Quentin Tarantino has called Once Upon a Time in Hollywood his love letter to 1969 Los Angeles, and on Monday night, the auteur delivered that heartfelt homage right in the heart of Tinseltown at the iconic TCL Chinese Theatre.
As the writer, director and producer of his ninth film, Tarantino’s passions for the bygone era could be felt everywhere — from a faux studio soundstage that served as the backdrop for a blush pink carpet to an outdoor lounge dubbed the Pussycat Theatre where VIPs sipped cocktails at sundown waiting for stars Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie to arrive.
Inside, Tarantino’s passions received the biggest spotlight on the big screen, of course, where his fictionalized version of events traced the days of everyone from an aging actor named Rick Dalton and his stunt man Cliff Booth to Sharon Tate and the crazed Manson clan. Spoilers aside, perhaps the biggest surprise of the night was that Tarantino let the film and his cast do all the talking. He didn’t work his way down the press line, nor did he give an introductory speech to start the pic as is typical at major Hollywood premieres.
Instead, just after 8 p.m., the lights went down and the Columbia Pictures film started to rapturous applause from the more than 900 guests seated inside the Chinese Theatre, which hosted an array of stars from media, music and movies. And it felt like a true Hollywood scene. Those in the room included Chris Hemsworth; Bradley Cooper; Travis Scott; Snoop Dogg; Rob Lowe; John Stamos; Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello; Andy Serkis; Pierce Brosnan; Topher Grace; Walton Goggins; Adriana Lima; and a surprise appearance from pop superstar Britney Spears (making her first public appearance following months of rumors about her mental health).
A-listers aside, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is being marketed as “the 9th film from Quentin Tarantino,” a selling point that stands out considering the auteur has long said he plans to retire after a tenth effort. However, in recent weeks he has hinted that he may have more work to do, including a possible Star Trek installment with J.J. Abrams or a black-and-white TV series inspired by the fake TV Western Bounty Law with Rick Dalton once again at the center. Whether it was the will-he-or-won’t-he retirement talk, the combined wattage of Pitt and DiCaprio onscreen or the fact that Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is arriving during the peak summer box office season, but the anticipation for the pic seemed especially thick on Monday night.
Even studio chief Tom Rothman seemed giddy at presenting the movie for the first time since its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May. “Pulp Fiction recently celebrated its 25th anniversary and I’ve been wanting to [work with Quentin] since then — for all 25 years. I wouldn’t even say as a studio head, I would say just as a movie fan. It’s a terrific treat,” said Rothman, Tarantino’s first studio partner since the fall of The Weinstein Co. and Harvey Weinstein, with whom Tarantino worked for years. Of their collaboration, Rothman said the thing that surprised him the most about Tarantino and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is how “emotional” both are.
(Excerpt) Read more in: The Hollywood Reporter
