Someone needs to rescue John Turturro from Michael Bay’s clutches. The once-respected character actor best known for collaborating with the likes of Spike Lee and the Coen Brothers apparently has spent so much time on Bay’s inane Transformers franchise that he’s now convinced everything needs a sequel or a spin-off. And he’d like by branching off and further exploring Jesus Quintana, his beloved, ball-licking bowler from The Big Lebowski.
Granted, Turturro’s intentions are more noble than just cashing in on the enormous cult following enjoyed by Lebowski. As he tells The AV Club, he’d mostly like to do a follow up to the Joel and Ethan’s 1998 comedy so that fans will stop asking him questions about it.
“Because people are obsessed with the movie and obsessed with that guy,” Turturro explains. “It’s really bizarre, because the movie didn’t even do that well when it came out here. Once again, it’s a movie that’s gotten better or something.”
But Turturro isn’t working off the cuff. Apparently he has come up with an outline for a spin-off that he’d really like to get to the Coens in hopes of receiving their approval. Turturro admits that the brothers have no interest in expanding on Lebowski -- sequels never have been their thing – he did say that if they approved his idea, there’s a “very good chance” a Jesus Quintana movie could happen.
It goes without saying that this sounds like a terrible idea. Jesus worked in very small doses. Did anyone want to follow him home from the bowling alley to see what kind of perverse lifestyle he led when not tormenting The Dude? No. In fact, I’m way more interested in the Barton Fink sequel Turturoo teases later in the article, though honestly, I’d actually prefer the Coens to just leave their past films alone and not sully them with remakes, reboots or sequels. And I’m pretty sure they feel the same way.
