It’s not often that a character on screen for only a few moments becomes an instantly quotable, pop culture phenomenon, but over the years, that’s exactly what has become of Jesus Quintana in "The Big Lebowski." The pederast bowler ("Eight-year-olds, Dude") played by John Turturro highlights one of the funniest moments in the already side-splitting Coen Brothers film, and for years, the actor has wanted to spinoff the character into his own film. But the Coens haven’t been hot on the idea — at least for themselves. “John Turturro, who wants it, talks to us incessantly about doing a sequel about his (bowler) character Jesus,” Ethan Coen said last year. “He even has the story worked out, which he’s pitched to us a few times, but I can’t really remember it… No, I don’t see it in our future.” But maybe they’ll let Turturro see it in his?
Hitting the Taormina Film Festival over the weekend, Turturro revealed (via THR) he hopes to shoot his Jesus spinoff next year… if he’s allowed. "If I can get the permission I need, I’d like to return to that role," he said.
There’s not much in the way of details about what the story Turturro has cooked up is about, though at one point a while ago title was floated called "100 Minutes of Jesus" (read more in our feature 5 Things You Might Not Know About The Coens’ Cult Classic "The Big Lebowski"). But the question is: can Jesus Quintana sustain his own movie? Or is he best measured out in small, perfect doses?
Let us know below and check out this recent chat on "Q with Jian Ghomeshi," where Turturro talks about the genesis of the character and how he didn’t even get "The Big Lebowski" the first time he saw it.