Today I learned probably one of the funniest creative solutions to filming during the pandemic out there. Soap operas who really lean in on the romance and physical aspect of the show were running into a problem. First they would try to write out the love scenes but the story was falling a little flat. To combat that and still be able to maintain social distancing protocols they opted for the use of… mannequins.
“At first, we took out the love scenes, and the show was falling a little flat because we’re all about romance and family interactions. One of the first ideas we had was to bring in mannequins for the intimate scenes and hospital scenes, and it’s working quite well — we’re shooting it from a great distance or in a way you can’t see the form is inanimate.”
How are the performers reacting to their lifeless co-stars? “We’ve had a lot of strange looks and questions like, Do you really want to do this? But everyone is game. They are getting their first latex kiss.”
Bradley Bell, the executive producer of the CBS daytime drama via the New York Times
The mannequins were so convincing to the actors on the show, or rather their characters that they even wrote one in. Note above we have a scene from the “The Bold and the Beautiful” where the actress is explaining that her lover saw another man kissing the mannequin. Alas her good name remains in tact because it was never really her the entire time! Just a look alike who anyone could have confused with the real thing.
Now I don’t know if it’s just me but I find this really funny. During the pandemic mannequins seemed to be the solution for all kinds of things. They were put in places to make them feel less empty in places like hotels and restaurants. Part of me wonders if it’s because “Umbrella Academy‘s” Number Five did such a good job bringing his love Dolores to life.
