Warmer weather brings on thoughts of love, of the birds and the bees, yet mating mechanics of insects, marine animals, or sea creatures threatened by commercial fishing remain a mystery to most people. Who better to explain the sex lives on animals than Isabella Rossellini? To get a clearer picture of how various organisms reproduce—from spiders to squid—look no further than her Green Porno series of short films available on the Sundance Channel’s website and in the actress's accompanying book (complete with DVD).
“Inspired by the wonderfully odd and humorous short films created by Isabella Rossellini and released on DVD for the first time, Green Porno offers a visually arresting and scientifically accurate look at the sex lives of marine animals and other creatures. This book will make you see the animal kingdom as you never have before,” according to the website. And this reader has to agree.
Aired originally in three installments, the series begins with the sex lives of insects. Rossellini, the daughter of Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini, plays the part of a number of insects, including a male bee, dragonfly, and praying mantis, dressing up in human-sized costumes and enacting the rituals the insects engage in.
The second demonstrates the sexual acts of marine life, and the third ocean animals that are threatened by over fishing.
In the final episodes, which were first aired last September when HarperCollins released the book, “there’s also a more explicit environmental message because Claudio Campagna, a scientist whom I worked with on the previous season, suggested that I use ‘Green Porno’ to tell the story of what happens to the animals we commonly eat from the sea, like shrimp, squid and anchovies. The quantity of such animals that are taken out of the ocean exceed the amount that the ocean can produce for us, so there’s a real warning to be given,” she said in a Wall Street Journal interview.
Each episode took a lot of research and creativity to ensure that the content was both accurate and entertaining, she said. She’s the prefect actress to mix the two, explaining with her sexy accent how, “To have babies, I need to mate with another hermaphrodite in the 69 position," when she acts out the earthworm. And that she "would give the most passionate 20 arm embrace…18, two are not arms, if you know what I mean,” when she describes her life as a squid.
Her tantalizing new series, Seduce Me, will describe the courting behavior of ducks, salmon, bed bugs, cuttlefish, and snakes. Watch it on SundanceChannel.com beginning April 20th.