Brad Pitt in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Photo - Andrew Cooper/Sony PicturesQuentin Tarantino is the Hollywood star with the most affection for throwback gestures. Tarantino loves the old-school formats of film, retro title cards and actual printed programs. He has filled his films and the spaces surrounding them with his love for the ephemera of classic cinema. Tarantino's first book, Once Upon A Time in HollywoodA Novel, has been a testament to his dedication. The book is not only an artifact from a past age. It was also art-designed to look exactly like the movie novelizations that you would see in a supermarket spinner rack. It was apparently written without the ghost writer that almost any other director in his situation would have been able to forgive for using. Tarantino's obsessions are evident in the book. It includes old movie stars and 60s Los Angeles DJs.AdvertisementIt's also very odd and an act of self-adaptation. Tarantino edits his narrative constantly, taking familiar scenes, changing their settings and characters, and taking lengthy and expensive to film digressions. He then blows them out into full chapters and creates a fascinating companion piece for the Oscar-winning film.We present the five most bizarre things about Tarantino's debut novel. This includes the handling of Brad Pitt's famous fight between Cliff Booth, a fictional stuntman, and Bruce Lee, a famed martial arts master.1. Cliff Booth is a goddamn psychopathBrad Pitt is at his quietest and most charismatically competent. Cliff Booth, a professional stuntman/gofer, is Tarantino's closest film to a traditional hero. Cliff investigates the Manson Family's takeover at Spahn Movie Ranch, although ineffectually. Cliff does the brunt of (brutally fighting off) members of the Family as they launch an ahistorical, unprovoked attack on Rick Daltons Benedict Canyon house. Cliff is the cool and confident foil to Rick's spiralling ego throughout the film. Cliff Booth (in movie) is a nice guy, despite rumors about his past.Cliff Booth, however, in the book is a goddamned psychopath.Let's start with the obvious. Cliff killed his wife Bobbie with a shark gun while on a boat in middle of the ocean. Cliff claims he wasn't sure if he pulled the trigger, or just twitched his fingers in anger. Cliff is deeply sorry for doing it. Tarantino gives a touching description of Booth holding Bobbie, a half-brother, together for six hours to save her life. It is one of the most bizarre and grotesque scenes in the book. He undoubtedly killed her. This is one of many stories that the author enjoys telling about Booth's evasion from murder on American soil. (See also: His dog-fighting partner from whom he adopted Brandy and the random gangsters that he shot in the head in Cleveland. Book Cliff is also a sex-hound and seriously considered becoming a French pimp before deciding it was too hard work. He is often noted for having killed so many people during World War II that he can't keep track of them all. The winning traits of Film Cliff are still evident, even if Pitt's smiling face isn't enough to offset the intensity. Book Cliff, on the other hand, is a man who is confident in his ability and willing to fight without hesitation.Advertisement2. Bruce Lee's fight is much more brutal.The fascinating thing about movie novelizations, including Once Upon A Time and all the Star Wars novels, is the fact that they tend to ground the story in the heads of their characters. Tarantino doesn't hesitate to dip into Ricks or Cliffs streams, literally allowing us access to thoughts that can only be inferred by Pitts and Leonardo DiCaprios performances. This is more evident than in the film's most talked about scene, the fight between Cliff and Bruce Lee at the Green Hornet set. It is not surprising that Tarantino has spoken about this scene a lot in the years that have passed since its release. The book version plays out the same way. The difference is in the perspective.AdvertisementFirst, Tarantino is unlikely to be given credit, particularly from Lees already criticizing family, for his thoughts that Bruce Lee had during the fight he created to demonstrate how cool his stuntman was. Tarantinos Lee isn't necessarily an asshole. However, the narrative continues, as Joe Rogan did recently, with the disputed assertion that he treated Hornet's stuntmen like shit. Even a positive portrayal of Lees inner world plays into the fan-fiction with-real-people issues surrounding OUATIH in a manner that only increases the potential for tastelessness. It's one thing to substitute Rick Dalton for other actors in old Paul Wendkos photos; it's another to speak Lees mind and put words into his mouth.At least the actual fight plays out as on film. Cliff hits Lee with the first punch, while Lee then throws Cliff into a car. The details are what make the difference, such as Booth throwing the first round against Lee to give him a false sense superiority. This is why what could be a humbling moment in the film can be re-contextualized into a cunning strategy. We also get to see both men's perspectives on the fight. Cliffsee is trying to stop Cliffsee from being loudmouthed. 1. aboveis actually trying to end Lee's career and maim him. There is even a suggestion that Lee's spine might have been damaged by the car throw. This, considering Lee's back problems for the past three years, feels particularly cruel and pointed. We can probably see the book as Tarantino's definitive statement about the fight, given the clarity with which it addresses it. Whether that will silence the critics or keep the conversation quiet is another matter.Advertisement3. 3.The film's climax is the attack on Rick & Cliff by Charlie Mansons acolytes. There are also portents of future violence, and the real-life murder of Sharon Tate. Tarantinos book has one strange thing. Although the events do take place technically, they are only briefly revealed about a quarter of way through the novel. The four paragraphs Tarantino spends on the attack are quickly eclipsed by the much longer discussion about Rick Daltons career. We don't see him receiving the film's fairy-tale friendship offer from Roman Polanski and Tate, but he does get a TV Guide profile and a spot on Mission: Impossible.AdvertisementTarantino's treatment of the fight is a strong indicator that he has written this novel. This is not just for those who have seen the film, but also for those who are already familiar with the story. It asks what the point is of writing the entire sequence of Cliff smashing Manson Family member Katies head into Ricks house? When you can just watch Brad Pitt and Madisen Beaty do it, why waste a page on descriptions of his film when he cant dedicate a page to the sweat-soaked alcoholism that was Aldo Ray in the 50s.The film's signature scene was cut, which changes the tone of the book and may even bring it closer to Tarantinos original goals. The Manson attack, which occurs right at the very end and is foreshadowed throughout the film's running time, transforms OUATIH into a film about (non-existent in this universe) Tate LaBianca murders. The Familys violence fades into the background. This is despite the fact that there is a chapter from Mansons success-obsessed perspective. It's hard to believe that Tarantino deliberately chose to make the film a Manson movie.Advertisement4. Quentin Tarantino is a living being in this universeQuentin Tarantino is a huge fan of Easter eggs, as well as deliberate moviemaking anachronism. It's a given that almost every character in Once Upon A Time smokes a Red Apple cigarette. Tarantino, the author, can't help but to watch the dominoes tumble until they intersect with his career. The book ends with a brief section that explains how, although Trudi Fraser, an 8-year-old actress (Rick Daltons prepossessed co-star on his guest spot in Western Lancer), does not win the Oscar she longs for, she is nominated by Academy three times. Her last chance at winning? Quentin Tarantino's 1999 remake of John Sayles' script for The Lady In Red, a gangster drama.AdvertisementTarantino, who was somewhere in the middle of Jackie Brown and Kill Bill in 1999, has stated his affections towards Lady In Red before. Who's to say that he can't make a dream project a reality in his own life?5. Quentin Tarantino actually is a solid novelistIt is not clear if Once Upon A Time In Hollywood's writing style, which uses shorter sentences and doesn't rattling off names of dead directors for decades, is a deliberate imitation of other books or a result of Tarantinos inexperience with the form. Both seem like the most likely answer. The book's straightforward prose does not stop it from being compelling. It also fulfills its author's desire to immerse readers in his Californian vision on the eve a major shift in the future. Tarantino, among other things, has always been a short-story writer and allowed rich digressions to take him where he wanted. One could argue that these urges pay more in print than on the screen.AdvertisementAs with all Tarantino films, his passion for the subject matter is infectious. Sometimes it is a long list of who was cast in what obscure 1960s war film, and why. It is more often a series of fascinating twisting roads. There are chapters that tell Lancer's story as historical fiction and there are brief glimpses into the (Tarantinos) Polanski/Tates relationship. Then, there is a detailed description of Gunsmoke's plot. This is cool! Tarantino adds elements to the story of Rick Dalton who was a man but not a person. Harper Perennial's Tarantino deal was for two novels. There is enough here that makes that second project interesting.
