Oscar-winning cinematographer Robert Richardson has been collaborating with writer-director Quentin Tarantino ever since “Kill Bill Vol. 1.” Now, it’s no surprise that Richardson is back with Tarantino, filming the upcoming epic “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” And in a new interview, the cinematographer discusses the latest film from Tarantino, and reveals just why film nerds are going to love ‘Once Upon a Time.’
Speaking to Collider, Richardson revealed that the “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” shoot is still going on (it was day 89 at the time of the interview), and that he was loving working with some of the biggest names in Hollywood. He even name-checked Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, and Dakota Fanning as some of the actors he’s enjoying most. About the latter actress, he described Fanning as a “powerhouse.”
But then the cinematographer discussed the tone of ‘Once Upon a Time.’ You see, fans have been curious about what the film will feel like, considering its subject matter with actors dealing with the change in Hollywood in 1969 while Charles Manson and his “family” are on their killing spree. And as with any Tarantino film, Richardson says the tone is a bit malleable.
“I think the tone of it is—it’s difficult to describe because it’s very fresh, but it oscillates between humorous, serious, spooky; it’s playful. It’s not easily describable, but it’s very Quentin. Very, very, very Quentin. Of course, Al Pacino was in it and you’ve got remarkable monologues, but you also have remarkable small set pieces. It’s going to be a tremendously unique film,” he revealed.
You know you’ve made it as a director when someone can describe a film as “very, very, very Quentin” and everyone knows what they’re talking about.
Now, another thing that fans have been wondering about is how Richardson and Tarantino are filming ‘Once Upon a Time.’ After shooting “The Hateful Eight” in 70mm, many wondered if the director would employ the same style for his latest film. Unfortunately, though they would have liked to, budget concerns led to that idea getting nixed.
Richardson explains, “We’re doing anamorphic 35, but we didn’t trespass into the 70mm realm for financial reasons, principally. The budget is—there are a hundred sets or something so they needed to cut back somewhere, and the added cost of 70mm is quite remarkable and it also has tremendous limitations like no zooms, and Quentin wanted zooms in the film so it required us to go to 35 anamorphic.”
The last bit of info that the cinematographer was able to share is something that should delight film fans quite a bit. We all know that Tarantino is one of the biggest cinephiles working in the film industry, so it shouldn’t be surprising that when the director sought to create 1969 Hollywood for the film, he wanted to be as realistic as possible, especially with what films will get Easter Eggs.
“Like ‘2001’ will be sitting there, and ‘Romeo and Juliet’ you’ll see on the screen has been there for eight months. That kind of thing, to be able to see these films up on the Cinerama Dome, that’s what he did, he recreated the time period pretty accurately in terms of film. So for those who are film nerds, they’re gonna love it,” said the cinematographer.
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is set to hit theaters on July 26, 2019.