Quentin Tarantino's next project is reportedly going to tell the real-life story of the gruesome Manson family murders. The project may feature a decidedly A-list cast, with Jennifer Lawrence and Brad Pitt both in the mix to star in the Django Unchained director's upcoming adaptation.
Tarantino, the director of such genre-smashing classics as Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction, has been quiet on his future cinematic plans following the release of last year's The Hateful Eight, a passion project that got a slightly more muted reception than most of his recent directorial efforts. Despite his occasional retirement musings, Tarantino's not hanging up his camera yet. Per a report from THR, Tarantino is quietly beginning to turn the gears on his next project, which will likely be produced by his longtime collaborators, Harvey and Bob Weinstein.
The film would chronicle the events leading up to the grisly 1969 murder of actress Sharon Tate, wife of director Roman Polanski, who became an accidental victim of the cult associated with Charles Manson. Manson had sent his followers to a home he believed belonged to a record executive who had spurned him, but mistakenly entered Tate's residence. Manson and his followers would eventually be sentenced to life in prison for their roles in that and several other murders.
Casting news at this point is highly speculative, but Jennifer Lawrence has reportedly been approached, and would be a likely contender to portray the doomed Tate. Brad Pitt, who worked with Tarantino on his gonzo World War II reimagining Inglourious Basterds, has also reportedly been approached to star.
One of the most original and distinct voices in Hollywood over the last quarter century, Tarantino has so far tended to avoid straight adaptations and real-life stories, opting instead to create original films that borrow heavily from the films and genres that influenced him, often in surprising, innovative ways. But it makes a certain amount of sense that his first real-life adaptation would be that of the Manson family -- the story of the nightmarish cult lends itself to the director's penchant for portraying physical, verbal, and emotional violence in ways only he can imagine.
It's also easy to foresee Tarantino finding an entirely new angle on Charles Manson, who has become something of a bogeyman in the years following his incarceration. The still-living Manson, who has a swastika tattooed on his forehead and is known to rave like an unhinged cartoon villain, already feels like a Tarantino character.
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Source: THR