“It would take the p-ss out of it”: Quentin Tarantino Refused To Explain the Strange Title of Brad Pitt Film That Won 8 Oscar Nominations
Quentin Tarantino might be the most impressively rogue director in Hollywood and that trait not only spills out with abundance in his brilliant plots but also in every detail surrounding his movies.
From asking his actors to bring their own clothing for a low-budget Reservoir Dogs project to turning down superstar Johnny Depp for the role of Pumpkin in Pulp Fiction, Tarantino moves differently and maybe that’s the biggest reason why his movies stand out from the crowd.
And World War Two fantasy Inglourious Basterds is the movie that manages to even stand out in Tarantino’s catalog for different reasons.
Quentin Tarantino’s Thoughts on Misspelling the Title of Brad Pitt’s Movie
Inglourious Basterds’ main plot revolves around a few Jewish soldiers who are on an undercover mission to topple the Nazi government. The unit is led by Brad Pitt‘s character Lieutenant Aldo Raine, who’s famous for scalping Nazis and is accordingly known as Aldo the Apache.
But Quentin Tarantino, untypically, takes us through the journey that opens on a very realistic theme (and with a very theatrical performance) as Hans Landa, the movie’s antagonist, questions a French farmer about potentially hiding Jews. His attempts to show victims as heroes – Shosanna Dreyfus in particular – are also very interesting before he finally returns to his trademark loud fantasy trope.
The movie earned rave reviews and eight Oscar nominations. Further, it is also the first Tarantino film to boast an Oscar winner for acting. Christoph Waltz, who played the infamous Hans, won Best Actor in a Supporting Role award.
Another aspect of the movie that left many bewildered was the decision to misspell the title. However, when asked to give an explanation, the Pulp Fiction director said: “Here’s the thing. I’m never going to explain that. You do an artistic flourish like that, and to explain it would just take the p*ss out of it, and invalidate the whole stroke in the first place.”
There was already a war action movie with the same sounding title, The Inglorious Bastards (1978), and some fans assumed the misspelling is to differentiate the two titles. However, as far as Tarantino’s answer is concerned, it’s all for artistic reasons. You either get it or you don’t.
Read more: Quentin Tarantino Nearly Canceled Inglourious Basterds Until This Happened
Why Brad Pitt Agreed to Work in a Harvey Weinstein-Backed Movie
In the 90s, Brad Pitt allegedly threatened Harvey Weinstein, who led Miramax, after learning his then-girlfriend Gwyneth Paltrow had a terrible experience because of the powerful producer.
As such his decision to lead a movie backed by The Weinstein Company raised a few eyebrows in 2009. However, Pitt said the only reason behind that was his desire to work with Tarantino and nothing to do with Weinstein. The superstar also worked with the enigmatic filmmaker Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.
Tarantino’s pull has always been very powerful among actors. Even in the 90s, Die Hard superstar Bruce Willis showed great desire to work in Pulp Fiction and was subsequently offered the role after Weinstein’s request.
Source: IMDb
