Tarantino Trivia

Pulp Fiction

• Sylvester Stallone was briefly considered for the role of Butch.
• The role of Butch was originally supposed to be an up and coming boxer. 'Matt Dillon' was in talks to play the role, but never committed. Tarantino then changed the role and offered it to 'Bruce Willis', who had been disappointed at not being signed to play Vincent.
• In the screenplay, Butch is a featherweight boxer but in the film, Butch's opponent Wilson has his weight announced as 210 pounds - inferring that Butch is a heavyweight.

• Quentin Tarantino hesitated over the choice between the character he was going to play: Jimmie or Lance. He ended up choosing Jimmie's role because he wanted to be behind the camera in Mia's overdose scene.

• Samuel L. Jackson auditioned for the part of Mr. Orange in Reservoir Dogs (1992), but it went to Tim Roth. Tarantino enjoyed Jackson's work so much that he wrote the part of Jules specifically for him.
• Tarantino originally wrote the role of Jules specifically for Samuel L. Jackson, however it was almost given to Paul Calderon after a great audition. When Jackson heard this, he flew to LA and re-auditioned, getting back the part he was supposed to play. Calderon ended up with a cameo as Paul, the bartender.
• Jules's character was originally written to have a gigantic afro, but a crewmember obtained a variety of afro wigs and one jerry curl wig. Quentin Tarantino had never thought about a jerry curl wig, but Samuel L. Jackson tried it on, Tarantino liked it, and it was kept.
• In the opening sequence with Honey Bunny and Pumpkin, Jules can be heard talking about quitting "the life".
• A scene removed from the final film involves Jules trying to consider what to do while Pumpkin and Honey Bunny rob the diner. In the scene, Jules points his gun at the bottom of the table and fires up twice, hitting Pumpkin and killing him. He then spins around and shoots Honey Bunny three times, killing her. As she falls her gun goes off and hits the Long Haired Yuppie Scum, who dies screaming on the floor. The scene then cuts back to Jules talking to Pumpkin in the diner, revealing the shootings to have happened entirely in Jules' mind.
• Jules' "Bad Mother Fucker" wallet actually belongs to Quentin Tarantino.

• The parts of Honey Bunny and Pumpkin were written specifically for Amanda Plummer and Tim Roth.

• The role of Vincent Vega was written for 'Michael Madsen', who played the characters brother, Vic Vega, in Reservoir Dogs, but he couldn't do the film due to scheduling conflicts for another film.
• Daniel Day-Lewis wanted the role of Vincent Vega but Tarantino turned him down in favor of Travolta.
• John Travolta's character, Vince Vega, is the brother of Vic Vega, aka Mr. Blonde from Reservoir Dogs (1992).
• Every time Vincent goes to the bathroom, something bad happens.
• You can see Vincent entering the bathroom at the beginning of the film, when Pumpkin and Honey Bunny are talking about robbery.
• The book Vincent is reading on the diner's toilet is also visible when he gets shot in Butch's house. We see Vince get out of the diner with the book in his hand.
• When Vince visits Lance for the first time he is complaining about some jerk that supposedly keyed his car. It was allegedly Butch's revenge for the argument the two had when early on they met at Marsellus's club.
• In real life, Vincent Vega's 1964 Chevelle Malibu convertible belongs to Quentin Tarantino and was stolen during the production of the film.
• John Travolta has said that some of the dance moves between himself and Uma Thurman in the Jack Rabbit Slim's scene were based on Adam West's Batusi from Batman (1966/I).
• The shot of Vincent plunging the syringe into Mia's chest was filmed by having John Travolta pull the needle out, then running the film backwards.
• Vincent was originally supposed to have shot Marvin twice - once accidentally in the throat, and a second to put him out of his misery. Tarantino changed it to a single bullet killing because he thought it would be funnier.

• The role of Marsellus Wallace was originally going to be played by Tarantino favorite, Sid Haig. At the last minute, Haig turned it down, saying that it was too TV.

• The look of Uma Thurman's character Mia Wallace was modeled after French actress Anna Karina who also appeared in Bande a part (1964); a favorite film of Director Quentin Tarantino.
• Uma Thurman originally turned down the role of Mia Wallace. Quentin Tarantino was so desperate to have her as Mia, he ended up reading her the script over the phone, finally convincing her to take on the role.
• Isabella Rossellini, Meg Ryan, Daryl Hannah, Joan Cusack, and Michelle Pfeifer where all interviewed for the role of Mia Wallace. Out of all of them Tarantino says he preferred Michelle Pfeifer the most.
• Mia Wallace's comment "An Elvis man should love this" is a reference to an earlier cut scene where Mia claims that everyone can be classified as either an Elvis person or a Beatles person. She bets Vincent that he is an Elvis person, and he confirms it.
• Uma Thurman based her dancing in the Jack Rabbit Slim's dance scene on the character Duchess in The Aristocats (1970).
• In Son of a Preacher Man, the apostrophe in door's is missing from Mia's note. The script, however, has the note punctuated correctly.
• Mia Wallace is barefoot for most of the movie.

• Tarantino wrote "The Wolf" character specifically for Harvey Keitel.
• Harvey Keitel's character in this movie has the same specialized job as his character in Point of No Return (1993).

• Speculation abounds as to the nature of the mysterious glowing contents of the case:
• Could it be Elvis's gold suit, seen worn by Val Kilmer (as Elvis) in True Romance (1993)?
• The most persistent theory (most usually attributed to a friend of a friend who saw it posted on a message board by someone whose brother had read a report of a radio interview with Tarantino himself) is that it is Marcellus Wallace's soul. The story goes that when the Devil takes a person's soul, it is removed through the back of the head (this isn't part of any known religion, but this is what the message board posters say). When we see the back of Marcellus's head he has a Band-Aid covering the precise spot indicated by tradition for soul removal. Perhaps Marcellus sold his soul to the devil which would also explain why the combination to open the briefcase is 666.
• Or could it be simply a 20-watt light bulb and a couple of bricks?
• According to Roger Avary, who co-wrote the script with Tarantino, the original plan was to have the briefcase contain diamonds. This seemed neither exciting nor original, so Avary and Tarantino decided to have the briefcase's contents never appear on screen; this way each filmgoer could mentally fill in the blank with whatever struck his or her imagination as best fitting the description "so beautiful". The orange light bulb (projecting shimmering light onto the actors' faces) was a last-minute decision and added a completely unintended fantastic element.
• In a radio interview with Howard Stern in late 2003, Quentin Tarantino was asked by a caller the contents of the briefcase, and he answered, "It's whatever the viewer wants it to be".
• Quentin Tarantino has said that the band-aid on the back of Marsellus Wallace's neck had nothing to do with an allusion to the Devil stealing Marsellus's soul... but that the actor Ving Rhames had a scar on the back of his neck he wanted to cover up.

• Cameo: [Lawrence Bender] The film's producer is one of the long-haired yuppies at the coffee shop.
• Cameo: [Steve Buscemi] as Buddy Holly in Jack Rabbit Slim's. However, as Mr. Pink in Reservoir Dogs, he refused to tip waitresses.
• Director Trademark: [Quentin Tarantino] [corpse view] After Marsellus is hit by Butch's car we see the camera from Marsellus' "corpse" of the pedistrians looking down at him.
• Director Trademark: [Quentin Tarantino] [red apple cigarettes] Pumpkin also has a pack of Red Apples laying in front of him in the opening scene. The red apple and the green worm can be made out when looking closely.
• Director Trademark: [Quentin Tarantino] [Red Apple cigarettes] When John Travolta and Uma Thurman sit down at Jack Rabbit Slims, she takes out a pack of cigarettes.
• Director Trademark: [Quentin Tarantino] [Red Apple cigarettes] Butch smokes Red Apple cigarettes. The same brand is smoked by Tim Roth's character in Four Rooms (1995).
• Director Trademark: [Quentin Tarantino] [long take]: When Jules and Vincent step out of the elevator for their "foot massage" debate, we follow them all the way through the labyrinthine hallways to Brett's door, past Brett's to a window and finally, back to Brett's door again. All in a single take.
• Tarantino wrote two of the three stories before he wrote Reservoir Dogs (1992) and True Romance (1993). After the success of those films, he decided to write a third story, intending to have each segment directed by a different person.
• Quentin Tarantino wrote the script in Amsterdam, in a hotel room and in coffee shop (Dutch for hash-bar) Betty Boop. He stayed for several months, and left the video rental store Cult Video with an unpaid bill of about $150. This stay explains the references to Dutch culture and customs at the beginning of the movie. Also, the book version of the movie's screenplay includes some cut dialogue between Vincent and Mia - he realizes that she was "the girl in the cowboy hat" in a photo at a hash bar they both visited, the Cobra, which is right across from the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam.
• The font and font coloring used for the opening title sequence were the same as used in the exploitation movie Policewomen (1974).
• In the script, the character of Paul the bartender (Paul Calderon) is referred to as English Bob (Jules even refers to English Bob, saying "Yeah, [Winston Wolf] is about as European as fucking English Bob"), but his line "My name's Paul, and this is between y'all" apparently stuck, as he is credited as 'Paul' in the credits.
• Knoxville, Tennessee, where Butch was meeting his connection and where his great-grandfather bought the gold watch from born, is also Quentin Tarantino's birthplace.
• The show on the television behind young Butch is Clutch Cargo (1959).
• When Captain Koons visits the young Butch to give him his father's watch, his recollections refer to an airman named Wynocki who transports the watch back to safety. Wynocki is the name of John Garfield's character in Howard Hawks' film Air Force (1943). Hawks is one of Tarantino's favorite directors.
• Wilson is the name of the fighter to whom Butch is instructed to lose. Wilson was also the name of the fighter against whom Terry Malloy took a dive in On the Waterfront (1954).
• The marquee where Butch boxes advertises the following fights: Coolidge vs Wilson; and Vossler vs Martinez. The first is a reference to United States Presidents Calvin Coolidge and Woodrow Wilson, the second is a reference to Russell Vossler and Jerry Martinez, who are two friends of Tarantino's from when he worked in a video store.
• The cab driver, Esmeralda Villalobos ('Angela Jones' ) appeared in a 30-minute short called Curdled (1991) in which she played a character who cleaned up after murders. This makes her fascinated by the idea of murder. Tarantino saw this film and decided to include this character in Pulp Fiction (1994) but as a cabdriver.
• The motorcycle movie Fabienne is watching when Butch is waking up (before he discovers that his watch is missing) is called Nam's Angels (1970). It's about the Hell's Angels fighting the Viet Cong.
• Tarantino had originally intended My Sharona (The Knack) to be played during the Gimp torture sequence - but the rights had already been licensed to another film, Reality Bites (1994).
• When Butch ('Bruce Willis') taunts Zed ('Peter Greene') with the samurai sword and says, "You want that gun, don't you Zed? Go ahead and pick it up. I want you to pick it up." This is also said by Sheriff Chance (John Wayne) in Rio Bravo (1959), which, according to interviews, is one of Tarantino's favorite films.
• After Butch kills Maynard, Marsellus Wallace says that he's going to call some friends "to go to work on [Zed] with a pair of pliers and a blowtorch". In Charley Varrick (1973), a character named Maynard warns a bank manager that some mobsters will go to work on you with a pair of pliers and a blowtorch.
• The book that Vincent reads is Modesty Blaise, by 'Peter O'Donnell'. In that book, a killer indulges in a Biblical rant very similar to that of Samuel L. Jackson's character.
• Mia calls Vincent cowboy - John Travolta starred in Urban Cowboy (1980). Vincent calls Mia cowgirl in return; Uma Thurman starred in Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993).
• Steven Martinez (brother of chief graphic designer, Gerald Martinez) is credited under Very Special Thanks and painted the portrait of Mia (Uma Thurman) that hangs in Marcellus' house.
• In a cut scene Vincent tells Mia he's been fantasizing about being beaten up by Emma Peel of the Avengers. Later, in 1998, Uma Thurman did star as Emma Peel in the movie The Avengers (1998).
• The set for Jack Rabbit Slims was inspired by the Elvis Presley film Speedway (1968) and by Red Line 7000 (1965).
• Pam Grier auditioned for the role of Lance's wife Jody. Though she had a great audition, Quentin Tarantino decided not to cast her because he could not imagine Pam Grier getting pushed around the way the character does.
• Trudi (Bronagh Gallagher) can be seen wearing a T-shirt of Irish rock band The Frames. She appeared in The Commitments with Glen Hansard, the lead singer of The Frames, and they became friends. She promised him if she got a part in Pulp Fiction that she would wear a Frames t-shirt.
• When Vincent calls Lance on his cell phone, Lance is eating a bowl of Fruit Brute, a cereal from the older monster cereal family. Fruit Brute (which, along with Yummy Mummy, Frankenberry, Boo Berry, and Count Chocula, make up the monster cereals) was later discontinued, along with Yummy Mummy. Quentin Tarantino has held onto a box and drops it into scenes from time to time. It appeared in Reservoir Dogs (1992), too.
• The movie that Lance is watching when Vincent arrives with overdosed Mia is the Three Stooges short, Brideless Groom (1947). Tarantino is an avid Three Stooges fan, but couldn't get the rights from Comedy III to show them in the movie. So while a Three Stooges film appears on screen (Brideless Groom is public domain), the Three Stooges themselves do not. Emil Sitka, the frequent Three Stooges co-star who does appear on screen, is credited as Hold hands you lovebirds.
• When Vincent and Lance are attempting to give Mia the adrenaline injection, the board games Operation and Life are visible in the background.
• The storyline involving Mia's overdose and her revival by an injection of adrenaline into her heart is transcribed word for word from a story told in American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince (1978), a documentary directed by Martin Scorsese.
• Jimmy (Quentin Tarantino) is wearing a t-shirt bearing the logo of Orbit, a local alternative newspaper in Metro Detroit, for which Tarantino did an interview when he was promoting Reservoir Dogs (1992).
• The T-shirt that Jimmy gives to Vincent after they get hosed down bears the logo for the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs. This is not a joke. The Banana slug really is the UCSC official mascot.

• The innocent bystander shot by Marsellus Wallace is the same actor pulled out of her car by Mr. Pink in Reservoir Dogs (1992).
• When Butch is approaching his apartment, there is an advertisement for Jack Rabbit Slim's on the radio. An ad for Jack Rabbit Slim's can also be heard during the torture scene in Reservoir Dogs (1992).
• Fabienne says, Any time of day is a good time for pie. Alabama also says this in True Romance (1993), also written by Quentin Tarantino.
• The Big Kahuna burger was also eaten in the movie From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) and first appeared in Reservoir Dogs (1992).

• The word fuck is used 271 times.
• There is a persistent myth that that all the clocks in the movie are set to 4:20 (although, certainly all the clocks on the wall in the pawn shop are set to 4:20). However, in at least two scenes it is obvious that this is not the case. In the Bonnie Situation while Jimmy, Vince and Jules are drinking coffee in the kitchen, the clock clearly reads 8:15. Secondly, when Vince and Jules go to retrieve the briefcase, it is "7:22 in the a.m.". The significance of the time 4:20 is that it is slang for smoking marijuana.
• The movie cost $8 million to make. $5 million of which went to pay the actors' salaries.