Director Quentin Tarantino is finally ready to shine the bright lights on his 1960s drama, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and lead star Leonardo DiCaprio has offered a sneak peek at his character standing next to a suave Brad Pitt in full period garb.
The sprawling Sony gig, which has been described as a Pulp Fiction-like caper, is either on the verge of a production start, or has just started filming under the watchful eye of Tarantino, as this official photo is likely the studio’s way of getting Once Upon a Time in Hollywood out in the wild before the inevitable onslaught of low-quality paparazzi shots. And what a photo it is.
Set in 1969, we know DiCaprio’s character to be a former Western TV star who has since fallen on hard times. Struggling to hit the Hollywood big leagues, he finds solace in his long-time stunt double (Pitt), though their story becomes all the more complicated when DiCaprio’s next door neighbor, Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), is murdered. Cue the madness.
As Once Upon a Time in Hollywood marks QT’s penultimate film, it’s only fitting that the director has assembled a who’s who of A-list talent, including Timothy Olyphant, Al Pacino, Margot Robbie, Burt Reynolds, Damian Lewis, Luke Perry, Dakota Fanning, Clifton Collins, Keith Jefferson, Emile Hirsch and Nicholas Hammond.
It also marks a historic change for Tarantino himself, given the filmmaker partnered with Sony in lieu of The Weinstein Company, which distributed all of QT’s previous work. But the Harvey Weinstein scandal called for change, and regardless of your opinion towards Quentin Tarantino and whether he was actually complicit in Weinstein’s actions, we’re pleased to see his 1960s period drama set up shop at a different studio.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood beckons viewers into Tinsel Town on August 9th, 2019.