While “Spring Breakers” might not be Harmony Korine‘s most button-pushing movie, it brought a watered-down version of his filmmaking brand to his widest audience yet, thanks to the canny casting of James Franco, Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, and Ashley Benson. The concept itself was pretty simple — beautiful young women get into trouble on spring break — and producers have been eager to try and milk it for more for years.
Back in 2014, a feature film sequel was announced, but it never went anywhere, and likely wasn’t helped by Franco openly condemning the project, especially since it had neither his nor Korine’s consent or involvement. We’ll see what his feelings are a few more years on, because now a digital series based on “Spring Breakers” is in the works — again, without any input from Korine or Franco.
The new streaming service Blackpills, which will specialize in short form digital content, is developing the new project, and casting is underway. Producers Chris Hanley (“American Psycho,” “The Virgin Suicides,” “Buffalo ’66“) and Fernando Sulichin (“Snowden,” “Gimme Danger“) have credits that speak for themselves, but again, we’ll see what Korine and co. have to say about this.
But this isn’t the only project on Blackpills slate. The company is also developing exclusive content for Vice, which will include Zoe Cassavetes’ love triangle drama “Junior,” the Luc Besson created “Playground” about a teenage girl who joins a school for assassins and uncovers the mystery of her parents’ death, along with a project from Bryan Singer.
So, some ambitious stuff from the fledgling company, but we’ll see if they can make a mark in an already very crowded streaming service world. [Deadline/Variety]