Introduction
As we have been writing here at Cinema Scholars, 1994 was one of the great years in cinema history. Whether it was the New Jersey working stiff humor of Kevin Smith’s Clerks. The emergence of Jim Carrey with a trifecta of monster hits in Dumb and Dumber, The Mask, and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Or the dark, but ultimately uplifting masterpiece, The Shawshank Redemption directed by Frank Darabont. Throw in True Lies, Jurassic Park, Natural Born Killers, The Crow, The Lion King, and the Oscar-winning Forrest Gump and you get the idea. 1994 was a pinnacle year for American film.
Sitting high atop a perch is Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. With its now legendary soundtrack. It’s iconic and career-defining performances. The Oscar-winning screenplay. And the constant homages to earlier masterworks (The Great Train Robbery, Citizen Kane, The Night of the Hunter, Psycho, 8 1/2, Bonnie and Clyde and so many others). It’s Pulp Fiction, which many feel is the greatest film of this banner year and one of the greatest films of all time.
Pulp Fiction revolutionized independent film. Not only in how it was made but in how we thought about it. The interweaving of violence and humor was wholly original to American cinema. Tarantino liberally incorporated the works of European directors (Sergio Leone, Mario Bava, Takashi Miike, Jean-Luc-Godard, etc.) into his product. It also reintroduced John Travolta to the world, turned Sam Jackson into an icon, and showed that Bruce Willis had real acting chops. Thirty years later, Pulp Fiction has aged like a fine wine. Much like the film itself, the story of how it came to be is wild. Let’s get into it.
Beginnings
To truly understand how Pulp Fiction came to be, you must start with Tarantino’s long and complicated relationship with writer/director Roger Avery. The pair met in 1983 while working at the famed video rental store ‘Video Archives’ in Manhattan Beach, CA. They quickly developed a friendship and a mutual love of cinema. They also shared a desire to break into the industry and soon started writing scripts together. Tarantino penned the groundbreaking Reservoir Dogs (1992), based on a story by Tarantino/Avery. They wrote True Romance (1993), worked on Natural Born Killers (1994), co-wrote Pulp Fiction, and never worked together again.
Pulp Fiction began in 1990 as a 70-page story written by Avery called The Open Road. When Avery and Tarantino realized funding a short film would be complicated, they decided to expand on Avery’s original idea. Thus, turning the piece into a trilogy. Inspired by the works of Italian horror master Mario Bava, Tarantino and Avery retitled the work-in-progress Black Mask, named after a popular crime fiction magazine from the 1920s and throughout the 1950s. Tarantino eventually turned this into Reservoir Dogs, his directorial debut.
Linda Chen
The Oscar-winning director wanted to revisit the trilogy idea after wrapping production on Reservoir Dogs. He also wanted to incorporate his affection for crime stories from the 1950s. Tarantino left for Amsterdam in 1992 to work on the screenplay, with Avery joining him soon after. By the end of 1992 Tarantino and Avery had finished what was the first draft of Pulp Fiction. And by all accounts, it was an unorganized mess. Enter Linda Chen.
While Chen is officially listed as the film’s unit photographer, she meant so much more to the making of Pulp Fiction. The pair first met during the production of Reservoir Dogs. Chen was a typist and unofficial consultant for writer/director, Robert Towne (Chinatown, The Firm). Tarantino observed firsthand the influence that Chen had on Towne and soon started corresponding with her. Eventually, Chen would read, correct, and properly format the entire Pulp Fiction script. Chen spoke to CBS News in 2014:
“I was trying to really translate what he used as English based on his ear for dialogue…He had a tremendous ear for dialogue and always has… Quentin didn’t actually pay me to type the script…I had volunteered because I thought it was only going to take a couple weeks, no big deal. I didn’t think it would be months and I didn’t think I would be so emotionally involved in wanting to see this film get made. I got gripped by it. I got gripped by him”
What was supposed to be a two-week job, took months. Chen, who was house-sitting for a screenwriter in Beverly Hills, asked Tarantino to move in so they could work on the script. Tarantino agreed and slept on the couch. Chen worked without pay only asking that Tarantino rabbit-sit Chen’s pet rabbit ‘Honey Bunny’ while she was on location for Dennis Hopper’s latest film, Chasers (1994). ‘Honey Bunny’ would later become Amanda Plummer’s character in Pulp Fiction, as a tribute to Chen.
Pre-Production
With Chen helping to trim down the bloated script to a still-excessive 158 pages, it was time to try and raise the money. Tarantino and his producing partner Lawrence Bender started shopping the script around Hollywood. Almost every major studio passed. Then, the screenplay landed on actor Danny Devito’s desk. He loved it. Devito and his Jersey Films signed Tarantino and Bender to a development deal and quickly began to push Pulp Fiction to Columbia/TriStar. They eventually passed, deeming the script ‘too demented’ by one studio executive.
Bender brought the script to Miramax, founded by the now disgraced and jailed Harvey Weinstein and his brother Bob. Both brothers loved the script and quickly picked it up. Pulp Fiction would be the first film that Miramax optioned and greenlit since recently being acquired by Disney. Tarantino now had the biggest budget ($8.5 million) of his young career to work with. He also had the full power of Mirmax and, to a lesser extent, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Disney, behind him. Now, came time to find the perfect cast.
Vincent Vega
In what has now become the stuff of Hollywood legend, in 1993 the career of the once red-hot John Travolta, was ice cold. And he wasn’t Tarantino’s first choice to portray the role of Vincent Vega. That honor went to Michael Madsen who had co-starred in Reservoir Dogs. Madsen turned the part down, however, to appear in Wyatt Earp (1994). A decision that Madsen publicly regretted. Of course, Harvey Weinstein wanted anyone but Travolta. Daniel Day-Lewis, Sean Penn, and William Hurt were all actors that were preferred to Travolta.
Word got out to John Travolta that Tarantino wanted to meet with him. The once A-list star subsequently drove out to Tarantino’s Crescent Heights Blvd. apartment in Los Angeles. The same apartment that Travolta lived in back in 1975, when he landed the breakout role of Vinnie Barbarino in the TV series Welcome Back Kotter. The pair stayed up all night going over the script and talking about movies.
While Tarantino offered Travolta the part of Jules and the actor accepted, the drama wasn’t over. Harvey Weinstein was insistent that a bankable ‘star’ be attached to the role of Vincent. During a late-night phone call between Mike Simpson (Tarantino’s agent) and Miramax, Simpson pushed all of his chips into the pot. Simpson spoke to Vanity Fair in 2013, stating:
“At midnight our time, three in the morning in New York, Harvey said, ‘Let’s just close the deal. (I said) ‘You’re going to agree to it (casting Travolta) right now, or there’s no deal. We’ve got two other buyers waiting outside to get this. You’ve got 15 seconds to agree to it. If I hang up, it’s over.’ Harvey kept talking, arguing, and I said, ‘O.K., 15, 14.’ When I got to eight, Bob goes, ‘Harvey, we have to say yes.’ Harvey says, ‘O.K., fuck it.’”
Finding a Star
Later, when the Weinstein brothers saw the finished version of Pulp Fiction in Los Angeles, Harvey bombastically announced “I’m so glad I had the idea to cast John Travolta!” Travolta had agreed to portray the role of Vincent Vega for between $100,000 and $140,000, according to various sources. This was a severely reduced rate for the onetime superstar. The result was one of the great comeback stories in film history, an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and a revitalized career that is still going strong today.
Bruce Willis was a HUGE fan of Reservoir Dogs. Harvey Keitel, who starred in, and helped get the film financed, quickly found this out when he picked up his daughter from Willis’s house in Malibu back in 1993. Keitel subsequently invited Willis to a barbecue at his house where Tarantino would also be in attendance. Willis and Tarantino spoke at length and the Die Hard star made it known that he wanted to play the lead (Vincent) in the upcoming Pulp Fiction. With the role promised to John Travolta, this was going to be an issue.
Tarantino knew the only part that Willis could play was that of Butch, an aging boxer who double-crosses crime boss Marcellus Wallace (Ving Rhames). This became a point of contention for Willis. He knew the role was originally offered to Matt Dillon, who turned it down. Willis’s star power was waning by 1993, but he was still considered an A-lister and the New Jersey native didn’t want to play second fiddle to John Travolta.
A Huge Opportunity
Still, Willis was smart enough to realize that this was a huge opportunity to both boost his career and benefit financially in the long term. The actor agreed to play the role of Butch at a reduced salary. However, Willis negotiated a deal where he was given a percentage of the film’s global gross earnings. the net result earned Willis millions over the years. It also earned him some of the best reviews of his entire career.
The role of Mia Wallace, wife of Marcellus, had been much-coveted in the early 1990s. Meg Ryan, Michelle Pfeiffer, Rosanna Arquette, and Holly Hunter had all been reported to be in the running. Miramax specifically was interested in casting Hunter or Ryan. Alfre Woodard and Meg Tilly were also being considered. However, Tarantino only wanted one person for the part. Future muse, Uma Thurman. Thurman, then 23, wasn’t sure she wanted the part. Speaking to Vanity Fair in 2013, she stated:
“I was 23, from Massachusetts…I wasn’t sure I wanted to be in the movie…I was worried about the Gimp stuff…We (Tarantino) had very memorable, long discussions about male rape versus female rape…No one could believe I even hesitated in any way. Neither can I, in hindsight”
The name Samuel L. Jackson is synonymous with the character of Jules Winnfield (Vincent’s partner). However, Jackson almost lost the part to character actor Paul Calderón (King of New York, Bad Lieutenant). Since the role was written for Jackson, he came and ‘read’ the role for Tarantino, which is different from a proper audition. Jackson was pissed, but he was convinced to come back a second time to ‘audition’ for Tarantino and Bender. He nailed the final scene in the diner and the role was his. Calderon was given a smaller part in Pulp Fiction, as a courtesy.
Rounding Out the Cast
Tarantino cast Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer as Pumpkin and Honey Bunny as the pair were close friends in real life. The on-screen chemistry they shared, playing a couple that robs a diner, was palpable. Tarantino, who had previously worked with Roth on Reservoir Dogs, had contemplated offering the part of Vincent to Roth, the part of Jules to Gary Oldman, and turning the characters into “two English guys,” stated Tarantino.
Tarantino offered Eric Stoltz the opportunity to play Jimmie, Marcellus Wallace’s brother-in-law, or Lance, the bathrobe-wearing heroin dealer. Stoltz chose the latter, allowing Tarantino to get in front of the camera again, playing Jimmie. Crime boss Marcellus Wallace was written for Max Julien, the famed blaxploitation actor. However, Julien objected to the anal rape scene and turned the part down. Acclaimed stage actor Ving Rhames gave an astonishing audition for Tarantino and Bender and landed the role. It also led to Rhames becoming one of the most sought-after character actors in Hollywood.
Butch’s girlfriend Fabienne is played by Maria de Medeiros, a Portuguese actress, who Tarantino met while promoting Reservoir Dogs throughout Europe. Lance’s wife, Jody, was originally to be played by Pam Grier. However, Tarantino didn’t think audiences would buy Stoltz screaming at her incessantly, and he gave the part to Roseanna Arquette. Tarantino, who idolized Grier, would build his follow-up film, Jackie Brown (1997), around her. Harvey Keitel, so important to Tarantino’s development as a filmmaker, joined the cast as fixer Winston Wolfe.
Filming
Filming commenced on Pulp Fiction in September 1993 and Tarantino had the same crew working on his second feature. Cinematographer Andrzej Sekuła, film editor Sally Menke, production designer David Wasco, and costume designer Betsy Heimann were all returning and with a much bigger budget to work with. Uma Thurman required proper training on how to properly ingest drugs. Both Travolta and Thurman required on-set drug training, which came in the form of Craig Hamann, a friend of Tarantino’s who was also a recovering addict.
The largest chunk of the budget for Pulp Fiction – $150,000 – went to building the Jack Rabbit Slim’s set. It was here where Travolta and Thurman would dance the Twist in what would become one of the most iconic scenes in film history. Constructed in a Culver City warehouse, it was also connected to several other sets, along with the film’s production offices. The opening and closing scenes of Pulp Fiction were filmed first, at the Hawthorne Grill, in Los Angeles. The first of the film’s seventy locations and sets.
While Tarantino was inspired by numerous European directors (Leone, Bava, Argento, etc.), perhaps no one influenced him more during the production of Pulp Fiction than Jean-Pierre Melville. Widely considered to be the father of the French New Wave movement, Melville’s careful attention to aesthetics (read: clothing) was critical in shaping Tarantino’s first two films. The black and white suites worn in both Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction are a homage to the works of Melville, Goddard, and other directors that emerged from France in the early 1960s.
The Music
With principal photography wrapping in November 1993, Tarantino knew he needed a soundtrack that would match the frenetic pace of his latest film. The director opted against a traditional score, instead favoring a varied assortment of deep cuts from rock & roll, pop, soul music, surf music, and more. The result was one of the most iconic film soundtracks in the history of cinema. The opening credits track of Dick Dale & His Del-Tones’ “Misirlou” going right into Kool & the Gang’s “Jungle Boogie,” is glorious and sets the tone for the rest of the film.
While Tarantino had planned to use surf music as the backdrop for the majority of Pulp Fiction, he wanted the popular ‘power/pop’ song My Sharona from The Knack to feature prominently in his film (during “The Gimp’ scene). But, allegedly, the band objected to the content and gave the licensing to Reality Bites (1994) instead. Tarantino used the instrumental, and saxophone-heavy, ‘Comanche’ by The Revels, instead. Regarding the use of surf music, the director, it seems, used this sub-genre for personal reasons. As he told the BBC in 1994:
“I don’t like surfers…I didn’t like them when I was growing up. I lived in a surfing community. I think they were all jerks. I like this movie so much, surfers don’t deserve this movie”
Release
Pulp Fiction was unleashed on the world in May 1994 at the Cannes Film Festival. It was a smash success from minute one. A game-changer that altered cinema forever. It also helped to have the Miramax publicity machine operating at 120%. The entire cast put on a show at Cannes and Tarantino was the toast of the town. Beforehand, Tarantino had asked Roger Avery to alter his screen credit to ‘story by’ so that Tarantino could have the prestigious ‘written and directed by’ credit at the end of the film. Avery agreed and received a percentage of the film’s profits.
Premiering at a midnight screening in Cannes, Pulp Fiction went on to win the Palme d’Or for best film, which generated even more buzz for the movie and its hot young director. In September, with Tarnatino and Stoltz in attendance at the New York Film Festival, the film screened again to rave reviews, with one audience member passing out during ‘the needle’ scene. Rumors that this was a Miramax/Weinstein publicity stunt persist to this day.
On October 14, 1994, almost thirty years ago to the day, Pulp Fiction was released across the US. The film went wide immediately, filling up seats in over 1100 theaters throughout the country. It topped the box office in its first weekend and eventually grossed an astonishing $214 million on a $9 million budget. It turned Tarantino, Thurman, and Sam Jackson into overnight superstars and revitalized the careers of Travolta and Willis. The film garnered seven Oscar nominations with Tarantino (and Avery) winning the award for Best Original Screenplay.
Legacy
Pulp Fiction was one of the most important films of the 20th century as well as a hot-button topic for years due to its glorification of violence as well as its romanticization of drug use. Regardless, it changed independent film forever and cemented Miramax and the Weinsteins as the kings of independent film. Bruce Willis also paved the way for other ‘stars’ to venture into the world of Indie film. We bandy the word ‘iconic’ around frequently, but there may be no better use of the word than when describing Pulp Fiction. Thirty years later, it remains one of the most influential American films of all time.
![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://cinemascholars.com/pulp-fiction-a-30th-anniversary-retrospective/&media=https://cinemascholars.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/71wPS3A1EYL.jpg&description=Cinema%20Scholars%20celebrates%20the%2030th%20anniversary%20of%20"Pulp%20Fiction"%20by%20serving%20up%20a%20deep-dive%20retrospective%20on%20Quentin%20Tarantino's%20masterpiece.){kind=link}