Brad Pitt & Leonardo DiCaprio Join Quentin Tarantino's Sharon Tate Film But Here's What It's Really About
Two of the biggest movie stars in the world will play struggling actors in an upcoming film.
According to Deadline, Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt are officially onboard for Once Upon a Time In Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino's next film, which will weave the Manson Family murders into a story about the fame game.
There was much curiosity surrounding Tarantino's upcoming movie, with many wondering how it would incorporate the murder of actress Sharon Tate into its storyline. (Margot Robbie was rumoured to be considered for the part.) While not too much has been revealed about Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, it now is evident that DiCaprio and Pitt's characters' journeys will be the primary focus of the story.
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Per a press release from Sony, the new movie will tell a "story that takes place in Los Angeles in 1969, at the height of hippy Hollywood." Tate and four others were murdered by the Manson Family in Tate and husband Roman Polanski's rented home in August of 1969.
The press release goes on to share a bit more about the plot and characters:
"The two lead characters are Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), former star of a western TV series, and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). Both are struggling to make it in a Hollywood they don’t recognise anymore. But Rick has a very famous next-door neighbour…Sharon Tate."
Only time will tell if Once Upon a Time In Hollywood will handle the events surrounding the Manson Family murders in a tasteful way — if it even gets to the murders at all. We don't know when in 1969 this film will begin and it's possible that the killings won't be shown on screen at all. Then again, with a director like Tarantino — notorious for his displays of gore and violence — it seems more likely that they will be depicted in some capacity.
This isn't the only film to deal with the Manson murders to be announced in recent months. The Haunting of Sharon Tate will star Hilary Duff in the titular role. The Crown's Matt Smith will play Charles Manson in upcoming film Charlie Says, about the women in Manson's cult.