The last time Quentin Tarantino and Brad Pitt got together for a late summer epic, the result was the Oscar winning Inglourious Basterds, and your attitude toward that film will likely guide your attitude toward their next collaboration, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. That's right folks, Tarantino has followed his buddy Robert Rodriguez's lead and invited himself into Sergio Leone's "Once Upon a Time" saga, in typical Tarantino fashion.
This looks to beright in line with all of the director's work: Excess, brilliant colors, retro-kitsch, and celebrities galore. To that last point, it's surprising how many of the film's big names aren't in the trailer like Al Pacino, Kurt Russell, Tim Roth, Dakota Fanning, Damian Lewis, Timothy Olyphant, Lena Dunham, and Bruce Dern.
Nevertheless, it's unsurprising that this first tease of the film is focused on its trio of humungous stars at the center of the film: Leonardo Di Caprio and Brad Pitt as a fictional actor and his stunt double—modeled on Burt Reynolds and Hal Needham—and Margot Robbie, who is playing the very real Sharon Tate. Tate's sister had initially come out against the film, but after meeting with Tarantino, changed her tune on the project. This leads many of us to believe that there may be some revisionist history happening in this flick, just like in Inglourious Basterds.
Manson, as played by Damon Herriman, turns up in the trailer right at the 1:09 mark with a big smile on his face, waving at the camera. There's definitely something afoot in this flick, and we might have the lowdown soon as the film is apparently aiming for a Cannes premiere, not coincidentally just like Inglourious Basterds. You can see where I'm going with all of this.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood hits theaters across North America on July 26.
