Quentin Tarantino is no stranger to controversy in any of his movies, but his latest effort - 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood' - is on a whole new level.
The movie is set in 1969, with Leonardo DiCaprio playing a struggling TV actor who just so happens to be a neighbour of Sharon Tate, who'll be played by Margot Robbie. According to set reports and rumours, the plot follows as DiCaprio and his longtime friend and stunt double, Brad pitt, go on "an odyssey" across Hollywood as he debates whether to leave Hollywood behind and head to Italy which has become a hot-bed for low-budget Westerns.
Tarantino and Sony Pictures have been keen to point out that it's not specifically a movie about the murder of Sharon Tate or the Manson Family murders, but rather it runs parallel to it in the same way that World War II runs parallel to the events of 'Inglorious Basterds'. Of course, the original release date of the movie - the fiftieth anniversary of the Manson Family murders - was definitely intended to raise some eyebrows, but Sony Pictures confirmed this past week that the release date has been moved up so that it doesn't coincide with the anniversary, something that Debra Tate - Sharon Tate's sister - is grateful for.
In an interview with TMZ of all places earlier this week, Debra Tate said that she is - for the moment - on board with Quentin Tarantino's movie and has met with him briefly to understand how it relates to her sister. "This movie is not what people would expect it to be when you combine the Tarantino and Manson names," said Tate. The report also states that she voiced her concerns to Tarantino and that once he explained the plot to her, she apparently felt much better and that Tarantino's intentions were "honourable" - but did point out that original release date was "tacky and exploitative."
Set photos from the movie so far show that Tarantino is keen to recreate as much of Los Angeles in that time period as he can, going so far as to completely remake Hollywood Boulevard to make it look like 1969, with the cast of characters in the movie set to include Steve McQueen, Bruce Lee, Jay Sebring, as well as Lynette 'Squeaky' Fromme, one of the Manson Family members who tried to assassinate US President Gerald Ford in 1975. McQueen will be played by Damian Lewis, Lee by 'Empire' castmember Mike Moh, whilst Fromme is set to be played by Dakota Fanning.
The movie is set for release in Irish cinemas on July 26th, 2019.
