Kill Bill

Quentin Tarantino's latest movie-in-the-works is apparently so long that the decision has just been made to split it in two (!). So unlike The Matrix Reloaded & Revolutions which were filmed as two movies but at the same time, this one just got too long.

Here's a trailer:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/kill_bill/kill_bill_large.html

Looks like a load of fun!

 

Consider me impressed, Jeff, and....


But then, that is a Tarantino film, isn't it? PULP will go down as his finest, but RESERVOIR DOGS and JACKIE BROWN I still find the kind of viewing you don't really want to do but wind up riveted to for the 10th time if you're not careful....

This new one could make or break the director, but YIKEE!! I'm in.......



ED

 

According to the still pictures I have seen, it's a must see for me! If this movie is only half as good as the looks of Carradine and Thurman it will be great. Perhaps I'm going to wait for the "Special Edition Director's Cut DVD" or whatever they may call it...

 

I have seen the trailer... great movie!

 

Looks very stylized. Some great "money shots" in that trailer.

I'll be in line on opening day.

 

I've been waiting on this movie for years. While it probably won't surpass the genius of Pulp Fiction, chances of it sucking look pretty slim.

 

From the NYTimes:

Miramax Films will take the unusual and potentially risky move of releasing "Kill Bill," the much-anticipated Quentin Tarantino martial arts action-adventure film, as two movies, the first to open in the fall. Miramax will in effect be taking a three-hour film with a 200-page script and turning it into a serial.

Harvey Weinstein, a co-founder of Miramax, which is financing the film, said in an interview on Monday that the first installment would be in theaters on Oct. 10. The second release date is in still being negotiated, but it could be two to six months later, he said.

To many in Hollywood, the decision will come as a surprise. Mr. Weinstein, who in Hollywood is known as "Harvey Scissorhands," after the title character in the movie "Edward Scissorhands," has a reputation for forcing directors to cut both costs and the lengths of their movies. Mr. Tarantino spent 155 days shooting the film, well more than planned and longer than usual for most films.

But Mr. Weinstein said Mr. Tarantino was something of a special case. The popularity of his violent yet original 1994 film, "Pulp Fiction," helped put Miramax on the map and generated an abundance of cash to help the studio bankroll other movies.

"Miramax is the house Quentin Tarantino built," Mr. Weinstein said. And because of this director's stature he was granted "carte blanche," Mr. Weinstein added.

"Kill Bill'` is Mr. Tarantino's first foray into action filmmaking. His limited body of work also includes the equally violent yet critically praised "Reservoir Dogs."

When Mr. Tarantino first approached Mr. Weinstein about doing "Kill Bill" several years ago, it was with the condition that he be allowed to film the whole 200-page script that he had written. When Mr. Weinstein visited the set in its last month of shooting late last year, Mr. Tarantino said in a statement, Mr. Weinstein brought up the idea of splitting it in two.

No decision was made at the time although Mr. Tarantino shot two opening-credit sequences, he said. Mr. Weinstein said it was not until he visited Los Angeles three weeks ago, when Mr. Tarantino showed him more than an hour and a half of the film, that the two decided on the two-film approach.

"Kill Bill" is the story, told in chapters, of the world's deadliest female assassin, who survives being shot on her wedding day and, after five years in a coma, seeks revenge on the man who tried to kill her. The film's samurai-style fight sequences were filmed largely in China and take place in everything from a nightclub to a snow-covered garden to a suburban home.

"There were no obstacles involved in splitting up `Kill Bill' at all because I've always designed the movie, thought about the film, as malleable in any number of versions," Mr. Tarantino said in his statement. That includes different versions for Asia, America and Europe.

The serial approach to "Kill Bill" has parallels to the making of the second and third installments of the "Matrix" series and "The Lord of The Rings" trilogy, which were filmed as one story but divided into parts and have been released on a staggered schedule. But those films were conceived as multipart releases; "Kill Bill" was not.

Despite the success of the "Matrix" and the "Lord of the Ring" franchises, Miramax's decision carries risks, given the box-office figures for a number of sequels, prequels and serials. Several have been disappointments this summer, including "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle," which received heavy publicity and generally favorable reviews as an enjoyable romp but which still failed to attract crowds. The serial films that have done well at the box office, like the "Matrix" series, have had built-in audiences already interested in the story. "Kill Bill," on the other hand, is from Mr. Tarantino's original screenplay.

Mitigating some of the risk is the movie's price tag, which Mr. Weinstein estimated at more than $55 million, not including marketing costs: less than what many blockbusters cost because many of the actors worked for union-scale wages and because production costs in China are lower than in the United States.

What Miramax and Mr. Tarantino are betting on is that the director's avid fan base and the pent-up interest in "Kill Bill" — which has taken almost a decade to make and is Mr. Tarantino's fifth movie — will pack theaters not once, but twice. Still Mr. Weinstein said he was worried about overselling this film, calling it "just a fun B-movie."

The question is: Fun for whom? "Kill Bill," not unlike other films that Mr. Tarantino has made, is intensely violent. That will limit the people who can see it, particularly the younger action-film audience that studios covet. In one spectacular fight in the "House of Blue Leaves" nightclub, nearly 100 people are killed, according to one person who worked on the set in China. Much has been made of the notion that Mr. Tarantino wanted the blood to be a particularly vibrant red.

"Tarantino is something of an innovator who takes audiences into different realms," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations, a Los Angeles company that analyzes box-office returns.

Miramax has yet to work out the actors' salaries for the two movies, Mr. Weinstein said. The studio is renegotiating contracts, including one for Uma Thurman, who stars as the bride who is shot, and another for Lucy Liu, who plays a member of Bill's hit squad.

Two Hollywood executives familiar with the contracts said the two actresses would receive a percentage of the box-office revenue. Because the contracts were originally based on only one movie, they will have to be changed to reflect the two-part scheme, the executives said. Stars' salary demands can often derail a movie, but Mr. Weinstein expressed confidence that a new agreement would be reached since the actors will not have to shoot new scenes.

 

I'll bet it's a killer! Tarantino casts the perfect players for all his movies...A key to success! I'm looking forward to this also.

 

I really hope it's not as violent as "Reservoir Dogs". Even while being a very good movie (script, story, actors, filming...), I literally couldn't stand that film due to its absolute brutality.

 

They had some really bull crap promo on an ABC news program last night. It was more fluff and promo then getting down to what we could hope to see. It did show that the movie will homage several genre's he loves which include westerns, hong kong action movies especially sword play movies, and action movies. I can tell you this from what I have read about what people have seen so far and what they have seen of the script is this will be UBERRR violent. The scene that is shown in the preview with Uma in the bar, it is rumored that at least a 100 people are killed. Yup..100. Don't expect anything other then it being violent and messy. At any rate I am excited to see what this movie will be like.

 

Call me a party-pooper but this looks like THE MATRIX meets CROUCHING TIGER with a little CHARLIE'S ANGELS and AUSTIN POWERS thrown in. Yawn. And although I only have 3 minutes of trailer to go by, Uma Thurman couldn't be a worse choice. Gina Gershon not blonde enough for ya, QT?

 

The first trailer was cool, but the newest one does look like it's Charlie's Angels on steroids. I was not impressed with it at all. Word, though, is that the film's really good...

btw, ran into QT himself at the 3-D fest last weekend. He was there for the Martin & Lewis comedy "Money From Home."

 

I like that expression! Good one!
Peace
Thomas

 

It sounds like it's still going to OF THE HOOK as they say !!!

Can't wait for all the DVD extra's on this when it comes out!

 

I wonder if they'll release the DVD as one part or two?

 

There were some reviews on Ain't It Cool News a while back of rough cuts of the film that indicated it is very violent and gory. But those were rough cuts, so maybe it's been toned down a bit.

 

One could make the argument that splitting the film makes a certain kind of sense, that 3 hours of violence would be too numbing and would dilute the film's impact (if indeed it has any). But the fact is that both parts combined would be no longer any of the three parts of Lord of the Rings, which makes the cynic in me think that splitting the film is really just a way to boost revenue -- getting people to pay for two tickets instead of one.

 

At first it'll be two DVDs, I bet but eventually you'll get every configuration possible, including both parts on one DVD. That is, if it makes a lot of money!

 

I really dont like Tarentinos movies. They are too disturbing , violent and brutal.

Yea, I KNOW "its just a movie" but after watching the World Trade Center collapse and seeing people jump out of the windows to avoid burning to death, Ive had just as much as I can stand of it. I'd much rather watch a comedy or a documantary. Keep it!!

 

Can't wait... Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs were great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

The film is incredibly gory and violent. And great! Depending on your point of view, it's a new high or a new low.

 

Uh-oh. . Looks like Reuters is among the first to kill KILL BILL. Seems they agree with me that Uma is totally wrong too.

 

There's a decent Tarantino Interveiw in the current issue of Playboy

 

Guys if I remember "Pulp fiction" right. It is the pilot that was mentioned by Mia character.
Just curious will be that catch up joke in this movie.

 

The movie isn't perfect, but it really is something special. Don't listen to reviews (or me), judge for yourself.