*Spoilers or reveals.
I have been massively tough on Quentin Tarantino. But Once Upon A Time in Hollywood is the best film I’ve seen for years. And most people won’t get it. Doesn’t mean they won’t like it or enjoy it, but they might not fully get it.
When Burt Reynolds died in September 2018, I wrote this blogpost about his film Hooper. Hooper was directed by Reynolds best pal Hal Needham, who had for many years been his stunt double.
A few years ago I read Hal Needham’s autobiography (I wrote about that here). Needham, passed away prior to Burt.
Burt Reynolds and Hal Needham shared a house for many years, just around the corner from Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski. I don’t think they were home when the Manson family attacked Sharon Tate.
What if they had been?
That’s all it is, but it’s also more…
…is it about male friendship, is it about the ups and downs of careers, Hollywood, fashions, eras? Is it about feet (clearly Tarantino doesn’t give a shit about even hiding his foot fetish at all anymore…)
It could be about all these things…
I actually think it’s about a writer and director, who grew up on videos and fantasising what it would be like to be Burt. Or to work with Burt, or to be in Hollywood…
Once Upon A Time is a fairy tale, dreamed up in the aisle of an 80s video shop… I love it. It’s Quentin’s most original, honest and touching film…
There’s nothing like the life of a Hollywood stuntman.
Matthew Cooper has been a script writer for hire and script doctor for over 20 years. He’s written for most of the UK soaps, including writing award winning episodes of Emmerdale, EastEnders, Hollyoaks and Family Affairs and has been BAFTA shortlisted and Royal Television Society nominated as a script writer. He’s also a leading UK script consultant. You can find some of his broadcast credits on the IMDb. You can get in touch with Matthew on matcoop23@yahoo.co.uk or hire him on Peopleperhour
His directorial debut Markham will be released in 2020.