Quentin Tarantino Wrote An Entire Rick Dalton Biography That He'll Probably Publish Some Day

We have no idea when we'll get to see Quentin Tarantino's next movie, which may or may not be his last. For now, the filmmaker is staying busy with writing. He recently released a novelization of his film "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," and he's planning a non-fiction book on movies called "Cinema Speculation." But that's not the end of it. In various interviews over the past year or so, Tarantino has teased other writing projects, including a "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" stage play, a novel about a World War II vet who becomes a movie lover (some of the ideas from this made their way into the "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" book), and a "Reservoir Dogs" novelization. 

But wait, there's more! In a recent interview, Tarantino revealed he's written a (fictional) biography of Rick Dalton, the movie star character memorably played by Leonardo DiCaprio in "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood." While nothing is locked down just yet, Tarantino confirmed his publishers at the HarperCollins imprint Harper already told him they'll be happy to publish the book, so it will likely be available at some point. But first, Tarantino wants to finish "Cinema Speculation." 

It's pretty clear that Quentin Tarantino loves the alternate universe he created in "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," because he keeps coming back to it. It's a universe where Sharon Tate wasn't brutally murdered by the Manson family, and where a TV Western actor named Rick Dalton struggled to stay relevant. Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" novelization expands on Rick's life and career, but according to the filmmaker, that was only the tip of the iceberg. While speaking with the Empire Film Podcast, Tarantino divulged he's written an entire Rick Dalton biography. And the fictional biography is firmly set in Tarantino's fictional world, creating an entire alternative history of Hollywood.

During the podcast, Tarantino stated that the book even has an entire elaborate (and again, fictional) premise. That premise involves Tarantino meeting aging actor Rick Dalton in 1998 at a Hawaiian film festival. The encounter directly led to Tarantino sitting down with Rick to write his biography. "He has a genuinely interesting career," Tarantino said of Dalton during the podcast interview, adding that the actor had a "major success" in the last act of his career. Tarantino doesn't give away what that "major success" might be, because he doesn't want to spoil the book. Beyond all that, there's even an in-depth (and again, fictional) Q&A between Tarantino and Rick included in the book – a book which Tarantino says is titled "Rick Dalton: The Man Who Would Be McQueen." 

Tarantino doesn't know when we'll get to see the Rick Dalton book, but he does confirm that his publisher is all-in on releasing it. For now, though, the director and writer is more interested in finishing up "Cinema Speculation," which has been described as a "deep dive into the movies of the 1970s, a rich mix of essays, reviews, personal writing, and tantalizing 'what if's,' from one of cinema's most celebrated filmmakers, and its most devoted fan."