Empire Australasia – August 2019

How to prepare for a Tarantino film

The A-list cast of Once Upon A Time In... Hollywood reveal

research set for them by director Quentin Tarantino

^

BRAD PITT

MET WITH STUNT LEGEND

BUD EKINS

“[In the ’60s], it was more common for

actors and stuntmen to have a working

partnership — like Steve McQueen and

Bud Ekins. That was the springboard for

the relationship [between Pitt and

DiCaprio’s characters]. I had met Bud

Ekins before he passed. I know his

daughter [Susan Ekins] as a producer.

So I got to go through the Bud Ekins

treasure troves.” NICK DE SEMLYEN

^

LEONARDO DICAPRIO

WENT ON A RALPH MEEKER

MARATHON

“To [Quentin], that’s one of his

favourite actors of all time. For me it

was an exploration in the underground,

and a celebration of a lot of television

and B films that I’ve never been

exposed to. And a celebration of those

people’s work on an equal level and on

a par with the greats. It’s a sincere

love and appreciation of their work.

It’snotbullshit.”

^

MARGOT ROBBIE

WATCHED SHARON TATE’S

EYE OF THE DEVIL

“Her first film. She was so good in it.

When I spoke to [Sharon’s sister]

Debra Tate, she said, ‘That’s my

favourite performance of Sharon’s.’

I think so too. [Odile de Caray] was a

good character for her. I love watching

her in Valley Of The Dolls — but I think

those characters are more what people

projected onto Sharon, as opposed to

whatshewasreallycapableof.”

Taika Waititi

is Hitler?

YES,TAIKA’SPLAYINGTHEFÜHRER.SORTOF

Thefilm,TaikaWaititi’sfirstdirectingeffortsince

Thor:Ragnarok, seeshimplaya 10-year-oldboy’s

manifestationoftheFührer:an“idiotic”imaginary

friendcombiningHitlerwithhismissingdad.But

thisHitlerisnota cuddlycomfort.Waitititold

Deadlinehe“didn’tdoanyresearch”becausethe

Naziis “afuckingc**t”,andhewouldessentially

playhimselfwith“abadhaircutanda shittylittle

moustache.Anda mediocreGermanaccent.”

IT’S(LOOSELY)BASEDONAHITBOOK

ChristineLeunens’dark,hauntingCagingSkieswas

publishedin 2008.Itsanti-herois Johannes,a

devotedHitlerYouthmemberwhofindshismother

is hidinga Jewishgirl,Elsa,in theirhousein WWII

Vienna— theboybecomingincreasinglydrawnto

thegirl.Thebookdoesn’thavemanyofWaititi’s

funnierflourishes,butit makesa fascinatingspine

— likeBarryCrump’s 1986 novelWildPorkAnd

WatercresswasforHuntForTheWilderpeople.

IT HAS ANINCREDIBLECAST(ANDMARVELTIES)

Scarlett ‘Black Widow’ Johansson is Jojo’s

liberal mother Rosie, and Sam ‘Justin Hammer’

Rockwell is Captain Klenzendorf, a Nazi army

captain demoted, disillusioned and leading the

local Hitler Youth group that Jojo attends. Rebel

Wilson, Alfie Allen and Stephen Merchant also

play Nazis.

IT’S GOING BACK TO TAIKA BASICS

Waititi, who has Polynesian and Russian Jewish

ancestry, says the film is an “anti-fuckface satire”

and uses the hashtag “#FuckYouShitler”. But he

considers it a drama with “a lot of light moments”

rather than being “super hilarious”, so expect

less What We Do In The Shadows (2014) and more

Boy (2010). HELEN O’HARA

JOJO RABBIT IS IN CINEMAS FROM 26 DECEMBER

Here’s what we know about Jojo

Rabbit, the “anti-hate satire” set to

be 2019’s most unusual film

Above: Taika Waititi tells us how he really feels.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN... HOLLYWOOD IS IN CINEMAS FROM 15 AUGUST

DOCTOR SLEEP IS IN CINEMAS FROM
ALLSTAR, GETTY IMAGES, RONALD GRANT ARCHIVE7 NOVEMBER