Quentin Tarantino recently announced that he will be novelizing Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) - an actor/stunt man duo struggling to succeed in the Hollywood of 1969 - and their brushes with fame and villainy. Boasting a large ensemble cast and just shy of a 3-hour runtime, the film bulges at the seams - with Tarantino clearly ionate about the world and its characters, but constantly having to keep his indulgences in check. Luckily, for fans, the novelization is likely to show very little of this restraint, marking a transitionary period for the acclaimed writer/director as he becomes increasingly focused on more literary endeavors.
Announced alongside a nonfiction book called Cinema Speculation (a retrospective on 70s cinema, also written by Tarantino), the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood novelization follows in the regrettably faded footsteps of movie-to-book adaptations that became prevalent in the years before home video. For fans, the announcement is hardly a surprise, as it is the culmination of numerous interviews wherein Tarantino has stated his intention to retire after 10 movies and become “a man of letters”, something that would suit his non-linear and already-novelistic approach to storytelling. What is surprising, however, is that Tarantino should choose to make this gear-shift before his final movie is announced, as the novel will likely be a jumping-off point for more exclusive-to-prose projects in the future.
The main reason that the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood novelization could improve on its cinematic predecessor is largely a matter of time. Unlike screenwriters, novelists don’t really have to concern themselves with any form of runtime, something that Tarantino has openly coveted in the past. Books are rarely meant to be consumed in one sitting, and the “budget” is limited only by the writer’s imagination. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood has often been described as a “hang-out” movie, more concerned with characters, tone, and milieu than plot, for the most part. The novelization will allow readers to spend more time with Rick and Cliff, and will hopefully convey more of Sharon Tate's internal life; taking an already-immersive story and cranking things up an extra notch.
Along with re-adding scenes that were cut for time, or from the script entirely, the novelization could also utilize epistolary chapters - namely, in-universe media and documents that can introduce more immersive, detailed worldbuilding. Tarantino knows Rick’s filmography inside and out, for example, so could detail the actor’s career via in-universe reviews and think pieces. It's possible Tarantino could even write these sections under the guise of Pauline Kael, his favorite film critic of the era.
Additionally, in an interview with Cliff Booth’s wife (kept vague in the film) as part of convincing Pitt that the character was worth his time. Tarantino likes to maintain small mysteries throughout his work, allowing the audience to come to their own conclusions, so it’s unlikely that such a chapter would be included in the novelization - though, at this point, how much Tarantino’s prose style differs from his filmmaking style obviously remains to be seen.
Hopefully, Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood novelization and Cinema Speculation book will be well-received and lead on to other prose work. Whether they work out or not, the director is also planning to write and shoot Bounty Law (a fictional Western TV show, starring Rick Dalton), as well as releasing an extended, 4-hour cut of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (all via Netflix). While Tarantino’s feature film career might be close to its end, TV and prose projects are likely to keep him occupied in the long run and show that the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood director still has plenty of tricks left up his sleeve.
