Quentin Tarantino is going to write and direct all five episodes of Bounty Law, a TV show inspired by his new movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The latest offering from the Oscar-winning Pulp Fiction and Inglourious Basterds filmmaker, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt as Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth, a former television star and his stunt double who find themselves becoming relics of the past in the rapidly-changing world of Hollywood and Los Angeles, circa 1969. Despite opening in the summer, Tarantino's movie has been one of the front-runners throughout the current awards season and is even the favorite to win Best Picture at next month's Oscars.
Whether that happens or not, Tarantino insists he's only going to direct one more film after Once Upon a Time in Hollywood before retiring (and probably not that R-rated Star Trek movie people keep asking him about, either). Mind you, that doesn't mean he's going to direct just one more film and nothing else before calling it a day. According to Tarantino, he's actually going to try his hand at an original television show first.
In an interview with Deadline, Tarantino revealed he plans to write and direct all five episodes of Bounty Law, a real-life version of the '50s TV series starring Rick Dalton from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The filmmaker had mentioned writing the TV show spinoff early on while promoting the movie, but this is the first time he's firmly committed to directing it, too. As for his inspiration, Tarantino told Deadline he "ended up watching a bunch of 'Wanted', 'Dead or Alive', and 'The Rifleman', and 'Tales of Wells Fargo'" as research to "get into the mindset" for Bounty Law.
This won't be the first time Tarantino's directed for TV. He previously helmed an episode of ER in 1995 and two episodes of CSI in the mid-2000s, receiving story credit on the latter. All the same, Bounty Law will present a fresh challenge for the filmmaker since, as he told Deadline, he's intrigued by "the concept of telling a dramatic story in half an hour". That's a big change of pace from his movies over the last decade, most of which have had theatrical cuts around two and a half to nearly three hours long (with extended versions that run even longer) He went on to clarify the show will focus primarily on the character Dalton portrayed on Bounty Law, Jake Cahill, and not Dalton the person. DiCaprio, however, isn't expected to bring Jake Cahill to life on the series.
With Tarantino at the helm, there will surely be several cable networks and streaming services interested in picking up Bounty Law. The fact the show is being envisioned as a five-part series and not a long-term commitment will no doubt help its cause, especially when it comes to landing the significant budget Tarantino undoubtedly has in mind. The show is still a ways off (Tarantino estimates it "will take me a year and a half"), so it might be a while before it begins casting and/or finds a place to call home. In the meantime, his fans will just have to sit tight and hope Bounty Law doesn't ultimately join the ranks of the many, many projects Tarantino has abandoned over his career.
Source: Deadline