By Gary M. Kramer—
In out gay writer/director Gregg Araki’s amusing new comedy, I Want Your Sex, twentysomething Elliot (Cooper Hoffman) gets a job working for the controversial artist Erika Tracy (Olivia Wilde). Erika soon gets intimate with her employee in ways that are unprofessional—much to Elliot’s delight. That is until a crime occurs, and Elliot must recount his inappropriate relationship to two cops (Margaret Cho and Johnny Knoxville) investigating the case. To reveal more would spoil the devious pleasures of I Want Your Sex, which will open on July 31, 2026, in the Bay Area.
In a recent interview, Araki told me what he could about making his provocative new film.
Gary M. Kramer: Your film satirizes the art world, the #MeToo movement, and Gen Z snowflakes. How did you conceive of the characters and the situations they create or find themselves in?
Gregg Araki: Originally, the script the film is based on was written in 2012–2013, and it was a very different story about a female intern and a male boss. It kept evolving. Around 2016–2017 and the #MeToo movement, I didn’t want to depict a woman being dragged around by her hair— particularly as America is taking this dark turn. I didn’t want to kink-shame anybody, but I wasn’t comfortable putting that image out there. So, I changed it to a male sub and a female dom. That made the characters much more interesting to me.
The Erika Tracy character is powerful, super-complicated, and morally questionable at times, but she is passionate and creative. It really energized the dynamic of the film. The last few passes [of the script] were when the article came out about Gen Z not caring about sex anymore, which the characters discuss in the film. My reaction to it is very much Erika’s; she is my mouthpiece. Sex is so important to life and your growth as a person. I found out from friends, whose kids are Gen Z, that their kids don’t date or have sex. From there, it was getting Elliot to speak for his generation. That conversation, and the two generations and their different views on sex, became the major theme of the movie.
Gary M. Kramer: What observations do you have about the power dynamics at play, and how they speak to themes of identity and control?
Gregg Araki: You get that from Elliot’s relationship with his girlfriend Minerva (Charli xcx). She’s terrible. He likes it. He has that aspect of his personality in general as part of his psyche. Erika senses that. She is his literal fantasy come true—a beautiful, sexy superhero. She’s the woman of his wildest dreams. The actors both do such a fantastic job. They got their characters and where they are coming from.
Gary M. Kramer: I Want Your Sex is very sex positive. What was your intent with all the sex?
Gregg Araki: I relate strongly to Erika Tracy’s character. I don’t venture into the morally dark areas she ventures into—like [having sex with] her employees—but I really believe in what she feels about art, sex, and sexuality. Her comments in the first interviews with Elliot are things I have said in interviews. I imbued a lot of my worldview and how I feel about sex and sex positivity and the importance of sex in my life. That is all coming from a very personal place.
Gary M. Kramer I Want Your Sex is one of your more heterosexual films. Could this film have worked equally well had it been a gay relationship at the center?
Gregg Araki: It could have. It would have been a bit different. I love the inversion of the sex roles. I love that Erika is a strong, powerful woman. I’ve been so heavily influenced by feminism all my life. It could work with two men, but, for me personally as a filmmaker, that is not as interesting and especially in this culture and political climate. The patriarchy is real and has always been a problem. It was getting a tiny bit better for a little bit and the pendulum has swung the opposite way. Women are being attacked, assaulted, and erased. It is terrifying to me that patriarchal toxic male violence is out there. I am happy to have a film with a character like Erika Tracy out in the world right now. She is in control of her image and her femininity.
Gary M. Kramer: You play with reality in the narrative with animated moments, surrealism, and scenes of fantasy. Can you describe your visual approach to the material?
Gregg Araki: I really wanted the movies to be up and pop and a funhouse of animation because it is set in the art world. Elliot talks about imagination and how he is always in another world; that gave us license to take the movie into another level visually. With all my movies, particularly The Doom Generation and Nowhere, I have been interested in expressionism and these kind of stylized sets and heightened reality. As a filmmaker, I’m not super-interested in naturalism, realism, or gritty documentary handheld mumblecore.
Gary M. Kramer: Taking a cue from a question in the film, what can you say about trying to make meaningful work?
Gregg Araki: I was Elliot when I was 20 years old. I just wanted to be an artist. The fact that I’ve been around for as long as I have, and made all the films I have, and been creative is beyond everything I’ve ever dreamed of. I am so grateful for that.
© 2026 Gary M. Kramer
Gary M. Kramer is the author of “Independent Queer Cinema: Reviews and Interviews,” and the co-editor of “Directory of World Cinema: Argentina.” He teaches Short Attention Span Cinema at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute and is the moderator for Cinema Salon, a weekly film discussion group. Follow him on IG @garyemkramer
Film
Published on July 30, 2026
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