Tarantino snaps at reporter over Margot Robbie's limited role, dialogues in 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'
Quentin Tarantino's highly anticipated film 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' had its Cannes Film Festival 2019 premiere on Tuesday, May 21.
The film is set in the 1960s Hollywood and focuses on a struggling TV actor named Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) as they find their way through a rapidly changing movie industry. The two live next door to Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie).
The film received quite the reception from the Cannes Film Festival audience and reportedly got a six-minute standing ovation.
At a press conference on Wednesday morning, Tarantino allegedly snapped at a female reporter from The New York Times when she asked him about Margot Robbie's part in the movie and why she wasn't assigned more screentime and more dialogue.
“I reject your hypothesis!” he said in response, looking visibly upset.
Robbie tried to answer the question tactfully saying, "I think the moments I was on screen gave a moment to honor Sharon. I think the tragedy was the loss of innocence. To show the wonderful sides of her could be done without speaking. I did feel like I got a lot of time to explore the character without dialogue, which is an interesting thing. Rarely do I get an opportunity to spend so much time on my own as a character.”
The exchange came at the end of 30-minute press conference where Tarantino and his cast fielded mostly congratulatory questions, which didn’t address Harvey Weinstein (who was set to originally distribute the Sony Pictures release) or Uma Thurman (who gave an interview last year to the New York Times detailing the alleged abusive behavior she had to endure at the hands of Tarantino on the set of “Kill Bill”).
Tarantino opened the press conference by addressing the public’s continued interest in Charles Manson and his cult. “I think we’re fascinated by it because, at the end of the day, it seems unfathomable,” Tarantino said.
This is the first collaboration between Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio. DiCaprio said that by elevating two underdog characters in Hollywood, Tarantino wanted to celebrate the business that he grew up in. “I think this movie is a love story to this industry,” DiCaprio said. “We studied people from Ralph Meeker to Eddie Byrne, all these actors whose work [Tarantino] really appreciates from an artistic perspective, who contributed in his mind to cinematic and television achievements. That was most touching about the story. It’s a love letter to this industry we’re so fortunate to work in.” Speaking of the work and collaborating," It was great ease, great fun,” Pitt said. “It’s that thing of knowing you got the best of the best on the opposite side of the table holding up the scene with you. We had similar experiences to laugh about. I hope we do it again.”
When asked how his life has changed since 'Pulp Fiction', Tarantino quipped saying, "I just got married six months ago. I’ve never done that before. Now I know why. I was waiting for the perfect girl" as he nodded at his wife Daniella Pick who was in the audience.
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