Brad Pitt & Leonardo DiCaprio
“Acting is like being in the ring. You’re enjoying the fight, but taking the punches”
but there was no mention of it. I was surprised, because I felt I’d witnessed a true victory. It’s the same with movies: we often don’t think about how difficult it is. For me, that’s success; it’s not just being recognised as Best Picture.
What’s gone before will happen again
To know someone, first you must fight them
bp: There was one director who made me and my cast mates spar with each other. He told us it was to help get comfortable with a daily level of violence. It wasn’t until later that he revealed it was also to get us to know each other. He said you never learn about someone until you punch him in the face. We formed 26
a relationship through sparring. You push a little, but also hold back because you’re rooting for each other. You’re competitive, but also protective.
Don’t get greedy for the limelight
bp: Trying to steal a scene is a dead end. If you’re fighting for that, it’s a sure way to crap out on the film. On a great film, everyone’s firing on all cylinders.
Success doesn’t always mean winning
bp: I remember watching the gymnastics at the Olympics in the early ’90s, and there was a Russian woman who was supposed to take it all. But then, 10 seconds into her routine, she fell. The announcer went, “What a shame. This is just horrible.” But she just picked herself up, persevered and finished the routine perfectly. It was magical and inspiring, but all [the media] talked about afterwards was how humiliating it was. I looked for recognition [of her strength and resolve] in the papers the next day,
You are what you leave behind
ldc: Movies are the greatest modern art form. I feel privileged to be a part of it. I’ve been able to be my own boss creatively, and I feel fortunate for that. bp: Now that I’m a dad [he has six children], I’m clearer about the work I want to do. I’m now painfully aware that my kids are going to be seeing my movies as they grow up. I think of how movies affected me when I was a kid; the ones that told me something, honed me a little bit, left that indelible mark. It’s important to me that I leave something they’ll be proud of. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood opens in cinemas on August 14; onceuponatimeinhollywood.movie THE RED BULLETIN
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thing they should do, I’d say, “Spend two years watching what the hell people have already done and then come to the table and try to create your own thing.” bp: Quentin’s a purist. There is no CGI. He wants it to happen in the moment, on camera. We had to do this long fight scene with Bruce Lee [played in the movie by actor/ stuntman Mike Moh], and Quentin says, “We’re going to do it all in one shot.” I go, “Oh, man. But you can do some whip pans, cuts, switch it if some of the takes don’t work, right?” He says, “No, man. If we do it all in one shot, it’s got to be all in one.” You can debate with him, but you can’t argue with him.
bp: Quentin is prophetic, hitting us with this now – certainly with the change in our industry. And at that time America was transitioning. The Manson murders were a loss of innocence for our country. We’d been coming off this free-love ride of peace and utopia, and then we saw a dark side of human nature that made people feel unsafe. Fences and security cameras were being put up, leading into the full-on darkness of Vietnam and Nixon. I don’t need to say anything about the state of America right now, about our leadership and how split we are as a country. It certainly is relevant. ldc: Quentin is not only a cinephile, he’s a great historian. He’s taken the perspective of two guys on the periphery of Hollywood, looking in, and that’s a unique way to view not only one of the most pivotal periods in world history, but one that produced some great cinematic pieces of art. We’re not only watching the changing of culture but inhabiting these old TV cowboy guys who are now relics of the past. It’s an amazing approach to this story.
