Inglourious Basterds
| Inglorious Bastards | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Quentin Tarantino |
| Written by | Quentin Tarantino |
| Produced by | Lawrence Bender Erica Steinberg Pilar Savone Quentin Tarantino Bob Weinstein Harvey Weinstein |
| Starring | Brad Pitt Mike Myers Eli Roth Diane Kruger Michael Fassbender Samm Levine Christoph Waltz Daniel Brühl Til Schweiger B. J. Novak Paul Rust Mélanie Laurent |
| Cinematography | Robert Richardson |
| Edited by | Sally Menke |
| Distributed by | The Weinstein Company Universal Pictures |
Release date | 2009 |
| Country | United States |
| Languages | English, German, French |
Inglorious Bastards is a planned ensemble war film/spaghetti western written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. The film has experienced several false starts, but it is now in production with several locations in France and Germany. Brad Pitt, Mike Myers, and Eli Roth have been cast into roles. Tarantino plans to complete production of Inglorious Bastards in time for release at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2009.
Premise
According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Two story lines... converge: One follows a group of prisoners-turned-soldiers whose mission is to take down a group of Nazis, and the other follows a young Jewish woman who seeks to avenge the death of her parents by this Nazi group."[1]
The film will be divided into five chapters:[2]
- Chapter One: Once Upon a Time... Nazi Occupied France
- Chapter Two: Inglorious Bastards
- Chapter Three: German Night in Paris (filmed in "French New Wave Black and White")
- Chapter Four: Operation Kino
- Chapter Five: Revenge of the Giant Face
Development history
Entering the 21st century, director Quentin Tarantino had been penning several scripts, including one for the World War II adventure film Inglorious Bastards. Tarantino described the premise in October 2001, "[It's] my bunch-of-guys-on-a-mission film. [It's] my Dirty Dozen or Where Eagles Dare or Guns of Navarone kind of thing."[3] The premise had begun as a Western and evolved into a World War II version of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly set in Nazi-occupied France. The story changed to be about two maverick units from the United States Army that had "a habit of scalping Germans" before changing again.[4]
Actor Michael Madsen, who appeared in Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs, was originally reported to star in Inglorious Bastards, which had been scheduled for release in 2004.[5] By 2002, Tarantino found Inglorious Bastards to be a bigger film than planned and saw that other directors were working on World War II films.[6] Tarantino had produced three nearly finished scripts, saying, "[It was] some of the best writing I've ever done. But I couldn't come up with an ending."[7] The director held off his planned film and moved on to direct the two-part film Kill Bill (2003-2004) with Uma Thurman in the lead role.[6] After the completion of Kill Bill, Tarantino trimmed the length of the script, which was reportedly three films long, to 222 pages.[8] The director eventually planned to begin production of Inglorious Bastards late in 2005.[4] The revised premise focused on a group of soldiers who escape from their executions and embark on a mission to help the Allies. The director described the men as "not your normal hero types that are thrown into a big deal in the Second World War".[9]
Tarantino also sought to present the film as a Spaghetti Western set in Nazi-occupied France. He explained his intent, "I'm going to find a place that actually resembles, in one way or another, the Spanish locales they had in spaghetti Westerns—a no man's land. With American soldiers and French peasants and the French resistance and Nazi occupiers, it was kind of a no man's land. That will really be my spaghetti Western but with World War II iconography. But the thing is, I won't be period specific about the movie. I'm not just gonna play a lot of Édith Piaf and Andrews Sisters. I can have rap, and I can do whatever I want. It's about filling in the viscera."[10] The director described the scale of the project, "It'll be epic and have my take of the sociological battlefield at that time with the racism and barbarism on all sides—the Nazi side, the American side, the black and Jewish soldiers and the French, because it all takes place in France." Tarantino planned to set the film around the time of D-Day (June 6, 1944) and afterward.[11]
In November 2004, the director decided to hold off production of Inglorious Bastards and instead film a kung fu film entirely in Mandarin.[12] Tarantino ultimately directed the 2007 Grindhouse instead, returning to work on Inglorious Bastards after finishing promotion for Grindhouse.[13] The director teamed with The Weinstein Company to prepare Inglorious Bastards for production.[14] In September 2007, The Irish Times reported the film's scheduled release for 2008, writing, "Inglorious Bastards, a war movie that may eventually resemble The Dirty Dozen merged with Cross of Iron, has been predicted more often than the second coming of the Lord."[15]
Several Tarantino fan sites have already begun posting reviews and excerpts from the film's script.[16]
Production
In July 2008, Tarantino and the Weinsteins set up an accelerated production schedule to be completed for release at the Cannes Film Festival in 2009. The Weinstein Company plans to co-finance the film and distribute it in the United States.[17] The company signed a deal with Universal Pictures to finance the rest of the film and distribute it internationally.[1] Germany and France are scheduled as filming locations.[18] Filming is scheduled to begin on October 13, 2008.[19]
Cast
The Allies
The Bastards
- Brad Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine, a hillbilly from Tennessee who puts together a team of eight Jewish-American soldiers. The character has been described as "a voluble, freewheeling outlaw" similar to Jules Winnfield from Tarantino's Pulp Fiction.[20]
- Eli Roth as Sgt. Donnie Donowitz,[19] "a baseball bat-swinging Nazi hunter".[21]
- B. J. Novak as PFC Utivich[22]
- Til Schweiger as Stiglitz, a German-born psychopath recruited by Aldo Raine to kill Nazis.[23]
- Samm Levine as PFC Hirschberg
The British
- Mike Myers as Gen. Ed Fenech, a British "military mastermind" who provides a plot to kill Nazi leadership.[24]
- Michael Fassbender as Lt. Archie Hicox
The Axis Powers
The Nazis
- Christoph Waltz as Col. Hans Landa, a pipe-smoking Nazi officer nicknamed the "Jew Hunter" in reference to his keen ability to locate Jews hiding throughout France.[22] He is the main antagonist of the film.
- Daniel Brühl as Frederick Zoller
Jews
- Mélanie Laurent as Shosanna Dreyfuss, a young Jewish girl on the run.[25]
Other Roles
- Diane Kruger as Bridget von Hammersmark, a well-known German actress.[22]
- Paul Rust in a yet, unidentified role[22]
- Léa Seydoux as an unconfirmed character[26]
- Julie Dreyfus as Francesca Mondino, Joseph Goebbel's mistress.[27]
- Jacky Ido as Marcel[28]
- Denis Menochet as an unconfirmed character[28]
- Sylvester Groth as an unconfirmed character[29]
- Jana Pallaske as an unconfirmed character[29]
- Gedeon Burkhardt as an unconfirmed character[30]
- Christian Berkel as an unconfirmed character[30]
- August Diehl as an unconfirmed character[31]
- Enzo G. Castellari has said that Tarantino "wrote him a small part in the script."
Tarantino originally talked to Simon Pegg about playing Lt. Archie Hicox, but the actor dropped out due to scheduling difficulties.[32] Tarantino originally sought for Leonardo DiCaprio to be cast as Hans Landa,[33] a Nazi leader targeted by resistance.[20] The director decided to instead have the character played by a German actor.[21] The role ultimately went to Christoph Waltz.
Actor Adam Sandler said that he and the director had been discussing Sandler's involvement with the film for the past number of years, but the actor had to turn down a role due to a scheduling conflict with Funny People.[34]
References
- ^ a b Kit, Borys (2008-07-29). "Universal, Weinstein Co. negotiating 'Bastards'". The Hollywood Reporter. Nielsen Company. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ http://www.firstshowing.net/2008/07/10/script-for-quentin-tarantinos-inglorious-bastards-surfaces/
- ^ Larsen, Dave (2001-10-14). "Tarantino champions kung fu film". Dayton Daily News. Cox Enterprises.
- ^ a b McKenna, Michael (2003-10-04). "Back to make another killing". The Courier-Mail. News Corporation.
- ^ Larsen, Dave (2002-08-30). "Quintessential Quentin". Dayton Daily News. Cox Enterprises.
- ^ a b Lyman, Rick (2002-09-05). "Tarantino Behind the Camera in Beijing". The New York Times. The New York Times Company.
- ^ Bowles, Scott (2003-10-06). "Tarantino goes for the 'Kill'". USA Today. Gannett Company.
- ^ Caro, Mark (2003-10-05). "Quentin Tarantino: Rearmed and dangerous". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Company.
- ^ Day, Anna (2003-10-10). "The coolest man in Hollywood". Daily Mirror. Trinity Mirror.
- ^ Callaghan, Dylan (2003-10-10). "Dialogue with Quentin Tarantino". The Hollywood Reporter. Nielsen Company.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Millar, John (2004-04-20). "The Bride of Tarantino". Daily Record. Trinity Mirror.
- ^ "Tarantino to make Mandarin kung-fu film". Agence France-Presse. 2004-11-04.
- ^ Rea, Steven (2007-04-01). "Amped-up and crazed". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia Media Holdings.
- ^ Maher, Kevin (2007-04-19). "Has Tarantino been flushed away?". The Times. Times Newspapers Ltd.
- ^ Clarke, Donald (2007-09-08). "Still a bloody kid". The Irish Times. Irish Times Trust.
- ^ http://www.firstshowing.net/2008/07/10/script-for-quentin-tarantinos-inglorious-bastards-surfaces/
- ^ Kilday, Gregg (2008-07-09). "Weinsteins take on Tarantino's 'Bastards'". The Hollywood Reporter. Nielsen Company.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Fleming, Michael (2008-07-29). "Universal eyes Tarantino's 'Bastards'". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Fleming, Michael (2008-08-07). "Brad Pitt is officially a 'Bastard'". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ a b Zeitchik, Steven (2008-08-07). "Brad Pitt, Simon Pegg hang with 'Bastards'". The Hollywood Reporter. Nielsen Company. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ a b Fleming, Michael (2008-08-05). "Eli Roth on deck for 'Bastards'". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d "Kruger, Waltz join Tarantino film". www.variety.com. 2008-08-29.
- ^ http://www.tarantino.info/2008/08/05/tarantino-meets-german-actors-for-inglorious-bastards/
- ^ Fleming, Michael (2008-08-14). "Mike Myers enlists in 'Bastards'". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ http://www.purepeople.com/14760-SCOOP-Melanie-Laurent-vient-d-etre-choisie-par-Quentin-Tarantino-.html
- ^ http://www.allocine.fr/article/fichearticle.html?carticle=18431890
- ^ http://www.tarantino.info/forum/index.php/topic,9302.msg239507.html#new
- ^ a b "Tarantino has found an Inglorious projectionist". www.tarantino.info. 2008-09-19.
- ^ a b "Sylvester Groth im Filmteam". www.bild.de. 2008-09-23.
- ^ a b "Basterds start training". www.tarantino.info. 2008-09-25.
- ^ http://www.filmstarts.de/nachrichten/134341-August-Diehl-Steht-ebenfalls-f%FCr-Tarantino-vor-der-Kamera.html
- ^ Jaafar, Ali (2008-08-19). "Fassbender in talks for 'Bastards'". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Fleming, Michael (2008-07-15). "Quentin Tarantino seeks 'Bastards'". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Cummins, Steve (2008-08-14). "Sandler won't star in Tarantino film". RTÉ.ie. RTÉ Commercial Enterprises Limited. Retrieved 2008-08-15.