Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1177962
O N C E U P O N A T I M E … I N H O L L Y W O O D | P E R S P E C T I V E 1 2 1 Once upon a time with Quentin Tarantino...this story starts with reading the script. There was only one printed copy of Quentin's script. I was sent into a room and a very worn heavily read, fingerprint marked, coffee and water-stained script was put down in front of me and I was told to take as much time as needed to read it but do not take it out of the room. I normally read a script from a visual point of view, but soon after starting this script, I was consumed by the characters and the compelling way Quentin writes his dialogue, stopping to tell backstory and asides on characters. The script reads like a great novel with characters weaving in and out through a sea of Los Angeles places, TV shows, Westerns, freeways, airports, restaurants, fast-food joints, homes, canyon drives, movie theaters and winding LA streets. This was a very intoxicating novelesque read with an ominous undertone that kept me riveted until the end, with a finale that sent my brain into shock mode. Being an "Angeleno" and having spent my teens in Los Angeles during the era, I related to this version of 1969 and all the places, events and shows Quentin wrote about. This was totally in my wheelhouse, the Los Angeles neighborhoods, events and the pulse of that time. When I finally sat down with Quentin to talk about the film, the excitement of his script was only matched by how insanely excited Quentin was about starting this project. He wanted the real world of 1969 put back from his childhood. He didn't mind having to have obstructions and a few buildings erased in the visual effects world, but did not want to play anything in front of green screens. This was his epic "love letter" to the city that formed him into a filmmaker. He wanted to A. VAN NUYS DRIVE-IN PRE- VISUALIZATION FRAME. B. VAN NUYS MARQUEE. CONSTRUCTION DETAILS FOR FULL-SIZE SIGN. C. VAN NUYS DRIVE-IN 1" SCALE MODEL OF ENTRANCE WALL. SET PHOTO. C