Quentin Tarantino and Brad Pitt shared a coincidence that lead to developing Pitt’s character in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.
The actor went to Tarantino’s house with a DVD copy of Billy Jack, starring filmmaker-actor-activist Tom Laughlin to develop Pitt’s on-screen character, Cliff Booth.
Pitt plays as a stuntman alongside Leonardo DiCaprio’s Rick Dalton set in the ’60s in Los Angeles, referred to colloquially as the Golden Age of Hollywood.
The film sees the pair seek fame and success in a Hollywood landscape they no longer recognise.
‘I go, “Brad, I have a 35mm print of Billy Jack threaded up on the projector waiting for you to get here”,’ Tarantino said in the Pure Cinema podcast to hosts Elric Kane and Brian Saur.
‘He couldn’t believe that we both were thinking of Billy Jack, and more Tom Laughlin than Billy Jack.’
Next they’ll be finishing each other’s sentences, or sharing a kahuna burger from Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction.
Tarantino also explained in the podcast that DiCaprio’s character was inspired by The Gunman’s Walk, The Secret Invasion and Moving Target.
Once Upon A Time in Hollywood received a six minute standing ovation after its premiere at Cannes Film Festival and is a film focused around the Charles Manson murders.
As Tarantino’s ninth film, he has expressed that he may be nearing the end of his directorial career.
‘I think when it comes to theatrical movies, I’ve come to the end of the road,’ he said in an interview with GQ Australia.
‘I see myself writing film books and starting to write theater, so I’ll still be creative. I just think I’ve given all I have to give to movies.’
Though it is clear to understand why, with the director admitting he has: ‘kind of spent my whole life researching it.
‘So now I can finally do something with everything that I’ve been filling my brain with for the last 56 years.”
Alongside Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon A Time in Hollywood stars Margot Robbie, Al Pacino, Dakota Fanning with a release date of 14 August.
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