Quentin Tarantino has set Brad Pitt to star with Leonardo DiCaprio in his upcoming film, and the filmmaker has chosen a title. Tarantino’s ninth film is Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. The film is set for August 9, 2019 release worldwide.
Per Sony, Tarantino describes the film as “a story that takes place in Los Angeles in 1969, at the height of hippy Hollywood. The two lead characters are Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), former star of a western TV series, and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad 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.”
It wasn’t clear if Tarantino was providing an homage to Sergio Leone and his films Once Upon A Time In America and Once Upon A Time In The West, but it sounds like it. Tarantino’s pal Robert Rodriguez has used the term for his film Once Upon A Time In Mexico. Sony Pictures acquired the film after Tarantino was forced to pull it away from The Weinstein Company because of the company’s woes. Tarantino has asked Oscar-nominated I, Tonya star Margot Robbie to play Tate, who was murdered by Charles Manson’s crazy cult members.
Tarantino had been talking to both DiCaprio and Pitt, as well as Tom Cruise for those two key roles. Just as he reteamed with DiCaprio after Django Unchained, Tarantino reunites with Pitt after the WWII pic Inglourious Basterds, which got eight Oscar noms. Pitt just finished the James Gray-directed Ad Astra.
Said Tarantino: “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 LA and a Hollywood that don’t exist anymore. And I couldn’t be happier about the dynamic teaming of DiCaprio & Pitt as Rick & Cliff.”
