Tarantino’s take on WWII draws fire in Germany
Seems you can’t even be nasty to Nazis anymore.
A leaked script of Quentin Tarantino’s World War II drama “Inglorious Bastards” already is stirring up controversy for scenes of vengeful Americans bashing, scalping, shooting and strangling German soldiers.
What began as an Internet murmur here went mainstream with a recent newspaper article by Tobias Kneibe, film editor of the Suddeutsche Zeitung, who predicted that the project could have an explosive effect similar to that of Tom Cruise’s World War II drama “Valkyrie,” which initially was barred from filming in certain locations and already has been savaged in the German media even though it doesn’t hit theaters until 2009.
“All the German historians and critics who were left gasping for breath by Tom Cruise and his worthy attempts will be so shocked by ‘Inglorious Bastards’ that they will savage it on the spot,” Kniebe wrote.
Even though he personally likes the script, Kneibe said that “the collision between Tarantino-style pop culture with the themes of the Holocaust and Jewish revenge (the ‘Bastards’ of the film are Jewish-American Nazi hunters) is unprecedented in Germany and its results are completely unpredictable.”
More potential fuel for the fire: Tarantino’s pulp fiction version of German history will almost certainly get German state financing. Germany’s DFFF film fund gives automatic tax breaks for local shoots, and “Bastards” is set to shoot almost entirely in Studio Babelsberg outside Berlin.
“I don’t see how it should not be eligible for DFFF money,” said Kirsten Niehuus, director of the Berlin-Brandenburg regional film fund.
- from Reuters
Tarantino gets his French girl for Inglorious Bastards
Diane Kruger has been cast as Bridget Von Hammersmark, the role that had been pegged for Nastassja Kinski, in Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglorious Bastards.” German star Til Schweiger also has nabbed a role in the World War II movie.
“Bastards” revolves around a French girl’s revenge on the Nazis and also follows a band of American Nazi killers. Both story lines eventually converge.
Kinski was in talks with Tarantino, who even flew to Germany to meet the actress, but a deal wasn’t reached. Kruger, best known for her work in “Troy” and the “National Treasure” movies, will now portray the part of a glamorous German actress who ends up helping the Nazi hunters infiltrate a movie premiere. Kruger, who hails from Germany, will act in German and English in the film.
Schweiger will play a member of the Nazi killer team, headed by Brad Pitt’s character, Lt. Aldo Raine.
- from THR
Kruder, Waltz join Tarantino’s ‘Inglorious Bastards’
“Inglorious Bastards” writer-director Quentin Tarantino has set thesps Diane Kruger, Christoph Waltz and Paul Rust in the Weinstein Co./Universal drama.
Pic begins production Oct. 13 in Germany.The trio join Brad Pitt, Eli Roth, Mike Myers, Michael Fassbender, B.J. Novak and Samm Levine.
Kruger (”National Treasure”) plays German actress Bridget Von Hammersmark, who figures prominently in a plot to sabotage the Nazis. It is a role for which Nastassja Kinski was first mentioned.
Waltz, who is best known in Germany for his television work, has landed the role of Col. Hans Landa, who is the primary antagonist in the drama.
- from Variety
Tarantino’s Nazi ‘reservoir dogs of war’ leaked online
The film project by the US director of Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs, which is a remake of a 70s war film by Enzo Castellaris, has already created a furious response from German critics. One said the effects of the “collision” between pulp fiction and Nazi barbarity were “completely unpredictable”.
The film depicts scalpings, disembowelment and swastikas being engraved in foreheads as a group of American Jewish soldiers are airdropped into Nazi-occupied Europe to wreak revenge on the Germans.
Film buffs were yesterday poring over what appeared to be the Tarantino script of the film, which has apparently been leaked and posted on several internet sites. Although film experts said the 167 page “final draft” had Tarantino’s handprint all over it - including his wobbly handwriting, spelling mistakes (Inglourious Basterds) and grammatical errors - it had not been confirmed as genuine last night. There was speculation that it might have been released as a publicity stunt.
What has been confirmed is that Brad Pitt is to play the starring role - Lieutenant Aldo Raine - “known to the Germans as Apache Aldo … a hillbilly from the mountains of Tennessee”, who leads the group of Nazi-hunters.
Early in the film, he tells potential recruits: “I’m putting me together a special team … and I need me … eight - Jewish - American - soldiers … as a bushwackin’, guerrilla army, we’re gonna be doing one thing and one thing only, killin’ Nazis.”
He adds: “We will be cruel to the Germans and through our cruelty, they will know who we are,” ordering his troops to “git me 100 Nazi scalps”.
One of the group, known as “Bear Jew”, has a reputation for “bashing Germans’ brains in with a baseball bat”. He features in at least one scene.
- from Guardian
Hitler to get Pulp Fiction treatment in Tarantino’s Inglorious Bastards
Quentin Tarantino, master of cinematic violence, is about to stir up a hornet’s nest in Germany with a war film that depicts Nazi soldiers having their brains bashed out with a baseball bat wielded by a vengeful American.
And far worse. Even by the stomach-curdling standards of the US director-maker of Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs the new film is a veritable blood bath.
Filming starts in Berlin on October 13 and the controversial director is already in the German capital making his final casting decisions. The star role is to be played by Brad Pitt. His character, Lieutenant Aldo Raine, leads a group of American Jewish soldiers who are dropped into Nazi-occupied Europe to wreak revenge on the Germans and destroy their morale.
The tone of the film, provisionally entitled Inglorious Bastards, is set early on by Lieutenant Raine in a pep speech to his men. According to a leaked version of the script, the officer says: “Every man under my command, owes me, one hundred Nazi scalps … and all y’all will git me one hundred Nazi scalps, taken from the heads of one hundred dead Nazis or you will die trying.”
- from UK
Brad Pitt, Simon Pegg are also both ‘Bastards’
Brad Pitt officially has gone inglorious. The actor has joined the cast of Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglorious Bastards,” signing on to play Lt. Aldo Raine, the head of the Jewish resistance in the auteur’s World War II film. Additionally, Simon Pegg is in discussions to join the cast. David Krumholtz has an offer but may have a scheduling problem. Nastassja Kinski is meeting with Tarantino for the part of a German actress. (more…)
Eli Roth is an Inglorious Bastard
“Hostel” director Eli Roth is on deck to play a baseball bat-swinging Nazi hunter in “Inglorious Bastards,” the Quentin Tarantino-directed drama that begins production this fall in Europe for the Weinstein Co. and Universal Pictures.
Brad Pitt is in talks to play Aldo Raine, leader of a rogue band of Jewish-American soldiers who wreak havoc on the bad guys in Nazi-occupied France.
Roth is in talks to play Sgt. Donnie Donowitz.
- from Variety
Universal eyes Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglorious Bastards”
From Variety:
Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglorious Bastards” may soon find a home at Universal.
Studio is in negotiations to partner with the Weinstein Co. to bring the World War II drama to the bigscreen. Although deal points are still being ironed out, insiders say a pact is imminent.
The “Pulp Fiction” helmer and Harvey Weinstein met with five studios last week about co-financing the film, and it came down to Paramount and Universal. Par, which wanted to distribute the film in foreign territories, balked at a component of the pact that dealt with how grosses would be accounted given the way that Tarantino’s “Kill Bill” contract was structured.
Tarantino finds first ‘Pussycat’
From Variety:
READY! RUSS MEYER’S 1966 cult trash movie classic, “Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!” was about three powerful, murderous, bike-riding strippers, played memorably by Tura Satana, Lori Williams and Haji. I told you a while back that Quentin Tarantino is eager to remake “Pussycat.” And now he thinks he may have found at least one of his leading ladies in the form of Tera Patrick, who is the No. 1 “erotic performer” in the world. Montana-born Miss Patrick received a degree in biology from the U. of Boise and worked as an emergency tech nurse. Still, she had a higher calling. Modeling led to work in the adult film field, and now she’s rolling in it. Money, that is. But, though still a hot ticket — and remarkably sophisticated and grounded, considering the milieu she rules, Tera says, “I am the first to admit I can’t do this forever! I’d love to cross over and do more “regular movies.”
Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Bastards to be Two Movies
The first big thing we learn is that Quentin has been writing almost non-stop on INGLORIOUS BASTARDS - and that the premise is the basic jumping off point from Enzo’s original - that you had a bunch of hardened criminals on a military transport during World War II - that got ambushed by the Nazis. Everyone but the criminals gets killed and the prisoners decide to make their way to neutral Switzerland - and must fight the Nazis and the Allies to get there. It’s a true No Man’s Land scenario.
Well, as Quentin has been writing this - he’s done so much research into the actual events of World War II as well as the cinema of World War 2 - that the story kept growing and growing. It became too big for one film - so he’s turned it into 2. That’s right, INGLORIOUS BASTARDS will be two movies… not unlike KILL BILL.
- from AICN