Women film fans demand pecks appeal

Ever wondered why Ben Affleck needs to take his shirt off in political thriller, 'Argo', or why Matt Damon has an obligatory "topless" scene in 'Elysium'?

Hollywood has finally discovered the way to please women viewers, according to a report in 'The Sunday Times'.

A gratuitous moment in which the lead actor casually discards his clothes to reveal a toned torso - a shot known as the 'upshirt' - is essential in today's Hollywood films, scriptwriters have been told.

The term was coined on the set of television series 'Desperate Housewives', where the actress Eva Longoria teasingly insisted on retakes of the actor playing her hunky young gardener removing his shirt, to applause from her co-stars.

According to cinema managers at their annual conference last week in Las Vegas, it has evolved to become the 'must-have shot' for movies aimed at female audiences.

“If it’s not in the story, we want the studios to get it in,” said a manager at the CinemaCon convention.

Women have been buying the tickets for blockbusters since they applauded Tobey Maguire's 'Spider-Man' kissing his girlfriend while hanging upside down, claims Vincent Bruzzese, chief executive of Worldwide Motion Picture Group, which advises studios.

"Since then writers have been seeking these hot moments in action movies such as a shirtless Ben Affleck in 'Argo'," claims Bruzzese. "Old plot devices to get a woman to drop her clothes are stale and women do not like them. The new [way] is to always make it look accidental, as if the strong and independent woman just stumbled in on a man undoing his shirt. Then she can walk away without appearing diminished, threatened or even attracted."

Karen Sternheimer of the University of Southern California, said the 'upshirt' had come from men's health magazines where shirtless models inspire young men - or intimidate them. But she said men do not mind being watched, as some women do, because it reinforces their sense of power.