Good to read this affirmation that the models are presumed to be voluntary (hopefully well-compensated) and not abused. In this feminist mind hopeful they derive a good degree of erotic satisfaction themselves in the process! Interesting they both appear to have c-section scars... at the end of the day go home to their babies.
Thank you, ladies, for courageously sharing your bodies for our enjoyment...
Because I was funding the production, Alex (Bald guy) sent me the behind-the-scenes footage. It was very interesting.
Alina (the raven-haired girl) is an experienced model for Alex. I'd seen some of her other work for him that involved breath-play and choking, which I considered the most dangerous part of this stunt, so I hired her to do the first "Rope or Money" movie. I didn't want to fund a project with an actress that might not know what she had signed up to do. Anything involving the throat and breath-play is risky, particularly in bondage, and I wanted to minimize the risk. I felt an experienced model would know her limits more than a rookie would. Alina was very comfortable with the role, and after seeing the BTS footage and then the film footage, I could see how much of an actress she is. She did a very convincing job of emoting pain, strength, defiance, and exhaustion (at least in my opinion). In the BTS footage, she asks for direction and script clarification, then "Action!" is called and she goes right into character. I was impressed with her professionalism.
I was so impressed that the day after I viewed the footage, I asked about doing a sequel.
Alex wrote back that Alina had a friend that was also interested in doing a movie (the blonde, Anna), so I whipped up a script that could involve both of them. I wasn't sure of Anna's ability, but I figured if she was terrible then Aline would carry the load (so to speak). Physically, Alina is dark and voluptuous, and Anna is blonde and slender. I judged that Anna's slender frame would look better with her hands down, and I liked the idea of a contrast with Alina's hands being up and her body stretched. I added the leg-spreader in the second film because (a) I wanted Alina's feet to be clear of the floor in the suspension scenes and (b) it's a good power-pose that highlights the vulnerability of bondage. I put blocks under Alina's feet so that we could do the suspension at the end of the film, and blocks under Anna's feet to limit her movement and add a dramatic flair at the end for her as well, when she's lifted and placed on the floor to lift the weighted bottle up higher (that doesn't make the bottle weigh more, but it looks good).
After Alex did the filming, he sent me the BTS footage and I laughed my ass off.
The script called for Alina to wake up in bondage, not knowing where she is, but looking around and seeing her friend tied up for torture with her. Anna is also in bondage, a noose around her neck. Alina is to be strong, and Anna is supposed to be frightened.
The first roll shows Alina in position with the noose around her neck, arms tied overhead, standing on wood blocks with a spreader bar tied to her ankles. Alina is standing on her blocks, arms behind her back, ankles tied to a spreader bar, but no noose, smiling, just having a friendly chat with her friend. Alex sets up his cameras and then walks into the frame to put the noose around Anna's neck. She looks at Alina with a nervous smile of "Here we go!" and after Alex is done and walks away to start the filming, Anna and Alina burst into laughter at the ridiculousness of it all. Alex yells "Cameras! Action!" and Alina immediately goes into character. Anna has to look away to hide her giggles, then gets into character. Not too long after, Alex yells "Cut!" and both girls start laughing hilariously. Watching it at home, I laughed too! It was just so fun to see them having fun. I could hear Alex mutter something and then...
They try again. Second roll, second take. The girls are chatting like they're at a party, having a great time. Alex yells "Camera! Action!" and again Alina goes straight into character. Anna looks away again to regain her composure and get into character, then turns and looks around at her predicament and sees her friend. As soon as both girls' eyes meet, they start laughing again. Hard. I saw the footage and started laughing, too. Two women, in bondage, noose around their necks, laughing uncontrollably.
Ok, one more time!
Third take. Alex says something to them in Russian (I'm guessing) and both of the women look like school children that have just been scolded by their teacher. Alina replies "Dah... dah..." and Anna just looks down and clears her throat. Alex yells "Camera! Action!" and Alina goes into character immediately and Anna turns away. They both look around the room and for a second I can see that Alina has to stifle a laugh when she sees her friend. Had I not seen the BTS footage, it might not have been noticable, but knowledge is power and I know she's about the laugh if Anna looks at her. Anna doesn't, and Alex manages to get a useful scene recorded. Immediately after "Cut!" both women start laughing. Anna bends over to catch her breath she's laughing so hard.
At one point during the filming, as Alex is adjusting the cameras, Alina got bored and started dancing (what she could while strung up and restrained) and singing to some pop tune, I'm guessing. Anna doesn't notice; she's in vapor-lock watching Alex check his camera settings. When Alex looks up, Alina immediately goes into Pro-Model mode and looks like she's paying attention. "Look busy! The boss is watching!"
These parts that don't make it into the final movie are definitely worth the money to have and watch. And the film ain't bad either!
I'm already talking to Alex about a third installment in what is becoming a trilogy. Both girls have already agreed to come back, even before I gave Alex my script ideas. Alina was ready to go a lot harder than I wanted to ask, but I'm not going to push her. I'm more about the peril than the punishment, anyway. It's like, I'm taking the best scene from a bad "B"-movie and crystalizing it. No matter how long "Barbarian Queen" is, the only part worth a damn is the dungeon scene. So, "Rope or Money" is like the best scene in a crime drama: a girl (in RoM 1) is kidnapped and tortured to get her father to pay ransom. In the second movie, the villain has upped the ante by kidnapping a second girl, too. It's all about getting the money and less about serial torture.
Anyway, thought you might enjoy some insight into film production.