Lars von Trier is no stranger to controversy when it comes to the Cannes Film Festival — to the point where he's actually been named a persona non grata at the festival — so this actually doesn't come as much of a surprise. According to Collider, Von Trier is planning to make his return to the festival pretty explosive: He wants to premiere what he calls the "hardcore version" of his already pretty hardcore upcoming film, Nymphomaniac.
This is a pretty insane thought, considering that the film has already been touted as one of the most racy films in years; so racy, in fact, that porn star doubles had to be hired for some of the more graphic sex scenes so the actors' heads could just be digitally superimposed on their bodies. A more softcore version is set to hit theaters (it'll be released in Denmark on Christmas day, because it's SUCH a family movie), but there's really no telling what the hardcore version entails — knowing Von Trier (and having seen Antichrist, in all its gory, graphic glory), though, it'll probably involve lots of close-ups, and have people talking for way, way longer than Miley Cyrus' twerked-out performance at the MTV VMAs did.
The film, which stars Charlotte Gainsbourg as a self-diagnosed nymphomaniac named Joe who recounts her life (and sexual experiences) to a man (Stellan Skarsgard) who finds her beaten up in an alley, consists of two parts, and runs five whole hours in length. Basically, Joe had LOTS of sex in her day.
Von Trier, if you don't recall, was banned from Cannes after making some ridiculous comments about Hitler and Nazis during a press conference for Melancholia. The premiere of Nymphomaniac will mark his first appearance at the festival in three years.
