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This article originally published in May 2024.At the 97th Academy Awards,Anorawon five Oscars, including Best Picture.
Its a hugely complicated saga.
But were really proud of the work weve done.
Ive been stripping for seven years, but Im sort of on my way out.
Acting is what Ive always wanted to do.
So this experience has been a great transition for me.
Im a writer poetry, autobiography, fiction.
I just love community; I think thats whats very special about sex work.
And both of my dreams have come true.
And now Im in a movie at Cannes!
I really want to get into writing and producing films.
Im working on putting together a sex-worker film festival, for sex workers who have produced and written films.
They can get in touch with me onInstagram.
How did each of you get cast?S.C.
:Its kind of a crazy story.
And I was like, Ahh!
He was like, Im working on this movie and itll be set in a place like Pumps.
Were looking for consultants if youre interested.
I met with Mikey over tea.
Did they consult with anyone else?
What kinds of questions did Mikey ask you?S.C.
:I think so.
She was really curious about language and slang.
Drama that was happening, which was specifically prevalent at the time for me.
How we approach customers.
What house fees are.
The inner workings of the club.
When shes going up to the customers and talking to them, it feels really real.
Its what we say.
A year later, Sammy texted me and asked if I wanted to audition.
I was like, Yeah, Im not an actor at all, but sure.
Howd you, Lindsey, and Luna, get cast?L.N.
:I met Sean at an after-party for a film in L.A.
It was the most insane kismet moment I could imagine.
I fell to the floor.
What I love about Seans work is its about sex workers as people and not really the work itself.
Just that key in of girl whos there to get money and not to make friends.
The Anora Reader
New Yorks Coverage of Anora
L.S.M.
:Both of my parents teach film, and they did not let me watch Disney films growing up.
They didnt want me to believe in the happy Hollywood ending.
We saw some of Seans films when we were very young.
My mom felt like they at least represented something real.TangerineandThe Florida Projectcame out when I was in high school.
Id had a bad night the night before, talking to a couple who were awful.
And they explained that they were here to see Sophia, that she was helping with something.
I said to try me.
When they told me, I was like, Oh my God.
I love those movies.
Sean was like, You know my movies?!
Im one of the bitches.
I shared my playlists, memes, lots of slang, a whole PDF of New York strip-club slang.
What are some examples of New York strip-club slang?L.S.M.
:I taught them about sharking, which is when you steal a client.
The line made it in.
Did some of the songs you shared make it into the movie?L.S.M.
:Oh my God, I shared my slow-burn stripper playlist, my ratchet stripper playlist.
I dont know if any of that made it into the movie.
:WasDaddy As Fuckyours?
:Oh, I think so.
:I think they mentioned that was your recommendation.
:I love Slayyyter.
She has a very stripper aesthetic.
What other sorts of things did you teach Mikey?L.S.M.
:With Mikey, it was so natural.
She is so sweet.
We talked a lot about the stigmas, how people judge you for no reason.
Just because theres money involved doesnt mean its not real.
And New York girls, how they talk.
Your voice does sound like hers in the film a bit.L.S.M.
:She talked to a lot of people, so its possible I got mixed in somewhere.
I also taught her, Its brick outside.
But it makes it through, especially when Im with my family.
How many days were you guys on set, and where did you film?
We shot during the day because the club was open at night.
A lot of guys take on that role when theyre in that environment.
Its very funny, honestly.
Ive never had a particularly bad experience with that; everybody was nice and respectful.
Its cute to me how they kind of take on that role.
Youre in all the garb, and it sort of happens naturally.
S.C.:It was fun talking to the background actors and the guys in the club.
They were so curious about what was going on and
L.N.
:Oh, you really are a stripper?!
S.C.:In some ways, it did feel like we were at the club.
It was respectful, though.
:Theres a fine line.
Id been struggling with how people would judge me and perceive me.
My dad was like, So, how are you going to market yourself?
But now Im like, Fuck it.
Im an actress and a stripper.
I can do both.
Were all of the strippers local as well?L.S.M.
:The strippers were all from a couple different New York clubs, including ours.
So he brought in vetted actors.
And Sean brought my boyfriend, whos an actor it was so nice.
Hes in the fight scene.
I went home and told my mom and she was like, Most film directors wouldnt do that.
you could tell he cares.
I felt like Ani.
I felt like Cinderella.
What else specifically feels different about stripping in a film versus in real life?
Is there an added layer of performance?L.N.
:What I love about stripping is that it mimics theater.
Stripping is the one space where I can be onstage and completely let go.
And I feel so in control.
Were here because Im hot, and thats not negotiable, we dont even have to worry about that.
So this was a good transition into feeling that way on-camera, versus playing, say, a lawyer.
Its business, and its about money.
Hustling at the club has taught me how to web connection in Hollywood.
Have you, or anyone youve worked with, ever found themselves in an Anora-punch in situation?
How realistic is that sort of thing?L.S.M.
:When I was 21, I met this 50-year-old man who promised me the world.
He was extremely rich.
We drew up a contract about what each meeting would look like and what the boundaries were.
I couldnt do it.
He love-bombed me; you start to really care about someone.
Im there for the money, but I have a heart.
It was emotionally devastating.
I cried so much during the movie.
But I feel like that was a big learning experience for me.
I didnt get it from him but from myself.
:Normally, its an older man.
But at the end of the day,Anorais a story about class.
Do you feel like his films do that?S.C.
:I think what it comes down to is opportunities and visibility.
I do think Sean nails that.
He does put in all of the work necessary so you can make it safe for sex workers.
The only stripper who wasnt a real stripper on set was Mikey.
S.C.:Thats big.
And the time he spent talking to me, to Luna, and other sex workers thats much appreciated.
That needs to change; we can do it.
We need an opening.
:And I think this is the opening, which is so amazing.
It could have easily been a bunch of union background people dressed as strippers, or pole-dancing girls.
Thats often the case they get the roles because theyre seen as more professional or palatable.
S.C.:Its a movie that feels very honest.
It isnt so tragic.
And its in the official selection at Cannes.
People are ready for it, and open to it, and to empathize with our work.
I want to ask people to be open and recognize where a stigma is coming from.
So much of it is very internalized.
:And I love that Mikey isnt just the most likable girl in the world.
She does have a heart of gold, but shes also a bitch.
She has to do what she needs to do to control her situation.
And its seen as her power, which is so important.
S.C.:Shes human!
:And I love that shes a stripper and an escort.
So many strippers are like, I would never do full service.
Its like, Lets cut that shit out.
:Internalized whorephobia in the club.
Or strippers who say, Im not a stripper.
Im an exotic dancer.
The ladder of privilege.
But the further you get outside of the club, the less safe it gets.
Black trans women are so vulnerable, specifically, in sex work.
We need to understand and accept each other, then reach out to the wider community as well.
Not everyone is like that, though.
We still have a long way to go.
But Sean is paving the yellow-brick road.
There are so many talented sex workers why hire someone else?
There are very few filmmakers who engage with sex work.
:And who remain engaged after the fact.
S.C.:All of which helps keep them safe in and outside of the clubs.
If a sex worker goes missing or is killed, theyre often labeled as nonhuman.
This stuff is really important.
Were here, were people.
:Im just excited about what this means for us.
But what I say to those people is, Fuck you.
Because look at where I am and not in spite of being a sex worker but because of it.
