First Look: John Turturro as The Jesus In ‘The Big Lebowski’ Spin-Off
Yeah, I’m not really sure if this movie qualifies as a Big Lebowski spin-off? I can see pedants on both sides of the debate. It’s got The Jesus. But it isn’t a Coen Brothers movie. It’s, uh, got The Jesus. But it’s actually the remake of some French flick. So…am I excited? I’m not sure.
It really seemed too good to be true. There have been so many rumors and false starts regarding a sequel to or spinoff of The Big Lebowski over the years that when reports surfaced last week that John Turturro was indeed in the middle of one that focused on his iconic Jesus Quintana, it was both easy and understandable to just laugh it right off.
Well, It’s really happening and there’s now photographic proof. Going Places, a remake of the 1974 French comedy Les Valseuses, has actually begun filming and even though it has no connection with Lebowski officially — the Coen Brothers have nothing to do with it — Turturro is playing Jesus in it. Look!
It seems like a stretch to even hope that Jeff Bridges will somehow make his way into this movie’s orbit. But then again, the idea that another movie with any real Lebowski ties would ever get made was such a non-starter for so long that maybe we will get a scene in a bowling alley with Walter and The Dude drinking a couple of oat sodas when Jesus pops in to really tie the room together.
(via SlashFilm)
Tough to tell whether Turturro is wearing the purple jumpsuit from that angle but the hair kind of looks right. Turturro’s fellow HBO prestige drama lead Bobby Cannavale co-stars in Going Places, along with Audrey Tatou and Susan Sarandon, who must be taking a break from political advocacy so she can appear with frequent collaborator Turturro.