Dave Franco goes full frontal in his latest film Together, which also stars his real-life wife Alison Brie. One particular scene involving full nudity raised a familiar question among curious viewers: was that actually Franco’s anatomy — or movie magic?
Together’s writer-director Michael Shanks addressed the viral speculation directly, in a recent interview with OUT.
“A Shoebox Full of Genitals”
While chatting about the heavy use of practical effects in the film — over 80 percent, according to Shanks — he revealed the set was frequently filled with unusual props: “The practical effects people would be wheeling in puppets, crazy prosthetics, or a shoebox full of human genitals.”
So when asked whether Franco’s exposed penis was real or prosthetic, Shanks didn’t shy away.
“I think I can reveal that it was prosthetic,” he told Out. “But that was such a crazy shot to bring up to the producers. We had such a limited prosthetics budget, and that was a shot that I added a little later. I was like, ‘Guys, we can’t afford to add prosthetic genitals.’”
Luckily, Shanks had a resourceful solution thanks to a somewhat unusual connection.
“My partner at the time used to work for a sex toy company and offered to give me a few ultra-realistic genitals that were just lying around in a drawer in my home office,” he said.
The team gave the prosthetic a quick paint job for colour accuracy. “It became maybe my favourite shot in the film,” Shanks added.
Queer Storylines at the Heart of Together
Beyond prosthetics and horror-thriller beats, Together has quietly earned praise for its queer representation. A subplot features a same-sex couple, including a wedding between a character played by Damon Herriman and his partner, a narrative thread that took some viewers by surprise.
“Thank you so much. That means a great deal,” Shanks responded when praised for the scene. “Even when I was writing stupid stuff back in Australia back in the day, I was always keen to write queer characters just as any other character that you would write who isn’t queer, because there is no difference between us, really.”
Out’s reporter also noted that the film subverts traditional interpretations of Plato’s Symposium myth — in which humans were split in two and are destined to seek their other half — by showcasing same-gender soulmates.
“Absolutely,” Shanks agreed. “It’s just about finding the person that you love the most and committing to them fully. That’s really what the film’s about, no matter who you are.”
