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Gershon not bound by sexual stereotypes
July 17, 1997
Web posted at: 5:38 a.m. EDT (0938 GMT)From Correspondent Michael Okwu
CANNES (CNN) -- Actress Gina Gershon has no fear when it comes to portraying risqué, sexually-strong women.
First there was Gina as a stripper with bisexual tendencies in the much maligned "Showgirls."
Then there was Gina as a lesbian ex-con in "Bound."
Now Gershon plays a prostitute who happens to be embroiled in an incestuous relationship with her twin brother in "This World, Then the Fireworks."
"I call it my trilogy of perversion," she says. "It's hard to find great roles. And to me, those three roles were really juicy parts, you know, complex characters that I had fun doing."
The third part of Gershon's trilogy was chosen in part due to the author of the story, Jim Thompson.
Scene from the movie "This World, Then the Fireworks"
1M/27 sec. QuickTime movie
Thompson's stories are the basis for such films as "The Grifters" and "After Dark, My Sweet." "This World, Then the Fireworks" is based on a posthumously published short story of the same title. The film deals with subject matter like murder, incest and matricide with an intimacy that would scare most Hollywood types away at first blush.
Gershon reveled in it.
"There are intense scenes -- from seeing your father kill someone to seeing your father get killed to killing your mother," she says. "As an actress, it was a pretty good opportunity to stretch."
Related stories:
- 'Bound' heats up the screen - October 4, 1996
- "Showgirls": ethical dilemma in a G-string? - September 20, 1995
Related site:
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- MGM/UA - Showgirls
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