Spring Breakers made its US premiere at the SXSW Film Festival with its stars James Franco, Selena Gomez, Rachel Korine, Ashley Benson and director Harmony Korine in attendance.
During the Q & A for the film the actors and director had a chance to talk about their experiences and their reasons for making the film.
Gomez surprised fans with her turn as Faith in the film as she diverged from her teen princess image. When asked if she was going to move in that direction, the Disney star stated, "Right now is more of a transition period for me and I don't think there's a right or wrong way for me to do that gracefully. [Harmony] believed in me, and I don't think there's a lot of directors who would take that chance on me."
During the session, Korine and his cast revealed that they had never gone on spring break before. Korine stated that during his research the craziest thing he saw was "A human jawbone hanging from a chandelier in a Days Inn." Benson also revealed that "We were thrown into these hotel rooms with real spring breakers so those were our real reactions."
When asked about the film's controversial content Korine stated, "It is hyper-sexualized and hyper-violent. All the details: the bikinis and the book bags and the hello kitty are child-like, innocent and both those things playing together, I thought was a metaphor for what happens later in the film."
"Spring Breakers" tells the story of four college girls who land in jail after robbing a restaurant in order to fund their spring break vacation. When they find themselves bailed out by a drug and arms dealer who wants them to do some dirty work, they take the ride and go for the thrills."
The film has received mixed reviews due to its controversial subject matter. A24 will distribute the film which is set for release on March 15th.