Featuring in person Q&A with Writer/Producer Barry Sandler!

In the early 1980s, British filmmaker Ken Russell (The Devils, Tommy) travelled to America and placed his unorthodox imprint on Crimes of Passion—a crazed erotic thriller starring Kathleen Turner (Serial Mom, Body Heat) and Anthony Perkins (Psycho). Fashion designer Joanna Crane (Turner) leads a double life. At night, she is China Blue, a prostitute who has attracted the attention of a psychopathic priest (Perkins). With its outrageous script by screenwriter Barry Sandler (Making Love) and sparkling score from Rick Wakeman of the band Yes, Crimes of Passion is a movie that could only have been realized by the gonzo creativity of Ken Russell.

Initially saddled with an “X” rating, Sandler and Russell, continued to make edits to the film to satisfy the distributor and the MPAA. Sandler said, “We kept cutting a little more each time and, by the fifth round of cuts, I think they (the MPAA) were all so beaten down from looking at the thing and from pressure from the press and elsewhere that they finally went with an ‘R’.

Uncomfortable Brunch is proud to present the unrated version of the film for this special event.

Meet the Filmmaker:
Barry Sandler (Writer/Producer)

With BA and MFA Film degrees from UCLA, Barry Sandler has written screenplays for numerous motion pictures, including the transgressive psychosexual cult classic CRIMES OF PASSION (New World/Orion/ Kathleen Turner, Anthony Perkins/dir. Ken Russell) THE MIRROR CRACK’D (EMI/Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis, Kim Novak, Angela Lansbury/dir. Guy Hamilton), EVIL UNDER THE SUN (Universal/Peter Ustinov, Maggie Smith, James Mason, Diana Rigg/dir. Guy Hamilton), THE DUCHESS AND THE DIRTWATER FOX (20th Century Fox/Goldie Hawn, George Segal/dir. Melvin Frank), THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT (20th Century Fox/Susan Sarandon, Marie-France Pisier/dir. Charles Jarrott), GABLE AND LOMBARD (Universal/Jill Clayburgh, James Brolin/dir. Sidney J. Furie), ALL-AMERICAN MURDER (Trimark/ Christopher Walken, Charlie Schlatter/dir. Anson Williams), THE LONERS (Fanfare/Dean Stockwell, Gloria Grahame/dir. Sutton Roley), THE VALLEY (Lagoon/Gerard Depardieu/dir. Barbet Schroeder) , EVIL NEVER DIES (Warner Bros/Katherine Heigl, Thomas Gibson/dir. Uli Edel), KANSAS CITY BOMBER (MGM/Raquel Welch, Jodie Foster/dir. Jerrold Freedman), and the groundbreaking landmark film MAKING LOVE (20th Century Fox/Michael Ontkean, Harry Hamlin, Kate Jackson/dir. Arthur Hiller), the first major studio film to present a positive portrayal of LGBTQ men and women.

Sandler also produced CRIMES OF PASSION, ALL-AMERICAN MURDER, KNOCK ‘EM DEAD, and associate produced MAKING LOVE.

Sandler is the recipient of the GLAAD Media Award, the Southern California Psychotherapy Association Courage in Filmmaking Award, the People for the American Way Defending Freedom Citation, the PFLAG Oscar Wilde Award, the MECLA Humanitarian Award, the GLCSC Award, the FMPTA Crystal Reel Award, and the Outfest 2002 Gay Pioneer Award for Courage and Artistry.

He has been honored by the Berlin, Seattle, Florida, Asheville, Santa Barbara, Outfest, Gay Orlando and Q2 Film Festivals, profiled in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Advocate, the Orlando Sentinel, the Orlando Weekly, the Miami Herald, the Chicago Sun Times, After Dark, Daily Variety, Esquire Magazine, GQ, the Village Voice, Wikipedia, Filmmakers Forum, ABC 20/20, NBC Today Show, A&E Biography,

In 2002, Sandler was named by The Advocate as one of the most influential gay artists in America.

Since 2003, in addition to screenwriting, Sandler has been on the faculty of the University of Central Florida, where he teaches Feature/TV Writing and Film history in the Film Program of the Nicholson School of Communication and Media.

On June 23, 2022, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences held a special 40th anniversary event screening of MAKING LOVE, celebrating the film’s role in LGBTQ cinematic history and the positive impact it has had and continues to have for LGBTQ people around the world. The screening was followed by a panel discussion with Sandler. Scott Berg and Harry Hamlin on the film’s historical and cultural significance.