Conan O'Brien hides his face as Aubrey Plaza recalled filming steamy scene — with an unexpected twist
During an interview with Conan O'Brien in 2013, Aubrey Plaza talked about her experience filming a scene for the 2013 movie 'The To Do List'. In the film, her character, Brandy, explores her sexuality before heading off to college, including a moment where she pleasures herself. Plaza expected to only pretend for the scene, but when she asked director Maggie Carey for guidance, Carey told her, "Masturbate, as it says in the script," Unilad reported. When Plaza gave more details about the bold scene on the talk show, O'Brien hid his face in embarrassment.
O'Brien asked, "The movie 'The to-do List' there's a scene where you uh pleasure yourself, how do you approach that kind of scene? That's got to be a strange thing to shoot on camera" to which Plaza jokingly questioned, "Mentally or??" O'Brien replied, "I'm just curious that's an intense uh act to simulate on." Plaza explained, "Well I read it on the page and it said 'Brandy masturbates' and in my head, I envisioned a nice scene where you just see my hand go out of the frame" She continued, "But then when I showed up, the camera was mounted on the ceiling. I was in my underwear and a Clinton t-shirt and there were a bunch of old men smoking" referring to the crew. "And then I went and then I touched myself in front of all these guys and in front of America soon," she added. She continued saying, "I thought I was doing one thing and then, when I showed up, it was a whole different thing; it was a full-body shot and I asked the director what should I do and she said 'masturbate as it says in the script.'"
Carey praised Plaza’s commitment, saying in an interview with Screen Slam, "She was game for everything, you know, which was so fun. And she had no problem putting herself in these very awkward situations. But, you know, it's played for comedy and she just nailed it. It was just so fun to work with her, yeah, she's very gutsy." Although Plaza and Carey have spoken positively about how the movie was made, some people online have pointed out that this situation would likely be seen differently today. One person commented on the YouTube video's comments section, "They all laugh it away, but this isn't ok. You can't order someone to pleasure herself for a TV show."
Meanwhile, others praised Plaza's positive approach and attitude during her interview with Conan O'Brien as one viewer commented, "She's just so Naturally awkward I love her." Another one wrote, "Weird, hot, attractive. Damn=Perfection. She`s funny, every interview of her I got to laugh, she confuses the talk show hosts with ease and leaves them in a state of disbelief... love it." A fan wrote, "Whenever I'm feeling low I watch Conan videos, especially with Aubrey Plaza then I forget everything and laugh like crazy. Her comedic delivery is excellent."