The director will also write a book on 1970s cinema
Quentin Tarantino is one of the most recognisable screenwriters of his generation – but can he transfer his skills to the written word? Anything can sound cool if Samuel L Jackson is saying it, but it is a whole other thing for it to stand up on its own on the page.
We are set to find out. Tarantino has signed a two-book deal with Harper Collins imprint Harper.
His first book will be the novelisation of his 2019 film Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, set to be published next summer. Probably because Tarantino is such a nerd about these things, it will first be published as a mass-market paperback, like most trashy film novelisations were back in the day, alongside the e-book and audiobook. A deluxe hardback will then follow later in the year.
The adaptation will also include more background on the career of Rick Dalton, the washed-up star played by Leonardo DiCaprio
“In the seventies, movie novelizations were the first adult books I grew up reading,” says Tarantino. “And to this day I have a tremendous amount of affection for the genre. So as a movie-novelization aficionado, I’m proud to announce Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, my contribution to this often marginalized, yet beloved sub-genre in literature. I’m also thrilled to further explore my characters and their world in a literary endeavor that can (hopefully) sit alongside its cinematic counterpart.”
It is not the first time one of his films has been adapted for print. In 2013 DC Comics published an adaptation of Django Unchained with art by R.M. Guéra, followed in 2015 by a crossover with Zorro from Dynamite Entertainment.
Quentin Tarantino’s second book will be a work of non-fiction – entitled Cinema Speculation, it will focus on the cinema of the 1970s that has influenced him so much.
It is described by Harpers as a “deep dive into the movies of the 1970’s, a rich mix of essays, reviews, personal writing, and tantalizing ‘what if’s,’ from one of cinema’s most celebrated filmmakers, and its most devoted fan.”
