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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on May 6, 2014 17:07:20 GMT -6
variety.com/2014/film/news/spring-breakers-sequel-in-the-works-1201173121/“Spring Break forever” indeed — Wild Bunch is working on “Spring Breakers” sequel, the production company has confirmed. “Spring Breakers: The Second Coming” won’t feature the same cast (Ashley Benson, Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens and James Franco) as the first installment, but will instead showcase a new group of girls battling against a group of militant Christians trying to convert them. The first film garnered a bit of a cult following, and grossed $31 million worldwide. Reviews were mixed, but Franco’s performance as Alien was especially praised. Irvine Welsh (“Trainspotting,” “Filth”) will pen the script, and Jonas Akerlund (“Spun,” “Small Apartments”) will direct. Screen Daily first reported the news.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on May 17, 2014 13:33:58 GMT -6
variety.com/2014/film/news/pussy-riot-spring-breakers-sequel-1201184665/James Franco might be about to find out how Vladimir Putin feels. After the dustup over Franco’s Instagram attacks on the upcoming “Spring Breakers” sequel — which is happening without star Franco or director Harmony Korine — the producers of the new film are now dropping a bombshell on the already heated debate over artistic rights and creative intentions. Franco may now have to tussle with no less a force for creative rights than Pussy Riot. Performance artists Pussy Riot (a.k.a. Nadezhda “Nadya” Tolokonnikova and Maria “Masha” Alyokhina) are coming to Cannes this week to meet with “Spring Breakers: Second Coming” director Jonas Akerlund and producers Chris and Roberta Hanley, and Jordan Gertner. The political activists were jailed in their Russian homeland for two years after performing an anti-Putin punk prayer at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. “Our director is coming in especially to meet Nadya and Maria to discuss being in the movie,” Chris Hanley told Variety. “The fiction of ‘Spring Breakers’ never met with the reality of Pussy Riots — until now.” “Since there are some suggestions in the reporting on ‘Second Coming’ that it is a ‘weak’ or ‘lame’ sequel, the new Irvine Welsh screenplay has the strongest feminine voice of the ‘Spring Breakers’ characters so far. And Nadya and Maria of Pussy Riot are a powerful new voice of world feminism. We are all into radical innovations.” Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina are scheduled to arrive with Cinema for Peace Foundation chairman Jaka Bizilj on May 22 for three days of meetings, which may also serve as a high-profile boost to Cannes Fest topper Thierry Fremaux’s efforts this year to see the fest raise the profiles of women artists. Fremaux has been widely criticized in past years over the paucity of female voices in the fest lineup. Responding again to Franco’s assertions that the new project would be “horrible,” Hanley said “Pussy Riot somehow came into being concomitant with the original ‘Spring Breakers,’ which was pure coincidence. The original ‘Spring Breakers’ theme was the plying away of the facade of a new American dream of becoming rich by any means.” “‘Second Coming’ addresses societal limitations, women having a voice to decide on the rights of their own bodies against moral limitations by religious, militant cult groups, in a spring break setting, where our ‘Spring Breakers’ girls take power into their own hands once again!”
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on May 18, 2014 13:21:35 GMT -6
variety.com/2014/film/news/pussy-riot-spring-breakers-sequel-2-1201185352/After a confusing day of assertions, reports, updates and unofficial denials from parties close to Nadya Tolokonnikova and Masha Alekhina, members of the Russian social activism and arts group, Pussy Riot, the young human rights heroines have definitively dashed any talk of their playing any role in the upcoming film “Spring Breakers: The Second Coming.” After Variety first reported the efforts of the film’s producers to connect with Pussy Riot for discussions, insiders close to the duo quickly contacted Variety and insisted that the meeting was not taking place, but also noted “if Pussy Riot should decide to come to Cannes…we will be happy to let you know.” Variety then sought official clarification of the confusing situation and multiple attempts to reach either of the women or an official contact of the unorthodox music artists, who served two years in prison in Russia for their anti-Putin administration protests, finally bore fruit this evening. Inge Colsen of Pussy Riot’s public relations firm, Girlie Action, issued what she termed “the official statement” on the duo’s behalf. It is both short and not very sweet for the “Breakers” filmmakers who were hoping to initiate a dialogue with them about the project when it appeared possible that the two women might be attending Cannes this week. The statement reads: “This news is ridiculous. It’s not true we’re in talks with ‘Spring Breakers’ producers and we have no plans to do that.” So far there’s no word about this latest development from either the Pussy Riot’s chief critic, Vladimir Putin, or James Franco, whose anti “Breakers” sequel screed on Instagram earlier this week started fanning the publicity winds on the film across the Croissette in Cannes where Wild Bunch is actively promoting the film.
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