Toronto Film Festival: So What Did Nick Cassavetes Say?

The Toronto Film Festival took a slightly weird turn this week after ‘The Notebook’ director Nick Cassavetes compared incest to gay marriage. His new movie ‘Yellow focuses on a woman who visits her brother in prison and begins a “love affair,” and it seems as though Cassavates has plenty to say on the controversial subject.

According to industry website The Wrap.com, the director explained, “I have no experience with incest. We started thinking about that. We had heard a few stories where brothers and sisters were completely, absolutely in love with one another. You know what? This whole movie is about judgment, and lack of it, and doing what you want.” That’s when things went a little deeper, with Cassavetes musing, “Who gives a shit if people judge you? I’m not saying this is an absolute but in a way, if you’re not having kids – who gives a damn? Love who you want. Isn’t that what we say? Gay marriage – love who you want? If it’s your brother or sister it’s super-weird, but if you look at it, you’re not hurting anybody except every single person who freaks out because you’re in love with one another.” The director – who replaced Liam Neeson as an actor in ‘The Hangover II’ – is currently prepping his new movie ‘Cali’, though there are question marks surrounding Kristen Stewart’s role in the film. Sources say the ‘Twilight’ star was dropped from the project following revelations of her affair with director Rupert Sanders, though this is yet to be confirmed.

‘Yellow’ is yet to get a U.S. release date, though it received generally positive reviews following its screening at Toronto.