Despite their fame and iconography, no one has yet tried to make a big screen sequel or spinoff to a Coen brothers film. Sure, they've done it on TV: the recent Fargo on FX was the second of two televised attempts to capitalize on that film. But we haven't had to sit through Barton Fink Returns; we've never met A More Serious Man; and we haven't yet caught O Brother, I Found You. But are you ready to mess with Big Lebowski's the Jesus once more?
At the Taorima Film Festival, (via FilmDivider), John Turturro revealed his intention is to make a long-rumored follow-up to The Big Lebowski - specifically one centered on his character Jesus Quintana. He told the audience,
"If I can get the permission I need, I’d like to return to that role."
Apparently, Turturro's intentions are to direct the film himself. Which is a tall order, but he certainly has the Coens' stamp of approval: they produced his flawed-but-intriguing musical Romance And Cigarettes, which was barely held together by a ridiculous cast:
Turturro is an experienced director, but the best thing you could say about his skill is that he's purely functional. His latest was a curiosity called Fading Gigolo, a farce where Turturro stars as a mild-mannered flower shop owner who moonlights as a male prostitute. The casting of co-star Woody Allen seems like an ode to Turturro's inspirations. And as a working man, Turturro is appealingly off-kilter, though the fact that he services Sofia Vergara and Sharon Stone in his new film adds to the ludicrousness of a premise that also involves an intensely judgmental Hasidic community led by a deadpan Liev Schrieber. The picture had a very tiny release and somehow collected $13 million worldwide, suggesting that whomever owns the rights to The Big Lebowski maybe should be amenable to Turturro returning to the role.
Of course, Jesus Quintana ultimately has very little screen time in The Big Lebowski, so what kind of movie would this be? A wacky comedy about a noted pedophile rage case? An intense bowling competition drama? Something else? Maybe Turturro completely breaks from the Coen universe and makes something different. Should be interesting either way.
