CULTURE

Quentin Tarantino Might Make Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Longer So Multiple Actors Don’t Get Cut

Justice for James Marsden!


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Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood has officially taken Hollywood by storm. Between the huge stars (Brad Pitt! Leonardo DiCaprio! A somewhat silent Margot Robbie!), the glamorous red carpets, and the 1960s source material, the film is poised to be one of the biggest releases of the year when it comes out this July 26. But not everyone in the cast may get their moment when it hits theaters.

That’s because some of the film’s actors might not make it into the final edit. Even though DiCaprio has said that Once Upon a Time serves as an “homage to cinema, to the unrecognized people on the sidelines,” some of those people involved in the making of this film could stay there. That includes Danny Strong, James Marsden, James Remar, and Tarantino regular Tim Roth, who all contributed roles that have been edited out of the film, as IndieWire notes. Even one of living legend Al Pacino’s scenes was cut. Perhaps unsurprisingly, DiCaprio and Pitt reportedly have far more screen time than anyone else who appears in the movie (including Robbie, who plays the movie star Sharon Tate, tragically murdered by members of the Manson Family).

But, of course, this is all subject to change by the time Once Upon a Time makes its way into theaters. In an interview with IndieWire, Tarantino said he may edit the whole movie again to increase its length. It’s not a move without precedent: A decade ago, the director re-cut Inglourious Basterds after its Cannes premiere. This time around, he has plenty of material to work with as editor Fred Raskin initially delivered a four-hour, twenty-minute-long cut. “[Raskin’s] job is to put in every single thing I shot, give me everything,” the director said. “That’s not unusual, for an epic-y kind of movie.”

“I wouldn’t take anything else out,” he added. “I’m going to explore possibly putting something back in. If anything, I wanted to go to Cannes too short. if I’m going to err, I’m going to err on too tight.” He has the blessing to do so from Sony Pictures chairman Tom Rothman, too. “It’s his movie. We’re privileged to be along for the ride,” Rothman said. “It’s a Quentin Tarantino film. It’s entirely in his very capable hands.”