Demi Moore talks nudity scenes, Margaret Qualley in Cannes-premiered horror movie 'The Substance'
Demi Moore is feeling vulnerable amid her new role in the movie "The Substance," which premiered at Cannes Film Festival.
The 61-year-old talked about playing an aging actress in the film and filming nude scenes during a press conference Monday. Moore's character, Elizabeth Sparkle, takes a "black market," "cell-replicating substance" to become a "younger, better version of herself," played by Margaret Qualley, according to IMDb.
"Going into it, it was really spelled out — the level of vulnerability and rawness that was really required to tell the story," Moore said, according to Variety and CNN. “And it was a very vulnerable experience and just required a lot of sensitivity and a lot of conversation about what we were trying to accomplish."
The performance involved several scenes of full-frontal nudity for Moore. The "Feud" actress credited Qualley, 29, with making her feel comfortable on set.
More said she found "someone who was a great partner who I felt very safe with. We obviously were quite close — naked — and we also got a lot of levity in those moments at how absurd those certain situations were," according to the outlets.
Various media outlets, including Variety and Deadline, report the film received anywhere between a nine and 13-minute standing ovation.
'The Substance' gets a standing ovation at Cannes: What to know about Demi Moore's new movie
The extended standing ovations have been going around at Cannes, with Francis Ford Coppola's 40-year passion project "Megalopolis" and Kevin Costner's "Horizon: An American Saga" both receiving upwards of seven minutes of applause at their respective premieres. Both films have received mixed reviews from critics.
Costner received a warm reception to his first directorial effort in 11 years at the festival on Sunday, which brought the 69-year-old to tears, as seen in video shared by Variety. "I'm sorry you had to clap that long for me to understand that I should speak,” said Costner, according to the Huffington Post and People.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Demi Moore talks nude scenes in movie with Margaret Qualley at Cannes