Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Novel Will Reveal Cliff’s Backstory

The director discussed his book on the latest episode of the Pure Cinema Podcast, hosted by Elric Kane and Brian Saur, where he revealed that the novel would tell Cliff Booth’s backstory. 

Quentin Tarantino has described his upcoming novelization of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood as a complete rethinking of the Oscar-winning 2019 film.

I think if you’re a fan of the movie, I think you will get a kick out of reading the book, and exploring the characters further and deeper, and learning secrets that you didn’t know, and we’re not in the movie. 

It’s not just me taking the screenplay and then breaking it down in a novelistic form. I retold the story as a novel… It was a complete rethinking of the entire story and not just a rethinking as far as throwing some scenes that were left out of the editing room.

Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino gave some insight into his Once Upon a Time in Hollywood book, saying that it will provide a glimpse into Cliff Booth’s backstory. The writer/director also notes that each chapter about Cliff’s past reads like a weird little pulp novel unto itself.

“In the movie, Cliff is a real enigma.  And one of the things in the book is that these isolated chapters tell you, like, this whole chapter will be about Cliff’s past.  

And while going with the usual run of the story, there’s another chapter that goes back in time and tells you about Cliff’s past. And every isolated chapter that’s just about Cliff’s past is like a weird little pulp novel unto itself starring Cliff.”

Quentin Tarantino

Tarantino, the writer-director, said that he is writing this book for the past five years. While writing this book, he explored and wrote new kinds of stuff that could not be presented in the movie. He also said that writing this book made him understand his characters.

He further added that if this book were written earlier, the movie would have been made out of that material. 

“You know how you take an unwieldy novel and try to turn it into a movie? Well, to me, the movie is that. This is the unwieldy version of the movie.”

Quentin Tarantino

The movie is set in Los Angeles, 1969. Over the hill TV actor, Rick Dalton, and his best friend and stunt-double, Cliff Booth, strive to reignite their careers as their failure is juxtapose with the success of Rick’s new next door neighbours: Sharon Tate. Rick and Cliff become unwittingly entangled with the infamous Manson family in the process.

Tarantino has said before that he plans to retire after making his 10th film. As Once Upon a Time in Hollywood marks his 9th official film endeavor, it’s interesting to see Tarantino explore other avenues of creation while growing the universe in his films take place.

About Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is 2019 comedy-drama film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino.

The movie features a large ensemble cast led by Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie. Quentin Tarantino has also written his long-awaited first work of fiction book of the same name based on his Academy Award- winning film, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.

Set in 1969 Los Angeles, the film follows a fading character actor and his stunt double as they navigate the rapidly changing film industry, with the looming threat of the Tate-LaBianca Murders hanging overhead. It features multiple storylines in a modern fairy tale tribute to the final moments of Hollywood’s golden age.

Source: Pure Cinema Podcast