We've known for a while that Quentin Tarantino had literary plans, especially if/when he wraps up his directorial career. He's now announcing his first two book efforts, with the first to arrive a novelisation of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, touted as a "shocking departure" from the film.
In the tradition of movie novelisations, the book will still focus on TV actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio in the film) and stuntman Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), but will amplify Tarantino's concepts and follow them forward and backward in time.
"In the ’70s movie novelizations were the first adult books I grew up reading," Tarantino said in a statement. "And to this day I have a tremendous amount of affection for the genre. So as a movie-novelization aficionado, I’m proud to announce Once Upon A Time In Hollywood as my contribution to this often marginalized, yet beloved sub-genre in literature. I’m also thrilled to further explore my characters and their world in a literary endeavor that can (hopefully) sit alongside its cinematic counterpart."
The paperback (plus ebook and digital audio) is planned for release next summer, with a deluxe hardcover due in the autumn. And as for Tarantino's other book, non-fiction tome Cinema Speculation will find him expounding upon 1970s films, and is inspired by the writing of famed critic Pauline Kael.