Finally, we beat Tarantino Archives to some big news. We too have friends in places, đ and we have it on good authority that the final casting pieces of Quentin Tarantino’s sprawling WWII saga, “Inglourious Basterds” have fallen into place.
Wait, what’s left? Well, Maggie Cheung has evidently been cast as Madame Mimieux, the French matron of the Cinematheque that takes in the protagonist Shosanna (Melanie Laurent) when she is homeless and being sought by the Nazis. Wait, Cheung is Chinese, right, born in Hong Kong? Yes, but she speaks fluent French, so evidently that role will have to be adjusted ever so slightly, but a Chinese woman who lives in France during WWII and owns a prestigious cinema? Seems a little odd, no? Perhaps not in “movieness” Tarantino world where the same rules don’t apply.
OK, wait, so that’s it, right? Nope. Who wanted a role really badly and called up Tarantino himself when he heard he wasn’t up for any casting spots? Looks like Samuel L. Jackson has weaseled his way into the film as the narrator who’s present only in a few spots (beginning page 24), but mostly pops up at random time in the script to add some context and background info.
Interesting, huh? We actually prefer Jackson’s involvement than the news of Cheung (who’s a fine actress, but seems out of place here), but again, in Tarantino movies, it’s a separate world and hell, maybe he can make it work. Still we would’ve much rather seen a classic French actress in the vein of Catherine Deneuve (once rumored), Nastassja Kinski (up for another role and then dropped out), or Isabelle Huppert (who was apparently up for the role and then quit-fired or something close to it).