Pictures via Alamy
Filming is underway on The Adventures of Cliff Booth, but if you can still believe it, Netflix has yet to announce or even publicly acknowledge that the movie is even theirs! In a new, wide-ranging, and revealing conversation, Quentin Tarantino opened up about his creative process, his past and upcoming projects, including the follow-up to Once Upon A Time In Hollywood , in a new 2-hour-plus interview on The Church of Tarantino.
Although Tarantino wrote the screenplay, he will not direct the project himself. Instead, he has handed directing duties to David Fincher. “I’ve got the best of both worlds,” Tarantino said. “I’ve got Brad, I’ve got my favorite director, David Fincher, directing it.” He added that the script is long and detailed: “I’ve given David a gigantic novel written in screenplay form,” but added that he’s excited to see the result.
Tarantino also praised Fincher directly, saying, “I think David Fincher and I are the two best directors working in this business. So the idea that David Fincher actually wants to adapt my work to me shows a level of seriousness towards my work that I think needs to be taken into account.”
He also said Brad was thrilled to get back into the role, loved the script, and was the “glue” that put together the project in the end.
The movie, which is set in 1977, eight years after the events of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, is an “adventure” for the character. Beyond that, plot details for the film are still under wraps, beyond the fact that Cliff is now working as a Hollywood fixer.
Tarantino noted that while the film may receive a limited theatrical release, similar to other big swings from the streamer, it’s first and foremost a Netflix movie, and he doesn’t hold that against them. “I don’t hold it against the company for not following what’s not their business model,” further adding, “You can you can decree that it’s not their business model, but it is just what it is. I wouldn’t be surprised if they came out with a two-week release of it, at least limited to some degree. And then I think at least as far as like the big cities are concerned, they’ll probably have screenings that they’re probably going to want to do well in the Oscars.”
As mentioned, it’s an interesting change for the director, with him explaining that all his prior movies have had box office news hanging over them upon their theatrical release. “They [his prior movies] had to do well at the box office or else it’s tainted or else it’s a flop. It’s always this sort of Damocles that’s hanging over your head, making a movie… it all comes down to the opening weekend. Okay, if you have a bad opening weekend, it’s not gonna get better on the second weekend.”
With Netflix, however, that dynamic disappears: “That sort of Damocles that existed and that I’ve lived with my entire career, it doesn’t exist.” He added, “It’s good. It’s fucking cool. I mean, a little bit of it is tyranny unless you win. When you win – yeah – blue ribbon, all right, you go, all right. It’s good. It’s fucking good. You fucking won.” Tarantino summed up the change by saying, “The tickets are already bought. Not tickets – subscriptions. They bought subscriptions.” He concluded, “Yeah, I think the business idea is people join Netflix if they’re not already a member just to see the movie.”
He described the budget for The Adventures of Cliff Booth as the largest he’s ever been associated with, noting that it’s considerably over $100 million from his biggest he’s directed himself, adding that the movie is going to be in the region of $200 million.
Tarantino revealed he was involved in pre-production and rehearsals, but noted that he’s not going to be involved day-to-day on set. “I’m moving back and forth between here and Israel, so I won’t be on the set every day and everything. But, yeah, I’ll be around if they need me to do something, you know, I will.”
No release date has been set for the film as of yet. Filming continues through to mid-January 2026, and attached so far are Brad Pitt, Scott Caan, Elizabeth Debicki, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Carla Gugino, JB Tadena, and Corey Fogelmanis.