Do you agree that Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was just a few minutes too long? Well, now you can spend even more time with the story by reading it in novel form! As it turns out, Quentin Tarantino has spent years falling in love with the backstories and ideas that turned into the film, inspiring him to expand it even further into an entire book! So, what do we know about the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood novel so far? Let’s take a look.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Is Being Turned In To A Novel
The 2019 Tarantino-directed film is a story about 1969 Los Angeles. It centers on Leonardo DiCaprio’s Rick Dalton, a famous actor with a fading career who is all too knowledgable on how quickly his future is taking a dive, giving him more than enough reasons to freak out. He is joined by his much more level-headed friend and stunt double, Brad Pitt’s Cliff Booth. The two enjoy the fast-paced life of the Golden Age of Hollywood, all while the infamous Charles Manson lurks around and Margot Robbie’s Sharon Tate tries to live her best life.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was received well enough by audiences and critics alike, as explored in our original review of the film. It went on to win various awards, including the Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor (for Pitt) and Best Production Design. But there is no bigger fan of this tale than director Quentin Tarantino himself, who continues to expand on the initial screenplay.
Initial reports announced that Tarantino would be developing the in-story television series Bounty Law into a real spin-off show. We never seem to get enough of the western genre these days, so this news was pretty exciting. We would never have expected what comes next: a Once Upon a Time in Hollywood novel.
Image via Sony Pictures Releasing.
What To Expect From The Tarantino Novel
Quentin Tarantino recently explored the backstory and contents of his novel on the Pure Cinema Podcast. He appears especially excited about this new project. It reportedly allows for much deeper character exploration than the film. Notably, we’ll learn an awful lot more about Cliff than the movie does, which paints him as a pretty mysterious fella.
Why decide to write a novel anyway? For Tarantino, the project comes from having so much time exploring each character and the age of Hollywood that we remember fondly through the golden lens of nostalgia. He calls it the “unwieldy version of the movie,” so our expectations are filled with curiosity, to say the least!
The Once Upon a Time in Hollywood novel will release on June 29th, 2021.
Do you plan on picking up a copy? Let us know in the comments below!
Featured image via Sony Pictures Releasing.