Page 76 - AVN November 2019

Codey Steele, who will play the psychiatrist who confronts
Adelaide in the climactic scene, shambles into the bedroom
and stretches out on a rug on the floor, pointing out that
scene prep is easier for male talent: “We don’t have to go
through makeup.”
“Her skill is amazing,” Steele says of Wright. “I’ve known
her as a performer, performing with her, and now she’s
directing. As a performer, she understands what’s possible
from performers. She does a very good job at bridging that
gap between what she knows she wants to see and what’s
actually possible to see. She’s not just another talent that
wants to direct: she takes it seriously. She’ll tell you what
she needs, she’ll help you, and she’ll act it out in front of you
as well. I’ve gotten ‘Just do it better’ from some directors.
They don’t give you the encouragement that she does. It
makes it so much easier.”
Gianna Dior plays the titular role. “Adelaide is me,
honestly,” Dior says. “I wouldn’t say I’m evil [chuckle], but I
have evil thoughts that go through my head. Adelaide acts
on them. She’s more or less just fucking over everyone
in the story. That’s what drew me to her, because it’s—
relatable [laughter]. I love Adelaide. This is my first big
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acting role. I got the script three weeks ago and I’ve been
reading it every night. This morning I did arts and crafts in
the bedroom with Whitney, getting into character. Having
sex in character is liberating. Last night, my scene with
Khloe Kapri was very manipulative. I had to focus a lot
more. It was a challenge.”
To lead into the final, climactic scene Wright sets up a
lengthy hand-held tracking shot, following Steele as he
stalks from the house’s entrance gate through the dark
house to Adelaide’s bedroom. The living room Klieg light
is moved out of camera range, because it looks like crew
carelessness instead of funky décor.
In the bedroom, Wright carefully stages Steele’s entrance
for the hand-held camera, factoring in the small size of the
room and the reflective windows in the entrance door. This
is the final climax, the end of the movie, and Wright has
saved it for the last thing to be shot. In the scene, Steele,
seething, wants to cut off Adelaide entirely, as Adelaide
seductively tries to take the upper hand. Wright works out
the action with Dior and Steele, then they run through the
scene as Wright views it on monitors, safely off-camera in
the nearby walk-in closet. Steele enters the bedroom and