Before details of the film were released, the shorthand way to describe the latest film from Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” was to say that it was a film about the Manson Family murder of Sharon Tate. Of course, once the actual plot of the film became more apparent, it was clear that ‘Once Upon a Time’ was about much more than Tate and Charles Manson. But still, the stigma of the film being just a “Manson movie” lingers.
“That’s one of the big misconceptions to clarify,” producer David Heyman said about the new film in an interview with EW.
As seen in the trailer for the film, and the images we’ve seen from the production, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is about a lot more than just Charles Manson. In fact, even though it’s clear that Manson and Tate play a role in the film, the real story revolves around Hollywood star Rick Dalton, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, and his stunt double/best friend Cliff, played by Brad Pitt.
“It’s the three classes of Hollywood,” explained Heyman. “There’s the high Hollywood of Sharon, the declining star of Rick, and there’s Cliff, who lives farther out and with more humble means.”
“These are two people who have a history together and the loyalty that they have for one another is really potent,” the producer added. “It’s really a film about that friendship and about the power of that friendship as they go on their journeys together and separately.”
‘Once Upon a Time’ producer Shannon McIntosh also wants to help clarify that this film isn’t some sort of exploitation piece about Tate’s murder (like another recent film). In fact, the producer said that Tarantino has gone out of his way to make sure he honors the victim’s legacy and doesn’t exploit the tragedy.
McIntosh said that the idea that this film is somehow a “Manson movie” is wrong. She explained that Tarantino “absolutely embraced Debra Tate [Sharon Tate’s sister], and that was very important to him and to us that she’d be comfortable with what we’re doing because obviously anyone thinking that we’re making it a Manson movie, which we’re not, but he was very sensitive to that and remains sensitive to that.”
READ MORE: ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’ Trailer: Quentin Tarantino Is California Dreamin’ Again
All told, the producers think “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is something special, even in the long list of Tarantino films that many fans consider full of classics.
“This is Quentin’s most personal film. This is his memories of growing up in Los Angeles and being a fan of Hollywood,” said Heyman.
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” hits theaters on July 26.
Here are some new pictures from the film:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw0fn2MFDCc/
