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Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (novel)

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Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: A Novel is the debut novel by Quentin Tarantino. It is a novelization of his 2019 film of the same name.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: A Novel
First edition cover
AuthorQuentin Tarantino
Audio read byJennifer Jason Leigh
LanguageEnglish
SubjectNew Hollywood
Genre
PublisherHarperCollins/Harper Perennial
Publication date
June 29, 2021
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (paperback), e-book, audiobook
Pages400
ISBN9780063112520 (paperback)

It debuted at number one on The New York Times' fiction best-seller list.

Background

See also: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood § Plot, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood § Character details

According to Tarantino, the novel is "a complete rethinking of the entire story" and adds details to various sequences and characters, including multiple chapters dedicated to the backstory of Cliff Booth.[1] The novel also departs from the film; the film's finale occurs towards the beginning of the novel, and its aftermath includes Rick Dalton earning newfound fame as a regular on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.[2] It also focuses on Charles Manson's pursuit of a music career[2] and the "inner worlds" of Sharon Tate and Trudi Frazer.[3]

There is a chapter dedicated to the Manson Family's "creepy crawls". In it, Manson instructs "Pussycat" to break into a wealthy, elderly couple's house while they are sleeping.[4]: pages80-97  Manson encouraged going into wealthy unvacated homes, which the Manson girls would enter and steal valuables. He taught them to wear dark clothing and "crawl" through the house. The term "creepy crawl" was invented by the Manson girls.[5]: 163 

Tarantino explains the inner thoughts of the controversial Bruce Lee-Cliff Booth fight, saying that Booth tricks Lee into the fight and Booth is fighting his own instinct to murder Lee more than Lee himself.[6] Booth is a "ringer," a stuntman brought in and paid on the side to hurt actors who "tag" (hit for real) stuntmen. Lee does this and Booth believes Lee's kung fu is all for show and screen, and that judo is a superior martial art.[4]: pages202-215  "Pussycat" refers to Booth as "Mr. Blond," the alias of Vic Vega (Michael Madsen) in Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs.[7]

The novel includes several chapters detailing Lancer's backstory as a "mini-novelization-within-a-novelization," including an entire chapter on the career of the series' lead, James Stacy.[8] Critique is given on a large amount of mid-century films and filmmakers through the minds of Tate, Dalton, and Booth.[8] The latter is a movie buff, who has given up on the films of Federico Fellini, but is a fan of Akira Kurosawa, Alan Ladd, and erotic films, some of which he views at the (now Tarantino-owned) New Beverly Cinema. When he goes to see I Am Curious (Yellow), "Cliff wanted to lick the screen."[8][2]

The novel contains a chapter detailing how Booth came to own his pit bull, Brandy.[9]: stated at:59:00-1:00:00  Another chapter focuses on Booth living in France after escaping from a Filipino jungle as a POW.[4]: pages259-269  Tarantino based these chapters on true stories.[9]: stated at:1:00:00-1:01:00 

Publication

In November 2020, Tarantino signed a two-book deal with HarperCollins. On June 29, 2021, he published his first novel, an adaptation of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in paperback, eBook, and digital audio editions.[10] A deluxe hardcover will be released in fall 2021.[10] The deluxe edition will contain Once Upon a Time in Hollywood memorabilia, including a script for an episode of Rick Dalton's Bounty Law written by Tarantino.[9]: stated at:33:00-35:00  Tarantino stated, "In the seventies movie novelizations were the first adult books I grew up reading ... And to this day I have a tremendous amount of affection for the genre."[10]

The audiobook is narrated by Jennifer Jason Leigh, who previously starred in Tarantino's The Hateful Eight.[11] According to Tarantino, her Hateful Eight character Daisy Domergue was "A Manson girl out west, like Susan Atkins or something."[12] On June 21, 2021 a trailer for the novel was released, containing never before seen footage from the film and narrated by Kurt Russell, who was also the film's narrator.[13]

Reception

Critical response

Dwight Garner of The New York Times said, "[Tarantino is] not out to impress us with the intricacy of his sentences. [...] He's here to tell a story in take-it-or-leave-it Elmore Leonard fashion. [...] He gets it: Pop culture is what America has instead of mythology."[2] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian wrote: "Tarantino made a career alchemising movie trash into gold [...] Now he's done the same with ... the pulpiest of pulp fiction. [...] The book is entirely outrageous and addictively readable on its own terms."[3] Charles Arrowsmith of The Washington Post praised the novel's "authentically pulpy atmosphere" and Tarantino's "explosive dialogue" as being "almost as effective written down as read aloud."[14]

Katie Rosseinsky of the Evening Standard wrote, "It's hard to escape the feeling that Tarantino is writing his own fanfiction - albeit with undeniable flair."[15] Kayleigh Donaldson of Pajibi said, "Tarantino's skills are not best suited to the form of the novel... It's almost fascinating how [the novel] makes the film less interesting."[16]

Sales

Upon publication, it became the number one selling book on Amazon.[17] The novel debuted at number one on The New York Times fiction best-seller list in its first week.[18]

Characters

See also: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood § Character details

Many fictional and historical characters appear in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, including Bruce Lee, Steve McQueen, and members of the Manson Family.

The novel features other historical characters, including a whole chapter titled and focused on actor Aldo Ray, whose procurement of a bottle of gin from Booth leads to him being fired from one of the Spaghetti Westerns Dalton is starring in.[4]: pages337-349  Tarantino's step-father Curtis Zastoupil appears as a character in the novel. He gets Rick Dalton's autograph for a six-year-old Tarantino.[4]: pages360-369 

Other characters who appear in the novel while being absent from the film include:[4]

  • Dennis Wilson – The drummer for the rock band The Beach Boys. Wilson brought Manson Family members Ella Jo Bailey and Patricia Krenwinkel over to his house. He left and later returned to find Manson and the rest of his Family. They would move in making Wilson's residence their home for a period of time. Manson recorded songs he wrote at the home studio of Dennis' brother and band mate Brian. The Beach Boys covered Manson's song "Cease to Exist" on one of their albums.[5]: pages34-35, 60–61 
  • Terry Melcher – The son of Doris Day and record producer for Columbia Records. He met Manson at Wilson's house. Manson visited Melcher at his house on 10050 Cielo Drive multiple times, and hoped to get a record deal through him and Wilson.[5]: pages34-35, 100  However, Manson was unable to ingratiate himself with Melcher the way he did with Wilson. What most interested Melcher about the Family was teenage member Ruth Ann Moorehouse, whom he attempted to hire as a housekeeper. Manson tried to leverage Melcher's interest into a record deal, but Bergen did not allow Moorehouse to move in, as she suspected Melcher did not really intend for her to be a housekeeper.[19]
  • Candice Bergen – An actress and girlfriend of Melcher who lived with him on Cielo Drive.[5]: pages34-35 
  • Gregg Jakobson – A songwriter who worked for Melcher and became close with the Manson Family. He frequently recorded Manson's music.[5]: 35 
  • Andrew Duggan – The actor who portrayed Murdoch Lancer on the TV series Lancer, whose character seeks out his two estranged sons from different mothers, to help save his ranch from the land pirates.[20]
  • Caleb DeCoteau – The fictional lead villain and leader of the land pirates on the pilot episode of Lancer, portrayed by Rick Dalton. While also featured in the film, in the novel it is revealed that Dalton beat out Joe Don Baker for the role.[4]: page249  Baker portrayed the lead villain and leader of the land Pirates in the real-life pilot of Lancer.[20][21]
  • Jim Brown – An actor and NFL star. While Brown is in Spain shooting 100 Rifles, Cliff Booth becomes known as "the only white man to ever win a fistfight with Jim Brown."[4]: page204  Tarantino considered writing Brown into the screenplay of the film, but never did. If he had he would have cast Jamie Foxx to play him.[22]

Second novel

See also: The Films of Rick Dalton

In June 2021, Tarantino revealed he wrote a complementary novel about the films of Rick Dalton, which he plans to publish.[9]: stated at:45:00-47:00 

References

  1. ^ Noble, Alex (June 2, 2021). "Quentin Tarantino: "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" Novel Will Explore Backstory of Brad Pitt's Character". TheWrap. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Garner, Dwight (June 28, 2021). "Quentin Tarantino Turns His Most Recent Movie Into a Pulpy Page-Turner". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Bradshaw, Peter (June 28, 2021). "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood review - Tarantino's debut novel shines". The Guardian. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Tarantino, Quentin (June 29, 2021). Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 1398706140.
  5. ^ a b c d e Sanders, Ed (1971). The Family: The Story of Charles Manson's Dune Buggy Attack Battalion. New York City: Avon. ISBN 1-56025-396-7. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  6. ^ Rogan, Joe (June 29, 2021). "The Joe Rogan Experience #1675 - Quentin Tarantino". Spotify (Podcast). Event occurs at 1:45:00-1:50:00. Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  7. ^ Williams, Jordan (July 2, 2021). "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Novel: Every New Tarantino Universe Easter Egg". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on July 2, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  8. ^ a b c Willman, Chris (July 3, 2021). "Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" Novel Is a Cineaste-Baiting Blast, With Big Departures From the Movie: Book Review". Variety. Archived from the original on July 4, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  9. ^ a b c d Goldsmith, Jeff (July 4, 2021). "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Q&A - Quentin Tarantino". The Q&A (Podcast). Archived from the original on July 11, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  10. ^ a b c Shaffer, Claire (November 17, 2020). "Quentin Tarantino Lands Book Deal, Including "Once Upon a Time in...Hollywood" Novelization". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 19, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  11. ^ Bui, Hoai-Tran (May 14, 2021). ""Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" is Getting an Audiobook by Jennifer Jason Leigh". /Film. Archived from the original on May 14, 2021. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  12. ^ Truitt, Brian (December 23, 2015). "Jennifer Jason Leigh gives life to devilish Daisy in "Hateful Eight"". USA Today. Archived from the original on December 28, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  13. ^ Lane, Carly (June 21, 2021). ""Once Upon a Time in Hollywood's Novelization Trailer Reveals Never-Before-Seen Footage". Collider. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  14. ^ Arrowsmith, Charles (June 29, 2021). "Quentin Tarantino turned his last movie into a novel, but don't think you know the ending". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 3, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  15. ^ Rosseinsky, Katie (June 28, 2021). "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood by Quentin Tarantino review: Pulp fan fiction with the usual flair and flaws". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  16. ^ Donaldson, Kayleigh (July 2, 2021). "Review: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood the Book Somehow Makes the Film Way Less Interesting". Pajibi. Archived from the original on July 2, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  17. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony; Patten, Dominic (June 29, 2021). "Quentin Tarantino Now Bestselling Author Too With 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood: A Novel'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  18. ^ "Combined Print & E-Book Fiction - Best Sellers - Books". The New York Times. July 3, 2021. Archived from the original on July 8, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  19. ^ Guinn, Jeff (2013). Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson. New York City: Simon & Schuster. p. 157. ISBN 978-1-4516-4518-7.
  20. ^ a b Magers, Boyd. "Lancer". westernclippings. Archived from the original on August 31, 2019. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  21. ^ "Episode List". Lancer Lovers. Archived from the original on February 12, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  22. ^ Roffman, Michael (December 15, 2019). "Filmmaker of the Year Quentin Tarantino on Finding the Right Story, What Streaming is Missing, and his 10th Film". Consequence (Interview). Archived from the original on July 7, 2021. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
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