Among all the epic blockbusters and super-powered smackdowns to arrive this summer, an altogether different kind of event movie is on the way: the ninth film by Quentin Tarantino. Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is the legendary filmmaker’s next project – and he’s finished it just in time for the Cannes Film Festival in late May, where the film will receive its world premiere and play in Competition. Tarantino’s latest is a love letter to ‘60s Hollywood, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Western TV star Rick Dalton who’s trying to make it on the big screen, with Brad Pitt as his stunt double Cliff Booth.
“We were afraid the film would not be ready, as it wouldn’t be released until late July, but Quentin Tarantino, who has not left the editing room in four months, is a real, loyal and punctual child of Cannes,” says the festival’s General Delegate Thierry Frémaux. “Like for Inglourious Basterds, he’ll definitely be there – 25 years after the Palme d’or for Pulp Fiction – with a finished film screened in 35mm and his cast in tow (Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt).
“His film is a love letter to the Hollywood of his childhood, a rock music tour of 1969, and an ode to cinema as a whole. In addition to thanking Quentin and his crew for spending days and nights in the editing room, the Festival wants to give special thanks to the teams at Sony Pictures, who made all of this possible.”
News of Once Upon A Time’s Cannes debut has also confirmed its runtime of 2 hours and 45 minutes. If you thought your bladder-training was finished post-Endgame, think again. The UK will get to see the film on 14 August, a few weeks after its US release on 26 July.
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