Once Upon a Time...
The trailer for Quentin Tarantino's next movie, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, is out.
It looks slick, humorous and filled with the usual pop-culture references Tarantino loves so much. I'm sure it will be superficial, entertaining and feature a great soundtrack. People are already really angry about this film mostly because the story features Sharon Tate and the Manson Family.
Not much is known about the storyline, but it doesn't seem to be a straight retelling of the Manson Murders. The two leads Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt play a washed-up cowboy star and his stunt-double buddy trying to reignite their careers when their paths cross with Sharon Tate's. The movie feels like it's set up to be Butch and Sundance VS the Manson Family. If that's so, then it's both hilarious and in incredibly poor taste.
I both like and do not like this movie idea. I know that some will be rightly upset about this. Real people were brutally murdered by the Family. Sharon Tate was pregnant when she died. Surely Tarantino and all who collaborated with him on this film should show some respect for the dead? This happened in living memory and many of those affected are still around. So yes, maybe this movie shouldn't have been made? But do we really want cinema to be entirely devoid of controversy? Would you be happy if all movies were bland corporate affairs with little originality and no sign of the creator's personality? Because that's where cinema is going. A completely inoffensive movie industry would have no room for Tarantino, Scorsese, John Waters, David Lynch and many others. So if your offended by the idea of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, then fair enough, don't go and see it. I'm not sure if I will. But don't say such films shouldn't exist, because you're in danger of helping create a world where nothing of interest is ever said.