Us Weekly – August 05, 2019

I

n 1969, the nation was

at a turning point, and

Hollywood was no

exception. The end of

the decade — and

the swiftly changing film

industry — set the scene

for director Quentin

Tarantino’s Once Upon a

Time in Hollywood, which

shines a light on Tinseltown

in the time of the Manson

Murders. The story follows

fictional TV actor Rick

Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio)

and his longtime stunt dou-

ble, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt),

as they navigate a town

getting harder and harder to

recognize. “I really think this

movie is [Tarantino’s] love

story to this industry, and

he’s put, at the helm of it,

two characters who are

outsiders,” says DiCaprio,

44. He and Pitt, who first

worked together in the

2006 crime drama The

Departed, love collaborating.

“I had a great laugh with

him,” Pitt, 55, notes. “It’s

that thing of knowing

you’ve got the best of the

best on the opposite side of

the table holding up the

scene with you.”

REAL-LIFE REFLECTION

In addition to enjoying the

company, Pitt and DiCaprio

couldn’t help but relate to

their characters. “I immedi-

ately connected with him,”

the Revenant star says

about Rick, who struggles

with confidence and always

worries about the next job.

CO

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U

S

! •

L.A.

Writer-director Quentin Tarantino

and a stellar cast shine a

light on a gritty Hollywood era

(^54) | AUGUST 5, 2019