Quentin Tarantino Wrote Episodes Of The Fake TV Show From 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood' – And He Wants To Actually Make Them
Time to add another potential project to Quentin Tarantino's ever-growing list. The filmmaker revealed that in preparation for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, he wrote five episodes of Bounty Law, the fictional TV show within the movie that stars Leonardo DiCaprio's character Rick Dalton. Rather than just let those scripts gather dust, Tarantino says he wants to actually direct them for Netflix, HBO, or some other network.
In a wide-ranging interview with Deadline, Quentin Tarantino once again brought up his plan to retire from movies, but reiterated that that doesn't mean he'd give up on creating pieces of entertainment. For one thing, he's written five full episodes of Bounty Law, the fictional Western TV show that starred Rick Dalton – the character Leonardo DiCaprio plays in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood:
"From watching the different old Western shows and everything, I did it to get in the head of Bounty Law. I ended up starting to really like the idea of Jake Cahill, as a character. I really started loving those half hour '50s Western scripts. The idea that you could write something like 24 minutes, where there was so much story crammed in those half hour shows, with a real beginning and a middle and an end. Also it was kind of fun because you can't just keep doubling down and exploring. At some point, you've got to wrap it up. I really liked that idea. I've written five different episodes for a possible Bounty Law black-and-white half hour Western show."
Writers will often do this sort of thing for research or background info, but that's as far as it goes. Tarantino, however, wants to actually bring these scripts to life. "I can't imagine Leonardo is going to want to do it. [Maybe I'll] cast somebody else? If he wants to do it that would be great. I'm not planning on that but I have an outline for about three other episodes," Tarantino said. "So I'll probably write about three other episodes and then just do it. Direct every episode. They're a half hour long. I wouldn't mind doing it for Netflix but I'd want to shoot it on film. Showtime, HBO, Netflix, FX."
Whether or not this will actually happen remains to be seen, but it would certainly be interesting. Tarantino also reveals he has Rick Dalton's entire fictional filmography mapped out in his noggin:
"I can go through Rick Dalton's filmography, film by film, every director he worked with, and the anecdotes on the set and how he got the role and what happened. Did it do well? Did it not do well? Is it a good movie? Is it not a good movie? In order."
"[Audiences] need to know that I take this mythology, this history seriously, and that there are answers to these questions," Tarantino added. We know, Quentin. We know.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood opens July 26, 2019.