Quentin Tarantino to write novel based on Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Two-book deal will also feature non-fiction book of film writing

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Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino is going to be a novelist. The director has just signed a two-book deal with HarperCollins publishers, with the first, a work of fiction based on his latest movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, due out next summer. He’ll follow that up with Cinema Speculation, a non-fiction book described by the publisher as “a rich mix of essays, reviews, personal writing and tantalizing ‘what ifs’ from one of cinema’s most celebrated filmmakers.”

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The film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood told the story of TV actor Rick Dalton and his stunt double Cliff Booth, played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, and set in 1969 around the time of Sharon Tate’s murder. It won two Oscars, including for Pitt’s supporting role. The novel will expand on the lives of the protagonists both forward and backward from that time.

“In the seventies, movie novelizations were the first adult books I grew up reading,” Tarantino said in making the announcement. “And to this day I have a tremendous amount of affection for the genre. So as a movie-novelization aficionado, I’m proud to announce Once Upon a Time in Hollywood as my contribution to this often marginalized, yet beloved sub-genre in literature.”

Tarantino had previously said he would direct several episodes of Bounty Law, the fictional TV western in which Dalton starred as Rick Cahill. However, since his announcement of that plan in January and the subsequent pandemic there’s been little news on the project. The book deal seems like more of a sure thing.

Two-book deal will also feature non-fiction book of film writing

Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.

Article content

Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino is going to be a novelist. The director has just signed a two-book deal with HarperCollins publishers, with the first, a work of fiction based on his latest movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, due out next summer. He’ll follow that up with Cinema Speculation, a non-fiction book described by the publisher as “a rich mix of essays, reviews, personal writing and tantalizing ‘what ifs’ from one of cinema’s most celebrated filmmakers.”

Article content

The film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood told the story of TV actor Rick Dalton and his stunt double Cliff Booth, played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, and set in 1969 around the time of Sharon Tate’s murder. It won two Oscars, including for Pitt’s supporting role. The novel will expand on the lives of the protagonists both forward and backward from that time.

“In the seventies, movie novelizations were the first adult books I grew up reading,” Tarantino said in making the announcement. “And to this day I have a tremendous amount of affection for the genre. So as a movie-novelization aficionado, I’m proud to announce Once Upon a Time in Hollywood as my contribution to this often marginalized, yet beloved sub-genre in literature.”

Tarantino had previously said he would direct several episodes of Bounty Law, the fictional TV western in which Dalton starred as Rick Cahill. However, since his announcement of that plan in January and the subsequent pandemic there’s been little news on the project. The book deal seems like more of a sure thing.