It easily could have been a 10-episode series, and many directors would have taken the streaming money; Tarantino has experimented with extended cuts on Netflix.
Tarantino has talked about making Bounty Law episodes, possibly for Netflix; DiCaprio is guessed not to do it.
Pitt ad-libbed "You're Rick fucking Dalton. Don't you forget it," based on an unnamed actor who told him the same in the early '90s; the hosts guess jokingly at who it was. — Bill Simmons
Rick recoiling from the flamethrower's heat was DiCaprio's genuine reaction, which Tarantino kept.
The Cadillac belonged to Michael Madsen, the same car from Reservoir Dogs.
The theater Sharon Tate and J.C. Bring discuss at El Coyote is now the New Beverly, owned by Tarantino. — Bill Simmons
A framed Mad Magazine in Rick's apartment was made as a full magazine with jokes, as Tarantino told the hosts. — Bill Simmons
Tarantino wrote a novel-like backstory of Cliff and Rick before the screenplay. — Chris Ryan
The Maltese Falcon Sharon holds in the bookstore is owned by DiCaprio. — Bill Simmons
Trudi was inspired by a character from Lancer; some think she draws on Jody Foster. — Bill Simmons
Bruce Dern was not the first choice; the hosts say the first choice was Bert Reynolds, who died during rehearsals. Reactions to Dern are mixed; one view is that Reynolds would have been a better touch because he was almost a Rick Dalton, while Dern was always the bad guy in westerns. — Bill Simmons
Tim Roth and James Marsden were cut from the film; Marsden played Bert Reynolds in a deleted scene and is said not to look or sound like him.
1969 Hollywood recreation; music and constant soundtrack; Rick Dalton's house; Brandy the dog; Playboy Mansion; extended cast; the title's misdirection; three-day structure
Rick Dalton's house was for sale and was looked at on Zillow, leading to jokes about moving The Ringer into the Boogie Nights house.
Brandy the dog has aged the best, with a proposed Oscar for best performance by a pet and an Aaron Sorkin War Horse joke. — Bill Simmons
The recreation of 1969 Hollywood is praised, including reconstructed neon signage on Sunset and Hollywood Boulevard, production design and costumes. — Bill Simmons
A story told by Tarantino to a host: scouting Lee Van Cleef's house, he found a giant painting of Van Cleef in the garage, which inspired Rick's portrait in the driveway. — Sean Fennessey
Rick's story of almost getting the McQueen movie and the accumulated fictional works of Rick Dalton are inventive; Tarantino has plotted Rick's 1970s in an interview with Kim Morgan.
The real Playboy Mansion, Polanski dressed like Austin Powers, and two-floor 1960s airplanes with cigarettes are enjoyed. — Bill Simmons
Asked whether he has ever danced on an airplane, the answer is every time he flies. — Bill Simmons
El Coyote has not changed, but its food has not aged the best. — Bill Simmons
The extended cast is a strength, including Madsen, Luke Perry, Pacino, Kurt Russell, Emil Hirsch and Oliphant, with Manson family members played by daughters of famous people.
The title's trick sets the viewer up for nobody dying; on first viewing everyone was expected to be murdered.
The constant radio and TV in the background is relatable; Tarantino is said to have listened to about 16 hours of KHJ broadcasts. The three-day structure is also praised. — Chris Ryan
The closing picks are how the film recreated 1969 Hollywood, and the music and constant soundtrack. — Bill Simmons
Pacino at Muso and Franks telling Rick his career is basically over is offered first; Pacino is called a sequel to his Heat performance. — Bill Simmons
Marvin's night of brandy and watching movies alone is described as a host's idea of heaven.
Pacino's character is said to be based on Dino De Laurentis, who brought actors like Bert Reynolds to Italy; his pitch speech is called pure Tarantino, like Tarantino's Top Gun speech in Sleep With Me.
Rick crying in the parking lot after the meeting ("It's official, old buddy") is a favorite; with Cliff driving and Mrs. Robinson on the radio it sets up the whole crisis within five minutes. — Bill Simmons
Cliff's return to his trailer at the Van Nuys drive-in with his dog, TV Guide and dog food is praised as a scene that should not work but does on Pitt's charisma, including him talking back to the TV. — Bill Simmons
Asked whether he would be okay with that dog on a plane, the answer is no. — Bill Simmons
The Bruce Lee scene: Cliff climbs onto the roof, takes his shirt off to fix the antenna, drawing a reaction in the theater, and flashes back to the fight.
The fight is read as an exaggerated false memory: the onlookers vanish from the frame, so Cliff is an unreliable narrator, and the outrage over disrespect to Bruce Lee misses that point. — Sean Fennessey
Showing Bruce Lee as overconfident is not considered an insult, since that confidence was part of his greatness. — Bill Simmons
Sharon watching herself in a movie theater, after picking up a hitchhiker, is a favorite; every driving scene is rewatchable, one of two favorite driving-around movies. — Bill Simmons
Using the real Sharon Tate on screen is praised; the idea is said to come from Tarantino's own experience at a theater after True Romance. — Bill Simmons
Margot Robbie is called phenomenal here, more than in Bombshell; in a Golden Globes speech Tarantino is quoted as saying she brought the most goodness to any of his movies, a pure essence in an indecent body of work. — Bill Simmons
A skipped scene: Rick floating in his pool running lines from a tape recorder while making whiskey sours. — Sean Fennessey
Cliff picking up the hitchhiker is an amazing five minutes, with a Neil Diamond song; the soundtrack may be Tarantino's best.
Rick's trailer freakout after blowing his lines is said to be going to win the category, and is described as improvised from DiCaprio's idea.
Cliff's visit to Spahn Ranch is meant to evoke Texas Chainsaw Massacre, with the dogs playing the role of the Apocalypse Now helicopters; it loses some effect on rewatch. — Bill Simmons
Lena Dunham's casting among the Manson family is distracting, and the stunt casting throws the viewer off. — Bill Simmons
In the finale Cliff, high on an acid-laced cigarette, does all the work but Rick gets the credit, just like a movie. — Bill Simmons
Rick's scenes with the child actor Trudi and the Rolling Stones "Out of Time" sequence with the lights coming on are added. — Chris Ryan
One pick is Leo blowing his lines and freaking out in his trailer, including the Oliphon "line!" sequence. — Chris Ryan
Another pick is Cliff on the roof and the Bruce Lee scene, the one most looked forward to on a third rewatch. — Bill Simmons
Was Omar from The Wire inspired by Frank White? Avon Barksdale is suggested instead, or Frank split into several characters; the film may be missing an Omar-type gunfighter Frank keeps on ice.
Did Walken's subway muggers come back for a job? Yes, Harold Perrineau is seen later at the Plaza and in the Schoolly D scene.
Why does it take filmmakers so long to tap people who are obviously stars, as with Grantland and Ringer writers? The answer is the actors spent a decade building toward the right role, and most directors know only already-known actors.
While casting Reservoir Dogs, the speaker recalls casting director Ronnie Eskell (as heard) telling him, 'Quentin, if this directing thing doesn't work, I will give you half my business.' — Quentin Tarantino
Game recognizes game: Ferrara and the NYPD Blue team (Bocchco and Milch) recognized Caruso was ready; Tim Robbins recounted being promised The Player despite funding pressure.
On Jackie Brown, Paul Newman, Gene Hackman, Robert Forster and John Saxon were the four Max Cherry ideas; Forster got the role after an Alligator rewatch and a chance restaurant meeting, before bigger names could ask.
Pam Greer was baked into that project; Travolta was first considered for the Eric Stoltz role while Michael Madsen was expected as Vincent, then became the backup when that fell through.
For the last movie, casting Brad Pitt needed availability, a deal, and Rick cast first so his double Cliff would be realistic.
Tarantino is the no-brainer: nobody ever launched a career so aggressively, he was compared to Orson Welles as a debut shot out of a cannon, and unlike Welles, whose next movie was Magnificent Ambersons, he topped it with Pulp Fiction.
Agreement comes surprisingly easily; the runner-up would be Roth for his performance, which prompts the missed nitpick about his accent.
The Caruso call is praised, one host claims to have won the pod and a who-won-the-pod category is suggested, and the guests are thanked before the closing Vudu read.
What is happening in Gardenia (as transcribed), where the crew meets with Nice Guy Eddie and Joe, also a huge location for Den of Thieves; is it a Mos Eisley spaceport where all the armed robbers live? A road trip in black suits is proposed.
Is this a better movie if we see the heist? No: as No Country for Old Men shows, Mr. White confronting Mr. Blonde and slowly unfurling what happened is more effective; the devil's-advocate case is that watching these actors rob a bank would be fun, and Tarantino might have shot it with money.
The heist is already given through Mr. Orange's account to Mr. White and the car-ride plan; one host loves bank scenes more than anyone in the room and would have liked to know who took it too far, probably Madsen.
Asked whether he has mapped out a bank robbery, one host recalls pitching an amusement park called Felony Land seven years ago with Wilds, which the others say predicted Westworld; he insists Westworld ripped off Felony Land despite the seventies movie and the Michael Creighton (as transcribed) book, and it is no bachelor party pitch.
Did Mr. Pink die, and does anybody live? Tarantino is quoted saying Pink survived while Orange and White die, and with the volume up he can be heard yelling not to shoot; a present-day Mr. Pink movie is imagined, though the 1992 LAPD would not have gently cuffed a man who shot eleven cops.
Walkouts at screenings including Wes Craven and Rick Baker; a 2006 video game with only Madsen's likeness; actors wore their own clothes and Chris Penn used his own car; the soundtrack budget went to Stuck in the Middle with You; 272 fucks; no police traffic control for the carjacking; Madsen's aversion to violence; Roth peeled off the fake blood; the Vega brothers and the unmade Double V Vega; the title from Au Revoir les Enfants
Many people walked out of screenings, including Wes Craven and makeup legend Rick Baker; Tarantino is quoted saying the Last House on the Left director walked out of his movie and that it happens every screening because the violence or rude language is a mountain some cannot climb, which he wanted to be disturbing.
A 2006 video game for PC, Xbox and PlayStation 2 used only Madsen's likeness, which he needed for the paycheck, and GameSpot labelled it an out-and-out failure; the budget was so low actors wore their own clothes, Chris Penn used his own car, and Tarantino is quoted in 2014 saying the whole soundtrack budget went to securing Stuck in the Middle with You.
Guesses at the number of fucks run from 400 to 117; the answer is 272. With no budget for police traffic control, Buscemi's carjacking could only be shot when the lights were green, a dangerous true-indie move.
Madsen allegedly struggled with the torture scene due to a strong aversion to violence, which feels half-assed for a man in forty action movies; Roth lay in fake blood so long in the summer heat that it dried and he had to be peeled off the floor, which is how the hosts expect to feel at the end of the podcast.
Vic Vega and Vincent Vega were brothers, and Tarantino always wanted a prequel called Double V Vega until Madsen and Travolta got too old; the unmade Tarantino movies would make a good podcast.
The title came from a Video Archives customer who mockingly refused 'Au Revoir Les Infants' (as transcribed) as 'reservoir dogs'; such weird, oblique titles were possible before everything was optimized, Tarantino treats them as his artist's flourish, as with the Inglourious Bastards spelling, and this one means nothing since there is no reservoir where they live.
Tarantino wanted James Woods and made five cash offers, which Woods' agent refused without telling him because they were below his salary; Woods fired the agent after learning the story, and Tarantino never told him which role; online speculation says Mr. Orange, which the hosts doubt given Woods' age, preferring him as Mr. White.
Tarantino wrote Mr. Pink for himself; Madsen auditioned for Pink, Vincent Gallo turned it down, which is doubted as half-assed research, Tim Roth almost played it, and Tom Sizemore was a finalist, which could have broken brains.
Sizemore's Natural Born Killers character is the brother of Seymour Scagnetti, one of the most messed-up characters in movie history; asked which part he wanted and why, Sizemore told Tarantino 'the action is the juice'; Buscemi originally auditioned for Mr. White.
George Clooney read for Mr. Blonde, which the hosts can see, and later did From Dusk Till Dawn; Christopher Walken refused Mr. Blonde, almost too obvious a choice, perhaps never even replying to the script.
Robert Forster auditioned for Joe Cabot; one host never thought Forster was that great, including in Jackie Brown, and never bought the attraction with Pam Gray (as transcribed), which the others call a crazy, bad take given his Oscar nomination; he would still have been better than Lawrence Tierney.
Tony Scott read both scripts, wanted Reservoir Dogs and was told he could have True Romance; his version would have shown the heist with more cop stuff, a Hans Zimmer score instead of seventies songs, and Gary Oldman as Mr. Blonde with dreadlocks and gold teeth.
Cross-echoes with True Romance: 'a diddle-at-joe' to Drexel's 'damned if I know', and Mr. White saying he used to work with Alabama; the theatrical release has no female speaking parts beyond the woman who shoots Mr. Orange, nor does this podcast.
Four nominees: Tarantino's theory that Like a Virgin is about a John Holmes type, Madsen's line that Ladera Heights is the Black Palos Verde (as transcribed), an inside L.A. joke that slayed one host, Keitel's torture theory of pinky first then threaten the thumb, with the 'let's get a taco' clip, and Buscemi's theory on not tipping.
One pick is not tipping, because Madonna herself negated the Like a Virgin theory; she liked the film, refuted the interpretation and gave Quentin a signed copy of her erotic album (as transcribed) saying it is about love, not dick.
Another's favorite is the Madonna theory regardless, since artist intent is not interpretation and nobody cares what Tony Scott believes Top Gun is about; the finger theory is also loved, with a joke about a jewelry store manager living his hand life with three fingers.
The N word stuff was controversial even in the nineties and has gotten worse; Tarantino goes for it here and in Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown, where Spike called him out and Sam Jackson came to his defense.
It is weird that none of the six is Black or Latino, which would play differently now; but the movie is purposefully about bad, racist people, no character stands outside it, and even the cop is implicated when Tim Roth kills the woman in the car after watching Keitel gun down cops.
Tarantino is quoted at the time of release wanting the characters to say very ugly things and profound things, idiots one moment and geniuses the next, guys who did time in San Quentin; it is not palatable now but it is self-conscious.
Buscemi's theory on Black women is a tough two minutes, complicated by Tarantino's obvious adoration of Black culture and the characters' talk of Pam Grier, Honey West and the E. Lois story; in general these guys are idiot crooks.
Lawrence Tierney as Joe is called bad, with disbelief that Keitel could not call in a favor from a good old actor; one host disagrees, and the comparison is Mike Francesa if he could not act; Tierney visibly muffs a line before 'my way or the highway' in a take left in the film.
Tierney's fat Skeletor body brings a presence; a podcast interview is cited saying everyone had a hard time with him because he was distracted and forgot lines, and he was fired after the third day, so he is kept out of the third act until the last scene.
