Once Upon A Time In Hollywood will touch on the Manson family murders
Quentin Tarantino’s next movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, will chronicle late 60s Los Angeles, following a struggling actor (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his stunt double (Brad Pitt) as they chase fame. The murder of Sharon Tate, Valley of the Dolls actress, model, and wife of director Roman Polanski, plays a major part in the film’s narrative.
Margot Robbie plays the late Sharon Tate, whose death at the hands of cult leader Charles Manson’s followers in 1969 shocked Hollywood and the world. The I, Tonya actor has now shared a first look at her character on set. She has long blonde hair worn in a similar style to Tate, with a black turtleneck, white miniskirt, and white go-go boots.
Tate – who was heavily pregnant – was murdered along with four others in the home she shared with Polanski, when four members of the infamous Manson family invaded. Manson demanded the attack after record producer Terry Melcher – who previously rented the house Tate was residing in – snubbed him over a recording contract.
Robbie previously told Indiewire that Tarantino was one of her “bucket-list directors”, and that “as long as I can remember, I’ve been a huge Tarantino fan.”
Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt shared an image of themselves in costume in set back in June. Tate reportedly appears as a neighbour. The cast also includes Burt Reynolds, Dakota Fanning, and Luke Perry among others.
The film is Tarantino’s ninth film, and his first since the Oscar-winning The Hateful Eight in 2015. The director has previously discussed retiring after his tenth feature film.
Hilary Duff previously posted an uncanny Instagram selfie in character of Sharon Tate for the independent film The Haunting of Sharon Tate. Tate’s younger sister Debra had spoken out about the industry’s eagerness to rehash what for her is a very painful memory.
“It doesn't matter who it is acting in it – it's just tasteless,” she told People magazine. “It's classless how everyone is rushing to release something for the 50th anniversary of this horrific event.”
Once Upon a Time In Hollywood will debut July 26 2019, close to the 50th anniversary of the murder.