Quentin Tarantino's Manson Movie No Longer Premiering on Sharon Tate Murder Anniversary
Quentin Tarantino has never shied away from diving into some pretty gruesome stories, and he's certainly not going to start now. The director's next project, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, has been percolating for a while now, with The Hollywood Reporter revealing back in 2017 that Tarantino was in the early stages of putting together a film described as "a unique take on the Manson Family murders." At this point, details about the plot, star-studded cast, and release date have all come to light, including a first official look at Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt's characters. Take a look at everything we know about the upcoming film ahead.
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The drama will be Tarantino's follow-up to 2015's The Hateful Eight and the ninth film he's directed overall. He also penned the script and will serve as a producer alongside Harry Potter's David Heyman, Shannon McIntosh, and Georgia Kacandes.
On the casting front, Leonardo DiCaprio will be playing the role of struggling actor Rick Dalton and Inglourious Basterds alum Brad Pitt will play his character's stunt double, Cliff Booth. Sony has also confirmed that Margot Robbie will be starring as Sharon Tate. In addition, Burt Reynolds and The Hateful Eight stars Tim Roth, Kurt Russell, and Michael Madsen are on board, as well as Billions's Damian Lewis, who is set to portray Steve McQueen.
The script is reportedly a "Pulp Fiction-esque movie set during the time of the Manson murder spree in Los Angeles," according to Deadline. That definitely makes it seem like the infamous murder itself will be more of a backdrop to the actual story, even if Sharon Tate (pictured above) and Charles Manson make appearances. At CinemaCon in April 2018, Tarantino revealed the film will take place in Hollywood in the year 1969 and will be filmed in LA this Summer.
"It takes place at the height of the counter-culture explosion, at the height of the hippie revolution and at the height of a new Hollywood," he explained. "During this Summer, we will, little by little, street by street, block by block, transform Los Angeles into the psychedelic era of Hollywood in 1969."
For context, Tate, the Hollywood actress and pregnant wife of famed (and disgraced) director Roman Polanski (above), was brutally murdered by the followers of cult leader Manson in August 1969. Tate and four other people — Wojciech Frykowski, Abigail Folger, Jay Sebring, and Steven Parent — were staying at Polanski's LA home in Benedict Canyon when Manson followers Tex Watson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Linda Kasabian broke in and savagely murdered them with guns and knives. Tate was eight months pregnant at the time, adding an even more tragic touch to the already disturbing case.
A few months later, Manson and his followers were arrested for auto theft, including Atkins, who later told her cellmate that she was responsible for Tate's death "because we wanted to do a crime that would shock the world, that the world would have to stand up and take notice." By 1971, Manson and a few members of his following were sentenced to life in prison for the Benedict Canyon murders.
First look. #OnceUponATimeInHollywood
DiCaprio shared the first look at his character, Rick Dalton, as well as Pitt's Cliff Booth.
Although Deadline initially reported that Once Upon a Time in Hollywood would hit theaters on Aug. 9, 2019, which is the 50th anniversary of Sharon Tate's death, the studio has decided to move its release date up by two weeks. Now you'll be able to catch it in theaters on July 26, 2019.