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Tarantino's Once Upon a Time In Hollywood Casts Lena Dunham & More
Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood has padded its already loaded ensemble, adding Lena Dunham, Austin Butler, Maya Hawke and Lorenza Izzo to the cast. Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt headline the movie’s star-studded list of actors, together with Margot Robbie, Al Pacino, Timothy Olyphant, Kurt Russell, Burt Reynolds, and many many others. Recent set photos gave moviegoers their first taste of Tarantino’s take on the Los Angeles of 1969, the setting for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Plot-wise not a lot is known about the movie yet, but it's been revealed that the story centers on DiCaprio’s washed-up TV actor Rick Dalton and Pitt’s stunt man Cliff Booth. Tarantino himself described the movie as being Pulp Fiction-esque, so it’s likely more of a tapestry than a single narrative. One piece of that tapestry involves actress Sharon Tate (Robbie), who infamously was murdered by members of Charles Manson's "family."
Tarantino’s portrait of Hollywood in the late 60s, with its mysterious Charles Manson/Sharon Tate connection, has already drawn a bevy of well-known actors to its cast, and now the movie has added even more names. As reported by Deadline, Lena Dunham is one of the latest stars to take a role in Tarantino’s newest opus. Dunham will be joined by Austin Butler, Maya Hawke and Lorenza Izzo. Dunham will reportedly play Catherine "Gypsy" Share, a one-time member of Manson’s family who served five years in prison for her involvement in various crimes. Butler meanwhile will play “Tex” Watson, one of the Manson Family members responsible for the murder of Sharon Tate.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood will mark the major feature film debut of Dunham, who of course is best known for her HBO series Girls. Before Girls, Dunham made her mark in the indie world by writing, directing and starring in the low budget film Tiny Furniture. Dunham also can be seen in the upcoming HBO series Camping. Tarantino’s ensemble period film is certainly an interesting vehicle for Dunham to make her major movie debut.
In addition to Dunham, Tarantino’s film has added Maya Hawke, the actress daughter of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke. This makes for an interesting casting move, as Thurman of course starred in several Tarantino movies produced by Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced mogul who earlier this year was accused by Thurman of sexual assault. In addition to her accusations against Weinstein, Thurman also revealed details of an on-set accident she suffered while being directed by Tarantino in Kill Bill, and accused Tarantino of forcing her to perform the dangerous stunt that resulted in her suffering life-altering injuries. In light of Tarantino’s obviously complicated relationship with Thurman, it’s at least very intriguing to see Thurman’s daughter jumping aboard a Tarantino movie.
Hawke previously starred as Jo March in a BBC miniseries version of Little Women, and can next be seen as the new character Robin on season 3 of Stranger Things. Butler meanwhile is best known for playing the lead in the MTV/Spike TV series The Shannara Chronicles. Lorenza Izzo is a Chilean actress, and the wife of prior Tarantino collaborator Eli Roth. Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is currently shooting.
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019) release date: Jul 26, 2019
