There are many reasons why the novelisation of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood isn’t like most movie novelisations. For one, it’s written by Tarantino himself – his first novel, coming off the back of a career crafting some of the most engrossing screenplays of all time. And beyond that, it has significant differences to the film itself – majorly expanding the story, placing emphasis on different elements of the narrative, and including a wealth of material directly from QT’s brain that never could have made it into a single movie.
Among the changes, you’ll find a different ending – centring on a phone call between Rick Dalton (played in the film by Leonardo DiCaprio) and talented young Lancer actor Trudi (played in the film by Julia Butters). In fact, the scene was shot for the film – but was excised so that the movie ended with Tarantino’s history-subverting take on the Manson murders instead. “There’s a reason it’s not in the movie,” Tarantino tells Empire in the new issue, on sale now. “If you play that scene, that’s the end. You almost have to start the movie all over again.”
With the Rick-Trudi scene being the original ending of the film's central arc, it initially meant the Manson attack sequence played a different function. “The night of the murders was the epilogue,” QT explains. “I even had ‘epilogue’ pop up before it starts. But what we learned is, the night of the murders in August isn’t an epilogue. It’s the third act.” Not that it’s the novel’s third act – since the novel functions completely differently, the cinematic incarnation’s sweet, fairytale ending comes far sooner into the book than you’d expect, and plays out surprisingly briefly. “I pretty much knew from the beginning that I wasn’t going to include the ending that’s in the movie,” says Tarantino of its new placement. “And that seemed to be the right time.”
Read Empire’s full story talking the Once Upon A Time In Hollywood novelisation with Quentin Tarantino himself in the Ghostbusters: Afterlife issue – on sale now, and available to order online here. And if you’re looking for more Tarantino interview goodness? Keep your eye on the Empire Podcast feed for the next few days…