Quentin Tarantino Says He May Recut ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ to Make it Longer
Quentin Tarantino is not wedded to the Cannes cut of “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” He and editor Fred Raskin worked hard to finish it in time to world premiere at his favorite festival on May 21, and Tarantino told me he wouldn’t have shown it if he wasn’t ready. As soon as he was sure he could deliver, festival director Thierry Fremaux alerted the news. But even if Sony struck three wet 35mm prints of the two-hour, 39-minute Cannes version, Tarantino can still go back into the editing room, Sony chairman Tom Rothman confirmed at the premiere. A decade back, Tarantino re-edited “Inglourious Basterds” after Cannes, as well.
“I may make it longer,” said Tarantino at the Hotel Carlton, the day after audiences first saw the movie that proved to be the hottest ticket of this year’s festival by far. Raskin’s first assembly was four hours, 20 minutes. “His job is to put in every single thing I shot, give me everything,” he said. “That’s not unusual, for an epic-y kind of movie.” He and Raskin initially thought it might come in around the two-hour 45-minute mark. “Let’s see if we can get it tighter than that,” he told Raskin. “2:45 seems like an old Quentin movie. Let’s see if we can get past the Quentin cut to a really friendly cut any audience can appreciate.”
Now that he’s seen the $90-million movie play with an audience (aside from some research previews), Tarantino is going to look at it again. “I wouldn’t take anything else out,” he said. “I’m going to explore possibly putting something back in. If anything, I wanted to go to Cannes too short. if I’m going to err, I’m going to err on too tight.”
As far as Rothman is concerned, Tarantino can do whatever he wants. “It’s his movie. We’re privileged to be along for the ride,” he said. “It’s a Quentin Tarantino film. It’s entirely in his very capable hands.”
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