Quentin Tarantino’s Next Film Gets an Official Title, Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio to Star
After months of speculation and reports on casting possibilities (and likelihoods, to be honest), Quentin Tarantino’s next film — his ninth, and his first without the Weinstein Co. — has an official title and a pair of stars. Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio have signed on to headline the project, which is titled Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Sony sent out an official press release to announce the initial casting and title of Tarantino’s latest, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Tarantino himself provided the first legitimate plot details, describing it as “a story that takes place in Los Angeles in 1969, at the height of hippy Hollywood.” He also offered some details on the main characters, played by DiCaprio (who previously starred in Django Unchained) and Pitt (Inglourious Basterds):
The two lead characters are Rick Dalton (DiCaprio), former star of a western TV series, and his longtime stunt double Clint Booth (Pitt). Both are struggling to make it in a Hollywood they don’t recognize anymore. But Rick has a very famous next-door neighbor…Sharon Tate.
Tarantino has reportedly been eyeing Margot Robbie for the role of Tate, the former model and wife of Roman Polanski who was nine months pregnant when she was murdered by Charles Manson’s followers. Although Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is not directly about the Manson Family murders, it is set — literally — right next door to them. The director, who has lived the majority of his life in L.A., reveals he’s been working on the script for five years. “I’m very excited to tell this story of an L.A. and a Hollywood that don’t exist anymore,” says Tarantino.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood will hit theaters on August 9, 2019 — the anniversary of Sharon Tate’s murder.