Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Trivia

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  • According to QT, at one point he considered having a song from Beyond The Valley of The Dolls on KHJ Radio. The Carrie Nations, a fictional girl group would've been promoted as a real group in the Tarantino Universe of 1969.
  • There are two other visitors at Spahn Ranch when Cliff arrives taking a horse ride on the property. Their names are Curt and Connie. The actors are playing QT's parents (Curt and Connie Zastoupil). QT has said he thinks they took him to Spahn Ranch as a child.
  • Margot Robbie, who portrays Sharon Tate, wears some of Sharon Tate's real jewelry. Sharon Tate's sister, Debra, gave Robbie the jewelry to wear.
  • As the Tate party enters the El Coyote restaurant for dinner, Sharon Tate and Jay Sebring discuss a movie premiere they can see taking place further down Beverly Blvd. at an erotic movie theatre. "They have premieres for dirty movies?" asks Sharon. The theatre in question is the Eros, a real adult theatre of the time. The building still exists, though it is now a repertory cinema called The New Beverly, and it is owned by Quentin Tarantino.
  • For the character of Sharon Tate, Quentin Tarantino did not approach Roman Polanski, he admitted at the press conference in Cannes. But Tarantino asked for and received help from Sharon Tate's sister Debra, who is thanked in the credits. Also he gave Debra Tate a script to read early on, went to visit her in Santa Barbara and spent a weekend with her. She even came on set when the Bruin [Theatre in Westwood] sequence was being shot.
  • This is Luke Perry's last film. Perry suffered a massive stroke in late February 2019, and died March 4th. Scott Lancer is a homage to Wayne Maunder and his role in Lancer (1968). Maunder died on November 11, 2018, ten days after filming wrapped on this movie.
  • Very rare for a Quentin Tarantino film, some scenes contained improvisation, particularly when Rick Dalton forgets his lines in "Lancer" and rants to himself privately in his trailer afterwards. Leonardo DiCaprio had a very difficult time playing Dalton's roles as Dalton would, rather than how he himself would, especially since Dalton is supposed to be an actor of hidden range, so he suggested Dalton forgetting his lines mid-scene to ironically help him stay in character as Dalton. The following scene in the trailer was also unscripted.
  • Originally skeptical of the project, Sharon Tate's sister Debra Tate gave the film and Margot's portrayal of Sharon her blessing after Debra was embraced by Tarantino himself and became aware of how her sister would be represented within the film. Debra referred to Margot as a "dedicated craftsman," and praised the actress's research of Sharon prior to meeting with her.
  • Quentin Tarantino described Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt as "the most exciting star dynamic duo since Robert Redford and Paul Newman."
  • Tarantino has said he worked on the screenplay for five years.
  • Leonardo DiCaprio & Brad Pitt got along so well during the production that they confirmed at the film's Cannes premiere that they would love to team up again on another film.
  • This is Leonardo DiCaprio's first film in four years since winning his first Academy Award for The Revenant (2015).
  • Burt Reynolds was originally cast as George Spahn, the ranch owner, but he died before he was scheduled to shoot his scenes. Bruce Dern replaced him in the role.
  • Quentin Tarantino stated that the story consists of multiple parallel stories and is the closest thing to his earlier film Pulp Fiction.
  • This movie is one of two 2019 projects in which Damon Herriman plays Charles Manson, the other one being season two of Netfilx's Mindhunter (2017).
  • Tarantino considers the screenplay of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood as "probably his most personal."
  • Tim Roth is credited as being part of "The Gang" (Quentin Tarantino's regulars), even though his scenes were cut from the movie.
  • One of the Italian films that Rick stars in is directed by Antonio Margheriti; in Inglourious Basterds (2009), "Antonio Margheriti" is the alias used by Donny Donowitz to sneak into the premiere of "Nation's Pride".
  • Tarantino spent five years writing Once Upon a Time in Hollywood as a novel before realizing a film script would better suit the material.
  • Before the film's world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Quentin Tarantino begged from Cannes crowds to avoid spoilers for later audiences in a statement on social media. "I love cinema, You love cinema. It's the journey of discovering a story for the first time. I'm thrilled to be here in Cannes to share 'Once Upon A Time...in Hollywood' with the festival audience. The cast and crew have worked so hard to create something original, and I only ask that everyone avoids revealing anything that would prevent later audiences from experiencing the film in the same way. Thank you."
  • Quentin Tarantino was scheduled to make the film for The Weinstein Company. When the sexual assault allegations against co-chairman Harvey Weinstein were revealed in the press, Tarantino severed ties with The Weinstein Company and began summoning studio executives to his agent's office to read copies of his Manson script. The project was already one of the most anticipated and promising projects on the board at the time. After reading the script, Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Annapurna Pictures, and Lionsgate were welcome to make a bid for the theatrical right before a second round of bids pitched to Tarantino himself. Sony won the theatrical rights in the bidding war.
  • For Tarantino, Sharon Tate has an angelic presence throughout the movie. He even considers Tate an angelic ghost on earth, with Tarantino's own words, "to some degree, she's not in the movie, she's in our hearts".
  • When Sharon goes to the Bruin theater to see the film she is in, a poster of "The Mercenary" can be seen. "The Mercenary" starred Franco Nero who sat alongside Jamie Foxx at the bartop in Django Unchained. Franco Nero was the original Django.
  • Quentin Tarantino claimed to have written a role specifically for Al Pacino in the film. Pacino was later cast as Marvin Shwarzs, a fictitious Hollywood agent to DiCaprio's character.
  • Received a seven-minute standing ovation at Cannes premiere.
  • Margot Robbie accidentally took home one of Quentin Tarantino's "on-the-day" shot lists from one of her days of filming. She discovered it months later and was afraid to say anything in case Quentin asked for it back. When she revealed this to Quentin, he told her he practically throws them away when he's done with them, and offered her many more.
  • This film was originally scheduled to be released on August 9, 2019, the 50th anniversary of the murder of Sharon Tate and friends by members of Charles Manson's 'Family,' before Sony changed the release date to July 26, 2019. Joan Didion in her collection of essays titled "White Album" theorized that August 9, 1969 was the day the 'Hippie' movement, the free love era, and the 1960s as a whole came to an abrupt end as a result of these murders.
  • During the mid-credits Red Apple cigarettes commercial, Rick Dalton says, "Take a bite and feel all right." Quentin Tarantino previously used this phrase in his published screenplay for From Dusk Till Dawn (1996); it is spoken by Seth Gecko (George Clooney) during that film's climactic fight, but was not included in the final cut.
  • Rick Dalton is portrayed as a Steve McQueen wannabe. Rick Dalton starred in the fictional 1950's western TV series "Bounty Law," while Steve McQueen starred in the actual 1950's western TV series, Wanted: Dead or Alive (1958), which was about a bounty hunter. In his final film The Hunter (1980), McQueen played real-life bounty hunter Ralph Thorson.
  • Quentin Tarantino considers himself one of the luckiest directors in the history of Hollywood for being able to cast Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt at the same time.
  • The party sequence at the Playboy Mansion was actually filmed there, Tarantino having been a guest of Hugh Hefner on a number of occasions while Hefner was still alive.
  • Leonardo DiCaprio undertook a strict workout routine in order to convincingly play an action star, giving up pasta and desserts and doing hundreds of pushups a day.
  • Editor Fred Raskin's first assembly of the film was four hours, 20 minutes.
  • When Cliff Booth is goading Bruce Lee into a fight, he refers to Lee as a dancer. This is probably a reference to the fact that in addition to his martial arts prowess, Bruce Lee was an accomplished dancer, and was the Cha Cha champion of Hong Kong in 1958.
  • Quentin Tarantino thinks of this movie as "his memory piece". He even compares it to Alfonso Cuaron's Roma (2018).
  • Margot Robbie had to wear brown colored eye contacts to match Sharon Tate's eyes since Robbie's eyes are blue in real life.
  • According to Quentin Tarantino, whenever he referred to the project of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, he referred to it as "Magnum Opus".
  • Brad Pitt was reportedly in talks for an unspecified role in the film, which was rumoured to be a detective investigating the murders, and was eventually turned down by Pitt. Negotiations stopped for a couple months as it was assumed Pitt wasn't interested. Tarantino then tried to consider Tom Cruise for a role as many assume it was the same role (its not been confirmed) that Pitt declined but matters never materialized with Cruise. Tarantino then went back to Pitt months later for a role again but this time, the role was confirmed for being the stuntman character, Cliff Booth which Pitt would sign on to do.
  • At the film's world premiere screening at the Cannes film festival, the scene where Brad Pitt, 55, takes off his shirt to show off his still muscular stuntman physique, drew gasps and spontaneous applause from the audience, as reported by the BBC and Indiewire.
  • British Chinese martial arts actor and choreographer J. Cheung was offered the role of Bruce Lee, but turned it down, citing its lack of respect to Bruce Lee and his spirit. Cheung had previously turned down the role of Bruce Lee in "Birth of the Dragon' for similar reasons.
  • This is the first collaboration for Al Pacino and Leonardo DiCaprio.
  • Maya Hawke's mother, Uma Thurman, has starred in three movies directed by Quentin Tarantino: Pulp Fiction (1994), Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003), and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004).
  • The real Antonio Margheriti (fictionally credited as the director of Rick Dalton's film Operation Dyn-O-Mite!), was a major influence on Quentin Tarantino. He was previously referenced in Tarantino's film Inglourious Basterds as the undercover Italian name used by Donny Donowitz.
  • As a hippie follower of the Manson Clan, Margaret Qualley actually let her armpit hair grow out over the course of the shoot for her 'Pussycat' character. No merkin was ever required.
  • Tim Roth and James Marsden would both see their roles cut from the final print. Tim Roth played a very English butler to Emile Hirsch's Jay Sebring. Marsden played Burt Reynolds
  • Premiered in competition at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, 25 years after Tarantino brought Pulp Fiction to the festival in 1994 and won the Palme d'Or.
  • Leonardo DiCaprio was courted for several months to take on one of the two primary characters in the film. The role was revealed to be the character of Rick Dalton, a washed up former television western star, which DiCaprio would eventually be convinced to sign on for his second collaboration with Quentin Tarantino. Their prior collaboration between them was for Django Unchained (2012).
  • For Quentin Tarantino, the title is a take on the fact that the film is "a Hollywood of reality-but a Hollywood of the mind at the same time".
  • Brings Quentin Tarantino full circle with Sony Pictures over two decades after TriStar put Pulp Fiction (1994) into turnaround, due to its supposed glamorization of violence and drugs.
  • Is set to cost a reported $100 million.
  • The casting of Kurt Russell and Zoe Bell as the man and wife stunt coordinators on The Green Hornet is a double inside joke to Tarantino's films. Russell previously played "Stuntman Mike" in Death Proof, in which Bell, a real-life stunt performer, also appeared playing herself.
  • This is the third collaboration between Quentin Tarantino and Kurt Russell. Their previous ones were Death Proof (2007) and The Hateful Eight (2015) and this would have been their fourth if Russell had not been forced to drop out of Django Unchained (2012) due to scheduling conflicts.
  • For Quentin Tarantino, this movie is his love letter to L.A.
  • Aside from one track, this is Quentin Tarantino's first film since Jackie Brown to not have a soundtrack comprised primarily of (preexisting or original) Ennio Morricone music.
  • For Tarantino, Rick Dalton is not any one person, because Tarantino made a conscious effort not to do that. Dalton is a little bit of Edd Byrnes, Ty Hardin - the man who would be McQueen - a little William Shatner.
  • For Tarantino, the title of the film, in one regard, has "a fairy-tale aspect". On another level, since the film is not historical fact per se, the title is a memory piece.
  • The background song in the teaser trailer is 'Bring a Little Lovin', published on 1968 by the Spanish group Los Bravos.
  • The Cannes premiere of the film made such a splash that a large number of people, including film executives, weren't able to get in. Journalists queued for two hours before the film's 4:30 p.m. press screening. When the attendants came to the entrance barrier at the theater at about 3:50 p.m. to start admitting attendees, a round of applause went up from some in the crowd. The crush and jostle to get in became such a heaving mess of sharp elbows that the staffers had to admonish people not to push their way into the theater.
  • Rumors have circulated that Jennifer Lawrence was being considered for the role of Manson Family member Susan Atkins. In 2014, Quentin Tarantino considered Lawrence for the role of Daisy Domergue in The Hateful Eight (2015), which ultimately went to Jennifer Jason Leigh. In interviews around that film's release date, Tarantino described Daisy as "a Manson girl out West, like Susan Atkins or something", suggesting that Tarantino has imagined Lawrence in mind for a part like this for some time.
  • Initially Leonardo DiCaprio was scheduled to sing either "Green Door" (a 1956 hit for radio personality Jim Lowe), or Cole Porter's "Don't Fence Me In" (popularized by singing cowboy Roy Rogers). They went with "Green Door" in the end.
  • Tarantino is the third director to direct Leonardo DiCaprio more than once. The other two are Martin Scorsese and Baz Luhrmann.
  • The character "Francesca Cappucci" was most likely named after a real-life Los Angeles media personality who gained notoriety in the 80s and 90s, first as a news reader for radio station KLOS, then as the on-air music reporter for sister station KABC.
  • Maya Hawke and Rumer Willis both appear in the film. They are the daughters of Uma Thurman and Bruce Willis, respectively, who previously worked with Tarantino in Pulp Fiction (1994).
  • In an unprecedented film production move, a section of L.A.'s Hollywood Freeway (US-101) was completely shut down from 12pm to 2 pm for a sequence populated with period cars. No VFX were used to create this sequence.
  • Manson follower Nancy Pitman was quoted as saying "We are what you have made us, we were brought up on your TV. We were brought up watching Gunsmoke [and] Have Gun Will Travel". Both of these shows were prime time, long running Western TV shows and Tarantino's film follows a faded Western TV star during the Charles Manson killings of 1969.
  • Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie previously starred together as a husband and wife in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013).
  • The producers had some initial difficulties convincing Hollywood Boulevard vendors to allow their premises to be fitted with period facades to better reflect the 1960s, but after the production wrapped that section of the shoot, most of these same people asked if they could leave the facades in place, since they now preferred that period 'look' much more.
  • On June 12, 2018, moviegoers were surprised to see that scheduled 70mm screenings of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) inside the legendary Cinerama Dome appeared to suddenly been replaced by another film from that period, Krakatoa: East of Java (1968) In fact, 2001 had been relocated to another screen inside the ArcLight Hollywood and the marquees for Krakatoa: East of Java were part of the second unit work required for Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood (2019) to recreate the look of 1969 Los Angeles.
  • This is Brad Pitt and Al Pacino's first collaboration since Ocean's Thirteen (2007).
  • The song from the very beginning of the teaser trailer is 'Straight Shooter' by The Mamas and The Papas
  • Korean-American Mike Moh is cast as the Hong Kong-American Bruce Lee.
  • Tarantino stated in an interview that the director whose work most resembles this film is that of French filmmaker Claude Lelouch.
  • Shannon Lee, daughter of legend Bruce Lee, was most disappointed with the way her father was portrayed by actor Mike Moh under Quentin Tarantino's direction. She felt he was sorely misrepresented as an arrogant blowhard who was full of hot air.
  • The song that Rick Dalton is singing on Hullabaloo is "The Green Door", which was a #1 hit for Jim Lowe in 1956.
  • Cinematographer Robert Richardson has previously worked on three films starring actor Leonardo DiCaprio. The Aviator (2004), Shutter Island (2010), Django Unchained (2012). The former two were directed by Martin Scorsese, while the latter and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood are films by Quentin Tarantino.
  • This will be the first film starring both Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt. At one point when Good Will Hunting was making the rounds to get produced, all the studios and directors wanted "Leo and Brad" to star in it, a film since starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. Damon would subsequently go on to work with Leonardo DiCaprio in The Departed and Brad Pitt in the Ocean's Eleven trilogy as well as cameo together in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. The last two of which co-starred George Clooney, who co-starred with Quentin Tarantino in From Dusk Till Dawn, which Tarantino wrote.
  • Kevin Smith's daughter, Harley Quinn Smith stars alongside Margot Robbie in this film and was named after Harley Quinn from DC Comic universe. Margot Robbie plays Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad (2016) and Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020).
  • Quentin Tarantino's third collaboration with Bruce Dern, Keith Jefferson and Craig Stark, following Django Unchained (2012) and The Hateful Eight (2015).
  • Madison Beatty, who plays Patricia Krenwinkel (Katie) in this movie, previously played the same role on the TV series Aquarius (2015).
  • Samuel L. Jackson was in talks for a role.
  • At one point, a theater marquee can be seen advertising a movie which is Rated "M." Contrary to popular believe, this does NOT mean "Adults Only" or "Mature Audiences Only." The original MPAA ratings for film content, which would have come into effect not long before the time the film is set, were G (General Audiences, still in use today), M, R (Restricted, still in use today), and X (Adults Only). As the M rating confused audiences (they didn't know if an M or an R movie was stronger in its content), the M rating was eventually changed to GP, and not long thereafter, to PG (Parental Guidance Suggested), which is still in use today. Long story short, the M rating is the earliest incarnation of the PG rating, and most certainly DOES NOT mean "Mature Audiences Only!"
  • Pan American Airlines is featured multiple times during the film. Leonardo DiCaprio previously played Frank Abagnale, a fraud artist who posed as a Pan Am pilot, in Catch Me If You Can (2002). Margot Robbie played a flight attendant in the 2011 television series Pan Am (2011).
  • Cameo (Perla Haney-Jardine): The hippie who sells Cliff an acid-dipped cigarette. She previously appeared as B.B. in Tarantino's Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004).
  • The working title for the film #9, being Quentin Tarantino's ninth feature film.
  • Award-winning cinematographer Robert Richardson has said that one of the most gratifying experiences for him on the shoot was filming Al Pacino for the very first time. He'd seen all Pacino's films, but having the rare opportunity to shoot him with Brad and Leonardo in the same space was a milestone in his career.
  • Emile Hirsch, Timothy Olyphant and James Remar previously worked on The Girl Next Door (2004).
  • Despite Damon Herriman playing Charles Manson and Rafal Zawierucha playing Roman Polanski, Herriman is 16 years older than Zawierucha, despite Manson being a year younger than Polanski.
  • Features three Oscar winners (Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, & Al Pacino) and two Oscar nominees (Bruce Dern & Margot Robbie).
  • The Mexican restaurant that Rick (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Cliff (Brad Pitt) go to is named Casa Vega. This may be a nod to previous Tarantino characters Vic and Vincent Vega. Vic Vega aka Mr. Blonde, played by Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs, 1992) and Vincent Vega, played by John Travolta (Pulp Fiction, 1994).
  • Wrapped filming on November first. (editor note: this needs to move from trivia to business facts / production history)
  • The Cannes premiere of the film drew stars from all over the world, including Zhang Ziyi, Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna, Lea Seydoux, Tilda Swinton, Guillaume Canet, Gilles Lellouche, Xavier Dolan, Dakota Fanning, Adrien Brody and Michelle Rodriguez.
  • Damon Herriman and Timothy Olyphant were both on Justified (2010). They co-starred on that show with Walton Goggins, who had previously worked with director Quentin Tarantino on Django Unchained (2012) and The Hateful Eight (2015). Another co-star on that show, Jeremy Davies, had previously played Charles Manson in the 2004 TV movie Helter Skelter.
  • James Marsden and Clifton Collins Jr. previously worked on Westworld (2016).
  • In one of the clips from Rick Dalton's past movies, The 14 Fists of McCluskey, he is seen wearing an eye patch on his left eye. Kurt Russell, who plays Randy in this film, starred as left-eyepatch-wearer Snake Plissken in Escape from New York and Escape From L.A.. Elle Driver also wears an eyepatch in Kill Bill.
  • This is the second movie with Bruce Dern to feature the song "Out of Time" by The Rolling Stones, the first one being Coming Home (1978).
  • This is Damon Herriman's first Leonardo DiCaprio movie since J. Edgar (2011).
  • Brad Pitt and Scoot McNairy previously starred together in Killing Them Softly (2012) and 12 Years a Slave (2013).

The trivia items below may give away important plot points.

  • Donald "Shorty" Shea was a stuntman who worked on the Spahn Ranch. He was the final victim of the Manson Family, and tried to warn Spahn about being taken advantage of by Manson and his followers. In this movie, Brad Pitt's Cliff Booth is a stuntman who, while visiting the Spahn Ranch, seeks his old acquaintance Spahn to find out about the hippies.
  • When Sharon goes to a showing of her movie The Wrecking Crew (1968) the filmmakers chose to use the actual film, rather than recreating the scenes with Robbie. The real Sharon Tate briefly appears onscreen.

Sources: IMDb et. al.

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