It’s official! Sony Pictures have announced that Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio are hooking up with director Quentin Tarantino to star in his new movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It’s been rumoured for a while, with the last murmurs in January being about DiCaprio being ready to walk away from the project but after tense negotiations both of these Hollywood heavyweights have signed on.
The film will be set during the Manson Murders in the late 60s, the most famous victim of the killings being actress Sharon Tate. Quentin Tarantino describes the film as,“a story that takes place in Los Angeles in 1969, at the height of hippy Hollywood.” He says Leo and Pitt will play a pair of struggling actors. DiCaprio will play Rick Dalton a former Western TV series star and Pitt will take on the role of Cliff Booth, his stunt double. Their characters will live next door to Sharon Tate.
Of course the actors have previous history with the cult director. Tarantino worked with Pitt in the super successful war film Inglourious Basterds, which was nominated for eight Oscars, with Christoph Waltz walking away with the best supporting actor statue. The film netted $321 million globally. DiCaprio turned bad guy to star in Tarantino’s Django Unchained as an evil plantation boss.
It was nominated for five Oscars in 2012. That year Quentin took home the award for best screenplay, with Waltz again getting the nod for best supporting actor. So clearly the pair equal money at the box office as well as award gold. Tarantino might just be missing a trick in not involving Chris Waltz in the film, you’d think that would mean success was nailed on.
Tom Cruise and I Tonya star Margot Robbie have also been rumoured to be taking part in the movie with Tarantino having reportedly asked Robbie to take on the part of Tate. Neither actor has confirmed any involvement as of yet.
In a statement on Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Tarantino said,
“I’ve been working on this script for five years, as well as living in Los Angeles County most of my life, including in 1969, when I was seven years old. I’m very excited to tell this story of an L.A. and a Hollywood that don’t exist anymore. And I couldn’t be happier about the dynamic teaming of DiCaprio & Pitt as Rick & Cliff.”
The film is set to be released worldwide on Aug. 9, 2019.
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