Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is the new Quentin Tarantino film, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate!
It had its world premiera at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival were it earned very good reviews!
- Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is a 2019 comedy-drama film
- It is written and directed by Quentin Tarantino
- The title is stylized as Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood
- Produced by Columbia Pictures, Bona Film Group, Heyday Films, Visiona Romantica
- It is distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
- It is an international co-production between the United States and the United Kingdom
- The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie
- Alongside Emile Hirsch, Margaret Qualley, Timothy Olyphant, Austin Butler, Dakota Fanning, Bruce Dern, and Al Pacino
- The film is set in 1960s Los Angeles
- In an alternate timeline where an aging television actor and his stunt double and longtime friend embark on an odyssey to make a name for themselves in the Hollywood film industry
- It features a large ensemble cast who star in “multiple storylines in a modern fairy tale tribute to the final moments of Hollywood’s golden age”
- It was first announced in July 2017
- The film is the first of Tarantino’s not to be associated with producer Harvey Weinstein
- After Tarantino cut ties with The Weinstein Company following sexual abuse allegations against Weinstein that October
- Sony Pictures won the distribution rights
- Having met several of Tarantino’s demands including final cut privilege
- Pitt, DiCaprio, and Robbie, as well as several Tarantino regulars such as Zoë Bell and Kurt Russell, joined the cast between January and June 2018
- Principal photography lasted from that June through November around Los Angeles
- It is the last film to feature Luke Perry, who died in March 2019
- Once Upon a Time in Hollywood had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 21, 2019
- It is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on July 26, 2019
- And on August 14, 2019 in the United Kingdom
- Critics had “an overall positive view” of the film
- They called the film “Tarantino’s love letter to ’60s L.A.'”
- And praised its casting choices and setting, though some were “divided on its ending”
- The film was originally scheduled for release on August 9 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Tate–LaBianca murders
- A teaser trailer was released on March 20, 2019
- Featuring 1960s music by The Mamas & the Papas (“Straight Shooter”) and by Los Bravos (“Bring a Little Lovin”)
- The official trailer was released on May 21, 2019
- It featured the songs “Good Thing” by Paul Revere & The Raiders, and “Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show” by Neil Diamond
- Three weeks before its release, industry tracking projected the film could gross around $30 million in its opening weekend
- With some having it as high as $50 million or as low as $25 million
- On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 92%
- Based on 90 reviews
- With an average rating of 8.24/10
- The site’s critical consensus reads, “Thrillingly unrestrained yet solidly crafted, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood tempers Tarantino’s provocative impulses with the clarity of a mature filmmaker’s vision”
- On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 89 out of 100
- Based on 25 critics
- On July 11, 2017, it was announced that Quentin Tarantino had written a screenplay for a film about the Manson Family murders
- Which he would direct as his next project
- Harvey and Bob Weinstein would be involved but it was not known whether their studio, The Weinstein Company, would distribute the film
- As Tarantino sought to cast the film before sending out a package to studios
- Brad Pitt and Jennifer Lawrence were revealed to be two names Tarantino had approached to star in the film
- On the same day, it was separately reported that Margot Robbie was in talks to potentially portray actress Sharon Tate
- Samuel L. Jackson was also in talks to portray a major role
- And that Pitt was in talks to portray the detective investigating the murders
- In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations, Tarantino severed his ties with producer Weinstein and sought a new distributor
- After having worked with Weinstein for his entire career
- At this point Leonardo DiCaprio was revealed to be among a short list of actors Tarantino was considering for the film
- A short time later, there were reports that the studios were still bidding for the film set in Los Angeles in the late 1960s and early 1970s
- That Tom Cruise was also in talks for one of two lead male roles
- And David Heyman had joined the film as a producer
- Who would produce along with Tarantino and Shannon McIntosh
- On November 11, 2017, Sony Pictures announced they would be distributing the film
- Having beaten Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Annapurna Pictures and Lionsgate for the rights
- To secure the rights to distribute the film, Sony Pictures had to agree to Tarantino’s demands
- They included “a $95 million production budget, final cut and extraordinary creative controls”, plus 25% of first-dollar gross
- Another demand was that the rights to the movie revert to him after 10 to 20 years
- During a publicity interview by The Hollywood Reporter, Margot Robbie, when inquired about her potential involvement in the Tarantino-helmed film, noted that “Nothing’s official, but I would kill to work with him”
- In January 2018, DiCaprio signed to star in the film
- Taking a pay cut to collaborate with Tarantino again
- It was also revealed that Al Pacino was being eyed for a role
- On February 28, 2018, the film was officially titled Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
- With Pitt cast in the role Cruise was also up for
- DiCaprio and Pitt were each paid $10 million for their work in the film
- In March 2018, Robbie signed to co-star in the film as Sharon Tate
- While Zoë Bell confirmed that she would also appear in the film
- In May 2018, Burt Reynolds, Tim Roth, Kurt Russell, and Michael Madsen joined the cast with the latter three in small roles
- Timothy Olyphant was also cast
- In June 2018, Damian Lewis, Luke Perry, Emile Hirsch, Dakota Fanning, Clifton Collins Jr., Keith Jefferson, Nicholas Hammond, Pacino, and Scoot McNairy joined the cast
- Additional casting which included the additions of Spencer Garrett, James Remar, Brenda Vaccaro and Mike Moh was announced in July
- In August 2018, additional castings were made, including Damon Herriman as Charles Manson, and Lena Dunham, Austin Butler, Danny Strong, Rumer Willis, Dreama Walker, and Margaret Qualley cast in supporting roles
- Principal photography began on June 18, 2018, in Los Angeles, California
- It wrapped on November 1, 2018
- Reynolds died in September 2018 before filming any of his scenes and Bruce Dern was cast as George Spahn in his place
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