'Spring Breakers' Sequel Penned by Irvine Welsh On the Way

Spring break forever, bitches! Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers is only about a year old but it's already considered a cult classic. And how could it not be with James Franco hamming it up as gangster/rapper Gator, plus a bevy of scantily-clad beauties engaging in all manner of sex, drugs, and criminal activity? Not that the $31M box office set the world on fire but at a cost of only about $5M, it makes total sense that a sequel would be on the way. Well, it's kind of a sequel.

A sequel titled Spring Breakers: The Second Coming is in the works but it doesn't appear to have any of the original crew involved yet. So why might this still be worth getting excited about? Two words: Irvine Welsh. The Trainspotting and Filth author is writing the script which will follow new spring breakers as they "do battle with an extreme militant Christian sect that attempts to convert them." Jonas Akerlund (Spun) will be directing.

Wild Bunch will be selling the film on the Cannes market later this month, and co-chief Vincent Maraval had this to say about it...

Maraval: “It’s not a direct sequel although there are allusions to some of the characters in the original". 

In other Wild Bunch news, Gaspar Noe, who directed the wildly inventive Enter the Void, has lined up his next project. At Cannes they will unveil Love, which is described as “a sexual melodrama about a boy and a girl and another girl”.

Marval: “It’s a love story, which celebrates sex in a joyous way. Gaspard feels that most films that touch on sex in traditional cinema are dark and dramatic, this will be really joyous… He says it’s a film that will give guys ‘a hard-on and make girls cry’.”

Expect "gives guys a hard-on and makes girls cry" to be all over the promos for that one.

Paul Verhoeven, who hasn't really done much since 2006's WWII thriller Black Book, is adapting Philppe Djan's novel Oh! to the big screen. The sexually-charged story centers on "a psychological game of cat-and-mouse between a businesswoman and a stalker who raped her, a crime for which she is seeking revenge."

There's also a remake of 1988's Maniac Cop which was penned by comics writer Ed Brubaker and produced by Nicholas Winding Refn. A director is expected to be announced at Cannes and it's bound to draw a ton of attention.

And lastly there are two projects coming from directors Arnaud Desplechin (Jimmy P.) and Blue Is the Warmest Color director, Abdellatif Kechiche. Desplechin will direct Three Memories from Childhood, "a portrait of a man as he looks back over three periods in his childhood and adolescence that shaped his life."And Kechiche will be at the helm for The Real Wound, an adaptation of François Bégaudeau's book about a "French-Tunisian teenage boy’s bid to lose his virginity while on holiday in the resort of Hammamet in Tunisia." [ScreenDaily]

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Review: 'Blue is the Warmest Color' Starring Adèle Exarchopolous and Léa Seydoux

In the days following its Cannes premiere, where it also took home the prestigious Palm d'Or, Abdellatif Kechiche's Blue is the Warmest Colorwas unjustly labeled the "3-hour lesbian sex film". It was an unfair reduction of an emotional tale of love and heartbreak, just as similar turns of phrase were used to diminish Brokeback Mountain into the "gay cowboy movie". But at the same time, Kechiche invites such simple criticisms and undermines two magnetic lead performances by being obvious and even reductive when it comes to fleshing out the details of a very complicated relationship.

Very loosely based on the French graphic novel Blue Angel, the film is mostly seen through the eyes of 15-year-old Adèle (Adèle Exarchopolous) as she's on the cusp of realizing her sexual identity. This isn't one of those movies where homosexuality is something to be contended with; actually Adele doesn't struggle with it much at all. She's a bright girl who adores books and hangs out with her friends, who speak frankly and openly about sex, like most teens tend to do. She's also quite heterosexual, at least initially, and develops a crush on a boy in her grade. After a literature class on fate, love at first sight, and fulfilling what the heart requires, Adèle catches only the slightest glimpse of the blue-haired Emma (Lea Seydoux), and with an audible gasp her life is altered forever. That guy she was with becomes a distant memory as she can't get Emma out of her mind. The film doesn't dwell too long on the usual struggles of "coming out" or the realization that one is gay. In the case of the former we don't really see it at all, while the latter is a brief obstacle at best. Other than some teasing by her friends, which is admittedly quite cruel, Adèle seems to know what her heart truly wants.

A twist of fate brings the two girls together again, and soon they are inseparable. Emma is older, more experienced and confident in a way Adèle has yet to grow into, and initially it's very clear who holds the power in this relationship. Adèle is more than just smitten, she's hopelessly in love, and the way she navigates what turns out to be a roller coaster of emotions is the film's driving force. While the two are obviously lesbians, one of the best things about the movie is that neither is defined by their sexuality. This is about one girl's cautious steps into first love, and how she deals with the joys, pains, comforts, and insecurities that come with being in an adult relationship. At the same time, Adèle is very much still a girl; let's not forget that she's only meant to be around 15 in the beginning; and it takes some time getting over the age difference. Sure, the French may be a little more lenient on these things but here it still looks a tad creepy.

And speaking of creepy, let's just go ahead and talk about what most people are really interested in anyway: the sex. Let's just say there is a very good reason the film was saddled with an NC-17 rating. There are three notable sexual encounters, and all are quite explicit and extremely graphic. That's not the issue, really, as frank portrayals of sex have their place, especially in a film that is as open and emotionally raw as this one is. The problem, besides the fact that the scenes are uncomfortably long, is that you can almost feel Kechiche's lecherous eye leering over every shot. Make no mistake; this was a movie you can tell was shot by a man.  The first time Adèle and Emma make love it should be about the experience of it, the passion of losing oneself in the moment; especially for Adèle who has been dreaming of this encounter with this particular partner. But Kechiche shoots the sex like he was stringing together porn clips, focusing on how many positions he can get these women in rather than on the emotions behind the acts. They're intense, absolutely, but passionate and revelatory they are not.

While Kekiche's script occasionally stumbles to sound natural, such as when it indulges in weak double entendres about clams (really dude?), at others it's strikingly personal and startlingly powerful. Following them over the course of years, we're given the sort of insightful, in-depth look at an evolving relationship that it's almost like you're eavesdropping. There are ups and downs, of course, as their careers, personal viewpoints, and complacency complicate matters. Yet throughout it all we see how Adèle and Emma complement one another, fulfilling that need they've both been searching for. We're thrust so deep into their lives that the things we don't see are distracting. Other than a couple of dinner scenes we don't learn much about Adèle's family. Nor do we know if she's come out to them or if they know about how close she is with Emma. It's suggested that Adèle has kept her sexuality to herself, as she does in the novel, but as more characters emerge one can't help but wonder where she stands. The film treads much of the same emotional territory as last year's terrific gay drama Keep the Lights On (review here), really digging into the desperate lengths people will go to hold on to love.

Cannes may have felt the need to give the Palm d'Or to both actresses but this is truly Exarchopolous's film. Her Adèle is such a fully-realized creation that it's impossible to tell there's any acting going on. She's practically in every scene, commanding them all with her innocence that grows naturally into maturity and self-assuredness. Seydoux sheds much of the supermodel look we're accustomed to, donning a tough exterior as Emma, whose harsh features and attitude mask her true kindness. Together the two make a combustible pair, and it's because of them that Blue is the Warmest Color is such a vivid experience despite Kekiche's missteps.

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New U.S. Trailer and Posters for Palm d'Or Winner 'Blue is the Warmest Color'

Marketing Palm d'Or winner Blue is the Warmest Color to an international audience is one thing, but trying to do the same for its domestic release is quite another. Merely checking off its festival acclaim won't do the job, and it's generally a tough sell to push a 3-hour lesbian romance with no recognizable stars and a troublesome NC-17 rating. Not an enviable task for distributor Sundance Selects, but they're smart enough to know that when Steven Spielberg talks people listen, and his extraordinary praise for the film are the centerpiece of the first U.S. trailer: "Magnificent...we were under the spell of the film and its wonderful actresses."

Starring Lea Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos with direction by Abdellatif Kechiche, the film explores the highs and lows of a romantic relationship between two women, and yes it contains some graphic sex. But as this wordless, purely emotional trailer suggests this is about a lot more than just their physical connection.

Blue is the Warmest Color opens on October 25th. Check out the trailer below, and feast on a pair of new posters, too.

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First Trailer For Palm d'Or Winner 'Blue Is The Warmest Color'

Already one of the most buzzed about and acclaimed films of the year after sharing the Cannes Palm d'Or between director Abdellatif Kechiche and stars Léa Seydoux and Adele Exarchopolous, Blue Is the Warmest Color would seem to be a shoe-in favorite for Oscar gold. But alas it's not meant to be as it will miss the release date window, meaning it can only qualify next year. While that's disappointing, and certainly lessens the Best Foreign Language, the praise being heaped on the film is extraordinary, and so is the power in the first trailer.

Set to make its North American debut in Toronto next, Blue is the Warmest Color chronicles the passionate and turbulent relationship between 15-year old Adele and the blue-haired Emma. It's a love that will change them both in profound ways, exploring the sadness, happiness, and anger that are a part of every relationship, same-sex or not. The film drew some criticism for its long, extremely graphic sex scenes but that was secondary to the rave reviews earned for its dramatic intensity and lead performances.

Blue Is the Warmest Color hits TIFF next month, then opens on October 25th.

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'Blue is the Warmest Color' takes Cannes' top prize; check out two clips now

The doors have closed on the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, and now that all is said and done, this will go down as one of the strongest years for American filmmakers and American movies.  Films like Ryan Coogler's Fruitvale Station, the Coen Brothers' Inside Llewyn Davis, Alexander Payne's Nebraska, and Jim Jarmusch's Only Lovers Left Alive all performed well and were greeted warmly by the picky crowd on the Croisette, but when all was said and done it was the French romance Blue is the Warmest Color that took home the festival's top prize.

Steven Spielberg and his jury have selected the French drama Blue is the Warmest Color as the Palm d'Or winner, taking the extraordinary step to grant it not only to Tunisian director Abdellatif Kechiche, but also to the two lead actresses Lea Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos. It was a historic decision for a couple of reasons, none of which have to do with the lesbian romance at the heart of the story, although the steamy sex scenes are what has garnered the most attention. The win marks the first time that a movie based on a comic book has ever taken the Palm d'Or, as it's based on Julie Maroh's graphic novel Le Bleu est Une Couleur Chaude. The unique circumstances also mean that Jane Campion, who won in 1993 for The Piano, is no longer the only female Palm d'Or winner.

Bruce Dern, who was nominated for an Oscar 35 years ago for Coming Home, took the Best Actor prize for Nebraska, while Berenice Bejo won Best Actress for Asghar Farhadi's Iranian family drama, The Past.  Below you'll find the complete list of honors from the Un Certain Regard, FIPRESCI, and Ecumenical Jury categories, followed by two clips from Blue is the Warmest Color. 

PALME D’OR:
LA VIE D’ADÈLE - CHAPITRE 1 & 2 (Blue Is The Warmest Color) by Abdellatif KECHICHE

GRAND PRIX:
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS by Ethan COEN, Joel COEN

PRIX DE LA MISE EN SCEN (BEST DIRECTOR):
Amat ESCALANTE for "HELI"

PRIX DU SCENARIO (BEST SCREENPLAY):
JIA Zhangke for "TIAN ZHU DING" ("A Touch Of Sin")

CAMERA D’OR (BEST FIRST FEATURE): 
"ILO ILO," Director: Anthony CHEN

PRIX DU JURY (JURY PRIZE):
"LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON" by KORE-EDA Hirokazu


PRIX D’INTERPRETATION FEMININE (BEST ACTRESS):
Berenice Bejo, "THE PAST"

PRIX D’INTERPRETATION MASCULINE (BEST ACTOR): Bruce Dern, "NEBRASKA"

PRIZE OF UN CERTAIN REGARD
THE MISSING PICTURE by Rithy PANH
 
JURY PRIZE - UN CERTAIN REGARD
OMAR by Hany ABU-ASSAD

DIRECTING PRIZE - UN CERTAIN REGARDAlain GUIRAUDIE for STRANGER BY THE LAKE

A CERTAIN TALENT PRIZE - UN CERTAIN REGARD
For the ensemble cast of LA JAULA DE ORO by Diego QUEMADA-DIEZ

AVENIR PRIZE - UN CERTAIN REGARD
FRUITVALE STATION by Ryan COOGLER

FIPRESCI PRIZE - COMPETITION PRIZE
Blue Is The Warmest Color (La vie d'Adèle — Chapitre 1 & 2) by Abdellatif Kechiche (France, 2013)

FIPRESCI PRIZE - UN CERTAIN REGARD PRIZE
Manuscripts Don't Burn (Dast-Neveshtehaa Nemisvosand) by Mohammad Rasoulof (Iran, 2013)

FIPRESCI PRIZE - PARALLEL SECTION
Blue Ruin by Jeremy Saulnier (USA, 2013), shown in the Directors' Fortnight.

ECUMENICAL JURY PRIZE
LE PASSÉ/The Past de Asghar Farhadi (Compétition Officielle)

ECUMENICAL JURY PRIZE - SPECIAL MENTION
SOSHITE CHICHI NI NARU (TEL PÈRE, TEL FILS)/Like Father Like Son de Hirokazu Kore-eda (Compétition officielle)
MIELE de Valeria Golino (Un Certain Regard)

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