Tarantino Mocks His Oldest Easter Egg in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Book

Tarantino Mocks His Oldest Easter Egg in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Book

Quentin Tarantino has turned Once Upon A Time In Hollywood into his first novel, and still finds time to include (and mock) his trademark Easter egg.

You Are Reading :[thien_display_title]

Tarantino Mocks His Oldest Easter Egg in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Book

The Once Upon A Time In Hollywood novelization takes a self-referential shot at Quentin Tarantino’s most famous Easter egg. Released in 2019, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is Tarantino’s love letter to a heady age of American show business, and stars Leonardo DiCaprio as declining actor looking for a comeback, Rick Dalton. When the credits roll, lingering theater patrons would’ve witnessed a fake in-universe commercial for Red Apple cigarettes, with Tarantino himself yelling “cut!” at the end. Tarantino fans will, of course, be very familiar with Red Apple cigarettes, with the brand appearing in Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, The Hateful Eight, and more, becoming a canon Tarantino calling card.

Two years after Once Upon A Time In Hollywood hit cinemas (though it certainly feels longer), Tarantino himself has penned a novelization of the hit movie. The book deliberately plays upon Dalton’s pulpy 1960s pop culture aesthetic, even down to the front cover design, but also adds a significant chunk of material not seen on-screen. Tarantino has embraced the opportunity to tell a fuller version of his movie script, integrating all the tidbits and subplots he couldn’t cram into 2-and-a-half-hours.

One fantastic new detail comes during the novel’s opening meeting between Dalton and Marvin Schwarz (played on-screen by Al Pacino). During their conversation, Schwarz gives a withering assessment of Dalton’s current career trajectory and suggests he do a Clint Eastwood and make “spaghetti westerns” in Italy. Adding some color to Dalton’s relationship with Schwarz, the novelization includes a scene where the casting director asks what cigarettes his companion smokes. When Dalton includes Red Apples on his list of brands, Schwarz scoffs, calling the brand’s product a “crime against tobacco.”

See also  The Biggest Story Arcs That Dragon Ball Z Kakarot Still Hasnt Touched

The Easter egg is a smart twist on the usual Red Apple Tarantino-ism. Traditionally, the made-up brand will have a subtle visual presence in movies – sitting on a shelf, advertised on a billboard, or in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’s case, smoked by a main character. Since novels don’t exactly allow for this level of visual detail, Tarantino uses dialogue to slip Red Apples into the story once again. Even better is how Schwarz snobbishly derides Red Apple’s quality, adding a double-dose of meta humor by labeling Tarantino’s famous cigarette brand the absolute bottom of the tobacconist’s barrel. Somehow, this fits Tarantino’s fictional universe far better than if Red Apple had been premium quality smokes every character loved to take a bite from.

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’s novelized Red Apple scene also compliments Rick Dalton’s commercial from the original movie’s credits. After regaling the virtues of Red Apple to his audience (more flavor, better drag, less throat burn), Tarantino’s unseen director calls cut. Dalton immediately breaks character, throws his burning cigarette to the floor and complains, “alright, this cigarette tastes like f**king sh*t.” That Dalton admitted smoking Red Apples but later spits one out perhaps indicates his desire to be considered among the elites of Hollywood. The high-flying Schwarz doesn’t like Red Apples, so neither should he. The novel’s Schwarz scene also further accentuates the difference between Dalton and Brad Pitt’s Cliff Booth. Whereas Cliff happily puffs away on cheap and nasty tobacco, Dalton is more concerned about the image his brand of choice portrays among the stars of Hollywood.

See also  Overwatch 2 Everything We Know About Reinhardt’s Changes

This is just one example of how Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood novel adds to the movie experience, proving that even when wielding a pen instead of a camera, the director still knows when to drop a fan-pleasing Easter egg.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/tarantino-red-apples-easter-egg-mock-new-book/

Movies -