‘Hell of a ride’: Brad Pitt’s back for further mis-adventures as Cliff Booth
Source: Netflix
Strap yourselves in, film fans, Netflix has released the first trailer for its Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood spin-off – and it looks just as packed with mayhem, murder and madness as Quentin Tarantino’s original wild ride.
Set in 1977, eight years after the events in the first film, The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth sees Brad Pitt’s character take centre stage, but Cliff is no longer working as a stunt double for faded Hollywood star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio).
“You worked with Rick Dalton for a number of years – what brought an end to your engagement?” Australian actor Elizabeth Debicki’s character, talent agent Karen Crosby, asks him.
“Oh, ah, Rick got too fat for me to double for him any more,” Cliff deadpans in response.
A Netflix article coinciding with the sneak peek of the new film, which is written by Tarantino and directed by Robert Fincher, gives further insight into the storyline, explaining that Los Angeles “no longer needs a hippie-slaying stuntman the way it did”.
“But Hollywood will always have problems, problems that can only be solved by someone with Cliff’s unique (occasionally extra-legal) abilities.
“When he’s not earning his keep bartending or as a projectionist, Cliff Booth is a fixer – solving situations for Hollywood’s great and the, sometimes, not so good.”
For those with short memories, 2019’s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood was an acid trip of an adventure revolving around Rick, a former star of TV westerns, and his friend Cliff, a World War II special ops veteran turned stunt double, as they struggled to navigate the changing movie industry towards the end of Hollywood’s golden era.
It took inspiration from the 1969 Manson murders, with director Roman Polanski and his young actor wife, Sharon Tate, moving in next door to Rick in the film. Tarantino imagined a fantastical, equally gruesome alternative ending to the real-life horror that occurred when Manson family members turned up at the address.
While Australian actors Margo Robbie and Damon Herriman starred in the film as Tate and Manson, The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth introduces Debicki – Emmy-winning star of The Crown – as Karen, the agent for a TV mega-star named Charlie Peters (played by Scott Caan).
Karen reaches out to Cliff on behalf of Charlie, who is known for doing his own stunts. It isn’t immediately clear what Charlie wants from the Hollywood fixer, but there is a reference to “a briefcase full of cash” and strong hints it involves nefarious activity.
“Now I lost count of how many jokers I killed on TV but you, you actually kill people,” Charlie tells Cliff, who replies: “Let’s just say I know what it’s like to kill someone with a knife.”
Pitt – who won an Oscar for his original performance as Cliff – appears to be in his element. Featuring Led Zeppelin’s Rock and Roll as the soundtrack, the dark trailer introduces a murky, action-packed world involving fast cars, a parade of dodgy characters and gangster violence.
“What was once a fairytale is now a crime story – a cocktail of violence, ambition, and desire that could only happen in LA,” Netflix says of Cliff Booth.
Despite complains about the darkness of the trailer, many film fans seem as intrigued by the movie as Cliff is by Charlie.
“David Fincher taking over a Quentin Tarantino character spin-off is the most unexpected, elite cinematic crossover we could have ever asked for. Let them cook,” wrote one social media user on X.
“Few things will drive me back to Netflix these days…but a Fincher film written by Tarantino? Looks like I’m coming back!” enthused another on YouTube.
“Tarantino and Fincher together. This is gonna be a hell of a ride, Cliff…,” echoed a third.
Tarantino both wrote and directed Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, which earned multiple Oscar nominations, including for best film, director and screenplay. But while he wrote the script for the spin-off, he was happy to hand over the directing reins to Fincher, who known for films such as Fight Club, The Social Network and Gone Girl.
“I love this script, but I’m still walking down the same ground I’ve already walked. It just kind of unenthused me,” Tarantino told The Church of Tarantino podcast last year.
Debicki, who has previously worked with directors such as Christopher Nolan (Tenet), Baz Luhrmann (The Great Gatsby), Guy Ritchie (The Guy From U.N.C.L.E.) and Steve McQueen (Widows) has said working on The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth was the “biggest no-brainer” of her career.
In an interview earlier this year with Harper’s Bazaar, the actor described Fincher, Pitt and Tarantino as “a surreal Hollywood trifecta”.
“When you think of that scope of talent, of course I was always going to do that job,” she said.
The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth premieres on November 25 on IMAX and on December 23 on Netflix
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