Nashville Pussy: The Mr. Skin Interview

What is your view on nudity and sex in the movies?
Ruyter: Well, it doesn't bother me at all, but I'd have to say it's a little one-sided--to the point where I get real excited about seeing the occasional guy's butt. I'll even watch HBO's Oz to make up for it. I remember the first time I was watching Oz and it was like, "Whoa, a naked butt!" And then it was, "Whoa, I saw a dick! Okay, that's it--I'm hooked."

But when guys go full frontal you see the works. Women have to get into certain positions to really reveal everything.
Ruyter: Well, yeah. You don't get any spread shots, but you get bush, or the lack thereof.

I don't watch it because of that.
Ruyter: I think I'd rather watch that than Mel Gibson's butt, but I'll even take that.

What about female actresses; which ones do you think are worth seeing?
Ruyter: I'm kinda anti the commodification of sexuality in general, like I hate to put a price on it. I hate knowing that Halle Berry got paid a billion dollars to show her boobs in Swordfish (Picture: 1 - 2), that makes it lame. But at the same time being naked is a natural part of being human so I think that they should be able to show any kind of nudity, period. But I don't like it when it's overly sexualized or commodified. In my opinion, the way to balance things and make it more natural would be to have more people more naked more often.

I couldn't agree more.
Ruyter: I like Ashley Judd a lot, she's really cool. She's one of my favorites, for sure. I like chicks with moxie. She got a lot of moxie, that girl. Ashley Judd, Jessica Lange, that kind of character. Ones that might punch you in the face. [To Blaine] Who's a sexy actress, dear?

Blaine: Angelina Jolie.

Ruyter: Yeh, Angelina Jolie is hotter than hell. She shows her boobs in Gia (Picture: 1 - 2).

That was good--like that scene where she walks out to the elevator.
Ruyter: Yeah, that kind of scene is great, it wasn't overly sexualized, it was just, "Whoa, she's naked."

Ruyter, have you ever been approached to appear nude?
Ruyter: You mean when I was sixteen and some man pretended he was from Playboy? I think it happens to every girl. But seriously, we were approached by Playboy for real a couple of years ago. They asked me and Blaine to do a Nashville Pussy pictorial together. It was good money, but it wasn't good enough. For that, I wanted to be able to buy my parents a house.

Who said no more, you or Blaine?
Ruyter: It wasn't really that we said no. It just wasn't enough money. If I was going to bother to do something like that, it's got to be for fucking real. I don't want to have any nagging thought about, "Maybe I should--or maybe I shouldn't," because then you're obviously not doing it for any reason other than the money, right?

Isn't that commodifying it?
Ruyter: Exactly. If you're going to play that game you may as well go all the way. Because when it comes down to the truth, then I would do it for free. That's my own hippie attitude. But that only works where everyone else agrees. Otherwise, they'd be taking advantage of my liberal leanings. I have to admit the fact that I'm living in a pretty heavy capitalist society and this kinda shit is worth a dollar. And to not want to regret it you're going to have to do have something retarded with it like buy your mother a house.

What are your views on nude scenes, Blaine?
Blaine: Oh shit, man--I know tons. Mostly from actresses in the '70s and stuff. I know about a lot of the famous '70s actresses. You know Archie Bunker's daughter, before she got fat--Sally Struthers? She's nude in Five Easy Pieces (Picture: 1 - 2 - 3), getting fucked by Jack Nicholson. Cybill Shepherd, back when she was really hot, in The Last Picture Show (Picture: 1 - 2 - 3), she gets buck naked. Sissy Spacek made a movie about white slavery, and she was naked and being auctioned off. It's hard to find.

Prime Cut!
Blaine: Right! I remember seeing pictures of that in Celebrity Skin. I like those Celebrity Skin mags a lot. And Suzanne Somers is topless in that first scene in Magnum Force in the swimming pool (Picture: 1 - 2). Girls were hotter in the '70s, I think. Even Diane Keaton, from those Woody Allen movies. She got nude a lot in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (Picture: 1 - 2). It's not a very good movie, but the point being that she was naked in it. Now, Raquel Welch--never been nude. Man, I wish I had my list written down. I used to know a shitload. Linda Blair made a bunch of stuff during her developing years, like Chained Heat (Picture: 1).

Are these your "fond memory" favorites?
Blaine: They're ones I saw on cable or actually saw in the movie theater. My friend had this underground video compilation of Hollywood nude scenes that was going around for a while back in the '80s, and I knew better ones. I had ones that were way better. Like, everyone knows Phoebe Cates in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Picture: 1 - 2). But she did another one called Paradise (Picture: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4). It's her and Willie Aames from Eight is Enough. Phoebe Cates does nothing but take showers the entire time!

I used to have a copy of that movie! I had to get rid of it because it was too distracting.
Blaine: I used to see stuff like that on the early version of Cinemax. Sex content is standard now, but back in the early '80s they only used to show hot stuff on a few channels, late at night. Cable opened things up. Back when I was a kid my dad used to have Playboys underneath the couch or something. We'd have to find them to sneak a look. But now, the internet's too easy to the point where I think if someone was watching some movie channel on TV, waiting for the forty-five seconds of nudity from some babe--they'd just get bored.

What was the first experience you had of seeing a nude scene?
Blaine: Billy Jack. My dad took me to get a corn dog during the rape scene, though. Oh yeah, I remember he used to really like Adrienne Barbeau a whole bunch. I don't know if she was ever naked--maybe in Swamp Thing [Ed: She sure was!] (Picture: 1). I do know she was nude in some weird off-Broadway play and they had a picture of it in Hustler magazine. She was one of the ten people that Larry Flynt offered a million dollars to pose nude, back in the old days when that kind of money was unheard of. She wouldn't pose so Larry Flynt got that picture and published it, saying, "She's too good to pose nude but she's not too good to appear naked in some really stupid little off-Broadway play." It was a weird list. Like, Mary Tyler Moore was on it.

Let's jump to today. What actresses do you like?
Blaine: Well, one of the best--actually, she's not from today, but from about ten years ago --Sherilyn Fenn, she used to be hot when she was on Twin Peaks. She was nude in this terrible fucking cable-only movie called Meridian (Picture: 1 - 2 - 3). It was so fucking bad, but she was totally amazing. Nowadays? I like Christina Ricci, back when she had some weight on her. Juliette Lewis is okay. I met her one time. She shows her tits in that Kalifornia movie (Picture: 1). Traci Lords came out to one of our shows--she doesn't do nudity now. I prefer her earlier accomplishments anyway.

Ruyter mentioned Playboy came to you two wanting a pictorial--but you turned them down. What was your take on that?
Blaine: When we started Nashville Pussy, Ruyter made a promise to her mother--no nudity. Her mom would get kinda mad. Plus, I was afraid it would look lame. Playboy is all faked and airbrushed.

Not your style? Nashville Pussy does have a reputation for doing pretty raunchy and raw live shows.
Blaine: Yeah, we're raunchy live, but we don't fake it--we're naturally raunchy.

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