Behind The Curtain: Quentin Tarantino’s Most Outrageous Film Secrets
A Sign Of The Times
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Tarantino’s 1994 classic Pulp Fiction remains a beloved movie 25 years after its debut. The film was created with a budget of $8.5 million, and earned nearly $108 million domestically. However, it took the film 178 days to do so. Showing how much things have changed over the years, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 surpassed the same monetary milestone in only two days.
The Legend Himself
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Samuel L. Jackson is an icon whom throughout his career has appeared in seven Tarantino films. Remarkably, the one film he didn’t star in ended up spring-boarding his future endeavors alongside Tarantino. Jackson failed to land a role in Reservoir Dogs, but his audition was so powerful that Tarantino wrote a part specifically for Jackson in Pulp Fiction. Two years after being denied, Jackson played the role of Jules in Pulp Fiction.
Breaking It Down
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Many of Tarantino’s films require multiple viewings — and Pulp Fiction is no different. One of the things that makes that particular film so unique, however, is that you are able to break down the classic into different sections, rearrange them, and put the films’ events in chronological order. Sure, it is a tall task and may ruin the twist, but if you are committed to the process it surely makes for an interesting secondary experience.
Second Choice
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David Carradine and Uma Thurman’s work in Kill Bill are two of the most memorable performances from Tarantino’s archives. However, Tarantino didn’t originally see Carradine playing the role of Bill. Tarantino’s first choice was famed actor Warren Beatty. When the two couldn’t agree on the creative front, the filmmaker pivoted to Carradine — whom he had admired growing up.
Bite Your Tongue
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If you are a fan of Tarantino, you are well aware that his films contain a ton of violence, blood, and profanity. Between Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and Death Proof, the word ‘f**k’ is stated nearly 700 times. It wasn’t until Kill Bill that a Tarantino feature had less than 100 F-bombs dropped on the audience. Now, 17 times is still a lot — but compared to the 272 times the word was uttered in Dogs, Kill Bill was a little easier on the ears.
Trust The Process
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Some of the best action sequences take a very, very, long time to film. The epic fight between Uma Thurman and Lucy Liu in Kill Bill was no different. The battle pitting The Bride (Thurman) versus O-Ren (Liu) lasted five minutes on-screen and took an astronomical amount of time to film. The memorable scene took an astonishing eight weeks to film from start to finish. Not quite Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones status, but still impressive in its own right.
One Thing Only
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Inglourious Basterds is full of memorable one-liners, but one line stood out above the rest. “We’re going to be doing one thing and one thing only, killin’ Nazis.” Tarantino has gone on record saying that one of his cast members, German-born Til Schweiger, had always refused roles that called on him donning a Nazi uniform. Schweiger, who played the role of Sgt. Stiglitz, agreed to take the part because he would be ‘killin’ Nazis’ instead of portraying one.
Elders
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Not one to shy away from connecting his films in subtle ways, Tarantino made one such connection between Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction in hopes of eventually making another film starring distinct characters from each project. The character Mr. Blonde in Dogs is well known, but his real name — Vic Vega — gets swept under the rug. More astute fans may have noticed he shared a name with John Travolta’s character in Pulp Fiction, Vince Vega. This was no coincidence. Tarantino claims the characters are brothers and he had the idea to make a prequel about them. Due to the two actors aging too quickly, the concept never came to fruition.
Not Today, Leo
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Tarantino’s ability as a director is highly respected throughout Hollywood. Because of this, the top actors in the world routinely make themselves available for Tarantino-led projects. When it came to Inglourious Basterds, the role of Colonel Landa had an obvious candidate in Tarantino’s mind — Leonardo DiCaprio. Tarantino had Leo pegged for the role, but had a change of heart stating his desire for Landa to be played by a German-speaking actor. Enter, Christoph Waltz. Waltz nailed the role and eventually took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
Cheetah
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Django Unchained is a wild ride. Endless amounts of violence, shootouts, and explosives boost the entertaining film. Despite the craziness surrounding the characters, one man in particular had the added bonus of being familiar with one of the more obscure members of the film. Jamie Foxx, who plays the lead role of Django, brought his own horse to the shoot. The horse that Foxx rides throughout Django, named Cheetah, was given to him as a birthday present years before the creation of the film.
Roth Goes Yard
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Eli Roth is predominantly known for his exploits as a director of horror films. However, Roth jumped to the other side of the camera for a role in Inglourious Basterds. Roth’s character was an incredibly violent man known as the “Bear Jew” — a bat-wielding, skull-cracking lunatic. Roth credits two things with getting him in the right mindset to perform: the wool underwear he had to wear for the part and Hannah Montana music which was added to his iPod by his girlfriend.
Committed To The Role
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You will never hear anyone question Leonardo DiCaprio’s commitment to his craft. He has shown throughout his career that he will do anything necessary to nail his role with the utmost authenticity. With that being said, there is one moment that exemplifies DiCaprio’s passion to a T. In the film Django Unchained, DiCaprio’s character, Calvin Candie, smashes his hand on a table in the midst of a discussion. Unfortunately, DiCaprio shattered a glass underneath his hand and began to bleed severely. Instead of cutting the scene, the famed actor stayed in character and finished the scene — even going as far as smearing his blood on co-star Kerry Washington’s face.
Mysterious Spelling
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If you are confused by the spelling of Inglourious Basterds, you are not alone. Many people have wondered why both words in the title are misspelled. If you are one of those people searching for an answer, we have bad news for you. Tarantino has gone on record saying he will never reveal his reasoning for the grammatical failure:
“Here’s the thing. I’m never going to explain that. You do an artistic flourish like that, and to explain it would just take the piss out of it and invalidate the whole stroke in the first place.”
One Or The Other
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Relatively new to the game and unable to direct two features simultaneously, Tarantino turned to the late Tony Scott for help. He approached Scott and handed him two scripts — True Romance and Reservoir Dogs — and told him to choose one. Like Tarantino, Scott wanted to take the reigns of both films but also acknowledged it was too tall of a task. Scott decided to take on True Romance, leaving Reservoir Dogs for Tarantino. I think it’s easy to say Tarantino is happy with Scott’s decision to this day.
Classic Samuel L.
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Leonardo DiCaprio may have fought through a severe cut on his hand to finish a scene, but there was another instance during the filming of Django Unchained that pushed him past his limits. During one particular scene, DiCaprio excused himself from the set and needed to take a break due to feeling uncomfortable with the amount of racial slurs involved. Leave it to Samuel L. Jackson to get Leo back in the fold. Jackson famously pulled his co-star to the side and told him:
“Motherf****r, this is just another Tuesday for us.”
70mm
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Never one averse to taking risks, Tarantino reprised an old filming technique that hadn’t been utilized in over 20 years for his 2015 project The Hateful Eight. Tarantino decided to shoot the film in 70mm — making The Hateful Eight the first film shot with that wide of a lens since 1992’s Far and Away. Special equipment and outdated technology was needed to successfully screen the film, leading to many delays across the nation. One of Tarantino’s most ambitious decisions, audiences were split on the effectiveness of the wide-shot.
Two Directors
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We have already touched upon Eli Roth’s inclusion in Inglourious Basterds, but his work as the “Bear Jew” wasn’t his only addition to the film. In the latter part of the movie, a faux Nazi propaganda film called Nation’s Pride is played on the screen. The six-minute film wasn’t directed by Tarantino, but was actually overseen by Roth himself.
Pegg’s Blunder
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With the amount of success Tarantino has had with his films, it is fair to question why anyone would ever decline a role. In addition to rumors that Adam Sandler turned down the role of “Bear Jew” in Inglourious Basterds, Simon Pegg has admitted to making what he describes as “a horrible decision to make” in regards to turning down a role in the same film. Pegg was tapped to play Archie Hicox, but instead opted out in order to shoot Steven Spielberg’s Tintin. Pegg went on to say his decision caused him “agony.” Pegg’s loss was Michael Fassbender’s gain, as the talented actor was brought on after Pegg’s exit.
Team Effort
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Even the best directors can’t do everything alone, and Tarantino is no different. One man he has relied on, and vice versa, is Robert Rodriguez. One such instance occurred during the filming of Pulp Fiction. In order to appear onscreen as Jimmie, Tarantino turned to Rodriguez to direct in his place. In a case of friends helping friends, Tarantino took his turn directing parts of Rodriguez’s film Sin City.
Uma Power
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Uma Thurman has been a vital figure during Tarantino’s rise as a director — but she nearly wasn’t involved at all. Tarantino wanted Thurman for the role of Mia Wallace in Pulp Fiction, but had to convince the actress to take the role. Thurman eventually relented and accepted the part, setting up a powerful duo. While filming Pulp Fiction, Thurman and Tarantino created the concept of Kill Bill. Only a few years later, Tarantino surprised Thurman on her 30th birthday with the script and an offer alongside it.
