not only create intimacy and reveal a character to us in a whole new way, but it can also help us make deeper connections in our own lives.
Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!