There are not many filmmakers with both the commercial and critical clout that can get studio executives climbing over each other to work with them. However, Quentin Tarantino is one of those filmmakers. After having spent his entire career working with Harvey Weinstein, the director is now a free agent for his next movie….which is not what you think it is.
“It’s not Charles Manson, it’s 1969,” he recently explained about his movie (via Thompson On Hollywood). Initially reported to be about infamous Manson murders, it has already been suggested that as a character, Manson won’t have a prominent role. And Tarantino is making it sound like it’ll be a movie more about the mood of the era. Either way, Brad Pitt, Jennifer Lawrence, Margot Robbie, Samuel L. Jackson and Leonardo DiCaprio are all said to be in the mix for roles, with one more being added. According to Deadline, Tom Cruise is under consideration for one of the two male lead roles.
READ MORE: Leonardo DiCaprio In The Mix For Quentin Tarantino’s Manson Murders Movie
The untitled movie and its starry potential cast is currently being shopped around, but apparently it’s now down to three contenders — Paramount, Sony, and Warner Bros. — and they’re all bending over backwards to land the gig. Per Variety:
….with Warners engaging in some splashy wooing in hopes of landing the film. When Tarantino arrived at the studio’s Burbank lot, he found the circular entrance in front of the administration building adorned with cars from the late 1960s. The Warner Bros. logo circa 1969 was on the marquee outside the studio, and the executive conference room was outfitted with vintage furniture from the era and mock posters for the movie.
Not to be outdone, Sony cooked up a multimedia presentation discussing how it would handle the release of the film, as well highlighting what it saw as its competitive advantages. Studio chief Tom Rothman used his time in front of Tarantino to talk up Sony’s marketing team and to take the director through the efforts that the company has made in recent years to bolster its international distribution. He emphasized that Sony could help the film succeed at the domestic box office, as well as internationally. Rothman was flanked by the studio’s senior staff, including Columbia Pictures President Sanford Panitch.
No word what Paramount did, but clearly it wasn’t enough to make an impression on the trade. Even more, the budget for the film is said to be in the region of $100 million, and Tarantino want final cut and first dollar profits (not whatever the studio calculates after expenses and taxes).
So, Hollywood is putting on some serious razzle dazzle for Tarantino, for what is said to be a very expensive project. However, the director will have to deliver once he signs on the dotted line, and make good on all the attention he’s getting from Hollywood’s major players.
