Nudity clauses, standard on films, now becoming standard on network TV
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Behind every bare breast and flash of buttocks is a hard working entertainment lawyer.
The lawyer is usually the one to negotiate Hollywood’s most awkward legal agreement: the nudity clause.
“The nudity rider spells out exactly what an actor agrees to do in a role: partial nudity, full frontal nudity — even simulated sex,” LA attorney Brian J. Murphy says.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The document — usually about one page — can be extremely detailed.
It typically includes which body parts can be shown, from which angle and for how long.
The nudity clause — once a rarity on TV — is becoming, if not standard, an everyday part of contract negotiations.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}And it’s starting to show.
Kristen Bell, who came to fame 10 years ago as a crime-solving high school student on “Veronica Mars,” agreed to work in a bra and panties — but not the Full Monty — in the new sex-filled Showtime drama “House of Lies.” She’s now 31.
Shows like NBC’s “Playboy Club” negotiated detailed nudity riders with key actors to cover scenes filmed for DVD or overseas use.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“You have to be careful not to put yourself in a position where you might be taken advantage of,” says 19 year-old Vanessa Marano of ABC Family’s “Switched at Birth.”
“Especially if you are not a series regular and you are just a woman going in for a guest spot on cable, they will expect you to take it off. I did ‘Dexter,’ and there were people naked everywhere on that. I was safe because I was underage, but if I were older, my clothes would have probably had to come off. ”