From best-selling tome The Game and rom-com royalty Hitch, to Mystery and his self-proclaimed Master Pick-Up Artist program, there’s no shortage of matchmaking material currently afloat in the sea of popular culture. A bona fide trend, it seems countless romantically challenged men and women are looking for guidance these days – be it from reality TV, or your local Barnes & Noble bookshelf.

Now, the phenomenon comes full-circle with producer and first-time filmmaker Richard Temtchine’s comedy, How to Seduce Difficult Women. While the film, which follows a NYC-based French author as he attempts to teach 10 men the art of seduction, won’t hit the silver screen for another few months, December sees its debut screening, as well as a similarly themed comic book release and seminar series. In the meantime, psychoPEDIA sat down with Temtchine to discuss the art of seduction, and why so many men need a tutorial.

How did the concept for the film come about?
I met a woman who asked what I was doing next, and I said, “a film called How to Seduce Difficult Women.” She said, “Then it’s not about me. I’m not difficult.” I asked, “So, you’re easy?” And she replied, “Oh, no.” That’s when I realized that this title was perfect. If you ask any woman if she might be difficult, she will say "no." If you ask if she is easy, it's the same. The more I threw that title around, the more people reacted to it.

The film’s lead is a French man, who teaches American men how to seduce. Is the stereotype that French men are better seducers true?
As a myth, I have to believe it. Because when I came to this country, every woman asked, “Oh, are you French?” [with satisfaction].

How does one learn how to seduce?
That is the subject of the film. Probably the best book written on the subject is The Art of Seduction by Robert Greene. He writes about the nine types of seduction. Seduction is basically a manipulation, so, if you’re a good manipulator, it’s easier. If you’re not a good manipulator, you have to be taught. What prevents a man from seducing is fear – of being inadequate, of saying the wrong thing… the film is about how you operate around the fear.

Do you think women have the same fear?
I don’t know, because the woman is being seduced. She is on the receiving end. She's there waiting to see what the guy is going to be like, if he is going to make an ass of himself. If the man says one thing wrong, he is out.

So, women have all the control?
Yes. The man is under the impression that he is the one seducing, but the woman has to want to be seduced. If she doesn't, there’s nothing he can say or do – nothing will happen. If she is the one who decides on that particular man, she will make sure that he seduces her.

Do you think men and women are equal in that respect?
I think women have the upper hand.

Do most men believe that?
No.

Do more French men think that than American men?
More French men would give women credit for that. I think American men fail to recognize that. The American man thinks he’s in control, but, at the end of the day, everything happens only because she allows it.

Do most women understand that they’re in a role of power?
It depends, I think by the time a woman is 30 she does… younger than that, it is touch and go.

Why is dating in NYC particularly difficult?
There are no filters, so you never know who you are talking to... but, personally, I always think there is a way to talk to a woman.

How?
I’ve always found that women respond to compliments, but it depends on how you say it. A girl we interviewed for the film once got [the line], “I like your shoes, wanna fuck?” [laughs]. The approach needs to be non-threatening and also without fear. Women can smell fear a mile away, and they want to see confidence, as opposed to arrogance. If the guy is fearful or arrogant, women will be put off. If you’re not being aggressive and not mistreating the person you’re talking to, you’re just sincere. If you get a smile, you tell a woman something else she wants to hear.

What’s the most attractive quality a man or woman can possess?
A very seductive quality in anyone is to be in touch with your nature so that you can be natural. When a woman feels that a man is himself, and he has revealed that, she is seduced. It has nothing to do with money. The people who are themselves all the time are children. That’s why we love children, because they are natural. Be in touch with the child inside of you.

~Alisa Gould-Simon


First photo by Tom Monroe