Quentin Tarantino has repeatedly stated that his tenth movie would be his very last. More recently, the US director of hit films including Kill Bill, Inglourious Basterds and Pulp Fiction revealed that he expects shooting to start later in the year.
“I have finished the script of what will end up being my last movie,” the 60-year-old said while being questioned by Thierry Fremaux, director of the Cannes Film Festival, at the launch of his new book in Paris.
“I imagine we’ll probably shoot it I guess in the fall,” Tarantino added.
After the highly anticipated movie was first announced via The Hollywood Reporter, rumours about it being specifically about renowned film critic Pauline Kael started spreading, with Cate Blanchett set to take on the role.
Though Tarantino has since denied that it was a biopic of Kael, adding that it won’t be devoted to any specific film critic, he has confirmed that the movie, called The Movie Critic, will be set in 70s Los Angeles. Here’s everything we know so far about what to expect from it.
On The Hot Mic podcast, Hollywood industry insider Jeff Sneider revealed that “there’ve been a lot of rumours that Margot Robbie would star… but the name I have heard—and this is thin—is Cate Blanchett.”
He added: “I’ve heard the role is similar to TÁR, and so it may not be for her,” in turn leaving us confused as to what to believe. Blanchett put aside, though no actors have been officially attached to the film, it’s hard to ignore Tarantino’s ultimate favourites, Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson, Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz and Uma Thurman, who have all worked with the director more than once.
Although Tarantino hasn’t revealed much about the upcoming movie’s plot, during the Q&A event held in Paris, he confirmed that The Movie Critic will be set in 1977 specifically, a year that brought us Star Wars, Saturday Night Fever, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Around the same time, the movie industry saw the rise of filmmakers at the helm of the American New Wave, such as Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, and Dennis Hopper.
Sorry to disappoint, but here again, we can’t confirm anything just yet. At the moment, Tarantino is allegedly speaking with major studios in Hollywood. Sony Pictures distributed his last film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and as always, it was a big hit. If the director decides to go with them again, and if everything else goes according to plan, we might see The Movie Critic premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. Fingers crossed.
Ever since Baz Luhrmann’s 2022 musical biopic Elvis, Austin Butler’s name has been on everyone’s lips. Having started his acting career on the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, the Californian 31-year-old not only impressed the world with his performance as the King of Rock and Roll, but also as the off-screen heartthrob who got so into his role that he never truly managed to use his normal (and higher pitched) voice again.
Internet virality put aside, there’s no denying that Butler is here to stay. After recently winning a Golden Globe Award, he’s now also received a nomination from the Academy Awards for Best Actor. Butler is also set to feature in Denis Villeneuve’s sequel to Dune alongside Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, and Florence Pugh.
All this to say, things are looking pretty good for Butler, which also explains why he recently got invited on the viral interview show Hot Ones. If, like so many of us, you simply can’t get enough of the actor’s newfound voice, and are curious to see how much viciously spicy wings he can handle, then you’ll want to get all the details on what went down on the show.
Of course, Butler had to kick things off with Presley’s filmography, sharing thoughts on different acting methods up until he decided to reveal some fun stories about his past experiences working on different movies other than Elvis.
Looking back on how great of a time he had on the set of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time… in Hollywood, in which he played Tex Watson, Butler told Hot Ones host Sean Evans, “The first time that I heard this, it was just so cool, because I mean, I’ve talked a lot about how much Quentin meant to me, and it was just always my dream to work with him. But he, we’re on set and he says, ‘Okay we got it, but we’re gonna do one more. You know why?’ And the entire crew screams, ‘Because we love making movies!’” he recalled.
“And the first time you’re there… you’re not in on it. And so, Brad [Pitt] and Leo [DiCaprio], everybody is like, ‘Because we love making movies!’ There are sets that are so sterile. There are sets where there is no joy. There are sets where people are like, just at a job,” Butler went on.
“And you’re trying to create something that you’re gonna give to the world, you know? And with Quentin, that was so cool, because it just changes the atoms in the room. And then you’re in on it! And so every new crew member, or actor, whoever, then suddenly they’re part of the tribe at that point, saying ‘We love making movies’.”
As the wings got hotter, though, Butler grabbed a glass of oat milk, wiped his nose, and lost his train of thought. Other highlights of the episode include the actor sharing memories of his time working with Denzel Washington and an anecdote about how he was “the only kid in elementary school who got this letter that allowed me to, every lunch, walk home and eat lunch with my mom.”
By the time the interview ends, Butler is deep in thought about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Not sure what we’re on about? Listen to the “sniffling Bob Ross” decide that spreading grape jelly “is gonna be my new therapy”, and thank us later.